Do you feel like it is the summer of superheroes?
I sure do. It got an early start with Avengers: Infinity War coming to theaters in late April. Even though I won’t watch 
Deadpool, that’s another movie that just released. Han Solo may not have the Force, but he’s got the scoundrel’s luck to propel him to his own stand-alone Star Wars movie. Then we’ve got another Marvel movie in Ant-Man and the Wasp in July. The best Pixar movie finally gets a sequel when The Incredibles 2 hits theaters this month.
That’s just in the cinema. This week a new comic book based show opens on Freeform, Cloak and Dagger, developed from a cult favorite Marvel duo. There’s still all the superhero shows on The CW and Agents of SHIELD as well.
Oh, and there’s a book coming out that has superpowered teens. More about that in a minute…
Pop culture has exploded with superheroes. Special effects have finally caught up to the imaginations of comic book artists and writers. Instead of a buff Lou Ferrigno in green body paint in the 70s (Google the original Incredible Hulk), we have gods like Thor and Wonder Woman running around with guys bit by spiders and men dressing up as a bat accompanied by graphics that do justice to the source material. The explosion of movies, TV shows, and cross marketing with video games, Pop Funkos, and other products have caused us to be inundated with these costumed crusaders.
Is it too much?
I hope not, because I have a book coming out on July 3rd, my debut YA superhero novel called Launch. It deals with teens who develop special abilities who are gathered at a special conference hosted by a tech billionaire – a man with his own gifts and a desire to change the world with the teens he’s invited.
Maybe I have good timing. I have an easy opportunity to cross-promote my book with all these superhero properties coming out.
Then again, is there going to be superhero fatigue? Are people getting tired of these different heroes in colorful costumes?
The Cloak and Dagger series interests me because, like the show and its comic book source material, my book has a blonde girl and African-American male as my protagonists, and even some of the powers seem similar at first glance.
What does a writer do?
I can’t help but think that the timing is not by accident. I’m not going to worry about too many capes, or similarities to other properties out there. The Teacher in Ecclesiastes said that there was nothing new under the sun. Experts in writing and creativity note this as well – we aren’t writing new stories. We’re taking things we like from other tales, putting our spin on them, and putting them out there for audiences to enjoy.
I like my story. It’s got adventure, geeky references, fun characters, high stakes, and hints of romance. Anything from Indiana Jones to comic book heroes to Doctor Who influenced me in writing it. So if a literary take on the world of superpowers sounds intriguing to you, I hope you’ll give Launch a chance on July 3rd.
As far as I know, there’s no new movie releasing that day…