When a someone who has no formal experience with the comic book superhero genre, they normally brush off the format citing that they are for children, that the stories are simple and not sophisticated, have no relevancy, that they are irrelevant children’s picture books for nerds and geeks and it serves no purpose in today’s society and consumes precious earth resources. I beg to differ and put forth the argument that comics and the superhero genre provide the opportunity to take part in the Hero’s Journey, that today’s Superhero matters more now to us individually and socially than ever before, and that today’s comic book provides a unique reflection on the happenings in society.
The definition of Myth
Before we can define the term ‘mythology’ it is important that we understand and look at the meaning of the word ‘myth’. The word comes from the Greek “mythos” which means “speech” or “discourse”. Over time it became to mean “fable” or “legend”. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘myth’ as: “1. a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon; 2. a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially : one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society; 3. a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence”. An example use of the word myth is: Contrary to popular myth, no monster lives in this lake [Definition of MYTH]
