If the clothes make the man, does the costume make the hero?

My wife and were having a very interesting conversation last night about a new story I was working on and it drifted off into the concept of heroes and their secret identities. I also had just watched Batman Begins on DVD so the thought was fresh in my mind… which lead me to a realization: the main difference between a Marvel Superhero and a DC Superhero is not their powers, but the importance of their secret identity.

In Kill Bill, David Carridine’s character had a speech about Superman; he said that Clark Kent was the costume that Superman put on to fit in. In Batman Begins Katie Holmes’ character told Batman that Bruce Wayne was his mask and his real face was the one that criminals now feared. If you go down the line, you’ll find that most of the DC falls into the same category. Aquaman is the king of Atlantis and has no secret identity. Wonder Woman only had a secret identity to fit in and since got rid of it. The Green Lanterns give up their lives for the most part to be protectors of their sectors. Hawkman is a reincarnation of… Hawkman. Martian Man-Hunter does the same thing as Superman.

You go over to the Marvel Universe and you find characters like Mr. Fantastic, who most people call Reed Richards and need him more for his brain than his powers. Peter Parker has to struggle with guilt and daily life and occasionally putting on his Spider-Man costume. Matt Murdock is a top-flight lawyer who moonlights as a superhero. Iron Man is all about Tony Stark, his inventions, his drinking problems, his love life and his tin britches when he needs them. And the Hulk is all about Banner not wanting to be the Hulk.

Now, the difference here is when the characters were created and by whom. The golden aged characters created in the 30s and 40s were all about the heroic side. Marvel’s heroes from that era are the same way. Captain America and The Submariner fit more into the DC Universe’s style because they were created around the same time as most of the main DC characters. What Stan Lee did when he created his characters was he put a lot of effort into who wears the costume and why. His stories were more about the angst of being different than about being heroic. He wrote tales of drama with a sprinkling of action. At times the fight scenes seemed to only be there because of a requirement to make it a superhero comic.

Now, DC comics is going through their Infinite Crisis and one of the things Dan Di Dido said in an interview was that secret identities have been lost in the DC Universe and this was going to bring them back. I wonder if he had the same realization that I did? I also wonder if this is a good idea? When reading a Superman story, I tend to rush through the Clark Kent stuff to get back to Superman. Same with Batman and the other DC characters. Will a new emphasis on their non-costumed sides improve the comics or will it just take away from what makes a DC book what it is? DC has never been about the drama, but about the heroes and their deeds… and I hope they stay that way.

False start… six-month penalty.

So in February of this year I made the jump to being a full-time writer. I was a computer programmer for thirteen years and hated every minute of it. So for eight months I got up every morning, fired up the computer to check emails and then began writing. For a change of pace I would take my laptop up to the coffee shop and work there for a few hours. My life was basically a nirvana.

In those eight months I wrote the first five chapters of a novel, an entire children’s book, a twelve-thousand-word short story, six comic scripts and a dozen pitches. I attended a few conventions, talked to a bunch of editors and locked in a couple projects. I also signed with an agent who is now shopping my properties around Hollywood. I also had a photography book come out in Europe and about to come out here in the states. Overall I made a huge amount of progress in a very short time.

The problem is that none of those things have put money in my accounts now. They’re all things that will either pay me some coming up or get me more exposure. So when things like 30 Days of Night: Dead Space comes out in January, then I will have a high profile project to show around to editors. I also have another high profile project that I’m just waiting for the final green light on. So 2006 could be a very big year for me. But again, that doesn’t do anything right now.

So tomorrow morning I start on a six-month contract doing computer programming. My nirvana is over… at least for a while. The problem now is not only keeping my spirits up but to manage my time so I continue writing and pushing my way into the industry. It’s going to be a very difficult six months, but if I don’t keep moving forward then at the end of six months I may not be in a position to go back to full-time writing. So I have to keep at it just as hard.

Let the official countdown begin now, 180 days of programming hell. Keep you fingers crossed for me that it won’t be more than that.

Damn that guy is creepy.

Have any of you seen the Burger King commercials that have this smiling, plastic headed king appearing out of nowhere with a breakfast sandwich? In one, a guy opens his window to find the King just peeking in… the man of course does nothing. The King then pulls a ‘Meatnormous’ sandwich from his ass (behind his back) and the guy eats it. I don’t know about you, but if some guy is standing at my window in a Halloween costume and tries handing me food… I’m going to pass.

I see zero appeal in those commercials. I know what Burger King is trying to do… they are trying to come up with a signature character to compete with Ronald McDonald and Jack. Just about all of the fast food chains have at some point tried. Carl’s Happy Star, Wendy’s little girl, Little Caesar’s Pizza Pizza Guy… But no one has had the success of McDonalds and Jack in the Box. And even McDonald’s seems to use Ronald less and less.

Jack in the Box has hit on an ad campaign that brings humor and class to their restaurant. If they sold a DVD of all the Jack commercials, I’d buy it. I even remember speaking to a friend of mine, a realtor, while we had lunch… she said “Jack has done a good job of turning the chain around”… like Jack was an actual person. But in truth is he that different than Donald Trump? He runs the company, demands respect and you try not to stare at his head. The only difference is one is a made up TV character… and as soon as I figure out which one it is, I’ll let you know.