Recommend a comic about self-acceptance

[slvn]

My wife is a family therapist, and she's looking for a comic that features a character who struggles with issues of self-loathing and frustration, which lead him to act out, but is learning to begin to have more self-control and self-acceptance. It should be something a 14-year old can read and understand and appreciate, but violent content is probably alright. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Kees_L]

Ehm, this would be a suggestion based on how I read a good number of years back - so you'd need to be checking things out for yourself for appropriateness, but I'd suggest the first-ever 'Batman VS Anarky' story from Detective Comics #608-609.
A story dealing with family and youth and any potentially acting out in rather a big way, if I recall correctly.

Because not only is Batman being characterized as both a parent-missing yet also sort of parenting character (to Robin, a vacant position due to the last one being to die in action), but with Anarky Batman gets to be dealing with a teen, too young to act out as some graphitti-spraying, anarchy-displaying vigilante, but one that does notwithstandingly, by devising up a costume which hides any youthfulness.
Of course Batman apprehends the kiddo, or rather the machismo rebellant outfit surrounding such, or does he? The kid does not prove to be as outspokenly unsavory an adversary as any Joker or what have you, although the common justice would appear hardly less of a bitch concerning Anarky.

So you may wanna check that out.

Detective Comics 608-609, "Anarky in Gotham City" (by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, DC, 1989) or either the first story in the Batman: Anarky (DC, 1999) trade paperback.

[the4thpip]

http://images.borders.com.au/images/bau/97815609/9781560972556/0/0/plain/love-and-rockets-vol-13-chester-square-sc.jpg

[FanboyStranger]

The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. It deals specifically with sexual abuse, but one of the overall themes of the book is coming to terms with your past and pain and moving forward with your life as best you can. It's powerful stuff, and the lead character feels anger, doubt, worthlessness, and feelings of self-revulsion at the same time.

The Spiral Cage by Al Davison is another good one. It deals with Davison's spina bifida, and his attempts to deal with the anger he felt by having such a painful disease through his art and martial arts. It's autobiographical, so it may help that there's a real person experiencing that sort of anger and occasional sefl-revulsion, and Davison certainly provides some constructive methods that helped him overcome those feelings.

[Vic Vega]

Seconding "The Tale Of One Bad Rat".

You should still be able to find the trade.

[Captain Clarkie]

Seconding "The Tale Of One Bad Rat".

You should still be able to find the trade.

Thirded, it's a great book.

[slvn]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I really appreciate them, and so will my wife.

If anyone can suggest a comic book that would be inspiring to someone with Asperger's Syndrome (or anywhere on the autism spectrum), that would be helpful too.

[Sub-Mariner]

Tell him to read up on The Thing/Benjamin Grimm.

Best stories of self acceptance EVER!

[Iangould]

The "This Man, This Monster" story from the Lee/Kirby run and the "Things Change" story by John Byrne which I think ran in the first couple of issues of the Thing solo title that followed Marvel Two-in-One come to mind.

Marvel's Tomb of Dracula had a strong theme of self-acceptance but in this case it's accepting that you're an undead monster who's eternally damned and I'm not sure that's quite the message you're looking for.