June 20th, 2011
WHY SUPERHEROES ARE POPULAR
Superheroes have been around since the beginning of civilized society, the Greeks had tales of their gods,
and heroes such as Hercules and Achilles. The Romans had Jason and Aeneas, Northern Europe had Thor
and Beowulf. The one thing all of these characters had in common is they are more than human, usually in
strength or cunning. In that sense, they are not at all dissimilar to today’s modern day versions of the
superhero. Superheroes have been around for thousands of years, and they show no sign of disappearing.
Why do we continue creating stories, comic books, and movies about these great heroes today? Is it because
they are great tales of the human condition? Or is it as comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, once said, “When men are
growing up and reading about Batman, Spiderman, and Superman, these are not fantasies, these are
options?”
In a way, I believe Seinfeld may be correct. There aren’t many people out there that don’t aspire to be
something greater. And who hasn’t at one point in their life said something like, “I wish I could see through that
wall,” or “I’d love to know what she’s thinking,” or even “If only I could turn invisible?” So, in part, I think seeing
these superheroes, either in print or on the big screen, is a way for men and women of all ages to live out
these fantasies for a short while at least. If they can believe for even a short while that a man can fly, then they
themselves will be able to fly.
However, it can also be argued that these stories tell us more about ourselves. Like the tales of Odysseus and
Thor told great tales of morality, The Flash and Iron Man also teach us a little more about ourselves. A very
popular Iron Man story from 1979 called “Demon in a Bottle” taught its readers the dangers of alcoholism, and
even featured, as did the 2010 Iron Man sequel, a drunken Tony Stark wearing his famed technological suit.
Yes, we laugh when we see that scene, but our hearts also stop because we know just how dangerous a
situation it is. Tony Stark wearing the Iron Man suit while intoxicated is no different than a truck driver on the
highway after slugging back one too many beers.
If you think about it, what makes these characters so enjoyable to watch, is that because like Tony, they are,
at their core, human. They have flaws, and great tragedies in their lives, and yet they overcome them to be
the heroes we need them to be. I emphasize need because I also believe that as people we need heroes to
look up to, to help us strive to be better. And real or not, these heroes are people, or in some cases aliens, we
can look up to.
If you’re reading this article and saying to yourself, superheroes aren’t popular, look at this. The media has
recently been overrun by superheroes, especially with the release of four mainstream superhero movies just
this summer alone. Thor, released in the beginning of May, which tells the tale of the Norse god’s downfall and
exile to Earth weaves the new age of superheroes with the old. X-Men: First Class tells the story of mutants
fighting for their survival. Green Lantern is the origin story of a man who has a great ring of power that work
entirely on the force of will. Then Captain America, coming at the end of July, shows the story of Steve Rogers,
a World War II soldier who is genetically enhanced to become a super-soldier.
What do any of these characters have in common? Nothing, but they all have some power that makes them
more than human. No matter what your view on the popularity of superheroes, there is no denying the fact that
we love them.
And the popularity of superheroes is spreading. Where ten years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find many
superheroes outside the pages of comic books or Saturday Morning cartoon shows, now they seem to be
everywhere, even outside of the visual realm they have enjoyed for the last century.
When I began writing my novel, High School Heroes, which is a superhero story about a group of kids in high
school with superpowers, the only novels you could find about superheroes would be the occasional
Superman, Spider-Man or Batman novel, and even those would usually be based on one of the character’s
comic adventures. If you did an Amazon search for “Superhero Novels” a year ago, you wouldn’t find many
books that weren’t a graphic novel on their site. Do a search today for that same term and you can see
several pages of content, none of which is comic book related. Since September, when High School Heroes
was released, there have been no less than a dozen other novels in both print and ebook editions that have
also been released including titles like “Sexy Superheroes”, “Nobody Gets the Girl” and “In Hero Years I’d Be
Dead.”
Maybe there is no definitive answer as to why superheroes are so popular. It could be that they represent our
need to aspire to something greater, or it could be because they show us the deeper parts of our humanity
despite being “more than human”. I think it may be a combination of both. When we believe that superheroes
can actually exist, we get that warm feeling inside, even though we know it is only a dream. So, I look forward
to seeing more novels, comics, television and movies about superheroes coming out in the future. It appears
that superheroes are here to stay and we better prepare ourselves for the next generation of them.
Book Sale Totals:
PREVIOUS TOTAL: 192
WEEKEND TOTAL: 10
SOLD BOOK OVERALL TOTAL: 202
Until next time - It's "write a novel in a week" week. Are you up to the challenge?
