Dark Knight.

One of my favorite comic super heroes is Batman. Even if in the movies, he had been portrayed by numerous actors - excellent and bad ones - Batman remains top on my list.

I like his persona because he's haunted by his childhood trauma, and this made him both weak and strong.

A lot of us non-heroic mortals are haunted by our past, and Freudian thought has taught us that a lot of our problems in adulthood can be traced to childhood dilemmas, and often, brought about by the adults around us, especially by our parents.

A week ago, we sought help from a lady lawyer for our friends who experienced violence in the hands of their closest relative. Upon reviewing the case, she commented that there's always a "dark" persona in every family, including her own.

Batman has his dark side: he is moody, he is a womanizer, he is uncommunicative, he cannot move on from his past, in spite and despite of his millions.

Many of us, although accused and judged by people around us, has remained procrastinators throughout our lives. We can't just shake the dust off our coats; we remain glued to scenes of us as five years old, in our twelves, twenties, thirties. We continue to keep mementos of rejected work, clippings of old projects, small photographs of unforgotten people, old and un-mailed letters, trashy poetry, old ATM slips, old boarding passes, etc.

Darkness looms everywhere; evil surrounds us.

But the Dark Knight is pure gold, at heart.

When Hagar the Horrible and Adam@home Met.

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/hagar/about.htm

One of my favorite comic strips is Hagar. His wife Helga insults him but cooks and tends to him lovingly, day in and out. His sidekick or crew mate Lucky Eddie and his time at the tavern provide distraction from his "invading work" and from Helga's nagging.

Hagar, created by Chris Browne, can be horrible in a funny, comic-strip way. A Viking who has to bring in the bacon has to be. The Viking terrain can be tough and the enemies could lunge at him anytime.

Adam@home, on the other hand, is a gentle soul. He works at home and tends to his three kids.

Created by Brian Basset, Adam mows the lawn with son Clayton, takes the kids swimming on summers, and drives wife Laura, to work.

He tries to keep fit with exercising at home but never found success and tries to find a babysitter to keep the kids while he and wife dine out on weekends. Kathy, the daughter is vampire to brother Clayton but Clayton has been a monster to Kathy, too. Nick, the toddler is his office aide.

Adam consumes coffee at the level of a maniac, and with it, keeps the "baristas' working.

If Hagar gets to meet Adam, I think they'd talk about first, their wives. That's the common denominator between them. Compare notes about their cooking and bed manners, maybe. Helga's good, knocks me down but cooks great food. Laura's chic, reads a lot of books at the bookstore.

Next, they'd talk about their work. Hagar would boast about defeating a Celt band and taking the loot home. Adam would talk about getting a new client, and buying little Nick a new McDonald Transformer breakfast.

Third, they'd probably trade stories about lattes and Viking brew, young, sexy barista and voluptuous tavern maids.

Fourth, Adam would maybe talk about his desire for new gadgets - a new laptop or a new Plasma TV just for himself; Hagar would want to have a new spike with big heavy balls to break heads.

Both comic strips can awaken a man's sleepy day. Both men represent a different era: Hagar represents a time when man was the principal breadwinner. Adam represents an emerging breed, stay-at-home partner and self-employed.

Don't remember seeing a pet at Adam's home, though; Hagar's got a dog Snert.

If I'd meet with the two, I 'd say I like a new pet. It would be great for Spike and Tommy Boy the budgie to have someone to share their ho hum days. A ferocious cat would be welcome.

Someone who could bite Spike aka Shadow Fajardo when he becomes a nasty dog. Or maybe purr at Tommy. Hello, Kitty.