trauma Archives - Therapeutic Code

A few months ago I backed a Kickstarter for a comic about a therapist who provides services for superheroes. When I saw the description for Super-Ego by Caio Oliveira, I knew I had to have it and pulled out my wallet to help. This week I received a digital copy of the book and decided that I couldn’t wait until the hardcover arrived to review it.

(Image via Comic Rocket)

First off, I want to assure everyone that I’m going to do my best to provide this review spoiler free.

The story follows Dr. Eugene Goodman, a.k.a Dr. Ego. Apparently he’s the go to guy when it comes to superheroes with emotional issues. He wears a mask and uses the alter ego name because “masks only talk to masks”.

Not getting along with your sidekick? Talk to Dr. Ego.

Deep seeded rage issues due to trauma in your origin story? Talk to Dr. Ego.

Pressures of fighting villain after villain getting to you? Talk to Dr. Ego.

As I was reading this book, I really started to tie it to Mark Waid’s Irredeemable. The main character of Irredeemable is a once hero/now villain with a lot of emotional baggage and pain to sift through. The stress of his difficult childhood, added with the pressure of being everyone’s savior and not being able to tell anyone who you really are makes for a lot of issues to work through. Ultimately, he can’t handle it and becomes the world’s worst nightmare.

irredeemable-1

(Image via Dad’s Big Plan)

In Super-Ego, our mild mannered therapist, Dr. Ego is trying to stop that exact kind of thing from happening. I tried to picture being in his shoes and having the weight of being responsible for the mental stability of these guys (who could either save or destroy the world with a flick of their wrist) in my hands. Talk about pressure.

Think about it. In just about all of my courses we have talked about responsibility. That what our clients do or don’t do is not on us. We provide the best care we can, and what they do with it once they leave the office is on them. But what happens if your client leaves the room and destroys the city? Or the planet? Or the universe?

(Image via Forces of Geek)

Regardless of what perspective you take on responsibility, those kinds of actions would be hard to live with.

Super-Ego brought up some interesting insights, but there were also some parts of the story which I took issue with.

To keep it spoiler free, I’ll just say that there is a twist that completely changes the nature of the story. The implications of the twist and the direction the characters go after said twist are concerning to me. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about them, but I’m definitely glad that I purchased the book.

I wish that the creator had focused more on the things that made the story interesting before the plot twist and spent more time with what it would be like to be in a therapy room with superheroes. They are some of the most trauma exposed, anxiety filled, isolated, and socially awkward individuals anyone could work with. I’d love to see a book that looks more at that piece.

(Image via Contraversao)

Overall, I felt that this book was pretty good. It was thought provoking, and make me take a look at myself as a future therapist. It had action and humor, and the art was wonderful. (I tend to base many of my comic purchases based on whether or not I like the art style). And while I may or may not use this book with my clients, I will definitely be keeping on the shelf in my office.

There are so many things I could say about “Something Terrible” by Dean Trippe, but I honestly have no idea where to start.

I suppose I can start with how I found out about this intensely moving comic. While I was at NYCC, I passed a booth that had a print with just about every comic book character (or geeky character, for that matter). The art was amazing, I took some time to study it and then moved on. It was called “You’ll Be Safe Here”.

I got lost in trying to find my favorite characters, and you can probably see why.

Fast forward to the past week or so. I’ve seen Dean Trippe’s name come up a billion times in the geek therapy world on my twitter feed, so I decide to check him out. And I see the same print I saw at NYCC. I had no idea that it was part of a larger story. I just thought that it was a stand alone illustration.

The result of that search ended up in me spending one of the most well spent dollars (his entire comic is only 99 cents) I have ever spent. I would have spent more!

The art is beautifully simple. It is so crisp and simple, which really draws you into the story. The storytelling is brilliant. Trippe’s ability to convey so much emotion with so few words is an accomplishment to be proud of. I can barely tell such an emotionally loaded story coherently using words.

Maybe that’s part of the reason why it works. The words don’t get in the way.

By now (or maybe a bunch of paragraphs ago), you’re probably wondering what the story is about. Trippe tells his life story in just a few panels, but the message is strong. Essentially, the story is about his having been molested as a child, and how Batman saved his life.

Batman, through watching the movies and reading the comics, became Trippe’s personal hero. Trippe also became Batman. He became a trauma survivor who was able to do something with his life.

Unfortunately, Trippe grew up believing that because he was abused, there was something terrible inside of him. That he would someday become an abuser himself. I can’t imagine living through life constantly worrying about harming a child. Especially my own.

In the end, Batman helps him see the truth about himself, and he is able to build a positive relationship with his son.

Something Terrible is the epitome of geek therapy. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will keep it as vague as possible. Trippe was able to heal a major wound due to superheroes and comics. It helped him to heal and become the man he is. It helped him to become the incredible cartoonist he is.

In the process of writing the comic, he was able to change his narrative. He re-wrote his story to help him feel better about what happened to him. Trippe did something on his own that many people do in therapy, with or without the comics.

Dean Trippe is a brave man to put his story out for all the world to see. His story shows the power that one childhood (or lifelong) passion can have, and the healing properties it can possess.

I’m sure that resonates with some, if not all, of us with a geeky obsession.

If you’d like to buy Something Terrible, you can do so here! (And you should buy it. You won’t regret it!)

Super-Ego: When Heroes Need Help

Something Terrible is Anything But