COMICS CULTURE SHRAPNEL from CBEM 352

Jaded

It's that time of year when things are usually a bit slow - there aren't any major crossovers, or new titles. And I don't have school, and nothing special's planned after the New Year. But this year is different, isn't it? Between DK2, and all those 9/11 benefit books out. It's funny, but I haven't gone near any of those big things. I'm content to wait for the TPB, or just for another day when I have a few extra dollars and some spare time. I've never believed in buying something just for the sake of hype. With the 9/11 books I don't really feel the need to read other people's stories, I lived it. I understand the need to share, and I certainly was eager to get different perspectives on the situation a few months back. Now, I'm just tired and weary and just want to move on. It seems that more than ever, people are ready to embrace the future.

I'm happy that this future does seem to include comics. For the first time the industry isn't lurking in the shadows. The 9/11 books were something that truly illustrated what an expressive and mature medium comics could be. The industry did something very positive, and they did it a lot better than some of those other benefit works out there (I stand by my assertion that the "Tribute to Heroes" sucked. "Concert for NYC" was good though.) It was made more powerful by the fact that many of the people behind it were New Yorkers. Not only has the public reassessed their image of the comics industry, but those in the industry are reassessing themselves. Superheroes have been everywhere, from beloved to scorned. Now we have been forced to rethink what it means to be a hero, and recreate the landscape of characters. Ordinary people will play a bigger part, and the superpowered citizens now must either truly embody the term "hero" or let it go. Either way they will become something different and greater.

Maybe that's why I don't bother with the tribute books - I know exactly what happened and what they feel. I have my own experiences to draw upon. I turn instead to fiction to find something different, something greater. Fiction has always provided an escape from the harsh glare of the real world. Fiction provides answers to that we can not fix in reality. It is not real, but the effects it has certainly are, though not tangible. Fiction creates hope. The heroes on the comics page can not change the world, but we can certainly pretend it. And in their own way, they inspire us.