Stand back – it’s SUPERHERO MONTH!

We’ve had the Avengers, we’ve had Amazing Spider-Man, we’ve had Dark Knight Rises, there are more movies on the way, there’s Green Arrow coming on the teevee, there are new Marvel and DC RPGs, Comixology is bringing out more digital comics than ever before, superhero novels are appearing in droves, Marvel is overhauling their whole line and it’s nearly a year since the DC reboot, about which I will say little other than to note the date.

I’m telling ya, superheroes are a Big Fucking Deal right now. Which is wonderful from my POV, because I have loved superheroes since the first time I saw a black-and-white reprint collection of 1970s DC comics in a central QLD newsagent at age 5 or 6. I love their action, their energy, their cavalier disregard of limitations and physics and common sense in the cause of helping and protecting others, no matter the cost.

I drink Earl Grey tea because it’s Batman’s favourite. I know that with great power comes great responsibility. I have always been ready to take up the heroic burden, even if that just means donating platelets and the occasional kidney. And I feel like, right now, this is something worth celebrating, and examining, and excitedly sharing with my readers – especially as I continue work on Raven’s Blood, my superheroic YA fantasy novella.

So August is officially Superhero Month here at PODcom! 

…okay, so what the hell does that mean?

Well, it means that I’m going to be writing a month’s worth of posts on the subject of superheroes – and that I’m bursting free of my two-posts-a-week power dampeners to post daily (or at least nearly daily) on the subject! Sure, most of those will be very short posts, maybe just a paragraph and some links, but by Great Rao I will be talking about superheroes as often as possible until winter shuffles away to be replaced by Kal-El Tammuz spring a’ coming in.

This month I’ll be talking about all the things I love about superheroes – and a few things I don’t like, sure, but in keeping with my Pollyannaish nature I’ll focus on the positive. I’m going to look at comics, movies, websites, podcasts, novels and anything else I can think of, pointing you towards the good stuff and explaining why the bad stuff is stinky. I’ll also be rolling out four of my patented Big Sunday Posts to discuss things in depth from a writer’s perspective, talking about how to write (or not to write) superhero comics – something, I hasten to point out, that I have absolutely no experience in doing, but yet feel qualified to armchair editor about. Yay me!

It’s gonna be a fun month. Strap yourself into your power armour, slide on your mask, gather up your cape in one hand and step off the ledge with me.

Have no fear. We can fly.