What are you running from?

So I’m assuming this is a safe place (and a cheaper than therapy place) lol. Comics are a form of escapism which implies that there is something you are trying to escape. For me I’ve just been having a really crappy year, my mom passed away last Valentine’s day and I recently made a decision that was best for me but alienated me from all of my only friends. I’ve recently found comfort and solace in an old friend named comic books. Maybe it’s not the healthiest thing locking your self away all day reading comic after comic but hey! It gets me through the day lol Put your hearts on your sleeves and let’s talk about the things that drive us running into the comforting arms of fantasticle stories brought to life by beautifully rendered artwork.

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So sorry for your losses. Comics can indeed be solace in troubled times, and I’m glad to hear you’ve found something to ease your pain.

However, I never think of my time with comics as ‘running away’. I’m running towards something I love (just like Barry and Wally do :wink: ).

I hope things get better for you in 2019!

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Thanks for the kind words. Indeed that is a good take on it, I guess in order to run away from something you also have to be running towards something else. Like the fastest man alive would say “keep running”

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I escape from my social life. To many annoying people I my life. Comics make me calm down.

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It is hard sometimes when loved ones dies and you are not on good terms with former friends. I feel for you.

I have had health problems the last two years and I just stopped doing everything, just waiting for something worse to happen.

Then I started reading fan fiction, where characters found love and friends, especially beast boy and raven, but also characters you think should be happy, but are not, like billionaire Bruce Wayne and beautiful Diana Prince.

That lead me back to comics.

I couldn’t go to comic book stores anymore, because I can’t walk very far. But I bought comics for through the Nook, then Kindle, then Comixolo:gy

Eventually I wound up here. And I realized that comic books not only could be current comics, but ones published in the past.

Roy Thomas, in the Scrull/Kree War finale, had the head KREE say to Rick Jones something like that childhood was the source of our imagination and that it was time to use that imagination in this time of greatest need. So Rick made real the real Captain America, the Human Torch, and Namor, plus the other fictional comic book characters he had read when he was a child, and they saved the day.

When I was a child,

If I was fat, so was Bouncing Boy, and Triplicate Girl liked him, all three of her.

If I was ugly, so was the Thing, but he was a true hero beneath his rocky exterior.

If I was shy, so was Peter Parker and Scott Summers, true heroes both. Both eventually got the girl.

If I wore glasses, so did Clark Kent and Diana Prince, the two greatest heroes, 2/3 of the Trinity.

If I did not go outdoor and play with other children, neither did Matt Murdocks’s father allow him to do so , so he decided to exercise inside.

So I survived until another day.

Now I wait

For Wednesday, when the new comics come in
For Friday, when Original Content appears here and Applejack and community members watch it together
For the weekdays DC Daily
For the forum, where Community members discuss comics with a passion, and we get a glimpse of their personal lives
For the Book Club, which I just joined
For the interesting questions asked at the Forum, which I think about and share those thoughts, though much too long is my response

If you have something to look forward to, you have a reason to live.

It doesn’t matter what it is.

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Boredom, mostly.

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About running away.

An excerpt from

“Super Folks” by Robert Mayer

Gradually, without trying, he began to distinguish vague shapes in the negative space around him; sickly, pale-green mists, like jaundiced fog. Shapes without shape, forms without form. Beings of nonbeing. Mists of unshed tears.

He watched them float by, without intent, without direction. Not knowing what they were.

And then, with a strange intelligence, like Adam naming the animal, he knew. He recognized them.

The pleasure trips he had never taken. The times he wanted to make love and didn’t wake her up. The fat pitches he didn’t swing at. The fears that putrified friendships. The books he hadn’t read (Little Lulu for one). The music he never really listened to, too lost in his own not-so-super thoughts. The love he never consummated with Peggy - it was there, now drifting by.

Out of reach.

All the missed opportunities.

That’s what filled the place beyound space.

