Long time no read, everyone. We really did it. Two books published in two months! ...Maybe. As of this writing, I have no idea. Let’s just assume everything works out for the sake of my sanity. To all of you devoted readers who wasted no time in buying the first volume, I’m glad we get to meet again so soon.
On a related note, I’ve been an author for a good ten years now, and not once have I experienced a publishing schedule this tight before. My deepest thanks to our illustrator, Shirabii, for pulling through. You did the impossible.
Anyway, so I think it goes without saying that Fantasy Inbound draws a lot of inspiration from American comics, tokusatsu, manga, and pretty much any work centered around superheroes.
To be a hero is to be someone “great,” so to speak. Someone brave. And this idea extends to the masked (or “kamen”) superheroes that we’re all probably familiar with nowadays. The recent sensation that is The Avengers speaks to how far this concept has come, going beyond national and cultural borders, as well as even age and the most niche of cult followings.
When it comes to really defining a hero and exploring what it means to be one, American comics take it to the next level. Part of this is because some of these stories can go on for far longer than the average Japanese manga, many featuring the same protagonist for well over a quarter of a century. Characters like Batman and Superman have been starring in their comics for over eighty years, gone through reboot after reboot, and they’re still going strong. The Iron Man comics started all the way back during the Vietnam War.
As the authors and illustrators portray these characters over decades and decades of history, it only stands to reason that their minds are prodded and explored in different ways. And I think one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s poster children is a good example of this—Captain America.
Captain America, otherwise known by his real name as Steve Rogers, was a supersoldier created to both fight in the war against Nazi Germany and stand as an American symbol for justice. His comic first ran during World War II.
But eventually, both in the story and reality, the war ended, and then came the dawn of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. And all of a sudden, the country he was meant to be the hero of was not so infallibly trustworthy. American justice was not so absolute anymore. So around the sixties, he became less of a symbol for his nation or military, and more of a metaphor for the American spirit—freedom of expression, individuality, and pride. Those became the ideals that he fought and risked his life for.
When I say the “American spirit,” though, I don’t mean that these values are intrinsically or solely American. The hero Captain “America” became more than that, and now he’s a force for good regardless of nationality, race, or culture.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of his movie trilogy, and I think they encapsulate this growth of his character very well.
(By the way, the subtitle for volume one of this series was absolutely an homage to Captain America. Google “Project Rebirth” or “Operation Rebirth” if you’re interested.)
Our protagonist, Yu, is faced with many of the same moral dilemmas as Steve Rogers, particularly in regards to the question of what makes a hero. He may have found his answer for now, but who knows what encounters will challenge his beliefs in the future? Heroes, after all, are always the ones forced to make the hardest choices.
We may also see how other Devicers have tackled this debate for themselves. Maybe even in the next volume. Stay tuned, because the battle for Earth is about to reach a new level of scope.
Until we meet again in volume three.