Comics and Romance: The Final Bam!

When I started this blog series, I wasn't sure where it was headed. I just wanted to talk about one of my favorite topics and make it as enjoyable as possible for those of you reading it. I hope I succeeded in some of that. But, as I starting writing about the connection between comics and romance, I began to notice how strong that connection truly is. For me, at least it is. For some of you too, from the comments it has gotten.

This is what I hope you've gotten from all this. Comics are the beginning of wonderment for a lot of kids, boys and girls alike. Why wonderment? It's very simple. Until we get our first dose of Superman, Spider-man, or you can insert your own favorite hero, we have no idea what it feels like to imagine to fly, or run faster than a speeding bullet. We simply have no concept that those things are possible. They aren't, but in our burgeoning imaginations they become possible. Comics teaches us to dream. For some of us, those dreams become stories. Those stories go on to make us writers or readers. We want to escape as authors, as much as you do as readers.

Our escape enables you to find whole new worlds beyond this one we live in. That's a very good form of release in my book. Better than sitting in front of a TV or playing video games. Though, I have nothing against either of those. I do it quite a bit myself, but reading enables you to open your mind and visualize for yourself the wonders an author places before you. How many of us has seen a movie or TV show based on a book, and just shook our heads saying to yourself, 'that's not how I saw' and felt a little disappointment over the fact. Why does that seem to happen? Because, our imagination is greater than anything someone else can come up with.

Romance does the same thing at a different stage of our mental development. Most of us read our first book in our teens. Talk about putting an unfair level for our boyfriend or girlfriend to measure up to. Tough, it's that level that tells us what we truly want. We might settle for second best, but most of the time second best is better than what our minds dream up thanks to those books. I hate to knock my genre but it's true. We as authors paint unfair expectations on those who read our books. Why? Because, we visualize what we want. Hey, what can I say? We're delusional and write about it.

The thing is Comics and Romance are learning tools. Believe me. I've learned some things in a Romance Novel that would make a hooker blush. Despite that, we read and absorb knowledge both directly and indirectly through others. Some of it makes us who we are today, and some of it makes us the people we want to be. Not bad, for a few hours of escapism.

How does this all tie into J. Morgan? If you've read any of my books, you know I start with a definite line between good and evil. Why? Because Stan Lee did it that away. More than that, in a world where there's more grey than black and white, I wish we could tell right away who wore the black hat and the white hat. As a result, I love my heroes. They are bigger than life and most of the time, the men I want to be. Subconsciously, I guess they are a part of me, like what any writer does when crafting a character. The heroine? I wish I could say they're the women I would want to fall in love with. For the most part, they're the only woman I've ever truly fallen in love with. My wife, Jenn. I couldn't think of a better role model for my heroines. That doesn't mean they're a hundred percent her. I have the greatest honor to know and have known some amazing women. They've found their way into my heroines. So, we're talking fifty to seventy percent Jenn, and the rest I steal from my friends and family. Still, not a bad ratio. My villains, I owe to Stan Lee, and any other comic author who made it plain, the bad guy is the bad guy. You'll know him or her by the evil oozing off them. And, I guess I do have a dark side that comes out on the computer screen, instead of me going postal on the rest of the world.

Authors are the result of their environment and experiences. That being said, I guess that makes me a costume wearing superhero behind a keyboard. So what should my superhero name be? The Amazing Spider-Jmo? Uh no. Shooting stuff out of my wrists sounds narsty for some reason. The Mighty Jmo? Mmmmm… I do like big hammers and lightning bolts? No, I think for now, I'll just be Jmo and let you guys be the superheroes and superheroines. After all, to me you already are.

Hope you enjoyed this series. Now, jump into your phone booths and up, up and away. I got a deadline to not be too late on. Join me next week on The Writer Limits as we kick off SciFi September. On the Diaries, we've got something special planned. I just have to track down Morgan O. and find out what it is. Bye, for now.