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Art, Books, Comic books, Creativity, Marvel, Marvel heroes, Reading, Super Heroes, Writers, Writing
“I’m hyperventilating right now,” my 12-year-old son whispered to me and gripped my hand hard. He was waiting excitedly (and obviously breathlessly) for Marvel’s newest superhero film, Thor: The Dark World, to burst onto the screen in all its glorious action.
Photo credit: Marvel
It’s no secret to anyone who knows our family that the Marvel heroes are preferred to the DC group and that my son measures time by when the next film, Lego set, or Nintendo game is scheduled for release. Thor was autumn’s happy milestone and now he has set the April release of Captain America as his spring marker. Not only does he spend countless hours reading his classic comics digests, lost in imaginative fantasy and wrestling with hefty issues of good and evil, but he hones his memory skills by memorizing intricate plot patterns and character details, regaling us with various character back stories, correcting egregious errors in the film or cartoon adaptations, while also filling in weak or missing elements in those same story lines. (And no, concerned reader, my son’s literary diet is not confined to comics. He gets plenty of classic literature, so have no fear. Also, consider how memorizing intricate story lines via the comics preps him for memorizing long passages of Shakespeare to rival Kenneth Branagh and you will see there is a method to this seeming madness.) Read more. . .
Persephone Writes 
Wow…fabulous piece. And while fantastic and wildly imaginative are our superheroes of today (with otherworldly origins, or superpowers, or even an indestructible metal suit), think about how such heroic characters have been portrayed throughout the historical record. Samson, Hercules, Moses, et al., have traits that are intended to inspire. Good stuff!
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John, thanks so much — means a lot coming from you. 🙂
And yes, these new manifestations of the super hero come from a long line of heroic incarnations throughout time. Something about our consciousness and the way we relate to struggles and challenges seems to make these figures hard-wired into our narrative tendency. But they all point to something greater than ourselves, which I think is the most fascinating aspect. Thank you for seeing that, and for stopping by and taking the time to leave such a generous comment. Cheers!
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Great post, Angela! I’m not a comic reader, but I do love those Marvel movies (Joss Whedon is a favorite of mine — did you see his new Much Ado?). Good point about the intricate plots of comics too — you just saved me from a knee-jerk negative reaction a few years down the line. 🙂
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Thanks, Carolyn! 🙂
So glad you stopped by — thanks for reading.
I have not yet seen the new Much Ad — hope to eventually….
Yes, your wee man may become a comic guy at some point. Who knows? I never would have predicted it for my son, but he loves them. There is more to them than meets the eye.
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Happy you’re still writing!
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…..by the skin of my teeth…..:)
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