Dipping a toe in the social media stream. I work with digital models and photo editing to create my modest pieces. This is where I'll post some original artwork and collect entries on books, science, sequential art, and other inspirations.
“I thought this was meant to be a temple dedicated to learning!” The angry man’s question was a statement. “We do not usually use such grand words,” the librarian said, “but yes.” “Then how come the building is full of fiction!” “You do not know what can be learned from fiction?”
“In this world, which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other. We have to learn to put up with the fact, that some people say things we don’t like. We can only live together in that way.”
“The best thing we can do with power is give it away” - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:
The ongoing “Jason Todd is a cop” debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:
“A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power.
I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large.
But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read.
The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact…
The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return.
Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story.
But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive.
We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies.
But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you).
The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take.
So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson…
The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY.”