The chances not taken. The dances not danced. The tintinnabulation of the bells of Copenhagen, never heard by toilers in New York. The screams not screamed, the curses not cursed, the hands never held, the whispers never spoken.

All of them palpable, still existing, here in this place beyond recovery.

If Phoebe was still alive - if they were still on good terms - then Holden ought to tell her, if she doesn’t know already. This is the place the ducks go in the winter.

He tried to close his eyes against them,

The languages unlearned. The birdsongs never heard. The expense accounts not cheated on.

He could not even blink, He tried to be cynical; to picture himself as Scrooge, watching the past go by in a maudlin morality play. It didn’t work.

He was caught in a choke of emotion.

The mists became a parade of human shapes - farmers, business, soldiers … people in every occupation imaginable. He was puzzled at first.

But then, again, he knew. They were secret identities. All the secret identities never revealed, never attempted - only dreamed.

The rural life of the city man who never broke away. The season on the pro golf tour the insurance man putted away in his office, into ashtrays. The night watchman leading the Lord’s Prayer. The time salesman’s dreamlife as a pitcher.

All the secret identities into which life was never breathed; all of them unsouls, floating in perpetuity now in the place beyond space. Beyond the rim of the universe.

All the unbeings we dared not be.

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Turok - amazing quote from an amazing book.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Super Folks, it’s one of the first superhero stories that really deconstructs comic book characters. It inspired Alan Moore, Mark Waid, Grant Morrison, Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman and countless other comic book creators. It’s fallen in and out of print over the last forty years, but if you can find a copy, it’s well worth a read.

Sorry for the derail. Back to your normally scheduled thread now.

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Sorry to hear & very accurate thread. I’m escaping the loss of 4 best friends since childhood who’ve all overdosed. My 2 best friends in the world since childhood (who were brothers) a friendship that lasted over 30yrs at the time they passed. The younger of the 2 brothers was under our watchful eye, as me, his older brother & wife, & childhood best friend of the wife, all stayed in his older brother’s ( my childhood best friend of 30+ yrs) house. We stayed up till 4am then awoke to the knocking of the county morgue on the front door. He’d snuck out & was found in the basement of his old apt building by a tenant doing laundry. Less then a yr later the older brother, who was my oldest friends, was acting strange as all the previous people I’ve mentioned were in the same house, hanging out along with his mother, who’d moved in after the loss of the younger brother ( her son ). I pleaded with him to tell me what he was on & he convinced me he was on nothing. I stayed up worrying until he finally went to sleep on the couch next to me. I woke up to find him not beside me & rushed to the stairs. Where I saw his feet just clearing the half closed basement doors & knew that instant he was gone. His wife was 9 months pregnant & in the medical field, & I’m trained in CPR. We both did our best but it was too late. I had to stop his mother when she got halfway down the steps, to spare her from seeing the loss of her 2nd son. Sorry for the length, & I’ll keep the rest of my skeletons for now since this post was so lengthy. I’ll add the loss of 2 gfs. One who drowned & one who also od’d. I wouldn’t say anything if I thought anyone involved would take offense. I know they will never see this, & it’s been long enough that they would encourage my releasing of it as I’ve never dealt with it correctly. One last point. If you’re having a bad day & u lash out on someone on this thread, or any social media. Take the examples on this thread as a lesson of u never know what the person on the other end is going thru. Think carefully b4 assuming your comments are being received by people who are in your frame of mind. Not everybody is in the same good, or bad space, you’re in when you’re commenting to strangers behind your safe space on your keyboard.

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I’d say mainstream and social media. I’m exhausted by people’s opinions on politics and other “important” information. Although it’s starting to invade comics a bit, and has caused me to drop some titles.

