Recently, Agent Bobby wrote a two part article on how tragedy inspired some great works of art from storytellers. (Click here for Part 1, and click here for Part 2 to read them.)

Be it novels or films, storytellers have used their chosen field to figure out their own struggles and emotions about a tragic event in their lives. There are some great comics about this subject as well, and one of the recent examples of using a tragedy to fuel a story is this great autobio comic from writer/artist Dean Trippe.

Using minimal dialogue, Dean recounts to us an awful and traumatic experience that happened to him a young age.

He doesn’t go into detail what happened to him in the comic itself, (he does explain in the afterword at the end though) but knowing the details isn’t the important part of the story. The information that is important is that whatever happened to him, it was enough of a traumatic event that it could have destroyed him and his spirit.

Instead, the beauty of this comic is that we discover an outlet that he uses to help escape the tragedy; the world of comics and superheroes.

We all fell in love with superheroes for one reason or another. I sometimes think that we take for granted why we love these characters, but for Dean Trippe, we see exactly why he doesn’t just love the world of superheroes…he needed them.

For Dean Trippe, he showcases how the world of heroes can help guide you out of darkness and he does so by simply showing you how he got through it himself.

It’s a short read I might add (just 16 pages) but Dean has great pacing, and really knows when to let the story breath.

The comic continues to when he is an adult, but the pain and damage his childhood still has effects. Trippe uses a beautiful and subtle visual cues to represent the his struggles, and it’s such a great use of the comic book language that I don’t dare show you what it is here. I want you to see it for yourself.

Dean’s art is gorgeous in this.  Amazing, clean lines, use of two tones of coloring, and his layouts perfectly set the great pacing that I mentioned before.

I would love to show you more from this book, but I feel you need to see for yourself how fantastic this comic gets with its message about how fictional heroes can truly help us. In this age of wanting our heroes to be “realistic” and conflicted, we forget how important it is for superheroes to be examples of people at their best. I would argue that Dean’s comic is a great example as to why we need positive uses for superheroes, and not just forcing ways to make them for “grown ups.”

You can get it right now only as a digital comic on this his site for just $0.99. (Click here to get it). Trust me when I say, it’s worth the dollar.  Personally, I’d say it’s worth more.