Compelling Character Corner

When you're a stay-at-home dad, you can break away from those old roles society expects of you, because it's viewed by many as a positive step towards gender equality. However, if you're an unemployed mentally ill husband who only seems to leave the house for the weekly shop and to walk the dog—you're more of a parasite.  Fair enough, a stay-at-home dad is expected to engage in various activities with the kids, you know, like reading to them, cooking lunch or playing games and whatever, while also keeping tabs on the housework. We all have our ways of working. Once, there was a time, when the entitled breadwinning husband, who expected a pristine house and a hot meal at the table, was the norm. We've known that's sexist for quite a while now. I'd like to call myself a house-husband, when I think of the water fights and joking around, but, I'd also like to call myself a billionaire, genius philanthropist—it's a stretch. This is where I could just hide

Was Merlin Historical Somehow?  I love the madness and magic of Merlin, the granddaddy of sorcerers, the true archetypal wizard, the wild man of prophecy. He has so many presentations, however, his history is also pretty cool.  Merlin is fittingly portrayed as a feared druid and a crazy old oracle to the Britons of Dumnonia in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. This is a romantic figure glorifying a lost mysterious celtic way of life. Of course, it's very unlikely a man matching our modern vision of Merlin has ever existed; history doesn't always meet our expectations. ' I believe the Gods hate to be bored, so I do my best to amuse them. That way they smile on me. Your God,’ Merlin said sourly, ‘despises amusement, demanding grovelling worship instead. He must be a very sorry creature'  Bernard Cornwell, The Winter King I can imagine Merlin's prototype as a real living druid, or a bard, maybe a madnan, all from the Romano-British period. It was Geoffrey of M

Archetypes and Cartoons Well, hello there! Today I came across an interesting blog  by Annie Weatherwax about archetypes in relation to illustrations and cartoons. This piece grabbed my attention, given my own, previous blog on archetypes and, uh, well—I like to dabble with cartoons.  With regards to a lot of media, especially cartoons, creative types automatically use archetypes. I agree with pretty everything her blog says. If we get scientific about it, could we suggest archetyping has always been our natural way of identifying social roles? Take the archetypal doting mother; it could only have been accepted as a 'thing' after people had spoken about the 'those types' of mothers who excessively nurture. We've been tokening archetypes over our history. I've probably missed something somewhere, but cartoons do play on them.  It's like, before a psychiatrist brands a patient with a mental condition , many of the DSM-V boxes will need ticking first. A tad li

The Legend of King Arthur: Derfel Cadarn .  Celtic Britons While I was reading about the intimidating nature of Derfel Cadarn, I couldn't help but notice his immense power in the various poems and annales—he fought the Anglo-Saxons in Edinburgh and across England and Wales. He was a renowned man; a man who serves as the central character in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. T hough a work of fiction, it's based on historical events from the British wars fending off the Germanic influx of invaders. Derfel Cadarn is rightly portrayed as an exceptionally skilled and courageous fighter. This led me to wonder about the true identity of the historical figure behind the character, Saint Derfel, and what we might glean from that era. I found a man called Saint Derfel who lived in Wales during the 6th century. He was highly revered by the Catholic Church. Prior to his priesthood, he was likely a trained warrior, which is what Cornwell's book focuses on. After the great Rom

The Cybernetic Outcast: A Symbol for the Futurist Victor Stone, the Cyborg, is basically the internet on legs. Science and technology incarnate, the symbol of what we are becoming. He's MI5, GCHQ, Mossad, the CIA, MI6 and every other secret service, because he could take anything he likes from any of them. This digital world is his to command.  In the Justice League Films and the Snyder cut, we see Cyborg struggle adapting to his cybernetic enhancements and find a way to use them for the greater good. He is a great example of the estranged outcast, self-ostracised or the proverbial lone wolf. In the Film, he begins to make bonds with Flash and Wonder woman somewhat but not so much with Batman or Superman . However, like the man of Steel and Lantern , he can fly, but he can weaponise his cybernetic body, such as his arm into a gun, for example. His command of technology is his own unique perk.  In Teen Titans Go!, the series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez,  Cyborg is quite funn

Hal Jordan, Member of The Green Lantern Corps. Hal Jordan, the fearsome Green Lantern of Sector 2814.  Hal is one of those characters who faces many challenges and setbacks. A man who soldiers on in his stories, loyal to the Corps. A risk taker who had to overcome even the toughest obstacles. That's him in a nutshell, this Top Gun-esque maverick fits the mould, he might grows on you because he'll push the limits to get results. The character has his flaws which is a good thing.  Admittedly, Hal Jordan simply is not as cool as John Stewart. In fact, Jordan could still pass as a cheesy 80s television action hero. He reminds me of that guy from the original 1983 television series V, well he pretty much fits in with the other 80s cheese:  The Green Lantern Corps, however, is a collective force, under the leadership of ancient, blue coloured 'guardians'. Green Lanterns are super advanced space police of the DC Universe, empowered by rings of the highest technological advance

A Historical Blog about the Amazing Joan of Arc: Treasure of France. Jeanne d'Arc, was born in the year 1412 in Domrémy, a village in north eastern France. Her father was Jacques d'Arc, a farmer, and Isabelle Romée. To English speakers she is known as Joan of Arc, and we might picture her in the same light as how the movies and entertainment might portray her: like a pious Wonder women , but raised on Catholicism instead of the old Greek gods.  Joan grew up surrounded by a community that shared a dominant religious worldview, in a land of political unrest, which she would have accepted from a very young age. The key to her story however, was that she told people that she heard the voices of various saints urging her to help France in it's war against England. There was political and religious motivation behind her actions. For in  Domrémy,  God backed the French against the woeful English.  The context of Joan of Arc's story is historical France, which was not very stab

The Justice League The New 52 Justice League: this book sets the course of the journey. I  would say Vol.1 Origin, is the quintessential superhero team formation story to date. However, it's not that it's written or drawn well, but that it set the scene for things to come across all of DC.  This first Justice League book, from my perspective is the next book following Barry Allen's new universe following the  Flashpoint story arc. It's the altered world he returns to at the end of the book, his costume and memories change too, as he speed runs back to 'the future' he thinks he came from—then he's absorbed into it.  The writing, character development and banter in Justice League Origin, is what comic book fans expected from that god-awful Justice League film. Here their dialogue crackles with energy and wit. I mean, even in print we see better action—it keeps your eyes on the page. Writers took risks and pushed boundaries, creating epic story arcs whilst teas