Tag Fiction

Who is the Cartoon Princess?  I’m a very slightly somewhat kindasorta known cartoonist in the LGBTQetc indy comics/webcomic community…. I’ve spoken on convention panels, been in a few books, so….. yeah, a medium sized fish in a really, really, very small pond. But I’m foolish enough to believe that there’s power when people, especially marginalized people, tell their own stories, we light a path for those who come after. With the ravishes of teen suicides that are now making the news but are always devastating our youth, they need stories. They need to be inspired but, even more, need to be empowered to tell their own stories. Sharing our stories is a way that we as human beings build community, connect with each other, come to understand each other. When we tell our stories, we show youth that they are not alone, that they are okay. We light a light to show youth at risk of suicide a way home. When at risk kids share their stories, fiction or nonfiction, they claim a beachhead of survivability, and reach a hand out to their peers, showing that they can survive together.  It is my mission not only to tell my own stories, but to empower youth to as well, through donations of writing and art supplies to LGBTQ youth groups, GSAs, and youth psychiatric hospital wards and facilities. In this way, I hope to be a real life….. sidekick.
Why a Real Life Sidekick? Well a ‘Superhero’ inhabits a liminal space of ideal or ideology made flesh. Those are big boots to fill!  I’m not sure I can live up to what a superhero must be, but a sidekick…. a sidekick is a student. An aspirant. Someone who is not yet ready to step into the full potential of a super hero (if indeed they ever will; not everyone graduates to the big leagues!)  Do I know my mission to inspire and empower will work?  I do not. But I am committed to learning, growing, acquiring the skills to reach out to more and more kids. I am not fully trained in my mission, but I will learn the skills I need to do what needs doing.
As a sidekick needs a mentor, I’ve created the character of the Cartoon Queen. Admittedly, she is strictly conceptual…. a personification of my philosophies. But I am here, I am flesh and blood, and I hope to make my mark the the decision of at least one youth to stay alive.
 

Originally posted:http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2010/10/podcast-mad-as-hell/
By Mark Metcalf
The children (and now, adults) of Generations X and Y spent their formative years deeply immersed in a culture of fantasy. Between comic books and Saturday morning cartoons, the cultural fascination with super heroes — specifically those who, underneath the masks and capes, are just average people — grows with each new generation.
But America’s love, and in some ways, yen for a hero is nothing new. In fact, those well-known characters of fantasy were all borne out of a collective desire to have control when the world seems to be going down the toilet. When senseless crime is on the rise and the people and institutions put in place to protect us can barely keep an adequate staff on the payroll.

In pop culture, people have found hope in fictional Everyday-Joe-cum-caped-crusader stories since the early days of Spider-Man. But in real life– and right here in Milwaukee — there are a few among us who have taken the concept and run with it.
Several years ago, Tea Krulos caught wind of a real-life superhero movement happening right here in the Midwest and, as he learned, beyond. Though apprehensive, Krulos immersed himself in their world, interviewing as many people as possible and traveling as far as Vancouver and as near as his own backyard of Riverwest to learn more.
Local author Tea Krulos.
What he found was a diverse group of people, fed up with the state of their own neighborhoods and cities who decided to do something about it… mask, cape and all.
You can learn more about Tea’s book Heroes in the Night here, and more about his research here. Be my hero and subscribe to Backstage with Mark Metcalf through iTunes.

Definition: Epiphany: a sudden, intuitive perception or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple occurrence or experience.
My Epiphany
I have been having multiple conversations about Prime and the creation of so many real life events and experiences. While Prime.Vox.com will be dedicated to the fictional goings on of Prime and The Night Watch, I’m making an announcement. A departure from what was and announcing what will be.
I am crossing the threshold. The real Paragon Prime is about to be born. This blog will cronicle my journey.
I hope this doesnt get confusing. I mean, many things I talk about with Prime.Vox.com are my experiences and Prime fiction is based on many of my real life events.
So lets be very clear from the get go: Anything in MySpace is real. Anything in Prime.Vox.com is a hazy meld of real life and fictional. There. Now that Ive said that, Im sure Ill have to repeat it a billion times.
So this particular blog is simply an announcement and intent to bring Prime from the dregs of my long term vision through the looking glass. I think there will be a lot of prep here so I dont expect to hit the streets tomorrow.
As far as leading up to this, I’m sure that’s why I was drawn here. I’ve always been leading up to this, I think. I was accepted to be in the LAPD an age ago. I didn’t like how they treated people, inluding their own and never accepted the commision. I was in Army Intelligence and that played a part in making me who I am today. I have discussed joining the Guardian Angels … the only reason I have not is distance from the nearest chapter (about 100 miles). My three dogs and me play the neighborhood watch. When someone breaks down, I stop and help. I see trouble, I pull over and see what I can do or I call the cops if outgunned or outmanned (hey, Im not mental!). Finally, I feel it coming together. The foundation has been build over the years. Now, its time to build the house of Paragon Prime.
Initially, there really isnt a lot of difference from what I do today, except I’ll be able to do more as I’ll be outfitted and loaded for bear. And being one of the primary models of excellence in the hero biz is what I will work to achieve, hence Paragon Prime will be my name as, really, it has been for a long time.
Hopefully, reading both the real Prime and the fictional Prime will bring you a fuller picture of where I see this whole nationwide hero awakening going. To be honest, I saw myself becoming a part of it from the get go. While everyone is finding their way in all this, I’ve been playing this pretty close to the vest. I feel I can now open up a little and share my real plans as well as the fictional vision. I dont see any harm and, frankly, I see a lot of good as we all share and make each other better, stronger and respected in a world that will have to get used to Professional Heroes.
Prime, Out …