By referencing the backstories and motivations of thirty comic book superheroes, Michael Critzer offers life lessons ranging from overcoming the pain of abuse to conquering self-doubt, from finding the strength to forgive to searching one’s soul for one’s true identity.
Do not mistake such comparisons between fantasy and reality as trivial. I was surprised by how many of them struck a chord in my own life and forced me to pause and consider not only how I managed to survive the darkness of my past tribulations and ordeals, but the scars those experiences inflicted on my conscience and personality.
Yet while the weight of our emotional baggage might always remain with us, we find ourselves becoming stronger when we learn to control and use our pain as a source of wisdom and compassion rather than as an excuse for bitterness, rage, and selfishness. We can rise above.
Such are the lessons taught by the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Daredevil, Spider Man, Vixen, X-Men, Green Arrow, and so many more. Heroic Inspirations is not only an edifying and joyful read, but obvious proof of Michael Critzer’s expertise on the mythology of superheroes and his ability to translate them into practical moral instruction.
Published by Comico in 1987, Night and the Enemy is a graphic anthology consisting of five military SF tales written by Harlan Ellison and illustrated by Ken Steacy. Each story takes place during the two hundred-year-long interstellar war between Earth and golden-skinned aliens known as the Kyben.
“Run for the Stars” – Petty criminal and drug addict Benno Tallant is abducted by Earth resistance forces and implanted with a bomb to destroy the Kyben, but Tallant finds a way to gain the upper hand against both the Kyben forces and ultimately, Earth.
“Life Hutch” – After crash landing on a small planet during a space battle, a pilot named Terrance locates a life hutch—one of many small survival facilities constructed on planets across the galaxy in the event of an emergency. However, the robot programmed to maintain the life hutch malfunctions and attacks Terrance, leaving him severely wounded. Terrance soon realizes that he must remain immobile lest he trigger the robot again… but for how long?
“The Untouchable Adolescents” – Captain Luther Shreve offers assistance to the juvenile inhabitants of the planet Diamore, which will soon suffer a devastating natural catastrophe unless machines can be deployed to direct the shockwave to the planet’s oceans. However, the telepathic inhabitants do not trust the humans after their world was already plundered by the Kyben months before. They warn the humans to leave, yet Shreve insists on helping them—resulting in the deaths of six crew members. Finally, Shreve relents, but what price will the Diamore pay for their decision?
“Trojan Hearse” – The Kyba construct a metal ring called the Orifice through which vessels can travel at the speed of light to another ring elsewhere across the galaxy. In this case, to a ring hidden on Earth. Shortly after a human spy escapes Kyba with schematics to the Orifice, the Kyben decide to invade, confident that Earth could not have developed a defense in such a short time…
“Sleeping Dogs” – On Epsilon Indy IV, ambassador LynnFerraro attempts to stop warmongering Commander Drabix from destroying a series of what he believes are Kyben strongholds scattered across the planet. However, it is soon discovered that their weapons are incapable of penetrating these featureless black cubes. Finally, Drabix orders his ship in orbit to open fire on one of them— which he soon regrets.
All told, Night and the Enemy is a quick and engrossing read by one of the masters of the short story and beautifully illustrated by Steacy.
Despite a grueling drive from the Lehigh Valley, I arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ only 30 minutes later than I’d planned on Friday evening. While in line to check in, I was greeted by the ever-cheerful Sharon VanBlarcom, Farpoint chairwoman. Minutes later, we were joined by the Wilson crew— Steve, Renee, Ethan, and Jessica Headlee.
After a late dinner at Houlihan’s (thank you again, Sharon, for driving!) Steve presented me with a contributor copy of our double horror novel—a thing of beauty if I say so myself. Immense gratitude to Ethan Wilson on his incredible design and formatting. We called it a night after that and regrouped for breakfast the following at the Westmont Diner. With a few hours to spare, we visited a few local shops, including HO Sattler’s Trains and Hobbies, Fat Jack’s Comicrypt, and House of Fun—a vintage toy shop in Oaklyn, NJ.
Finally in my hands!
By the time I returned to the hotel for my noon panel, I was struggling with mild nausea and a severe headache. I skipped the panel, took a moment to breathe, and strolled the dealer room where I managed to score a near mint condition autographed copy of Harlan Ellison’s 1987 graphic anthology, Night and the Enemy for $35. I also added several more vintage paperbacks to my collection from Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and A.E. Van Vogt. I stopped by the Shore Leave table to catch up with good friend and astronomer, Dr. Inge Heyer, who also happens to be Shore Leave’s co-chair and writer liaison.
