BRAD MELTZER AND THE NATURE OF HEROISM

(NOTE: No jokes today, no "going off" on the subject. He was born on April 1, after all, and this year he's already gotten his share of roasting.)

What are heroes?

In an increasingly cynical age, can they actually exist in real life? And if they do, what shape do they take? Where are they found? Do we need them? If so, why? And what does heroic pop fiction have to do with any or all of this?

This subject is important to me because I deal with heroic fiction for a living and have a 10-year-old daughter. I think whoever might be reading this might share my passion for this subject.

One of the most widely-read writers of super hero comics is Brad Meltzer, who is, as you probably know, also a NY Times best-selling author. He's written a book about real-life heroes, entitled Heroes For My Son, due out soon. You can find out more about it, and read an excerpt from it, here.

On Tuesday, 5/11/10, NPR's "All Things Considered" aired an interview with Mr. Meltzer, who offers some interesting insights into what motivated him to write the book and the effect the work had on his own children. A podcast of the interview is available here. under the title "In 'Heroes' From The Past, Lessons For A Son."

Give a listen. I wonder if you'll find it as fascinating as I do.