Archives August 2010

Originally posted: http://mysterio.startlogic.com/WordPress/?p=556
By Brad
As a lifelong reader of comics, I feel like an aging punk rocker, horrified at how my private subculture has been appropriated by the mainstream media. Like an indy music hipster, —dude, I heard it first on vinyl, I don’t even own a cd player— aging comic book readers like myself disdain comic book movies. I read that when I was in high school. The movie totally ruined it.
Comics have become an accepted part, if not the most accepted part, of the American entertainment landscape. Mainstream comics, particularly as depicted in movies, are always dark and gritty. But it’s important to remember that transition didn’t happen until the mid-1980s with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight and Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Superheroes before that period, who were sometimes wanted by the law à la Spiderman, were never seen breaking the law, but were depicted as trying to uphold it as private citizens. The genius of Watchmen and the Dark Knight is that they follow the thinking process of the classic superhero with two different conclusions. I liked the Watchmen movie, but it glossed over the main point of the comic: the corrosive effects of vigilantism on a society.
I’ve discovered people who are wearing garish costumes and trying to fight crime, but without the benefit of superscience, superstrength or really anything. This is so absurd and charming that one can’t help but support these costumed crusaders. Superbarrio is my favorite of the Real Life Superheroes. It’s hard not to like this over-weight gentleman who puts on a Lucha Libre wrestling mask and has sworn to protect the poor people of Mexico.
These Real Life Superheroes hearken back to another age of comics when morality was presented in simpler terms. We can chuckle at these people and wonder if they’re doing this in earnest or as a form of cosplay. However, the sentiment of the superhero, to go beyond the rule of law and rid the streets of crime, has had expression in the Real World, that isn’t so wonderful.
Bob Kane’s Batman chose his costume and persona in an effort to frighten criminals, who he called a “superstitious and cowardly lot.” The Ku Klux Klan wore their hoods and white sheets to appear as ghosts, to frighten and terrorize Blacks. Placing burning crosses on the property of Blacks was originally an affront to the deeply Christian beliefs of rural Blacks, whose religion and spirituality was their only real possession. It was only later that cross burning was rationalized as a some kind of internal Christian ritual.
The Klan’s illegal actions were applauded and celebrated in D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation. It’s hard to imagine a film about the KKK being presented as the “good guys”, but the film was a blockbuster success. It was the Batman of its day.  After his private screening at the White House, Woodrow Wilson even commented, “it is like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true”.
At roughly the same time as the Ku Klux Klan, there was another costumed group, although this time not dedicated to racism, that decided to take the law into their own hands. On paper, the early Bald Knobbers sound like a decent bunch, similar in concept to Curtis Sliwa’s neighborhood watch group,The Guardian Angels. The Bald Knobbers were a secret society of men, who wore an odd, masked and horned costume, and were trying to uphold the peace. The Bald Knobbers were Missouri Republicans, who were loyal to the Union during the Civil War. In the lawless environment of post-war Missouri, they acted like an unaccountable police force. Unfortunately this group that was formed to protect the people of Missouri, drunk with power, applied brutality and murder not only to criminals, but those they felt who were immoral. They later attacked and murdered people for what they believed to be licentious and anti-Christian behavior.
During Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, more Americans got in on the illegal vigilante act, but this time with governmental approval. The American Protective League, which had around 300,000 members, was not a bunch of costumed crusaders, but a large snitch group, dedicated to disrupting Unions, Wobblies, anarchists, anti-war advocates, and other undesirables. These characters opened private mail, broke into people’s houses, riffling through desks and drawers and found 3 million cases of “disloyalty.” There was even a kid-friendly junior version with the Our Gang title, Anti Yellow Dog League.
I thought of these things after watching the recent Batman movie. It does have an explicit desire to go beyond the perceived limits of law. Bruce Wayne uses technology to spy on every single person in Gotham city. He knows it’s illegal and unethical — it’s clearly an unreasonable search and seizure — but does it anyway. The ends justify the means.  Many people saw a connection between the Patriot Act and other erosion of civil liberties with the viewpoint of Batman. When the Soviets had a massive domestic spying network, complimented by legions of snitches, they probably thought they were doing the right thing too.
The graffiti in The Watchmen comic reads, “Who Watches the Watchmen?” Something to think about in these times.

