Doing good is a strange concept—easy to say but hard to truly define. Many people have different opinions on what right and wrong are, and plenty of the time, what’s good in a given situation isn’t always clear. The real world is full of gray areas, and with those grays come profoundly confusing questions. What is good? How do we do good? Heck, can we do good? Plenty have their own unique answers to these questions, and many more have no answers at all. Crazy as it may sound, though, one of the deepest explorations of the concept of doing good can be found in a superhero comic. Filled with depth and thematic meaning in its plot and characters, the comic Radiant Black tackles just that. Produced by writer Kyle Higgins and artist Marcelo Costa, this brilliant entry into the superhero genre details for its readers the many aspects of doing good.

Unique Character Writing

The primary way Radiant Black shows the complexities of doing good is through its unique approach to writing characters. To describe it in a statement, Radiant Black’s character writing is meant to display truly ordinary characters suddenly tasked with doing extraordinary things. Even before superpowers came into play, the comic’s many faces were never soldiers, super geniuses, or royalty. They were teachers, aspiring authors, and steamers; nothing about them was really abnormal; they just seemed like ordinary people. That feel to their pursuits even after powers are obtained. In writing characters like this, Radiant Black makes itself very relatable to its audience, which helps the messages it communicates and the themes it explores feel that much more authentic.

Nathan Burnett

For instance, the series’ original protagonist, Nathan Burnett, was struggling with his dream of writing a novel at the beginning of the comic. That has contributed to him having to move back in with his parents because of debt issues, which is a problem he works to rectify over the course of the story. Other than that, he’s certainly a kind person and always eager to hear people out. Notice anything yet? All of that is remarkably ordinary; there’s nothing necessarily “super” about Nathan. This quickly establishes that relatability, helping readers understand and sympathize with Nathan, which in turn makes what his character is trying to say feel more true to life. That message, though, only becomes apparent when Nathan gets his superpowers. When he takes on his role as the titular hero, Radiant Black, there is a notable change in him. Beyond just his acts of heroism inside his costume, Nathan seems to be taking life much more seriously outside of it. He starts driving consistently for a rideshare service to help his debt problem and begins to work on his novel in earnest for the very first time. This reveals the true message behind his character: acts of kindness benefit the helper as much as the people they assist. Nathan is able to finally start progressing in his personal life when he starts to do good for others more consistently, finally working towards his dream of writing a novel, and doing better for himself financially. The message Nathan conveys through his character is very relevant and true to life, and with how relatable he is, it becomes incredibly easy for the audience to take that message to heart.

Use Of Narrative Techniques and Literary Devices

Most every story uses narrative techniques. In that regard, Radiant Black is far from unique. What is interesting about its use of them, however, is just how well these techniques are used. It uses the various techniques for an array of purposes, but all of them add to the story in some way.

Backstories

There are few narrative techniques as ubiquitous as backstories. Used to display a character’s past and possibly their mental state or motivations, backstories can add a lot of different things to a narrative. Thematic depth, overarching questions, messages—all of that and more can be added to or expounded upon within a narrative when backstories come into play. Radiant Black certainly understands that, which is precisely why it takes such advantage of this technique to write its characters. Satomi, Eva, and Wendell all get a full issue dedicated to their respective backstories. These really help add depth to the characters, as they all detail motivations and various themes regarding each character (such as trying to positively impact the world, consequences and their impact on people, strained relationships with others, etc.). By using this technique, Radiant Black adds a lot to its narrative and characters, making the story all the better.

Symbolism

Radiant Black uses symbolism in a particular object to add another layer of thematic depth to its narrative. This object is called a Radiant, and it serves as the source of most characters’ extraordinary powers in the comic book. The mystery surrounding their origins and purpose hovers over the comic series from some of its earliest issues up until the present, and many aspects of them are still unknown. Still, their mysterious nature, as well as the positive and negative impact they’ve had on the world, make them a perfect symbol for the concept of opportunity. Opportunity is neither good nor bad for the world; it usually depends on how those opportunities are used to determine that. They also sometimes come from places the receiver is unaware of or doesn’t understand, with job opportunities being a solid example of that. This bit of symbolism found in the Radiants adds some more flavor to the story and makes it possible to look at Radiant Black’s whole narrative as an allegory for the complexities of responsibilities. Radiants make the comic more interpretive and thought-provoking when analyzed, which helps to add depth to the narrative and appeal to certain readers.

We Can Do Good

Through both its unique character writing and use of narrative techniques, Radiant Black is able to explore the complexities of doing good. Its narrative does everything from defining the act to detailing its benefits, and in doing so, it’s able to craft an incredibly relevant story. The way the comic explores the concept is masterful, and with its writing and techniques, it’s able to give readers so much to think about.

What Is Doing Good?

In the world of Radiant Black, doing good refers to doing acts that benefit either others or oneself. Selfless actions are obviously the traditional example of doing good, with them including saving people from crumbling buildings or stopping them from being harmed by dangerous individuals. However, acts that benefit the self aren’t traditionally thought of as doing good in most forms of media, making it a bit peculiar that Radiant Black would present them in that light. That said, it does help a lot with fleshing out some aspects of doing good. By broadening the prototypical representation of doing good as well as utilizing very relatable characters, Radiant Black is able to communicate to its audience that they are always capable of doing good. No superpowers are needed; only the desire to do so is needed. This can be seen in the backstory of some characters, as despite past mistakes, they are trying to do better for themselves or others (The story views those efforts in a positive light). The Radiants symbolizing opportunity also helps to demonstrate that when given an opportunity to do good, they should take that opportunity and run with it. By illustrating that to readers, Radiant Black really becomes a masterclass in writing a thematic story.

The Effects of Doing Good

Finally, Radiant Black also shows its readers the effects of doing good. However, it does so not by showing how positive acts impact others but by showing how those acts impact the individual who performed them. This can be seen in things such as Nathan’s work as Radiant Black improving his personal life or the Radiant powers giving many characters a new sense of purpose in life. This communicates the idea that doing good helps oneself, which is very true in life. According to the “Kindness matters guide” on www.mentalhealth.org, “Studies have found that acts of kindness are linked to increased feelings of well-being. Helping others can also improve our support networks and encourage us to be more active. This, in turn, can improve our self-esteem.”. This shows how accurately Radiant Black explains the effects of doing good, and details just how impactful that message can be if someone takes it to heart.

Conclusion

All in all, Radiant Black’s unique approach to character writing and its great use of some narrative techniques help it explore the theme of doing good in detail. What it means to do so and the effects of doing so are both illustrated in this incredible comic book. It’s a masterclass in weaving themes and messages into a story, and anyone should check out a couple issues of it.