Being as arrogant as I am, I feel quite comfortable telling the bone heads controlling the Superman franchise just how to do things right. Comics, movies and all the rest. I gots the answers. Ready to be enlightened? Good. Let’s begin.

Indy comic book creator Mark A. Lester provides the seven steps to repairing the Man of Steel.

1. Kill Clark Kent. More specifically, get rid of the whole secret identity foolishness. It simply doesn’t work in today’s world of tabloid TV and camera phones and the Internet. As a matter of fact, it rather stupid. Why go to all the trouble? Superman may have been raised in America and consider himself an American but he’s not. He’s a freakin’ alien from another planet. He may love the ideals and the freedoms of the United States but he’s not a citizen and he shouldn’t pretend to be. Besides, there is no other way to look at an alien super being playing at being human than as selfish, childish and condescending. Be who you are. Period. He’s got a fortress, he doesn’t need an apartment. All that time that could be spent helping others and doing good is wasted earning a living he doesn’t need and chasing a woman who is obviously no good. Which brings us to the next point;

2. Dump Lois Lane.Kick her to the curb. She’s far more trouble than she’s worth. Truthfully, while it is obvious why she’s all wet and panting for Superman, his motivations for wanting her are rather lame. At the very least he should date more. See other women. Or men. Or whatever super-powered aliens from other worlds smile over. Again. Too much time is wasted mooning over some chick. After eighty-plus years it’s gotten far more than just a little boring. Move the freak on.

3. Admit that Jimmy is gay. We all know it. “Best pal”? Sure. Right. Listen, any guy that follows another guy around with puppy dog eyes like Jimmy does is displaying a little more than simple hero worship. It’s okay. Let Jimmy be gay. No one really cares and truthfully, Superman would probably do better dating Jimmy than he has with Lois. Superman is an alien. Being gay shouldn’t be so scary. Grow up and move on boys.

4. Kick some @$$.He’s Superman for goodness sake. DO something. Stop messing with losers like Lex Luther. He’s nothing. A bald guy with an inferiority complex. He’s not worth a Superman’s time. Let the Feds deal with his @$$ and walk away from this twisted little bromance you’ve got going. Lex is bad news and worse than that; he’s gotten boring. Go out and stop some wars. It’s okay. We all know it’s fantasy so go out and live some fantasy for us. Find Osama bin Laden and squish is @$$. Knock around North Korea. Stop a famine. Do SOMETHING super.  I’m tired of watching Superman lose his power so he can fight with (and lose to) guys like Lex Luther. Fight someone (or something) equally as big and as powerful as you. It’s doesn’t take a hero to fight a battle you can’t lose. Pick it up.

5. Go somewhere.Geezus. The guy can fly through space. He’s faster than the speed of light. He doesn’t need to breath. Why in the world is he sticking around Earth all the time? Why Metropolis? He’s an alien so the whole question of, “Is there life out there?” has been asked and answered. Go out an find it. Man up and explore. He’s got all this power and he’s wasting it. Find new life. Find new civilizations. Kick some butt. It’s okay to be rough on the bad guys. Seriously. Go for it. Have some fun and bust a few heads.

6.  Ditch the tights. Ain’t nobody impressed anymore. We all know you’re in great shape. There are other clothes you could wear to show off the bod so unless the cape and underwear on the outside thing is a Kryptonian fashion statement, get rid of them. Live on the edge. Experience the wild side and change your clothes now and then ’cause you look kind of silly. Keep the stylized “S” though. That is cool. (Truthfully, you can probably keep the costume. It’s become so iconic that it’s become acceptable. Heck! If I were built like Superman, I might be wearing tights. BUT if you keep it, don’t try and explain it. Just do it.)

7. Live it up. Superman (or Clark or Kal or whatever you want to call yourself), you’ve got it all; You’re young and good looking and tall and buff. You’re all powerful. You’ve got a fantastic pad. You can go anywhere and do anything. So, freakin’ DO IT already! You don’t have to worry about bills and your health. AIDs? Not a worry. Addiction? Not a problem. Eat, drink and make merry. Women and young boy photographers fall at your feet. Have some fun. I would. Wander. Explore. Have some fun. It really is possible to do good AND have fun. It’s also possible to be a genuinely good and decent guy without being boring. Give it a try.

