…unless you can be Batman
While in our home city of Łódź, Poland, my daughter and I went to explore The Centre for Graphic Novels and Interactive Narratives. A place where one can delve into the world of comic books and video games.
THINK. My earliest experience with comics dates back to 1980s. Even in these grim, grey years of communism, artists created a number of characters and series that endured up until this day. For a primary school boy like me, it was a vehicle to explore new form of telling stories. Masterfully crafted scenarios, fascinating brave new worlds, and compelling characters such as Thorgal or Tytus, Romek & A’Tomek. A transition from plain text to a narrative structure that integrated drawings, colors, composition of panels, dialogue and everything else unsaid, expressed by mood and pace of the story. It was love at first sight.
In early 1990s, along with MTV, NBA games on the national TV, soap operas and chocolate that tasted so much better than its ‘cardboard’, chemical equivalent we used to get, came Marvel and DC superheroes. An uncompromised power of entertainment, it also showed me how mainstream messages can stimulate deeper thoughts. Emotional struggles, taking responsibilities for one’s actions, unfolding consequences of choices made or the eternal thin line between good and evil - all of it added depth and breadth to my discoveries.
The journey continues up until this day. I am exploring the nearly limitless spectrum of graphic novels. The underlying engine remains the same: write a script, draw, ink, possibly color, add dialogues - and that’s it. But the wealth of worlds my imagination can inhabit is overwhelming. Some of my favorite single issues include Joe O’Barr’s ‘The Crow’ or Masamune Shirow’s ‘Ghost in the Shell’, giving birth to culture phenomena, acclaimed movies and a fan movement. I dive deep into the ‘worlds that could be’: political and moral dilemmas of transhuman, cyberpunk future (‘Transmetropolitan’), a vision of New York City, a colossus I am drawn to, torn by civil war (‘DMZ’), dreams, nightmares and spiritual powers that reflect truths about human condition (‘Hellblazer’ and ‘Sandman’) or deconstructing what it even means to be a superhero (‘The Watchmen’).
Isn’t that wonderful that we can express our thoughts and emotions in so many diverse ways? Telling stories rocks!
FEEL. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit. As a matter of fact, 4 hours in, we were asked to leave as the Centre was already closing for the day! We came back the next morning to explore more.
The most rewarding part though was the connection with my daughter, Nina. Being a parent is core to who I am. Ever since she started to walk, talk and read, we have been going places together. Sometimes in person - movies, theatre shows, comic cons - and sometimes we simply travelled the imaginary worlds of Harry Potter, ‘The Avatar’ or the Hobbit. But as it seems, there is a time for the guide to step aside and just watch things unfold.
I am fascinated by Nina’s journey to becoming her own person. At the age of fourteen, she is hungry and free to explore the world she and her friends inhabit. Increasingly more digital, indeed, but still centered around stories, fascinations and expression of emotions. Everyone’s identity is forged over time, also by changing, and sometimes even denying, their family blueprints. The best thing a parent can do is to empower, build confidence, self-awareness, optimism and resilience. Start them on a lifelong learning path. Help them be curious and fearless. And fearlessness is not the absence of fear; it is recognizing the fear but taking action regardless.
I feel blessed to experience it. Just being close, watching and rooting for her.
DO. I have a busy day ahead of me. Reconnecting with my long-time friends in Poland, we decided to take a trip down memory lane so tonight, a role-playing game campaign awaits. Well, it would, as soon as I polish all the elements of the adventure. Preparing an outline of the scenario, inventing non-player characters, the setting, maps, artifacts, possible plot twists - it brings my imagination to work at high intensity. But there is only so much I can prepare and plan for - the rest is a real-time interaction, creating the outcomes as we go, in a collective way. Everyone has a role to play - even if they don’t know it yet!
Changing routines, stepping away from the inertia of one’s weekly schedule, works miracles. As in sports training, improving performance often means changing exercise patterns. Be it flexing another muscle group, intensity change, or simply taking another route in one’s morning run, diversity stimulates growth. I witnessed myself making that mistake far too often in my years of long-distance running not to notice. This is also why I am pursuing ways for my days to take another route.
I am sitting in my study at home, looking at a poster wall with my dearest ‘imagination nutrients’ . One of these is a birthday present from my wife. ‘Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman, Then, be Batman’. Well… so reminds me of one of the best days at my corporate job!
