Age of Power 1: Legacy (47 page)

I rolled my eyes and, with a wave, began walking back down the
path to go rejoin the wedding reception. But before I got more than a few
steps, BJ called out. “What do you want, Vaughn? Out of all of this, what
do you want?”

I looked back at him thinking on that. What did I want? Angela,
Brand—yes, I wanted them back in my life. I wanted to go read a comic and not
feel like saying, ‘Been there, done that.’ I wanted to listen to a song and not
have to turn the volume way down if I lost the low-level concentration I now
needed to enjoy it.

But what did I really want? I said, “Something of Alex’s. By any
chance, do you have something personal of his? Something you won’t miss, I
mean.”

BJ nodded after taking a moment to think on it. He said, “I
think I have something.”

A few days after the wedding, in the early morning, before
sunrise, I climbed onto the church roof. I noticed that the backpack we’d left
there so long ago was gone. I grinned at the memories of that night and looked over
the town. The streetlights showed below on the streets, but that was it. The
colors of Christmas would be for another night. I doubted I would be up here
then. What sight could ever replace 
that
 fateful night?

When the sky lightened up in the east, I walked to the north end
of the church. I waited for the morning breeze from the southwest, and then
opened up the two boxes I had brought.

“Alex, be at peace…wherever you are.” Ashes flew away, and I
closed the box up.

“Brand…
give
 the devil hell, man.”
His ashes floated away in the dying breeze. By that point, the sun was starting
to peek over the horizon—time to get off the church roof before I 
was seen
. I climbed back down with ease. But once my feet
were on the ground, I heard someone clear his throat. I looked around without a
care and smiled at Hector Gutierrez. He smiled back.

“Hector.”

“Vaughn. Good climb?”

“Yep.”

“Nice view?”

“Yep.”

“Finish what you needed to do?”

“Yep.”

“Gonna do it again?”

“Nope.”

“Good morning, then.”

“It is. It really is.”

With that, I walked into the morning dawn, listening to the
world.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

To
write a book about the idea of superhuman beings and not acknowledge some of
the greatest writers of comics would be a wrong in and of itself. Sadly, one
cannot list all of those who have made comic book super heroes great and
popular in many ways. That would be a deserved book all by itself.

Indeed, Grant Morrison, a very prolific
writer who has helped modernize the hero for the twenty-first century has
himself written such a good history. Not to give him a plug, but if you are in
the mood, download or buy the book called,
Supergods. 
I found
this to be an excellent source of understanding of how comics have developed
over the years.

But
there are those who deserve every award possible for their efforts to create a
type of art and story that brings forth the essence of mythos in heroism and
yes, villainy. The top of these are the men who created them all, Jerry Siegel
and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman.

With
Superman, Siegel and Shuster developed not only the basis of the ideal hero in
a time when it was so very needed for morale in a country at war, their
creation went on to become a decade’s long icon seen as the core for all heroes
in the super-hero genre. Indeed, Superman was in some ways the single greatest
hero from which all others could emerge from in the decades following.

Without
Superman, no other superhuman hero would exist. And the world would have indeed
been a darker place. Moreover, from Siegel and Schuster, others continued their
actions. A prime example is Jack Kirby, artist to Fantastic Four and creator of
the New Gods. As an artist, he defined so much of the genre that even today we
still follow his lead in the worlds created by his command of the pencil and
ink.

With
him was Stan Lee who, during a time when so many heroes had fallen to fear that
such art and stories was evil to the youth of America, he knew that it was time
to create new heroes and return the old ones to life. He created Fantastic Four,
Spiderman, X-Men, and oh so many others. From him is the hero of today that we
see in movies, television, and comics.

More
personally, this is for the artist/writers Dave Cockrum and John Byrne and the
writer Chris Claremont. In the late 1970’s and the 1980’s, this trio created a
completely new world of heroes that rebirthed the concept that different was
good. The X-Men were there at a time when a young man so very much needed the
moral boost of the story.

But
beyond comics, this is also for Eric and Rich, who kept me going after every
incarnation of this series came back to haunt me.

This
is also for Breez, who pushed me to go on in one way or another throughout the
years.

Cover
Art by Ross Jura. (Thanks, my good friend)

And
a special thanks to Ashley Davis for the wonderful editing. Without her
efforts, this book would be far less than what it is. If any mistakes
are found
in this rewrite, it is my fault, not the editors.