My youngest kid is a boy, and he’s seventeen, so I’m a Marvel Mom.
As you might guess, my son has grown up on Marvel movies, beginning with the release of Iron Man in 2008. My guess is that most of my readers would agree with me that video games and comic books and movies are an important part of our culture, rather than the portals to sin and decaying brains like some of our parents and grandparents argued when we were young. So you’ll probably understand when I say that I’ve had really thoughtful philosophical discussions with my son about lessons that are embedded in these stories of aliens and superheroes. We’ve talked about the bullshit that was the delay in getting a Black Widow movie to the screen (and the equally bullshit way she was cheated out of box office receipts when the theatrical release was scheduled simultaneously with the Disney+ drop… but I digress). We’ve discussed the relationship of deep brotherly love that made Bucky Barnes pull Steve Rogers out of the river in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And, can I tell you how proud I was of the boy I am raising when he cried openly as Rogers fell off that bridge??
Anyway, I could ramble on, but suffice to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been really important to me, as a mom raising a son. It gave us a point of connection that opened up discussion, allowed us to have some shared passions and inside jokes. Surely we’re not the only ones who say “Puny god.” to each other when we’re doing something physically demanding? Or am I the only mom who shouts “Son, you’ve got a condition.” when your kid is running from the shower to their room wrapped in a towel?
So, when my friend Jared Beloff announced he was editing an anthology of poetry inspired by Marvel (not just the MCU, but the entire comic book catalog) for The Daily Drunk I was excited about the prospect. I mentioned on Twitter that I was going to try to come up with something, but Jared, who had seen my collage work previously, asked if I would be interested in creating art instead, and my answer was an enthusiastic “yes!”. It took a minute for me to wrap my head around how to represent the characters without actually depicting the characters, but I finally got there, and I’m so proud of the collection itself, and honored to be a part of it. I hope you’ll grab a copy for yourself and your favorite Marvel fans – they’d make great gifts this holiday.
So, tell me – who is your favorite Marvel character?