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Man I’m sorry for your loss. When I was 22 I lost my Dad. we had a complicated relationship which is not that uncommon for fathers and sons I guess. I had moved out when I was 17 and had barely seen or spoken to him, but i was there in the hospital when he passed and was holding his had. It messed me up more than I thought it would. I couldnt sleep or eat. I almost destroyed myself. its weird, its like your whole world stops but some how every body is acting as thought its still turning. Its suck man Im sorry. time will dull the pain but it will always be there.
Don’t feel bad for reading alot of comics right now you have to keep yourself distracted. its easy for you mind to drift towards the dark thoughts in times like these. I cant say that I am running from anything right now but rather towards it. I started College at 24, It has taking longer than I would like with having to work but I almost have my B.S. in Marine Bio and Marine Conservation. I’m 29 now and there has been highs and lows, but once you figure out what you want just dont give up man. Read comics, Exerciser it will make you feel better i promise. Just stay busy. And if you had to alienate yourself from your friends dont worry if they are worth being friends with they will understand and you will be able to reconnect, I’ve been in that situation as well.

@djd.187.81432 hey man Im sorry for you loss too reading your post made me thing about the friends i have lost to drugs i know its a pit in your stomach. Most recent my best friend and I hate to say that I had to stop hanging out with him because of it and he od this last july. I should have been there for him.

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AquamonC137
I empathize with u completely. B4 any of my friends & a gf od’d, I did the same thing. My friend & roommate when I lived in Dayton got into pills. I moved out & completely shut him out. His gf who was also our roommate left him & we remained friends. I was sitting at a bar with her & she picked up her cellphone & said I have to go. She said blank was in the hospital. She looked at me & I didn’t budge, b/c I was ignorant to what they can do to u, & I felt he did it to himself. We worked at a drive thru chain, & he’d just recently been moved to another one by my Boss, the owner of the chain. The idea was moving him to another area might help him. I’ll never forget when I got to work the next day. I found out he’d died & came back to life. My boss called me into the office & said, I just thought u should know, as soon as he was brought back to life, the 1st thing he said is where is Jimmy? (me) repeatedly. I never forgave myself, & luckily he pulled through so I could make amends. I’m sorry to hear about your Dad, that’s crushing. I learned not only how bad it can be, but more importantly that it’s not their fault. I’ve been there for all my friends/gfs ever since, & I’d never judge them. I talked a ton on my post below, but there’s way more, & I didn’t wanna fill the pg. I’ll offer one last since I’m on the subject. Just last wk my best friend & roommate from Dayton (not the one I spoke of above) who was figuratively my brother ,to the point I was given status as a members his family od’d & I couldn’t even make it to his funeral. It’s a 3 1/2hr drive & my car, as of 2 days b4 I found out, was revealed to me by the mechanic that repairs would cost more then it’s worth. It’s in the junkyard now. Akron is leading the nation in overdoses & my friends are dropping left & right. I’m glad you realized as I did, that it’s not their fault & the last thing they need is distance. Definitely a hard lesson to learn for both of us, but a lesson learned nonetheless. Best wishes to u & I’m sorry for what you’ve been thru. I’ll offer myself as someone u can talk to if u ever need it, as I’ve been there more times then what should be considered fair. At least u learned the biggest lesson as I did. It’s a cry for help no matter how hard it is to watch. Even if they tell u to leave them alone, as I’ve experienced, they don’t mean it. It’s the drugs talking & one day they’ll thank u for refusing to abandon them.

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Firstly: Sorry for your loss.

Secondly: To answer the question: A broken and dying marriage where both my wife and I are too afraid to be the one to end it but are - at this point - utterly toxic for one another.

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So much love for this thread!!!

Watching the content here I’m getting the impression that DC wants to build a sort of community where we can be safe and openly express ourselves.

Through your vulnerability every single one of you who commented here have demonstrated how powerful you are!

Not all heroes wear capes!!!

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Oh…

And I ran back to comics because I’m just plain tired of all the negativity in the world. I need something happy and silly.

Comics bring me joy!

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I’m sorry for your loss.

