I have two loves in life. Horror and superheroes. Well, I have more than two loves, but when it comes to writing, those top my list. I read comics as a kid, pretty much anything I could get my hands on in Saudi Arabia. That generally meant Spiderman, Superman, Green Lantern, or Archie (with Betty & Veronica blacked out with a marker when they wore swimsuits). When I’d visit family in Beirut or in Rome, I’d get my hands on bande dessinée like Asterix & Obelix, Tintin, Spirou, Lucky Luke, etc. Tintin was my favorite, especially with the creepy visuals and horror of mummified Incan king, Rascar Capac in The Seven Crystal Balls. That’s another discussion, though.
I loved superheroes in the way most kids do, but my transition came when I was living in Houston, Texas in 1982 and I found that first issue of the Wolverine miniseries in the comic rack of a convenience store. I was already playing D&D, and finding that comic with an unmasked Wolverine, beckoning to me with a finger and a grin marked my first encounter with the more adult-themed comics and that approaching demarcation point that separated Bronze Age and Modern Age comics. That moment alone introduced me to the badass, the anti-hero, the outcast.
I collected hard and furious to satiate my habits. I was a Marvel guy: X-Men, Avengers, Spiderman, Rom, Micronauts, Dr. Strange, the Defenders…. I broke the budget of small nations for my collections, and sadly, I stole money from my parents, marking one of the darkest points in my relationship with my mother and father. I rebuilt that trust eventually, and never broke it like that again.
My love of comics continued, however, and remains with me to this day, though not with the same fever. I left comics when the annual summer events turned story into spectacle. I was seduced back by Mark Waid’s and Alex Ross’s Kingdom Come, and courted more serious titles and went beyond the spandex with Transmetropolitan, Sandman, Hellboy, Y the Last Man, The Walking Dead. I wept reading the Pride of Baghdad and I Kill Giants graphic novels. I played the MMO City of Heroes from nearly launch to the closing of the servers and continue to dream of flying in Paragon City’s skies.
I love heroes and heroines. I love supers not because they are untouchable, but because they endure so much and survive.
Heroes without Borders has been a project bouncing around in my head for the last several years, and it’s been born from my love of comics. It’s my take on a heroic universe, one where I avoid the tropes, or what I call: “What if Superman and Batman were: Evil, Lovers, Communists, Insane, etc.” I try to put a spin on heroes in a world much like ours, short of the governmental abuse of metahumans or the public’s hatred of them. There is no magic and no aliens in this world. This is entirely a genetic-fueled universe, and in the weeks and months to come, I hope to share more with you about the world and its heroes.
Welcome to Heroes without Borders. I hope you enjoy your stay.
Lucien Soulban