WHY SUPERHEROES ARE POPULAR
Superheroes have been around since the beginning of civilized society, the Greeks had tales of their gods,
and heroes such as Hercules and Achilles. The Romans had Jason and Aeneas, Northern Europe had Thor
and Beowulf. The one thing all of these characters had in common is they are more than human, usually in
strength or cunning. In that sense, they are not at all dissimilar to today’s modern day versions of the
superhero. Superheroes have been around for thousands of years, and they show no sign of disappearing.
Why do we continue creating stories, comic books, and movies about these great heroes today? Is it because
they are great tales of the human condition? Or is it as comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, once said, “When men are
growing up and reading about Batman, Spiderman, and Superman, these are not fantasies, these are
options?”
In a way, I believe Seinfeld may be correct. There aren’t many people out there that don’t aspire to be
something greater. And who hasn’t at one point in their life said something like, “I wish I could see through that
wall,” or “I’d love to know what she’s thinking,” or even “If only I could turn invisible?” So, in part, I think seeing
these superheroes, either in print or on the big screen, is a way for men and women of all ages to live out
these fantasies for a short while at least. If they can believe for even a short while that a man can fly, then they
themselves will be able to fly.
However, it can also be argued that these stories tell us more about ourselves. Like the tales of Odysseus and
Thor told great tales of morality, The Flash and Iron Man also teach us a little more about ourselves. A very
popular Iron Man story from 1979 called “Demon in a Bottle” taught its readers the dangers of alcoholism, and
even featured, as did the 2010 Iron Man sequel, a drunken Tony Stark wearing his famed technological suit.
Yes, we laugh when we see that scene, but our hearts also stop because we know just how dangerous a
situation it is. Tony Stark wearing the Iron Man suit while intoxicated is no different than a truck driver on the
highway after slugging back one too many beers.
If you think about it, what makes these characters so enjoyable to watch, is that because like Tony, they are,
at their core, human. They have flaws, and great tragedies in their lives, and yet they overcome them to be
the heroes we need them to be. I emphasize need because I also believe that as people we need heroes to
look up to, to help us strive to be better. And real or not, these heroes are people, or in some cases aliens, we
can look up to.
If you’re reading this article and saying to yourself, superheroes aren’t popular, look at this. The media has
recently been overrun by superheroes, especially with the release of four mainstream superhero movies just
this summer alone. Thor, released in the beginning of May, which tells the tale of the Norse god’s downfall and
exile to Earth weaves the new age of superheroes with the old. X-Men: First Class tells the story of mutants
fighting for their survival. Green Lantern is the origin story of a man who has a great ring of power that work
entirely on the force of will. Then Captain America, coming at the end of July, shows the story of Steve Rogers,
a World War II soldier who is genetically enhanced to become a super-soldier.
What do any of these characters have in common? Nothing, but they all have some power that makes them
more than human. No matter what your view on the popularity of superheroes, there is no denying the fact that
we love them.
And the popularity of superheroes is spreading. Where ten years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find many
superheroes outside the pages of comic books or Saturday Morning cartoon shows, now they seem to be
everywhere, even outside of the visual realm they have enjoyed for the last century.
When I began writing my novel, High School Heroes, which is a superhero story about a group of kids in high
school with superpowers, the only novels you could find about superheroes would be the occasional
Superman, Spider-Man or Batman novel, and even those would usually be based on one of the character’s
comic adventures. If you did an Amazon search for “Superhero Novels” a year ago, you wouldn’t find many
books that weren’t a graphic novel on their site. Do a search today for that same term and you can see
several pages of content, none of which is comic book related. Since September, when High School Heroes
was released, there have been no less than a dozen other novels in both print and ebook editions that have
also been released including titles like “Sexy Superheroes”, “Nobody Gets the Girl” and “In Hero Years I’d Be
Dead.”
Maybe there is no definitive answer as to why superheroes are so popular. It could be that they represent our
need to aspire to something greater, or it could be because they show us the deeper parts of our humanity
despite being “more than human”. I think it may be a combination of both. When we believe that superheroes
can actually exist, we get that warm feeling inside, even though we know it is only a dream. So, I look forward
to seeing more novels, comics, television and movies about superheroes coming out in the future. It appears
that superheroes are here to stay and we better prepare ourselves for the next generation of them.
Book Sale Totals:
PREVIOUS TOTAL: 192
WEEKEND TOTAL: 10
SOLD BOOK OVERALL TOTAL: 202
Until next time - It's "write a novel in a week" week. Are you up to the challenge?
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