Originally posted: http://nerdbastards.com/2010/08/13/those-arent-luchadores-real-life-superheroes/
by Jeff Sparkman
Lots of nerds have dreamed of being a superhero, myself included. Alas, I didn’t have the fortune to have been sent to Earth from a doomed planet as an infant, and I have yet to be offered a position as an intergalactic cop. Plus, with me being colorblind, that could cause some confusion between the Green Lanterns and Red Lanterns.
That pretty much leaves the option of being a DIY superhero. And this is the point at which the average enthusiast says, “Aw, screw it.” Seriously: if you have a hard time even making it to the free pilates classes at work even though it’s in the conference room just down the hall, how are you going to make time to train and become a paragon of strength and athleticism?
Batman had the advantage of having money out the ass, so he could afford to go train with the finest in the world. Us? Community college, the YMCA, or private lessons with Sensai Wynoski.
Also–and not to pick on Batman, but he’s the perfect example of a nonpowered hero–Batman could afford a high-tech outfit to wear while fighting crime.

You know how much of a bitch it is to sew a Spandex costume? That shit stretches even if you just look at it, so when you’re cutting it, the pieces can end up distorted. Plus, you need a surger to get seams that will stretch with the Spandex. Sure, you can half-ass it with a zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine, but you take some risks.
The last thing you want is to drop down from a fire escape to intimidate a mugger and have your pants rip when you land and your junk pops out. That’s not the image you want to give.
Or maybe it is; I’m not here to judge.
Fucking perverts.
Anyhow, it is equally heartwarming and disturbing that there are people trying to live the superhero dream in real life. If you go to the World Superhero Registry (suck on that, Civil War), you can see dozens of our protectors of humanity.
And no, it’s not a total sausage fest, either; there are superheroines, too. The thing you probably never thought about before is abundantly clear when you look at the list of heroes: the comic publishers have taken most of the good names. Not to diss the real-life guardians of justice, mind you. They’re doing the best they can with what’s left over.
So really, even before they hit the streets to fight crime, they’ve got the odds against them.
1) No powers
2) Superhero costumes don’t transfer well into real life
3) People think you are a few fries short of a Happy Meal
4) You are stuck with a name like Dildor the Penetrator
5) Okay, that’s actually not that bad of a name, but you know what I mean.
6) I already have dibs on using Sparkman as a hero name, so don’t even try it.
There’s video about the real-life heroes:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7pB2gLZtlY

I think it’s pretty awesome that these superheroes are helping out in their communities, like assisting the homeless and stuff, but if you want to be an effective superhero, I would steer clear of local news broadcasts, because you know they’re always going to stick you in the same slot they reserve for the guys dressed as Klingons at Star Trek conventions or old men with soda can collections. It reduces your street cred. For crap sakes, don’t give your real name!
This is just me, but can you heroes switch from having MySpace pages? That just looks bad.
But sincerely, keep up the good work. People may talk shit, but at least you’re doing something to try to help. Stay safe.
(via Kotaku)

