Volstagg Will Crush You

[kaholo1256]

But could he fit into Abercrombie & Fitch clothes???

 

Been a little while since I've been on here. Last time I was on writing here was just before my mid-tour leave in April. Since then I picked up one hell of a stash from my LCS America's Heroes Comics and taken the family around for some quality time and on slight occasions wrote small replies to others Journal's.

 

Since being back though I have been reading a few news articles and noticed one that truly caught my eye. The Abercrombie & Fitch guy getting in trouble for only wanting to clothe the cool and skinny. This got me thinking, with the entire backlash this guy got for simply telling people his honest business plan what about heroes in our stories. Is it politically correct to need to be fit in order to save someone's life?

 

Really looking through it I noticed there are maybe a handful of heroes who are overweight or thus considered obese and for the most part they are only there for comedic reasons and not really hero archetypes. Does this mean we should care that much more or less about the views of others and look at our own views of what a "good" societies appearance is? Just off the top of my head I can think of Volstagg from the Heroes Three and Owl Man from Watchmen being the only two I can think of that are written with any seriousness involved.

 

On the other hand Villains can and have been often portrayed as Portly or even with the normal body frame such as Kingpin, the Blob, Penguin, Doctor Octopus, Molecule Man, The Slug, Mojo, Vindicator when he looks like the clown so forth and so on.

It's as if comics tell us that to be good, one needs to fit the mold of a body builder who takes nutrition and working out to heart but a villain lazily lays on the couch eating chips and cookies thinking about ways to get back at these Super Heroes. Even Hollywood refused to hire a portly fellow or two to play either of the larger characters in their debuts in Thor or Watchmen

 

For me when I think of the word Hero I immediately picture Superman, Captain America, and Batman. Each with giant biceps and built chests unless, Liefeld gets ahold of them and then they have barrel chests,... but anyways I don't picture Volstagg coming to my aid. Is it wrong of me to see a hero as only one specific physical type? Granted over here if I was in trouble I wouldn't care who saved me as long as it was done and this goes for all of us. Quite frankly I would rather be saved by anyone than to not be saved at all.

 

So my point being, should comic companies, now that being bigger is more "mainstream" and accepted or at least fighting back, start portraying a few more bigger heroes with a more serious tone than simply having Balloon Boy and Fat Flash? Or should we stay with the Jacked super hero look?

 

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[surfer99]

Hey kaholo bradda. Good to hear from you bra. Interesting topic, thanks for writing. Personally I think the A&F dude is a tool. People are people...all shapes, sizes and colors, you know? Elitists suck, period...even when they have a reason to put themselves on a pedestal (like Kobe Bryant...can't stand that guy's attitude...but then you look at a guy like Tim Duncan and he's all humble and reserved...but I digress).

 

I think with comic book heroes, we like to imagine them as being everything we COULD be and this is why they are portrayed the way they are. Strong, athletic, attractive, smart, respected, unselfish...the list goes on.

 

[Ronnylama]

Doctor Who makes a great hero. Rorschach as well and we cannot forget The Boondock Saints (the 1999 movie)...they are heroes in my book

[SW3D]

Dear Kman,

 

So glad to read one of your posts and equally happy to read all is well with you.

 

I can't think of any corpulent heroes... but a few heroes do come to mind that were presented purposely against type:

 

Lee/Kirby's Thing from Fantastic Four was made into an amorphous shaped creature like no other. And poor old Ben Grimm had to deal with his shattered self esteem every day... made for awesome drama.

 

Ditko's take on Peter Parker/Spider-Man was a scrawny high school science geek who Ditko purposely drew against type. Even after acquiring his powers... Spider-Man was a gawky skinny kid... nothing like a conventional superhero.

 

But i have to agree with Surfer99... artists take their artistic cues from already established archtypes... and heroes images are molded after the Greek Olympians of old... perfect chiseled bodies... like our best atheletes.

 

Fat heroes and heroes played against type are very very rare!

 

SW3D

[kaholo1256]

Surfer - Shoots Bra - I do agree that I hate those who think they are better than anyone else but honestly he I still think he shouldn't have apologized. The only thing I think he did wrong is break the unwritten rule of telling the public the brash truth of who they were selling there wares to. Saks 5th Avenue, Louis Vutton, Chanel and stores like them do the same. They sell to the rich because thats who can afford there . Anyways as for comics I think most of us still have that picture in our minds of what a hero looks like. For me when I was a kid G.I. Joe was the hero and everyone was fit on TV. Now that I have served...not so much.

