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Why so Curious, George?

Investment Returns that will Rock Your World

Today I gave a speech at Toastmasters about investing in comic books. It went over really well! People loved the part about being able to make a billion per cent return on investment.

My good friend was kind enough to video the speech, so here it is in all of its raw glory:

South Park Joker

Archetypes in comic books add value

Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!

As co-owner of Comic Zone, the only comic book store in Scottsdale, I can tell you with utmost confidence that comic books are not just for kids anymore.  Today, I am going to tell you about the value of comic book characters.  By exploring the archetypes of three popular comic book heroes, I will show you how they have made a difference in the values and morality of our society.

Carl Jung, a pioneer in the field of psychology, focused on the psychoanalytic features of the archetype. He defined an archetype as “a universal and recurring image, pattern, or motif representing a typical human experience.” Archetypes are patterns and behaviors; primordial images which are part of our psyche and social systems.

Today, I will be talking about Superman, Wonder-Woman, and The Joker

Superman is one of the most popular, and longest-known comic book superheroes of our time. Superman was introduced in 1938, and has retained his popularity all of these 72 years. I would say that Superman represents the consummate HERO archetype.

Christopher Vogler, a protégée of Joseph Campbell describes the Hero Archetype as the protagonist or central character, whose primary purpose is to separate from the ordinary world and sacrifice himself for the service of the Journey at hand – which is to answer the challenge, complete the quest and restore the Ordinary World’s balance.

Superman most certainly does that. He came from another planet – Krypton – and realizing his extraordinary strengths, he uses them to fight for truth, justice, and the American Way.  Superman reminds us to value our fight for freedom, to be the hero fighting for the causes we believe in, and to serve the good by our actions.

So remember, when you see a wrong to be righted, just tap into the Superman inside of you and fly to the rescue!

Next we have Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman was created in 1941 by Moulton Marston, who set out to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman. Wonder Woman didn’t just stop criminals – she reformed them!  Wonder Woman represents the strong woman archetype, a prevalent archetype known in ancient Irish history as the sovereignty goddess of the land.  Wonder Woman teaches us that women can be strong in a different way from men. She, in part, gave rise to the feminist movement that swept our country in the 1970’s. To this day, Wonder Woman is an icon for the strong woman – who is simultaneously a champion and a warrior, as well as compassionate and beautiful. Wonder Woman teaches people, especially women, to believe in themselves.

All women are Wonder Women!

And finally, we have the Joker.

The Joker is a perfect example of the Trickster archetype – a being who, by using chaos and mischief, breaks all of society’s rules to challenge the Hero.

If you saw the recent box office hit, The Dark Knight, you know that in the movie, the Joker was the typical trickster, causing chaos left and right as he even had the hero, Batman, questioning himself and his motives.

The trickster exists to break down old forms and to make us question the structures within which we live so that we can arrive at a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Tricksters are unpredictable and often unassuming. They trick us into thinking!

Have you learned something today about what comic books can show us about ourselves and the world?

See? Trickster energy at work!

In conclusion, comic books have intrinsic values that help shape our view of the world. Superman reminds us that we all have a hero in us. Wonder Woman reminds us that we all have a strong and beautiful self if we but believe in it. The Joker reminds us to question the world and our structures so that we can keep on growing.

Why So Serious??? Why So Serious??? Let’s put a smile on that face!

Veteran’s Day Reads

Yes, new comics DID come out today, even though it’s Veteran’s Day!

Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1 – Not bad. I haven’t kept up with Marve’s cosmic stuff as much as I’d like, but I’m enjoying Gladiator as the new Shi’Ar Majestor.

Dark X-Men #1 – Oh, well. Okay. Let’s just re-introduce a whole bunch of forgotten X-Men family characters, like the Mimic, Weapon Omega, and… The X-Man?

Green Arrow/Black Canary #26 – Wait, what? Two Ollie Queens? …did I miss something? I thought I’ve been reading this series since #1.

Deadpool #17 – Deadpool continues to try and join the X-Men. Good fun, but Daniel Way uses too many censored swear words (#&%@!). More than once per issue is really distracting, and takes me out of the story.

S.W.O.R.D. #1 – A solid start for the SWORD series, but what’s up with Beast’s face? I’m not sure if this series is necessary, but more info on Abigail Brand is certainly needed for casual Marvel readers.

Amazing Spidey #611 – The banter between Spider-Man and Deadpool is always exquisite!

Strange #1 – Quite fun. Emma Rios & Christina Strain KILL on the artwork chores. I wish more comics were like this; everything is far too epic and crossover-y, right now. I like simple, fun, one-off adventures.

Batgirl #4 - Ah, yes. This is what I was waiting for the last three issues to get to. Stephanie with Oracle backing her up. Wonderful issue.

Batman & Robin #6 – Wait, whaaaat? So, is this out-of-continuity? Or are the DC editors just THAT out of touch with each other…?

Red Robin #6 – I read about half the issue and gave up. I just don’t care. Glad to see Marcus To getting work, though.

