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\u2019d visit family in Beirut or in Rome, I\u2019d get my hands on bande dessin\u00e9e 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\u2019s another discussion, though.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
I collected hard and furious to satiate my habits. I was a Marvel guy: X-Men, Avengers, Spiderman, Rom, Micronauts, Dr. Strange, the Defenders\u2026. 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s and Alex Ross\u2019s 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\u2019s skies.<\/p>\n
I love heroes and heroines. I love supers not because they are untouchable, but because they endure so much and survive.<\/p>\n
Heroes without Borders has been a project bouncing around in my head for the last several years, and it\u2019s 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: \u201cWhat if Superman and Batman were: Evil, Lovers, Communists, Insane, etc.\u201d I try to put a spin on heroes in a world much like ours, short of the governmental abuse of metahumans or the public\u2019s hatred of them.\u00a0There 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.<\/p>\n
Welcome to Heroes without Borders. I hope you enjoy your stay.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lucien Soulban<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6OdZi-1e","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/09\/22\/yet-to-come\/","url_meta":{"origin":76,"position":0},"title":"Yet To Come","author":"Lucien","date":"September 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As you may have noticed, we\u2019re starting to fill in the backstory of the world and the mythology of the comic. I will add more information in the weeks and months to come. I want to turn\u00a0this world and website into a campaign resource for tabletop gamers, and the fine\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/02\/17\/superhero-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":76,"position":1},"title":"SUPERHERO MUSIC","author":"Lucien","date":"February 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The recent cold savaging me has me laid out for a few days, so instead of a Hero Beat article, which required way too much thought for my mucus drenched brain, I decided to go with something different this week around. I have two main inspirations for superheroes. The first\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/12\/24\/hero-beat-hark-ye-herald-angels\/","url_meta":{"origin":76,"position":2},"title":"HERO BEAT: HARK YE HERALD ANGELS","author":"Lucien","date":"December 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s December, and while light snow dusts New York itself, Central Park is another story. Here shoppers ply the Columbus Circle Holiday Market for gifts, and skaters enjoy a spin around Wollman Rink, but only in Central Park do the small specks of ice turn to fat snowflakes, the crystals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":407,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/05\/14\/hero-beat-street-angels-network-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":76,"position":3},"title":"HERO BEAT: STREET ANGELS NETWORK PART II","author":"Lucien","date":"May 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It began with a surprise visit from Lancer at 11:00 PM one Thursday night, a visit that I\u2019d been hoping for but was betting against happening. I wanted a behind-the-scenes look at the Street Angel Network, an underground system of contacts who helped out vetted superheroes with various degrees of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":388,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/04\/28\/hero-beat-crime-beat-the-narcissist\/","url_meta":{"origin":76,"position":4},"title":"HERO BEAT: THE NARCISSIST","author":"Lucien","date":"April 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 12th, 2012, Sean Cavendish walked into the Marcoli wake to pay his respects. He kissed Lisa Marcoli, grieving widow of suspected hitman Giovanni Marcoli, shook hands with suspected underbosses, capos, and high ranking soldiers of the Tozzetti Crime Family, and then detonated his suicide bomb vest. At that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":174,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/12\/03\/hero-beat-a-day-in-the-life-of-the-tour\/","url_meta":{"origin":76,"position":5},"title":"HERO BEAT: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF \u201cTHE TOUR\u201d","author":"Lucien","date":"December 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s called \u201cThe Tour,\u201d and only a handful know how grueling, how exhausting, and how heartbreaking it can be. The Tour is the two-year average of most heroes who hit the streets before injury or PTSD or burnout bring their careers to a sudden halt. 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