Dear Editor: In a time when even Superman, Batman, Ironman, and Spiderman slug it out amongst themselves, I’ve been thinking about a new comic strip: The Adventures of QuakerMan. Cape, a big “Q” on the chest, able to leap over the ocean of darkness is a single bound, etc. A hero who flies in
(no, actually – arrives by public transit) to solve the latest threat to peace and mutual understanding, using X-Ray Discernment and a tenacity greater than steel. An illegal immigrant whose homeland has been destroyed by military insurgents, he was hidden as a child in the American Midwest during the Sanctuary Movement and was raised by a loving family, who taught him about Truth, Justice and the Antiestablishmentarian Way.
Bitten by a perfectly ordinary spider, he finds respect for the web of life, patient industry, and silent waiting. He learns that with great humility comes great responsibility. As he grows up, his parents are stunned to discover his eery abilities, such as not resorting to force, listening carefully, and sitting quietly for very long periods of time.
Of course, as a Quaker, integrity demands that he
not hide behind a secret identity, so he goes by his first name, Kent, and is known as the meeting’s Clerk Kent. But, despite his awesome abilities, QuakerMan seldom acts alone. In a crisis, QuakerMan depends on his powerful friend and ally, CommitteeWoman, with her ability to harness the invisible forces of Truth, to deflect groundless criticism, to self-replicate endlessly, committee by committee, and to control time itself by turning Minutes into hours and days. Together they dispel the forces of ignorance and conflict while arguing endlessly about Right Order and fretting about the appropriateness of capes.
I wish I had the fortitude to actually produce this comic strip, instead of just writing about it.
– Rob Pierson, Albuquerque Friends Meeting (IMYM)