Chapter 3- BONUS MATERIAL

Heroes in the Night is really coming together rapidly now- out of 16 chapters, Chapters 1-7 are now done, so are Chapters 10-11. Chapter 9 is getting wrapped this week.

Each chapter has several sidebars. Some of these are reflective, some informative. I just got the illustration by David Beyer, Jr. for one of these, so I thought I'd share the sidebar here as a bonus.

CH. 3- EARLY PROTOTYPES-SIDEBARS

SUPER- GRANDPARENTS?

All of these early prototypes indicate that the idea of adopting your own superhero persona in real life is an idea that has been floating around since at least the early 1970s. But these are just the documented cases.

It is impossible to say how many more undocumented RLSHs were out there and how far back it might go. Could Golden Age RLSH have existed, inspired by the old superhero serial silent films or old radio programs? Perhaps George Reeve's Superman or Adam West's Batman inspired unknown RLSH? If they did exist, it's even possible there was media on them- think of how many editions of newspapers sit in archives, untouched for decades.

Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be going through your grandparent’s attic and find a dusty, neatly folded RLSH costume inspired by the Golden Age version of Batman or Captain America.

THE COLIN McENROE SHOW

RLSH and radio show guest Knight Owl, left, and Zimmer

I was a guest today for an hour long radio show, The Colin McEnroe Show, on Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR). Also joining me as guests over the course of the hour- Knight Owl, Geist, Rock N Roll (see previous entry for a profile), and Seattle detective and department spokesman Mark Jamieson.

Det. Jamieson is kind of destined to be the man who has to answer questions about Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superhero Movement until the end of time, often telling media outlets that he feels the RCSM are putting themselves and others in danger.

We were really hoping to hear from Jack aka Razorhawk, so he could talk about his RLSH design shop, Atomic Hero-Wear, but unfortunately the clock ran out before he had a chance to speak.

There were a few questions from listeners who called in, and a guest caller- Superhero of Clearwater, Florida. Apparently the lines were jam packed the entire show.

I also mentioned local Milwaukee RLSH The Watchman and former Connecticut RLSHs Runebringer and Scavenger (where are they now?).

I think the show went absolutely great and a big thanks to the Colin McEnroe Show crew and the guests who called in.

You can listen to the show here:
www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/colin-mcenroe-show-being-real-life-superhero

HERO PROFILE #85: Rock N Roll

Rock N Roll (left) and Night Bug. Photo by Gregg Simpson.

Operates out of: Oakland area of the East Bay

Team affiliation: California Initiative (CAI)

Married to: Night Bug (featured as Hero Profile #65)

Activities: Patrols, security, charity events, needle clean ups

Quote: "I don't consider myself a hero. I'm a pacifist by nature. I'm just another person who's trying to make a difference whenever and wherever I can."

Author's notes: I was in the San Francisco area last week and got a chance to meet up with the California Initiative. I joined them as they went on a mission to seek and dispose of used heroin needles in the Mission area of SF. The group was very hospitable to me (as the Initiative as a whole always has), and I appreciate it greatly. Rock will be joining me and others on a radio show this afternoon, details to follow later today.

HERO PROFILE #84: Beijing Bauhinia

AKA: Bauhinia Heroine aka Hong Kong Flower

Operates out of: Beijing, China

Group affiliation: None

Activities: Homeless outreach

Namesake: The bauhinia is the flower of Hong Kong, which Beijing Bauhinia gives out as a calling card.

Inspiration: The 1965 Hong Kong film Black Rose.

Quote: "Although I haven't solved the problem, at least I've caught the attention of citizens and government officials. That was my goal, and besides it's done more than some of the all-talking-no-action government officials."

