The Super Hero’s Journey seamlessly incorporates panels from classic 1960s Marvel comics written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and Vince Colletta and explores the need for connectivity, positivity, and even kindness while traveling through these classic scenes and situations.
It offers an element of actualization and understanding through the lens of the globally recognized and beloved characters from the Silver Age of Comics. McDonnell’s exciting and innovative entry into the Marvel landscape is a stunning and heartwarming new adventure for fans of classic Marvel comics, as well as fans of McDonnell’s comic strip and all-ages picture books.
The Super Hero’s Journey is my graphic novel love letter to the 1960s Marvel Super Heroes and their legendary creators. It was a childhood dream come true to have my art play along with the work of the great Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko. I tried my best to capture the magic, fun, and cosmic energy of those early comic book masterpieces in this arty mashup, – Patrick Mc Donnell
We begin with the Watcher—a being who exists outside the planes of space and time, who sees every moment that has happened, will happen, or is happening throughout the cosmos—as he observes Earth and the inner burdens of the Marvel Super Heroes.
As the Watcher observes the villainous plans of Doctor Doom, who is harnessing the power of the Negative Zone and slowly spreading its negativity across our planet and destroying the human spirit, Mr. Fantastic is led on a meta journey that takes him through the pages of classic comic books and across scenes familiar and unexpected. Ultimately, our heroes discover a Zen solution in an unexpected fashion—one that aligns this book with the inspiring messages of McDonnell’s other beloved and award-winning books—leaving readers with a renewed sense of love, hope, and redemption.
Here is his exclusive essay –
From the Dalai Lama to Spiderman
or
Making Myself One With the Marvel Universe
or
From the Dalai Lama to the Marvel Universe
by Patrick Mc Donnell
This fortuitous year for me began with the publication of Heart To Heart, my book collaboration with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and is now closing with The Super Hero’s Journey, my graphic novel collaboration with Marvel Comics creators Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko.
Although these projects may sound worlds apart, I contend that, at their core, they are cosmically connected.
The Dalai Lama and the classic Marvel characters tell us in their own way that, yes, we all have problems and suffering but we also all have the ability to discover that super being inside us ready to help save the world.
In Heart To Heart the Dalai Lama proposes that we be part of a compassionate revolution to transform our hearts. When Jane Goodall was asked how people’s minds can be changed, she replied that it’s hard to change minds, you have to change hearts, and you reach the heart by telling stories.
The Marvel stories of my youth were inspirational and transformative. They opened me to new ways of seeing the world and invited me to explore my own imagination. Those early comics made you believe anything and everything is possible, and they challenged you to strive to be your best and to use your power for good.
The Dalai Lama is a real-life super hero. His story and teachings are vital to the well-being of our fragile planet and every being on it.
The Dalai Lama teaches that “We are all interconnected in the universe, and from this, universal responsibility arises”. Writer Stan Lee tells of Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” His Holiness states “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” When artist Jack Kirby was asked what super power he would want to have, he immediately answered, “Love.”
I feel blessed that, with Heart To Heart and The Super Hero’s Journey, I had the opportunity to help tell both these stories in a new way to a new audience. Stories that will hopefully change hearts.
Patrick’s seminal comic strip Mutts, which appears in more than 700 newspapers around the world. But did you know that his most recent book is Heart to Heart: A Conversation on Love and Hope for Our Precious Planet, a collaboration with His Holiness the Dalai Lama? (See that Dalai Lama name drop was very intentional.) Patrick has received numerous awards internationally, including a Caldecott Honor and the Reuben, the highest honor given by the National Cartoonists Society. And what he’s accomplished with his new book is truly unique: he recontextualizes comics written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and Vince Colletta, with his own art to create a profound and moving reading experience.
From Charles Kochman, Editorial Director of Abrams ComicArts: “When we released Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross, we promised that Marvel Arts was a line ‘where nothing is impossible and anything can happen.’ With The Super Hero’s Journey, Patrick McDonnell delivers on that promise, creating something truly unique.”
“Patrick McDonnell’s The Super Hero’s Journey uses the Marvel characters and iconography in an idiosyncratic and individual manner to tell a story that is at once autobiographical, spiritual, and mythological. It’s a unique and singular reading experience that pays homage to the great works of the Silver Age while at the same time using them to make a grander statement about the human condition. It will give you the eyes of a kid again,” said Marvel VP of Publishing and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort.
The Super Hero’s Journey is available for pre-order now.
all art – Abrams ComicArts