By Captain Black
As a community policing advocate I occupy the No Mans Land ‘tween liberals yearning to pull every Black community combatant to their heaving bosoms while also standing athwart conservatives who reflexively assume EVERY traffic stop or officer-involved use of force involving Black subjects is justified.
I’m not a law enforcement groupie nor a cop hater. Being Black, male and a concerned citizen means falling outside time worn, narrow roles in pubic safety.
Prevention works in my view so long as you aren’t saying those who are Black and shoot/addict and otherwise negatively impact victims mostly resembling them get a pass because of assumed lower African-American social status. Building a viable Black infrastructure has to include deprogramming thug culture-abused youth alongside Black enablers of selective enforcement who act as if Rodney King’s tormenters deserve the NAACP’s Spingarn medal.
Our long discussed infrastructure has to offer a counter culture that makes popular anti-social trends like ” Stop Snitching ” and encouraging fratricide as unpopular as joining the Ku lux Klan. Our music; plays and neighborhood culture have to punish the destructive behavior that stacks causalities up like fire wood.
This reenergized internal hierarchy would also tackle what could be called the Stockholm Syndrome among Black conservatives strangely silent about big government excesses involving Black people and law enforcement. Conservative ire toward law enforcement excess shouldn’t be confined to Waco; Ruby Ridge and the New Black Panther case last presidential election.
It’s almost like a gag order exists where political excommunication is the penalty for falling on the “wrong” side of police brutality allegations for Black coservatives.
A looming Cotton Curtain exists between police and Black America, brothers particularly. These disparate elements usually converse under the worst set of circumstances: traffic stops; field interviews and arrest. Neither side wants to make the first move to initiate non-adversarial communication.
My proposed Brothers & Badges dialogue with Black men and police was greeted by my hometown’s former city manager as heresy. You’d think I was trying to host convicted child molesters at a local elementary school. Talking to Black male tax payers minus authoritarian overtones seems to terrify politicians and police executives. How’s that for a “post-racial” country? lol.
Here’s a hoot from Capt. Black’s Real Life Adventures. The scene was a police precinct. The occasion concerned a fugitive. An announcement of the suspect’s location was greeted by a skeptically asked ” Do you have a beef with him? ” from the White male officer taking the report. Just what a brother needs to stoke the flames of civic duty. What’s sadder still is buddy didn’t even realize how he’d butchered a real community policing moment with someone from the ‘hood actually trying to make his job easier.
I put that episode right up there with a Crime Stoppers program director I know who cheats Black tipsters out of rewards. Arrogance like this enforce every stereotype we have about law enforcement.
Conversely I work with brothers to replace scowls with waves as patrol cars cruise by. A simple enough act that alone won’t usher Detente but lessens mutual suspicion. Relationship building reduces confrontations-at least in theory.
My friends and I promote internal management of situations to reduce law enforcement intervention. Where a serious crime has occurred, our promotion turns toward encouraging those reluctant and/or hostile to nonetheless call 911 on behalf of an inner city that can’t afford to let serious crime go unaddressed.
Self-policing Black America means telling community liberals and conservatives that business as usual should end. Somewhere between enabling what blogger ally Constructive Feedback calls ” street pirates ” and enabling racial profiling stand an alternative where we hold serious Black criminals and law enforcement accountable.
Otherwise the crime spree on both sides of the law continues.
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK promotes crime prevention and self-development http://www.capblack.info

Originally posted: http://kotaku.com/5611331/nerdy-real-life-superheroes-to-keep-city-safe-from-bullies-jocks