 

Ronnylama - Each of those make hero's or even the anit-hero list to me. For the exception of Dr. Who...I have never read any of these comics and must be missing out on this one, the others remind me of a Punisher type hero. They do what is necessary for the greater good even if it takes a type of evil to ensure it is done.

 

SW3DThing was actually one I was going to place on here but honestly when he reverts back he still shares qualities of the Greek Olympians more renown for there strength. When he is the thing I did read a few of his stories and truly did enjoy his movement during the time he wore the helmet from being even more disfigured by Wolverine I think it was. Also I think Spider-man's closeness to being like us is what makes him appealing and still does so even today. I think that was one of the things Marvel lost sight on when they created the Puss-man??? I honestly wish there were more characters more closely associated with society than always making them so high and mighty or beyond what many of us have as a moral compass.

 

I guess for now we will continue to follow which was the norm for us as children and hope our children are the ones to maybe one day break that mold.

 

K

[SW3D]

Just to let you know... i used to have a weight issue as a child and teen and i was always miserable for it. And i would always look to my comic book heroes (especially Daredevil because Frank Miller always seemed to make it a point to show Matt Murdock in training) and my favorite matinee screen idols (Sly Stallone, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, and Arnold) and said to myself... "i vow one day to look like them".

 

Then in the late 80's, my brother (who never had a weight issue unlike me) joined the Marines and when he came back from boot camp... I was astonished at his transformation. He looked incredibly fit! Like a poster boy for the Seal Team... and i asked him to help me lose weight and he gave me tips he learned.

 

So i started to run, lift, and do exercises he learned at Parris Island.

 

Many months later, i ran into an old high school friend of mine and he was astonished at my transformation. I felt like a new man and the attention i was suddenly getting from women in College when no one would look at me when i was the proverbial "fat kid who used his comedic and artistic skills to make friends"... was a feeling of accomplishment like none other. And as i physically changed... so did my social calender and my career options.

 

Well into my 20's i continued to maintain my physique and took Tae Kwon Do for a few but found my love in Seido Karate and took that for about 5 years. Sadly i quit... got hurt and said to myself... i better avoid killing myself or i'll never reach my 30's.

 

I don't want blame my marriage... but in my Mid-30's when i was about to walk down the isle i got into peak shape (I wanted to impress all who attended the wedding... especially my bride to be). But once into the marriage the wheels fell off and i suddenly stopped taking care of myself. And over an 8 year period i gained 75 pounds! I was so depressed!

 

Flash forward to today... I'm single and i lost 75 pounds... and in July i will be 44 and honest to God i am in the best shape of my life. I follow a Paleo Diet, i workout only twice a week (but it is a 3 1/2 hours intensity routine... the core best of everything i learned)... and i feel great. And even in my 40's i get looks from the 20 something chicks. There's even this incredibly hot girl i'm pining for... and we have this thing where we play this game of eye contact at the gym when we're working out... but i have yet to strike up the nerve to ask her out because i am almost 20 years her senior. But damn... i will go for it soon... so very soon. I'm just waiting for the right moment like a comic book at auction to place the right bid.

 

Anyway... my point is... coming from the other side of things... when i had low self esteem... when i used to look at the mirror and feel ugly and unwanted... and there are more reasons why i would over eat due to childhood depression (that's another story for another day)... i was caught in a viscious cycle of being made fun of in school for being fat and like a drunk who finds solace in drink... i found solace in food and lots of TV's and Comic Books. I have to say... Comic Books, Movies and TV shaped my worldview more so than any other thing save my Parents and Family. But i was a miserable, miserable, miserable child... and being fat and overweight was no fun at all. I remember the look i once got from the "hottest" girl in Junior High... it was that look like i was some kind of troll, slug or something less than human. Or the thousands of times kids teased me... you eventually get over those things but at the time they were emotionally scarring. And what did i do... i went back to eating to drown my woes and misery in the joys of sugar and sweets. And the viscious cycle continued.

