As I was reading DC: The New Frontier Volume 2 earlier, I began thinking about something a friend asked me.  Why do I read comics?

The more and more I consider the question, the more I have to view comics as an escape and a fantasy.  Of course they are fantastic, nobody can fly in real life without the aid of wind or an aircraft, but I’m thinking fantasy in terms of, “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool if…”  I guess I view comics a lot like I view video games.  You’re given an opportunity to immerse yourself in a world that bares similarities, but incredible differences to our own.  There are interesting pro’s and con’s to living in a world with superheroes.

Who wouldn’t love to live in a world where you had superheroes looking out for the good of all man-kind?  Imagine superman up there doing his thing and taking care of us?!  That would be sweet!  What about Reed Richards doing his science thing, trying to make the world a better place?  What about Batman, protecting the world from serial killers, bank robbers, and the mafia, while his alter ego donates millions of dollars to charity, and is the CEO of one of the worlds largest, and most successful companies?

The first problem with all of this, which has been addressed more and more as of late, is who gives these heroes the authority to do what they do?  Nobody.  Thats right.  Interestingly enough, this was addressed quite well in an article in The American Prospect a few months ago, specifically dealing with Warren Ellis’s book Black Summer.  Its a strange predicament because the heroes see themselves as needing to be above the law in order to protect people from threats.  This, as is mentioned in the American Prospect article, is strangely similar to the Bush regime’s stance on terrorism.  Apparently, in order to maintain law, they need to be above it.  This is problematic, as it really destroys some of the foundation this country was based on.  As a leftist among the American political spectrum, this is really appalling to me.  While reading Civil War, however, I was not struck as this being wrong.  My attachment to our heroes left me with mixed feelings, ultimately wanting the vigilantes to come out on top.  Does this align with my political beliefs and ideals?  No.  The truth is, I don’t live in the Marvel U, or the DCU (earth 1, 2, or any other).  I live here, anchored in reality, using comics as an escape from the atrocities the citizens of this planet continue to perpetrate upon one another, where we could really use a Superman, a Spider-Man, a Captain America to rally behind.

Another important problem is that the stronger the heroes, the stronger the villains we seem to see creep out of the woodwork.  Gotham City didn’t have super villains before Batman.  Marvel didn’t really have them before the Avengers.  As the heroes grew, became stronger, and ever more vigilant, the foes they defeated mirrored them.  I’ll be quite honest, were the Joker, or Doomsday, or Kingpin to approach me in a dark alley, I’d probably scream like a little girl before becoming deceased in the next few moments.  The worst we’ve got today is crackheads, serial killers, gang violence, and terrorism.  While none of these are particularly pleasant, I feel like my chances are better against a crackhead than they are against Doomsday.

Still, I don’t live in that world.  I live in the world we all live in, where the daily struggles people face are enough to call it quits.  The economy is in the tank, unemployment rates in Michigan just keep rising, and I work what would usually be considered a pretty decent job, and I feel like I live just over the poverty line.  Gas was 3.55 a gallon at the closest gas station today.  I love the ray of hope that some of these heroes have to offer us, as unrealistic as it may be.

Why do you read comics?