The Four Color Media Monitor

ABC's KITV-4 in Hawaii reported on a cancer patient who's created a comic spotlighting the disease, but the premise is odd:

We first told you about a Kaka'ako man with cancer last August. Mickey Weems is Aging so Well, he outlived his doctor's expectations by a year. He's still here, and he's still making a difference.

An art show for a comic book and a little autograph signing for an audience of loved ones. Sixty-five-year-old Weems launched the one and only edition of Stigmata last week. Though sick, he found time to create this. "It's about a man with Stage 4 cancer who gets a superpower. Every time he uses his superpower, his cancer gets worse," Weems describes.

Friends say his superpower is to keep extending his compassion, even despite his own suffering. For instance, this comic book's message is meant to help others. Weems tells me, "If they have cancer, I want them to feel like they're not alone. If they don't have cancer, they'll know somebody who does. It'll allow them to see into the mind of what it's like to go into it."

Honestly, I don't understand what's meant to be inspiring about having a superpower that only precipitates cancerous effects. This sounds like a pessimistic viewpoint he's emphasizing, and while it's certainly a shame the guy's suffered from the disease, he shouldn't let it get him down in artistic terms, to the point where he'd make the story about the superpower worsening the situation.

At least he's providing the message though, that cancer patients aren't alone in what they're experiencing, and that's important.

Labels: exhibitions, msm propaganda, science