Renewing My Love for Superheroes.

I just recently got the chance to see Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.  Better late than never, right?  It was so damn good.  I loved it from start to finish.  It not only reminded me why I love comic books, but why I chose to tackle the superhero genre after doing a fantasy comic.

I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, and it still is.  Marvel and DC Comics have dominated the superhero genre in comic books for decades.  The Marvel Studios films have the market cornered on superhero movies.  The genre is hotter than it’s ever been, but it’s also a tough sell when you’re not working for “the big two.”  People who are looking for superhero stuff are generally looking for the established heroes they’ve known for years or have seen on the big screen, and people who are looking for alternative comics aren’t looking for superheroes.  On top of that, smaller comics publishers have zero interest in superhero stuff because there’s just so much of it out there these days.

Why make a superhero comic, then?  Because I love the superhero genre, I love the mythology of the superhero, and I refuse to accept that two corporations are the only ones allowed to make superhero stories these days.

I grew up on Superman and Spider-Man.  I grew up reading superhero comics and relishing all the daydreams they inspired.  I made my own roster of superheroes in the margins of countless school notebooks.  When I indulged dreams of making comics, I wouldn’t imagine working on established heroes.  I dreamt of making my own heroes and villains, and of people coming to love the stories I wrote for characters from my imagination.  I may have tackled the fantasy genre first but the idea of the superhero was always there (in one storyline quite literally there), and when I got the opportunity to work with Garth I immediately pitched a superhero story.  Not because I wanted to ride the trend of superhero popularity, but because I genuinely love the mythology and I believe that the dream of the superhero belongs to everyone.

Those of you who are here must believe that, too.  Thank you for sharing this dream with us.