"Something Terrible" is something remarkable

[icon_uk]

I've long been a fan of Dean Trippe, diehard comic book fan, excellent artist in his own right, creator of Butterfly (one of the most delightful and charming webcomics I've ever read) and one of the lights behind the ever-enjoyable "Project Rooftop" superhero redesign competitions.

He is also one of the most articulate and thorougly decent chaps you could hope to communicate with, and a loving and devoted father (This was Dean and his son three years ago, and they're still going trick or treating as the Dynamic Duo again this year.), and when you realise what he went through to become such a person, it's even more impressive.

Trigger warning as discussions of child abuse and suicide under the cut

A while back I posted an utterly fantastic piece he had done called "You'll be Safe Here"

I make no apologies for posting it again, because it now has added context.

You'll Be Safe Here by ~dryponder on deviantART

For those who can't see DA (Though if you can, go visit his gallery on DA, it's awesome), here it is in wallpaper format



Beautiful isn't it? :) (Some of the designs are his own take on existing characters, like the Superboy and Impulse designs)

Dean has now written a short (18 page) autobiographical comic/graphic novelette "Something Terrible" (downloadable as PDF and JPG files for 99 cents from here), which looks back at his childhood, which included the sort of abuse that makes me both sick to my stomach and genuinely angry.

But in a month where DC seems obsessed with driving home that a bad childhood makes you a bad person (Seriously, how many of the "Villains Month" stories have used that as their motivation?) this is a salutory reminder that no matter the scars (emotional or physical) you make pick up in childhood, that need NOT define who you are, but also that it can take a long, long time for a victim to realise that, and it can be sheer living hell until they do.

What can it do to a child who has been abused, to read about the recurrent "cycle of abuse" pattern, what sort of a fear could that create in them? Might they even consider suicide for fear of becoming like the thing they hate most? I confess I'd never considered that impact until reading this, but it seems so obvious in retrospect I feel ashamed.

Dean's story (and it IS his story) also showcases how important heroes such as those above can be to us. We may take the mickey out of them, or looking back, realise that they weren't everything we thought they were back then, but at some point in all our lives I'll bet we've longed that they be there for us, to protect us and/or inspire us. And some of us need heroes a damn sight more than others.

It's not an easy read, and it's not for kids, but it's a relevant and powerful read IMHO, which I recommend without reservation.

One of my all time favourite quotes is GK Chesterton's famous comment on the importance of fantasy; "Fairy tales don't tell children that dragons exists, children already KNOW that. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed!"

Superheroes can be viewed as a modern version of the same ethos.

Anyway, that's my tuppence ha'pennyworth on the matter.

Comments

[shadowpsykie]

.... can't see deviantart on IE....

[icon_uk]

Which is why I posted the same image directly underneath

[shadowpsykie]

oh sorry. i thought, from the image on the redirect it was strip accompanied by explanation text. i didn't know that you were linking to the strip.

[bj_l]

Oh, might want to mention that link of father/son is a video. Caught me off guard.

[randyripoff]

Butterfly was wonderful. If anyone has a chance, they should check it out. I wish he were still doing it, but I'd also like to see more Barry Ween comics from Judd Winick. I'm not holding my breath for either, sadly.

[icon_uk]

Well good news for us both then, as this is on the same page as the link to buy "Something Terrible"

My next two projects are The Balance, a superhero team book co-created by me and my five-year-old son, and Butterfly Lark and the Possibles, starring eight-year-old sidekick of a sidekick, Butterfly.

So more Butterfly is to come! :)

[randyripoff]

Awesome!

[q99]

-
One of my all time favourite quotes is GK Chesterton's famous comment on the importance of fantasy; "Fairy tales don't tell children that dragons exists, children already KNOW that. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed!"-

All dragons, not just the fictional kind :)

[dragontail]

In my day job, I work in the courts (no, I'm not a lawyer). I spend eight hours a day, five days a week, dealing with everything from child molestation to serial murder, from child custody disputes to million-dollar lawsuits. I've done this job for 14 years come January and, in that time, I have seen what I consider to be indisputable evidence of pure evil, and have formed some very solid views on the treatment deserved by those who offend against children.

Every night I come home to a house filled with comic books, action figures, cartoons and pro-wrestling DVDs. A place where good guys win and bad guys lose. A place where I can share, with my nine-year-old daughter, the heroes who got me through my felt-terrible-at-the-time-but-truly-was-uneventful-childhood.. and who still get me through my working day. The fictional men and women who taught me to love, care and protect - the reasons I work on behalf of victims telling their stories to the greater public and helping them seek closure.

I've not been through half of what Mr Trippe has endured in his life, but I couldn't agree more with his sentiments, and those of all of you who've commented. We need heroes and, while they can be conflicted and complicated and occasionally grim and brooding, we need them to be inspirations and symbols of hope and icons of empowerment. The world's just too damn dark without them.

[icon_uk]

Awesome reply, thank you.

[flash_fan]

I bought his comic, the double spread you're showing here really expresses sense of comfort a kid can get from his heroes. I never when through anything as horrible as poor Dean but I know that relieving feeling.

[donnblake]

Is that... Spiderboy, from the short lived Amalgam meta-crossover? In front of Iron Giant?

[icon_uk]

It is indeed, Dean is an enormous fan of the late, great Mike Wieringo, who he corresponded with a good deal I believe, and Spider-Boy is a particular favourite of his.