Cartoonist Creates “Super Soft Heroes” Coloring Book to Show Son That Heroes Can Cry

Superheroes have feelings too. Norway-based cartoonist Linnea Johansson was taken aback to witness her usually emotive three-year-old son choking back tears one day. When she asked him why, the little boy shared that since Spiderman doesn’t cry, he wasn’t going to either. After dropping her son off at preschool, Johansson took to the drawing board for catharsis.

What she came up with was a cartoon of Spiderman going to the bathroom while his daughter sat on the potty next to him. Inspired by her initial foray into humanizing heroes and bolstered by the positive reaction her drawing received on Facebook, Johansson kept at it. She’s now created a full coloring book of sensitive super heroes, “Super Soft Heroes.”

Image via Limpan.org

Image via Limpan.org

She wrote:

Boys learn from their role models to act tough and aggressive and that showing vulnerability or emotion is equivalent to being weak or ”being a girl” (which is considered an insult in today’s society). They are taught through these role models to ”man up” and that ”boys don’t cry”. Girls on the other hand learn early on that their greatest asset is to be beautiful. When my three year old son stopped crying because none of his heroes do, I had to take action because I think this is (excuse me) bullshit. I decided to draw ten soft super heroes and then strong princesses, just to give the kids some alternatives.

From “Spiderman Goes to the Bathroom” to "Batman Cooking” to “Darth Vader Gets a Kitten” to “Flash McQueen Crying” and more—“Super Soft Heroes” is available in full and free to download on Johansson’s website. She plans on releasing “Super-Strong Princesses” next.