Joel is interested to hear your thoughts on comics or this article. Nonetheless, after almost fifty years, there are still many good things to be mined from it. A ccording to Campbell, all myths, in all cultures on earth, fit into this diagram. To be fair, it is conducted in countless variations and on many themes. T his is where the adherence to the monomythic pattern seems to end.
Few heroes face the one supreme ordeal and final commensurate reward.
Similarly, there is rarely that last return home, the final loss of powers, and restoration of the world to its former, better condition. The first axiom in comics is that characters rarely stay dead or retired. Y es, exceptions do happen. The heroes of that world died or retired, and their world was restored. And sometimes, we get 'a day in the life' stories, which are about the heroes' personal lives.