Reader Question- Why Comics?

You seem to talk about comic book characters a lot. What is so fascinating about them to you? It seems like a strange thing for a pastor to like. Not trying to be offensive, it just seems weird, I guess is what I am saying.  -Alex
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You know, I often wonder what it is that people think Ministers do in their spare time. Some people seem to think we're kept in cryo sleep at the church until we're needed, or something. Worth asking about, I suppose. In any case, thanks for writing in!

I'm pretty sure I got my love of comic book characters from my father, who collected comics as a kid. I never really collected comics myself, but I loved the stories, the idea of these people who regular faced impossible battles with courage and moxy and super-powers. There is also something about comics that is irreversibly silly... and that is part of the appeal, too. Comic Book heroes can challenge us on any number of levels, but at the end of the day, they are cartoon characters, and so you are left with breathing room.

I think that might be why I prefer DC in TV animated shows to the big screen. I loved "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" as much as anyone, but the Nolan-verse always seems to have a sort of contempt for its subject matter. The desire to be dark, gritty, and realistic starts to go beyond an aesthetic choice and starts to remove the silly... the fun.

DC TV Cartoons, though? Count me in. From Batman the Animated Series to Batman and Superman to the Justice League, To Justice League Unlimited, to Young Justice, they manage both the fun (and the deep issues) in spades. And because it's all drawn, no one feels bad about putting invincible Titans in tights. I like it.

I think that Comic Books are the new Mythology. Every culture has a mythology, and I think the worlds of the Comic Book Heroes are becoming ours. And I'm fine with that. In fact I encourage it, and always want to add to it, hence my Wonder Woman script in process and multiple short stories. I think this shared mythos (Everyone knows Batman and Superman's Backstory, basically) gives us a common ground that is approaching a universality that I don't think Humanity has ever had before.

And it's not based in combating religions or Political Ideologies. We have superheroes representing countless nations, both genders, many religions, and they interact. And you know what? If it is possible for the Avengers to Assemble... maybe there is a chance for the rest of us, as well.

Or maybe it's all just silly fun. That would be okay, too.