What’s So Great About Your Fantasy?

For a long time I’ve felt guilty about loving comic books. Somewhere along the way I read something that described them as ‘Juvenile power fantasies’ and that struck a chord with me. I still loved the crap out of comic books, mind you, but there was this small critical voice in the back of my mind that kept saying, “You’re wasting your time! Why don’t you read some real literature?” So, in an effort to shut that little voice up, I did. I decided to read some of the most enduring literature ever composed by human beings. These are my summaries of the stories that have captivated us for thousands of years and that have been told and retold since the dawn of civilization.

The Epic of Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh, a psychologically complex man with strength beyond that of normal men, fights monsters, demons, and another man with incredible strength in this juvenile power fantasy.

The Iliad: Achilles, a psychologically complex man and the greatest warrior alive, tries to decide weather or not to fight in a war with the Trojans. When he finally does fight, he’s totally awesome and stabs a whole bunch of them in this Juvenile power fantasy.

The Mahabharata: A psychologically complex team of superhero brothers fight a war with their relatives in this Juvenile power fantasy.

Richie Rich: A kid has a lot of money, zaniness ensues.

Ok, so that last one is actually a comic book.