Never Forget.

Today was supposed to be another "Worst Cover Ever" column, but I just didn't feel up to "bringing the funny" today. 

Granted, a lighthearted comic book blog isn't really the ideal forum for this kind of thing, but at the same time it's the only real forum I have, and I couldn't let the day pass without acknowledging it's importance and poignancy.

I also didn't want to feature some cheesy scene of superheroes standing around wiping tears away.  No offense to those who go for that kind of thing, but I think there comes a time when we need to put aside our imaginary friends for a moment and focus on the stark realities we face...without the rather silly intrusion of capes, costumes and chest logos. The heroes I'd rather think about today wear badges, fire helmets, fatigues or (in the case of United flight #93) Dockers.

So, the silly stuff will return tomorrow....but for today, I choose to remember.

"Yes, we are at a great juncture in American history. We can go to battle, as we did in the past—hard, long, without guilt, apology, or respite, until our enemies are no more. It was our fathers who passed on to us that credo and with it all that we hold dear. And so just as they once did, we too must confront and annihilate these killers and the governments that have protected and encouraged them. Only that way can we honor and avenge our dead and keep faith that they have not died in vain. Only with evil confronted and crushed can we ensure that our children might still some day live, as we once did, in peace and safety."

—Victor Davis Hanson (National Review Magazine, October 1, 2001)

Comments

[Loren]

I also didn't want to feature some cheesy scene of superheroes standing around wiping tears away. No offense to those who go for that kind of thing, but I think there comes a time when we need to put aside our imaginary friends for a moment and focus on the stark realities we face...without the rather silly intrusion of capes, costumes and chest logos.

This is why I'm against comic books even referencing 9/11 in their books. If you think about how many times a city like New York or Metropolis or Gotham City has been destroyed in the aftermath of some battle, it takes away from the pain that people still feel today about such a real event like 9/11. I think you did the right thing to not show such a panel. Very nice tribute.

[Mark Engblom]

Thanks, Loren. It's always kinda tricky finding that balancing point between our "real lives" and the fantasy land much of us chose to marinade in much of the time. Of course, there's nothing inherently wrong with our enthusiasm for comics, cartooning, animation and the like...but at the same time there are clearly occasions when the "vocabulary" of comic book characters and solutions are spectacularly inappropriate and, frankly, somewhat childish. September 11th, I would suggest, is one of them.