By now it’s cliche to proclaim that “comics aren’t just for kids anymore.” Especially in a city like Portland, home to publishers like Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press and Top Shelf Productions, comic books have long since proven themselves above petty genre distinctions.
Superheroes have always been easy, fun choices for Halloween costumes. You get to dress up as the guy or girl you watched in cartoons as a kid, and usually the store-made costumes come with fake muscle padding that boosts your confidence—and that’s before alcohol!
A comics festival usually conjures up the same image from person to person: one imagines a wide-open floor with many tables full of shops selling geeky knickknacks and apparel, comic writers and artists signing their work from a chair and more than a few comics enthusiasts squeezed into ill-fitting superhero garb.
In today’s global political climate, it’s easy for the average American to fall into a victimization mindset. We don’t understand why the people on television hate us so much, but we see the footage of angry throbbing masses and assume we’ve done something wrong. The media controls so much of our perception of the rest of the world—especially how other countries view America.
“I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.”
Every year, thousands of visitors make their way to the Portland Japanese Garden to take in the amazing sights. Though the sheer beauty of the gardens is an experience unto itself, few visitors come away with a comprehensive understanding of the Japanese connection to the natural world.