 The superhero. Bright. Colorful. Powerful. And most of all, noble.
More than any other creation of the 20th Century, the superhero puts the myths and legends of ancient days in a modern context, showing us sights that would do the storytellers of ancient Greece proud; gods clashing in the skies to the wonder and awe of mere mortals. Men and women who fight, and die, in an endless struggle against evil; beings more powerful than we can fathom deciding our fate in the alleyways and galaxies of the imagination. The superhero speaks to something inside us; an eternal void begging to be filled; an intangible need for things larger than ourselves. Their titanic adventures and mythic tales are a modern reflection of the ancient morality plays so important to human civilization. More than anything else, this is what draws us to the superhero.
Awww hell, who are we kidding? That’s a bunch of psychobabble mumbo jumbo, and it ain’t fooling anyone. We’re drawn to superheroes because they’re cool. Simple as that. We love them because they’re a ton of fun and are always sure to make us shout, “That was so damn amazing!” Few things are as overflowing with pure AWESOME than seeing some awesomely-costumed characters beat the ever-lovin’ (and totally awesome) snot out of one another. That’s … well, it’s awesome. You’d have to be dead inside to not get all giddy when you see Superman swooping through the skies, battling his latest menace, or Spider-Man swinging through the streets of New York on his way to kick around Doc Ock, or Batman lurking on the rooftops, waiting to drop down onto some thugs, or Howard the Duck chomping on a cigar.
(Yes, we’re serious about that last one. Howard the Duck rocks!)
Superheroes are damn cool, and don’t let your wedgie-giving, jock strap-snapping enemies tell you any different. We love to get our geek on with the best of them … and that’s exactly what we’re about to do.
 This week,  celebrates the superhero in the best way we know how – by dishing out a slew of super cool superhero content. With Spider-Man 3 hitting North American theaters on Friday, we figured no time was better than right now to strap on our spandex and play at knocking down walls. It’s clobberin’ time!
Not that we’re strangers to the world of superheroes. No sir, not here at DIMP we’re not. Geeks through and through, we are. From awesome animated features like Hellboy: Sword of Storms and Ultimate Avengers 2 to cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and Aeon Flux - The Complete Animated Collection, we’ve dipped into the world of costumed crusaders and over-the-top action more than a few times. We’ve checked out some of the best television has had to offer, too, like Danger Mouse, Justice League, and Superman: The Animated Series, to name just a few. Heck, we’ve gone straight to the source as well, with hands-on comic convention coverage, a profile of Ed Brubaker’s run on Captain America, and our two-part look at Alan Moore’s legendary Watchmen.
And we’re going to bring you even more capes-n’-crooks goodness this week, with reviews of two classic Batman serials, spotlights on Spider-Man – The Complete ’67 Collection and the Blade films, and even a look at the live action manga craziness that is Cutie Honey. (You’ve got to read it to believe it.) For the comic book geek in all of us – and to celebrate the opening of Spider-Man 3, which will rock – we’ll take a look at the 10 greatest Spider-Man writers of all time. And that’s just the start. More Batman fun, a special edition of Papercut Cinema, and on Friday, ’ top 10 superhero flicks of all time. (Yes, our servers are ready for the fanboy emails. Bring ‘em on!)
In fact, we’ve got so much cool stuff cookin’, we couldn’t fit it all into a single week. Our eclectic Hot Pants section will in the coming weeks play host to some material sure to make even the most ungeeky of comic book  geeks quake at the knees. We’ll take a look at the big three superheroes who allbut DEFINE what it means to be a superhero, we’ll rant about modern comic book art in a curmudgeonly column that would do some stodgy old comic fans proud, we’ll examine the “Ages” of comics, we’ll discuss the viability of digital comics in the 21st Century, and of course, we’ll review some comics.
Could you possibly ask for anything more? (Please don’t answer that. We’re swamped as it is!)
So throw on your mask and get ready for capes, crooks and crusaders all week as fights the bad guys and crushes evil. We know that with great power comes great responsibility, so to prepare yourself for the colossal calamity that will be this daring and destructive week of frolicsome fun, take a gander at some of our favorite superhero content from the last two years, lovingly listed below with lethargic links courtesy of Effervescent Eric San Juan.
Enjoy!
--Eric San Juan
Does Superheroes – Updated As We Go!
Batman - The Complete 1943 Movie Serial
Blade
Batman Beyond - Seasons 1-3
Spider Writers: Ranking Their Best Runs
Papercut Cinema - Installment 6
Cutie Honey - Limited Edition
Spider-Man - The '67 Collection
Batman - The Complete 1949 Serial Collection
Spider-Man
DIMP's Top 10 Superhero Flicks (of all time!)
Does Superheroes – Some Blasts From The Past
Aeon Flux
Aeon Flux - The Complete Animated Collection
Batman Begins
Batman Beyond: The Return of The Joker - S.E. Uncut Version
Danger Mouse - The Complete 5 & 6 Seasons
Danger Mouse - The Final Seasons
Hellboy: Sword of Storms
The Incredible Hulk - The Complete First Season
Justice League - Season One
Justice League - Season Two
Spider-Man 2.1
Superman: The Animated Series
The Toxic Avenger
Ultimate Avengers 2
Ed Brubaker’s Captain America
Watching The Rings: Comparing Watchmen and The Lord of the Rings – Part 1
Watching The Rings: Comparing Watchmen and The Lord of the Rings – Part 2
Speaking Geek For The Week: The San Diego Comic-Con
Rick Veitch’s Can’t Get No: A Review
Papercut Cinema: Superman!
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