Author's notes: A mysterious masked woman who aids the poor in Beijing has become a legend in China with 20,000 online followers and it looks like a possible Hong Kong movie version of her life is being produced. I'll be looking into this story further, but meanwhile check out more photos and articles on the Beijing Bauhinia here:
www.chariweb.com/2011/12/beijing-bauhinia-babe-hongkong-bauhinia.html
And here:
www.21cb.net/bauhinia-heroine-hong-kong/

HEROES IN THE NIGHT in the NEW YORK TIMES

The Black Monday Society-- photo by Jim Wilson- The New York Times

Heroes in the Night was supposed to be on holiday hiatus, but an exciting day of news bumps- somewhat unexpected- has led me to post an update on today's news.

Top of the list is a front page story in today's New York Times, which features a quote from Heroes in the Night author Tea Krulos. The story is titled "Crusaders Take Page, and Outfits, From Comics," by Kirk Johnson. Follow the link on the title, the website also has a video that accompanies the article.

The article mostly focuses on a Salt Lake City team called the Black Monday Society. I did meet one of the BMS members- Professor Midnight- at the HOPE 2011 event in San Diego. I've also written about the current BMS leader, Red Voltage (including a lengthy entry on the BMS change of leadership HERE)

I had a phone interview with Kirk Johnson and we talked about a great many things, including "early prototypes" of the RLSH. One of the early prototypes I cited was Terrifica (see an interview I did with her HERE), and that is what he ran with.

The Times article led to me getting an offer to appear on a news radio show on KCBS in San Francisco, so I did a brief 5 minutes or so with them, answering a few typical questions. I also did an e-mail Q and A with la Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, for an upcoming edition.

Hey, I'll take it!

This blog will return in its usual format the first week of 2012...Happy New Year!

A CHALLENGERS CHRISTMAS

The Challengers outside of Fuel. Photo by Lacy Landre- Third Coast Digest.

The Challengers volunteered for a couple of holiday missions over the last few weeks. Their annual toy drive took place again this year outside of the Fuel Cafe here in Milwaukee (right in my neighborhood, Riverwest)where they took donations of toys and art supplies to be divvied up between two charities, the Gingerbread House and the Meta House.

The Gingerbread House is in nearby Washington County and provides toys to low income families who can't afford to buy gifts.

The Meta House is right down the street from me in Riverwest and is a rehab program for women and their families. They are always in need of art supplies for their art therapy programs.

Challengers The Watchman, Crimson Crusader, Night Vision, and Blackbird as well as Watchman heirs apparent Wonder Boy and Guardian Girl were on hand to collect donations. Things were slower this year compared to last year. We were not able to get the media placement like we did last season and--I don't know--times are hard.

Still, we did get some donations and these were delivered to Gingerbread House by The Watchman and to the Meta House by Blackbird and myself.

The Challengers helping out the Veterans for Peace. Photo by Gary Porter, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Something interesting that came out of the event was meeting a man named Terry who works with a group called Veterans for Peace. He was very interested in what the guys were doing and invited them to an event Monday night.

The event, at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, was a sort of unloading party. Fifty volunteers, including firefighters, veterans, and others unloaded and stacked a donation of 350 cases of food for the Veterans for Peace Food Pantry. Blackbird, Crimson Crusader, and Night Vision joined the human assembly line to help stock the food. The 484th Army Band played Christmas carols as the volunteers worked. The RLSH had a good reception and already are talking with Terry about more ways they can work with Veterans for Peace.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
No matter what you celebrate (even if it is the maniacal Real Life Supervillain holiday Ubermas) I wish you all a happy holiday season. I will have a short holiday hiatus myself, but expect a new blog post the first week of January.

LINKS
GINGERBREAD HOUSE: www.volunteernow.net/vc_no_menu_gingerbread.shtml
META HOUSE: www.metahouse.org
VETERANS FOR PEACE: www.milwaukeevfp.org

HERO PROFILE #83: Night Vision

Photo by Lacy Landre
Operates out of: Milwaukee, WI

Team affiliation: The Challengers

Activities: Night patrols, charity events

Author's notes: Night Vision is a local RLSH I've met up with a couple times now, once on patrol and once at a Christmas charity event last week. He got inspired to get involved after he found out that his friend was none other than the mysterious Milwaukee RLSH known as Blackbird.