In closing. It’s time to get real. What worked eighty years ago simply doesn’t work today. It’s really is possible to make Superman relevant, interesting and exciting again without changing the character and who he is. All you need to do is explore who he is. Look deep. Think. DC and Hollywood and all the writers and artists; they simply need to step outside the box and open their creativity a bit more. Ask questions. Question motivations. Wonder. Pull the gloves off and imagine.

What do you think? Go more ideas? Got better ideas? Say so.

Two of my favorite comic book characters when I was young were Sgt. Rock and Jonah Hex.

Sgt. first appeared in Our Army at War #83 (June1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. Joe Kubert produced the artwork when I was reading the book and his version of Sgt. Rock remains the definitive version of the character.

Jonah Hex is a fictional character, a Western comic book anti-hero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Again, despite the numerous artist who have taken up the pen, DeZuniga’s Hex remains the only Hex.

There was just something about these heroes that made them stand out to me. More than Superman or Batman or Spider-Man, characters like Hex and Rock along with Conan and Tarzan thrilled my ten year old mind more than costumed heroes ever did. (Not that I didn’t love them too.) I suppose it’s only natural that when it came time for me to create my own characters these were among the characters I would draw from.

Other characters along the same lines that I loved included (among others); Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, The various “Kid-Cowboys” (Colt Kid, Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid etc.), Sgt Fury, John Carter Warlord of Mars, Warlord (DC), The Spirit, The Phantom Stranger, The Human Target, Ghost Rider (the original Johnny Blaze) …

There simply was just something, even to my little underdeveloped prepubescent mind, that felt somehow off when a pair of tights entered the scene. Even then I realized that an iconic “look” was important and showing off the physique was almost a requirement, but there were simply other (better?) ways of accomplishing these goals that my hero donning tights and cape wearing their underwear on the outside.

Of course, as a ten year old, I never thought this all through and liked superheroes as much as the next kid. It’s simply as an adult, when I look back over those characters that I remember most fondly do I begin to see a pattern emerge.

I’ve been a bit mystified and confused concerning most all things popular, including Dragonball. I’ve enlisted the help of others trying to understand the appeal of what’s, well … appealing. This site gives a great rundown of many of the concepts surrounding the Dragonball mythos. Thanks to Johnathan for both the link and putting up with my million and one questions and for trying to help me understand.

Dragonball like Bleach, Superman, Harry Potter etc. are all concepts that have captured the hearts and minds of children around the world. I’d love to know how I could even attempt to do that.  Even in the smallest of ways.

The first (super) hero I idolized was the Lone Ranger. Of course for the first several years he was the Long Ranger to me. No. I never questioned his name. I was a kid and took it for what it was. While other kids were pinning towels around their necks and flying around pretending to be Superman, I’d strap my six-shooter cap guns to my hips and ride my imaginary horse Silver.

The Lone Ranger appeared to me in re-runs (of course I didn’t know that then) early each morning and every Sunday afternoon. I’m not really sure why the Lone Ranger appealed to me so much as a kid, but to me he was the ultimate superhero. A masked man riding a giant white horse righting wrongs and camping out with his best buddy Tonto.

The Lone Ranger influenced my ideas and my art for years. In many ways he still does. That mysterious stranger who shows up out of the shadows, rescues everyone and rides off again. The legend and the myth. I still eat that stuff up. Now, while my interests have grown and started including spies and P.I.s and robots and sci-fi and superheroes, there remains deep inside me that old thrill whenever I even see a picture of that Masked Man. Heck. The truth is if I thought I could get away with it I’d still wear that old plastic mask and strap those six-shooter cap guns on.

The great heroes never die. Their legend just continues to grow. Man. I’d love to create something like that.

…

Right now I’m continuing to work on a commission piece that’s been sitting on my drawing desk for longer than I’d care to admit. I think I’m finally making some decent progress on it. Fingers crossed my life can maintain some sense of balance and hope while I’m working on it. I do not need a breakdown now. I’ve got too much to do and sadly there’s no one else to do it if I don’t.

The search for work, jobs and money continue. Annoying survival. Such a nasty need.