So, for once I am being somewhat timely.
I read this issue the day after it came out, or was it two days after?
Still, that's pretty timely.
I was taken in by the trickery here.
STOP READING SPOILERS.
Like Tom King assumes most people will, I believed that Harley had killed all the people at Sanctuary or was involved somehow, despite her recent sort of heroic turn in the Suicide Squad (hardly totally heroic).
So I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent ending when Harley reveals that it was Booster Gold who killed all those people.
That little twister alone is reason enough to read what will be an excellent series.
Wednesday, both Return of Wolverine #001 and Heroes in Crisis #001 came out, and I elected to read the DC comic first.
I have never been as Wolvie crazy as the rest of planet. Ditto Deadpool. Ditto Venom.
Both comics were very good (LOVE STEVE McNIVEN!!), but Heroes is clearly superior.
If for no other reason I chose to copy this article and share it because it's easier to read here than on Newsarama which is heavy with so many memory-hogging ads.
FROM -
https://www.newsarama.com/42052-examining-trauma-heroes-in-crisis-mental-health-advocate-shares-hopes-raises-concerns.html
Examining Trauma & HEROES IN CRISIS: Mental Health Advocate Shares Hopes, Raises Concerns
With the release of Heroes in Crisis #1 this week, readers were introduced to Sanctuary, the treatment center for superheroes dealing with the after-effects of trauma.
The issue’s release was highly anticipated by Vasilis Pozios, a forensic psychiatrist who co-founded the mental health and media consultancy Broadcast Thought. In the past, Pozios has voiced concern about how comic books depict people dealing with from mental illness, and he had hoped this event might be a move in the right direction.
“It’s a great thing if done well — and responsibly,” Pozios told Newsarama for our series on Trauma and Heroes in Crisis. “In other words, the depictions should be accurate and non-stigmatizing, but perhaps most importantly, entertaining without resorting to caricature or parody. After all, accuracy and entertainment don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”
He said Heroes in Crisis could really help promote the benefits of getting professional help for post-trauma symptoms. “Superheroes are celebrity analogues, and celebrities can help normalize getting help,” Pozios said. “Using fictional characters as a hook to raise mental health awareness is a powerful tool.”
Pozios, who is a member of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Communications, said care must be taken when diagnosing or otherwise discussing fictional characters in the context of mental illness.
“We don’t want to perpetuate negative stereotypes with careless commentary, and such engagement should have the goal of public education and stigma reduction,” he said.
Pozios said he has both hopes and concerns about Heroes in Crisis, but stated that DC deserves credit for showcasing mental health in such a high profile event.
“Seven years ago, when my colleagues and I first advocated for modernizing mental health depictions in the New 52, we were literally laughed at by those responsible for the relaunch,” Pozios said. “Fortunately, since then, the public has generally embraced the broader movement advocating for improved media representation of historically marginalized groups, including people with mental illnesses. There’s no denying this is the right thing to do.
“And hopefully, Heroes in Crisis is a step in that direction. My fingers are crossed.”
And apart from Heroes in Crisis, there’s one more step Pozios would like to see DC take. “If DC intends to be serious — and consistent — about mental health representation, they need to address the elephant in the room: Arkham Asylum,” he said. “Retconning or reimagining Arkham Asylum in the service of supporting positive, accurate, non-stigmatizing mental health representation while minimizing negative, inaccurate, and stigmatizing portrayals would go a long way to prove DC is serious about mental health representation and gain the trust of mental health advocates and fans sensitive to such concerns.”
Even though the first issue of Heroes in Crisis didn’t show much of the Sanctuary facility or even much about the subject of trauma, Pozios did have one concern about issue #1 — Harley Quinn’s use violence, which he found “problematic.”
“Although comics often lean on the ‘homicidal maniac’ and ‘criminally insane’ tropes, in reality, the overwhelming majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent,” Pozios said. “In fact, only about 3 to 5 percent of violence is attributable to serious mental illness. So, this characterization of Harley Quinn, which is a puzzling departure from recent Rebirth-era depictions, is not only inaccurate but also stigmatizing, and comes off as a caricature of mental illness — an unfortunate but likely unintended consequence given the series' billing as a serious take on mental health.”
The forensic psychiatrist said he’s trying not to judge the whole series by just the first issue or the advertisements that focus on the mass murder.
“Some have voiced concerns regarding the promotion and previews of the series… feeling as though violence and trauma are fetishized,” he said. “We’ll have to see how the story plays out.”
Pozios will be appearing at New York Comic Con during the panel, “Crazy Talk: The Future of Mental Health and Pop Culture,” on Saturday, October 6 at 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in Room 1B03 of the Javits Center.
For more information about mental illness or to get help, there are several resources and phone numbers available on The National Alliance on Mental Illness website. The V.A. also has information and resources specific to PTSD awareness at ptsd.va.gov.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1809.29 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1183 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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