I’v always been running from my home. All my grandparents know that I hate living with my mom and when I turn 18 in 4 years, I’ll be gone. I don’t have a great relationship with my mom. Before I found my way into comics I would always go in my room after my mom would decided to yell at me for her mistakes and I would go in my room and swear in my head a lot and I would try to bottle up my anger into a jar in my head (so to speak.) But luckly one of my favorite shows was returning, Young Justice, and giving DC Universe a chance I decided to pre-order the streaming service and I found a little thing called The All New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and at the time I didn’t realize that it would have a big effect on me than I thought. And that’s my Escape place. I thank The All New Teen Titans run by Marv Wolfman and George Perez for amazing storylines and amazing characters.

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@djd187.8143, Thanks man for your kind words. Your story about your friends is eerily similar. I am originally from the outer banks of N.C. but spent half of my childhood living with my mother in Saginaw MI. It is a very tough city and practically all my friends from there have died from either drugs or gang violence. I would have probably end up the same way if I had not moved back to N.C.
Ill see you around the Community buddy.

@ComiCasters, hey please dont take this the wrong way I dont know what all you have been through with your Mother but what made the loss of my father so horrible for me besides his death was that we didnt have time to make peace. Our parents are just people like use, they are trying to figure things out and they dont have all the answers. Life might not have worked out for them and now they have a kid who is looking up to them and depending on them. It has to been scary. They might have done things and acted in ways a parent shouldn’t have but I know if you don’t forgive them and or make peace it will bother you deeply if something happened to them.

I hope I dont sound like mister doom and gloom. I am really a fairly positive person and love life. I love the ocean and the beach I go diving as much as I can. I even worked as a commercial diver. Life can seem dark at times but you have to fight through it and you cant do it alone. I have the Superman shield Tattoo on my forearm, and I used to say that there was no one in a red cape that was going to swoop down and save you from your problem so you had to be your own Superman but I was wrong we all need help from time to time.

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I’ve been diving head first into the comics and old animated series because my back and forth depression. Mine is brought on by abandonment. I’ve had many people in my life walk out and it’s gotten to the point it’s just a normal situation for me. I expect. Last year my friends and I would get together every weekend to make sure we all knew we were there for each other by playing games and having a good time. The last couple of months it has dwindled down to every other week and it’s about to get to once a month. I’m not great at meeting new people to form friendships and I’m self employed so I don’t have any coworkers i associate with. I spend all my time at work just reading comics or watching shows and this streaming service has really helped me out in life more than I could ever dream. $75/year is a lot cheaper than therapy once a month so I am very happy to have a place I can just relax

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I think comic books, especially superhero based ones, remind us that everyone has strengths and weeknesses and that everyone makes mistakes and sometimes you have to go against the grain to do what feels right.

Superman and Wonder Woman are some of the most powerful characters, but even they have weaknesses. Batman is a human with lots of emotional baggage, but knows how to take Superman and Wonder Woman down, if necessary. Depending on the timeline/universe many of them are considered criminals (vigilantism, breaking and entering, property damage, interfering with police investigations, child endangerment, etc.), they literally become criminals to put away worst offenders. And unlike the actual world we live in, they try to believe in redemption for past criminals. It reminds us that everyone has made bad decisions at some point, but there is always a chance to be better. In the end, it’s about resilience from our everyday struggles and continuing to be who you want to be.

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AquamonC137

Sorry. I was lost in the comics on here for about 8 days straight. I’m glad u made it out. I got back to Akron area from Dayton. Crazy how the roughest section of Dayton wasn’t as bad as the suburbs I’m in now. I saw everything there but not as many friends hooked. Here, almost everyone I know is. I heard it did the same where I lived in Dayton tho. Old roommate told me everyone I knew, like 30 people, all hooked on something. Might just be the times & not locations now. Spreading everywhere fast. Thank u tho & likewise, I’ll see u on the forums. Just can’t stop reading these comics right now. So many good ones. Best of luck to u & your friends, & thanks for empathizing with me.

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