The Last Mimzy (version B)

The Last Mimzy. Viewed on 3-26-09 at Karesotes Showplace 14 in New Lenox, IL
I have been lost within myself as of late. I disliked the superhero stories I encountered yet was still drawn to the genre. Heroes, Ben 10, and Invincible I love. The output of Marvel comics and DC comics leaves me sick. I look at the stories and feel nothing. That magical spark is missing. So why do I continue to look. Am I secretly hoping I will find a superhero story that entertains. Maybe I desire to find my childhood innocence again.
The problem with that idea I realized is that I did not read superhero comics as a child. In fact I did not read any comics until I was thirteen. I read books. Myth and children's literature. Just So Stories. Captain Courageous, Bloodclot Boy, Coyote, King Arthur, Narnia, the Phantom Tollbooth, and the Dark is Rising series. Those last two are the only books I have read more than once in my life. The Dark is Rising is one of my all time favorite series. Every book in the series I devoured. I could see every detail with clarity. For me, in sixth grade, those stories were real. Or so I wished they were. I wished some one would come along and tell me I am special, just like Will. To go from a plain ten year old to having special magical powers was very seductive to me. Why? The idea appealed to me because of my own feelings of powerless at that time. I did not get along with my peers. I was arguing with my parents. I was depressed and did not know how to get out. Yet if I was Will, I could use my magical powers to change things. Or maybe my junior high troubles would not seem so bad in comparison to facing down agents of evil and chaos. I must admit, not only to you but myself, that the idea of being the hero appealed to me. As one aspect of my depression I viewed myself as an evil person. My father telling me how selfish I was for getting christmas presents when there were starving children in the world contributed to this delusion I am sure. If I was Will, then I wouldn't be evil because I would be the hero. The hero only does good.
I've come to realize, after watching the Last Mimzy, is I never really loved superhero comics. I only liked them because they shared similar themes as the books I loved as a child. A person is able to take on another identity. A person learns special abilities or discovers special devices allowing them to do what they could not do before. A person discovers a secret world he or she did not know existed. Lastly, and most importantly, a person discovers peace of mind by book's end.
-Jason
www.littleenandbigen.com