They walk among us—average citizens who don capes and masks at night to battle evil-doers. They call themselves Real Life Superheroes, and they are, of course, deeply nerdy.
A visit to the World Superhero Registry – the apparent home of this movement on the web – reveals images of adult men and women in full-on superhero garb with invented monikers like “Death’s Head Moth”, “Master Legend” and “Dark Guardian”. Their mission? To rid the city of crime and help those in need. Honorable goals, but they seem to be most successful at taking themselves waayyy too seriously and confusing the hell out of the criminals they encounter.
Dark Guardian, for example – whose only superpower seems to be his heavy Staten Island accent – records an encounter where he attempts to chase a hulking drug dealer out of Washington Square Park. When it is revealed that Dark Guardian isn’t actually a cop nor does he possess any sort of legal authority to tell the guy to move, things get kinddaaaa awkward. It’s like he’s just come to the stunned realization that he can’t shoot laser beams out of his eyes, and the drug dealer, towering over Dark Guardian, feels too bad for him to even bother roughing him up.
Then there’s Shadow Hare, a 21-year-old whose intimidating Venom-style getup is belied by some B-roll footage of our hero flouncing down a fire escape. Such is the problem for real life superheroes: life is just a little too real sometimes to pull off wearing tights.
“Citizen Prime” spent $4,000 on his custom body armor suit – and spends most of the time wearing it doing common household chores like watering the lawn and vacuuming. He lives in a pretty quiet neighborhood, which reveals itself to be another obstacle for our real life superheroes.
But life isn’t always so cushy for our real life superheroes. “Master Legend” demonstrates his Iron Fist, for use when drastic measures need to be taken (against defenseless load-bearing walls):
Local news anchors, of course, love these sort of stories because they get to do the reports in that bemused, sing-songy tone that lets us know that this is a story about “colorful local oddballs” who shouldn’t be “taken too seriously”:
It’s sad and hilarious and kind of touching. I suppose they’re heroes, in a way. They’re not exactly rescuing people from burning buildings… but they are wearing capes. And that’s gotta count for something, right?

Originally Posted: http://evansgallery.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/real-life-superheroes-and-real-life-artist-team-up/
By jaredevans85

If you know me at all, you know that I like superheroes. Like most children (and most adults if we just admit it), I have always wanted to be a superhero. Sure, part of that is the powers, as well as the snazzy get-ups, but I’ve always been in love with the idealism. Superheroes come from a world where good stands against evil, you know what’s right and what’s wrong, and you can stand up and do something about it. That may very well be the biggest fantasy of all.
I’ve been aware of the Real Life Super Hero (RLSH) movement for several years now. Citizen Prime (a resident of Utah I might add) was one of the first public faces of the movement, and over the years more and more people are making costumes and heading out to save the world. However, while many comic book heroes spend their time giving well-delivered right hooks to villains and ne’er-do-wells, these heroes are often more concerned with social projects, including helping the homeless, crime prevention, and charitable work. They all have different reasons and motivations for putting on a costume, but to me, however effective it may be in the end, it shows that people want to get out into the world and do something. The crazy costumes and code names represent the fact that we can be more than what we are, and we can always take another step up. While I won’t speak for all of them, it’s clear that the ideals of helping others and justice for all aren’t lost on some of these heroes, and they want to make a difference.
Photographer Peter Tangen, known best for his Spider-Man and Batman movie posters, has begun to document members of the RLSH community, creating vivid and stylized posters and portraits. The site, www.reallifesuperheroes.com,has only been around for a few months, but already profiles a number of heroes, including DC’s Guardian, New York’s Life, and Rochester, MN’s Geist. It’s a brilliant project (I actually considered trying to write a book about it a few years ago), and Tangen’s work is very professional and engaging. Whether you agree with their ideals or their fashion sense, give the site a look. It’s certainly a fascinating subculture, and one that I expect we’ll only hear more from in the future. We certainly don’t need anyone on the streets delivering vigilante justice, but we could always use a few more helping hands.

Originally posted: http://joyhog.com/2010/08/10/superheroes-come-to-life/
by Jeremy

We may all have our preconceived notions of what constitutes a superhero, especially with the onslaught of comic books currently making the leap into Hollywood. But in today’s society that definition has been redefined.
Meet “The Real Superhero Project,” a loose network of everyday citizens taking on the injustices that continue to run rampant. We’re not talking about masked vigilantes taking on costumed criminals with ironic monikers. These volunteers are less “Caped Crusaders” and more “Extreme Activists,” combating such basic struggles as homelessness to drug addiction.
Originally conceived by photographer Peter Tengen, his photo exhibit has evolved into a movement that has inspired a lot of people to simply take action in their communities. It is the decisive nature of these family members, friends, neighbors, musicians, athletes, and even politicians, who prove that a real hero isn’t made up by the costume, but the very real people who wear them.
Check out the official website here.