 

I do agree this society has a wicked and unjust... perhaps morbid fixation on how we look. It seems like we can't just accept people for who they are. But the honest cold truth of it all... society rewards the beautiful people... and studies show the psychological truths behind this statement. And it is a sad state we live in since there are lot of beautiful people who are ignored simply based on their looks. Inner beauty will never be discovered since we are all programmed to love and idol worship based on physical appearance. "Mirror, mirror on the wall... who's the fairest one of them all?"

 

I for one feel the motivation for losing weight should always be about health... but the truth was... i wanted to look like my heroes. I will never look like them... that just isn't going to happen... but i do feel like i hit my peak and i am happy. I can't express and articulate the feeling and jubilation to wake up and feel strong... healthy... and then look in the mirror and see all the hard work and years of sacrifice stand before me... and it is a daily struggle... it never gets any easier. Maybe that is what it really represents: hard work and dedication... and i am proud of it... and myself for the will power... and i believe that's something we can all achieve!

 

SW3D

 

 

 

 

[surfer99]

Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing your story SW3D. Kids can be cruel and I'm sorry for the trash you had to go through growing up. I was overly skinny as a kid, but thankfully wasn't razzed too hard about it...a few nick names that stung a little, but that's about it. It's funny, now I have this picture of you I can't get out of my head...ever seen Schmidt from the TV show New Girl? I'm glad you overcame the obstacles you faced in your younger years...coming from a broken home I don't agree with divorce, but I can only imagine how hard that must have been so I'm sorry for that. In the end it sounds like things worked out for you and I'm glad.

 

The hot chick at the gym...that's a question mark. Sometimes I'll see a gorgeous girl in her 20's and think "damn", and then I think...hmm, how awkward would it be if she took me to meet her dad and he was my age? If I was the dad I'd want to crush this dude who is trying to bed my little girl. I also don't believe I could relate with someone half my age because we grew up in different generations so any long term relationship would never work for me...she'd be all like, "What the heck is the Love Boat"? Hey man, either way, I hope you meet someone that makes you happy.

[meshuggah]

Sw3d, that's a great story. Thanks for sharing your pain and triumph. Divorce does suck but sometimes it's for the better. I have a friend who does paleo and loves it. You guys are far more disciplined than I. I work out hard and try to eat right but enjoy eating junk every now and then too.

 

I'm in my 30s and don't think I could take being with someone in their early 20s. Just like surfer mentioned I'd go nuts dealing with their silliness. But if you can do it, more power to you.

[kaholo1256]

Wow SW3D that really is an amazing story. I never had an issue with my physical self as I have always been the athletic type but my issue was always fitting in because I was different or the only person not Caucasian in my town. For the most part this is why I gravitated more towards the X-Men because they were the minority. Another story for another time I guess.

 

Anyways it was great to see another’s story of struggle through adversity and overcoming and can’t wait to see more.

 

K

 

[SW3D]

Surfer99,

 

Love... exciting and new... come aboard... we're expecting you.. the Love Boat!

 

Damn that brought back some memories! I remember I had a crush on Julie's character.

 

Divorce isn't easy... for anybody... husband, wife, children... but when the spark, passion and love fades... two people have to face reality and make a choice. Thankfully my ex and i vowed to each other we weren't going to be "War of the Roses".

 

Meshuggah,

 

She's such a cutie and a hottie... i've seen her working out and i've seen her dressed to thrill... and damn i am always floored. And you and Surfer are probably 1000 percent right about the generation gap... but a fella can dream and fantasize until Ms. Right comes along... can't he? And the fantasy... i see her dressed in costume as Ms. Marvel... long blond hair and those sexy thigh high boots!

 

Kman,

 

I also loved the X-Men for similar reasons. In fact i always felt superheroes of all types were freaks by virtue of being different and unrelateable... which is why i identified with them... especially the heroes and supernaturals whose lives were on the fringes of society and never felt accepted. Swamp Thing, Silver Surfer, Warlock, The Thing, Nightcrawler, Hellboy... are some of my favorities because i can feel their pain. They were always treated like monsters...outcasts... freaks... or they never felt comfortable in their own skin... and that's how i felt. But one must learn to pick one's self up and continue on... with our head held high!

 

SW3D