Batman #693S – Intriguing.

Quickies – 07.Oct.2009

I’m back! I’ll try to get these up and going more frequently.

Batman: Unseen #1 of 5 – Not a bad first chapter. I’m not convinced this has to be a Batman story, except that it happens to take place in Gotham. But I can’t tell you to NOT read it…

Batman and Robin #5 – I’m digging the Red Hood story far more than the Pyg one. Phillip Tan’s improved, but he’s still no Frank Quitely.

Cable #19 – Everybody vs. the Brood! God, Emil is annoying. I hope he dies so Hope can become the hardened warrior the adopted child of Cable SHOULD become.

Daredevil #501 – It would’ve been nice if, y’know, there was some warning in Daredevil #500 that I would’ve had to read Daredevil: The List before it sold out in order to read #501.

Quick Reviews

My apologies, dear readers, for the lack of updates. My computer has decided it no longer wishes to operate correctly, so my Internet access has been cut rather drastically over the last few weeks.

Red Robin #1

It’s a regular Bat-o-Rama around here, lately.

So when your mentor dies, the closest thing you have to a brother gives your identity to your mentor’s estranged son, and you’ve got nowhere left to turn, what do you do?

Apparently, you go to Madrid and take over the mantle of the guy who tried to kill you…?

Tim Drake– excuse me, Tim WAYNE is the new Red Robin. And he’s in Spain, trying to find Bruce Wayne, the Batman. And Tim is 100% sure that Bruce is still alive. He just has to be. Because… Tim wouldn’t know what to do, otherwise. Tips lead him to Prague, and while Tim is hanging out in his hotel room, somebody has him in their sights. And it’s somebody BIG.

This was a pretty solid first issue. One of the nice things about never having been a huge Batman fan in the past is that I have very little knowledge of who many of these characters actually are. I don’t know their personalities, or very much of their history… I just know their names, and how they’re all related to Batm–Bruce Wayne.

So, for me, it’s fun jumping into this world that has semi-familiar faces. DC is making it pretty easy to keep track of everything. I understand that Tim’s upset about Damian becoming the new Robin, and I even get an idea as to why.

For the first time in the last several years, I know what the hell is happening in a DC book, when I pick it up! There’s no need to go back and read stories from when I was in diapers, or to understand the entire history of a character. I just have to know who Batman is, understand that there have been three Robins, pick up that Bruce had an illegitimate child, and be aware that Bruce Wayne is dead. From there, I can just jump right in. And, so far, all three titles in the new Bat-family have been quite enjoyable.

If you’re going to pick up one Batman book this week, make it Batman #687. But if your budget allows for it, grab Red Robin #1, too.

Batman 687

Batman #687
Written by Judd Winick
Pencils by Ed Benes
Cover by TS Daniel
$3.99
DC Comics

(image ganked from IGN.com, because nobody else had the final version)

“A Battle Within – An epilogue to Battle for the Cowl”

Last week’s Batman and Robin #1 was the launchpad for the new status quo in the Batman family of titles. But it left me feeling like there was something… missing.

Don’t get me wrong. It set out to do a straight Batman story with Dick and Damian in the roles of Batman and Robin, and it pulled that off quite well. But there was something strange about it. It didn’t feel like there was an answer to “Battle for the Cowl.” Who will be the new Batman? Well, Dick Grayson was just thrown into the role, without any exposition.

But this issue of Batman serves to answer all of the questions I would’ve had. It opens with a flashback to a the first time Dick Grayson (as Robin) was able to get the jump on Bruce (as Batman), and then transitions to Alfred and Dick trying to figure out what to do.

Superman and Wonder Woman make appearances in a flashback scene to show when they returned The Cowl, and asked what Bruce’s contingency plan was for when he died. It seems as though he didn’t really leave one…but Alfred and Dick decide that Batman cannot die, and as the Justice League (Clark, Diana, Ollie, and Dinah) are gathered around Bruce’s grave, he informs them that the world can’t know Batman is dead.

The Phosphorus Man attacks a subsidiary of Cadmus, and is met by the new Robin, who quickly begins getting punked out, ’cause he’s ten, and wasn’t prepared for this. Nightwing shows up to save the day, and considers the future of the mantle of the Bat.

In the final scene, the Scarecrow (who is rendered beautifully, by Ed Benes) is attacking the Gotham Bay Bridge, and is too much for the police to handle. Suddenly, he’s stopped…By Batman.

And that’s Just the Beginning!

I’ve been a fan of Ed Benes’ work for nearly 10 years (since his run on Gen13), and it’s good to see him doing a solo title, again. I haven’t read too much from Judd Winick, but this is exactly the story that I was looking for, to fill in the gap between Battle for the Cowl #3 and last week’s Batman & Robin #1.

If you’ve never followed Batman before (I haven’t), there’s no better jumping on point than right here. This is going to be the solo Batman book, where Dick Grayson grows into the role of playing– no, BEING– Batman. I’m pretty excited to read the next issue.

Don’t miss this one.

Batman and Robin #1