Originally posted: http://www.theprovince.com/life/Costumed+superhero+offers+helping+hand+Downtown+Eastside/3353929/story.html?id=3353929#ixzz0wLjX3OB1
By Laura

Baziuk, The Province
He wears a green-faced mask, a black hat and black eye makeup.
A black tie with skulls and crossbones, and patches on his black shirt sleeves.
A heavy artillery sits around his waist, with a flashlight, multi-tool and evidence-gathering kit.
He is Thanatos, a real-life superhero who helps out the less fortunate of the Downtown Eastside.
“I represent death,” the 62-year-old says, sitting in a shaded area of the Mountain View Cemetery. “I give life to the dying.”
The man who calls himself Thanatos, who was born in California and trained for seven years in the army, has spent the last 14 years helping the homeless around downtown Vancouver, giving them food and water, and talking with them.
About three and a half years ago, he was speaking with a police officer overseeing a meth addict was being taken to hospital.
Thanatos said the officer quipped, “These people have nothing to look forward to but death.”
“That stung. That hurt me,” Thanatos recalls. “I said, ‘Then death better start looking out for them.’”
So he created a costume and character, Thanatos, representing the Greek god of death, and has been handing out packets with a plastic sheet, a blanket, clean socks, bread and water to the homeless ever since.
He pays for the kits himself, costing about $40-$50 for 10 kits, and gives them out about once a month.
“It just seems to be the thing to do,” he says.
The homeless aren’t afraid of him, he says. “They’re great. They accept me.”
He modelled his alter ego after comic book heroes like the Green Hornet, and is part of a 150-strong group of fellow costumed do-gooders around North America, called the Real-Life Superhero Project.
Just like him, they dress up in goofy outfits and spread positive messages around their neighbourhood.
“I’ve done what I did all my life,” Thanatos says about his work with the city’s homeless. “Nobody ever cared about what was going on around me.”
But now that he walks the streets dressed as a made-up comic-book hero, the public, and the media, have taken notice of the people he helps.
“What I’m doing is much more important than who I am,” says Thanatos. “It doesn’t take a lot to make a difference in the world.”
And he says the police largely leave him alone.
But the main reason Thanatos sports his eye-catching getup is to inspire others to do the same good deeds in the community.
“It’s about self-empowerment,” he says.
Other superheros in Canada have followed suit after hearing about his efforts, he says, such as Polar Man in Nunavut, the Maple Defender in Toronto, and Anonyman of Saskatoon.
“It’s like a ripple effect,” he says, likely with a smile underneath his mask.
[email protected]
twitter.com/laurabaziuk

Originally posted: http://modestneeds.typepad.com/modestneeds/2010/08/real-life-superheroeswith-capes.html

In North America exists a team of superheroes. They don’t have their own comic book or 3D movie or long running TV series, but what they do have is the drive help those around them. They are on a mission of “activism and altruism.” In crazy costumes.
They are the The Real Life Superheroes, and they roam the streets of New York bestowing good deeds on those who need them.
There is Nyx, who focuses her efforts on aiding the homeless in New Jersey.
There is The Crimson Fist who tends to addicts in Atlanta.
And there is Life, my personal favorite, who hands out essential toiletries like toothbrushes to those on the streets of Manhattan. He is also the co-founder of Real Life Superheroes.
Here’s a short clip with Life, who explains why he does what he does. Mask and all:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LLlY8UYiyU

This is such a fantastic idea, and one that could very easily be a project for children. Who better to participate in such a project than kids who are already way into superheroes, but also the perfect age to establish a lifelong trend of philanthropy. Your little caped crusaders could volunteer to walk dogs at the local shelter. Your daughter could register to run a fundraiser-for-charity 5K and run it in a mask and cape. The possibilities are innumerable, and what a fun way to instill a charitable mindest in a child.
Who knows, maybe for Halloween your second grader will want to be Connie the Canned Food Collecting Crusader.
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