Although my nausea abated, I relented to the headache and took a nap in my room before celebrating the release of my latest novella, Like Mother, Like Daughters, part of a double horror offering along with Steven H. Wilson’s vampire tale, Freedom’s Blood. Our book launch was held in the convention suite with pizzas (thank you for making the run, Renee!), kiffles (fruit-filled pastries), and Hershey’s Kisses that I had brought with me. Con Suite coordinator Gene Olmstead served some of his home made birch beer. We sold a few books, gave copies to two of our Kickstarter donors, Sharon VanBlarcom and Ann Stolinsky, and enjoyed a fun but hectic hour. I stole away to chat with veteran author and graphic designer Aaron Rosenberg, who had kindly snagged for me a vintage ACE edition of A.E. Van Vogt’s The Weapon Makers from the free book table. Thanks again, Aaron!
After cleaning up and heading out to dinner, Steve and I took time to sign all of the paperbacks necessary to fulfill Kickstarter rewards and “thank you” copies for our advance readers. A few hours later, I finally attended my first panel of the convention— a retrospective on the life and career of legendary writer, Harlan Ellison. I was honored to have been chosen as moderator and to be joined by writers Jay Smith, Darrell Schweitzer, and Mark Wolverton. Much of the panel was devoted to anecdotes of Harlan’s infamously intractable personality, but also to his blunt honesty and integrity in standing up for himself and his fellow writers. Some of us shared our personal interactions with Harlan and pondered whether many of his outrageous acts of revenge against publishers and television producers were truth or folklore. All in all, the panel capped off my Saturday night on a high note.
On Sunday, I packed up the car and moderated my final panel of the con, What Your Body Language Says About You, with co-panelist Mary Spila. There was a great deal of audience participation as we discussed the signals we send with our posture and body language— especially on the topics of personal safety and flirtatious behavior— but also during job interviews and social interactions. We also touched on the topics of misreading body language, and the various interpretations of body language across diverse cultures.
After the panel, I sat with Sharon VanBlarcom at the Farpoint table for an hour or so to unwind before bringing to an end another marvelous Philcon.
On Riverworld, no one ever dies… well, at least not permanently.
Those who do are resurrected a few hours later elsewhere on the planet. Former
western movie star, Tom Mix, found himself on Riverworld after his Earthly demise,
along with billions of others from various eras in human history. Mix, along
with his companions Yeshua and Bithniah, are on the run from a marauding conqueror
Kramer when they join forces with John Wickel-Stafford, the lord mayor of New
Albion and enemy of Kramer. Together, Mix and Stafford lead their forces in an
attempt to stop Kramer’s next invasion…
“Riverworld” is, of course, one of the better stories in this
collection of eleven. My other favorites include:
“J.C. on the Dude Ranch” – At the XR Dude Ranch in Big Wash,
Arizona, two imposing cowboys—the heroic J.C. Marison and the sinister Mr.
Bales Bub—square off against one another, but it is truly a battle of Biblical
proportions or something more cosmic?
“The Volcano” – Detective Curtius Parry investigates an
impossible volcano recently formed in the backyard of Henry and Bonnie Havik. The
eruption occurred shortly after hired hand and Mexican immigrant Juan Tizoc
vanished. Could there be a burning connection between the two?
“The Problem of the Sore Bridge” – In Victorian England, journalist
Harry Manders and gentleman burglar A.J. Raffles team up to investigate the disappearance
of enigmatic rare gem dealer James Phillimore. At every turn, Manders and
Raffles are merely seconds ahead of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, who are
also on the case. Manders and Raffles soon learn that Phillimore is not at all
what he appeared to be, nor are teardrop sapphires in his collection…
“Brass and Gold” – A hilarious romp focusing on a love
affair between a Jewish wife and her eccentric Gentile artist neighbor that
begins after her husband locks her in the bedroom with three meals per day in
order to curb her gluttony and force her to lose weight…
Other stories include “The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod,” “Monolog,”
“The Leaser of Two Evils,” “The Phantom of the Sewers,” “The Henry Miller Dawn
Patrol,” and “The Voice of the Sonar in My Vermiform Appendix.”
And now the conclusion of “Star Trek: Voyager – Q Meets Girl.” After beaming down to the planet, Chakotay, Tuvok, and Seven of Nine encounter… nothing. The truth is soon revealed and of course, Q is at the heart of the mystery, ready to accuse Kes of employing her powers to help the Voyager crew despite his warning.
Almost all of my fan fic is now up on my website. There are a few that I’m saving until next year including MacGyver, The Pretender, Nowhere Man, and The Avengers with Emma Peel and John Steed.
