During the first issue of Geek Watch One I touched on my love of comics and how that came to be. In going though possible topics for this week’s blog I was thinking about the prevalence of comics now, how they have come to be a more respected medium and how they are still relevant to me decades later. Let’s just take it to the beginning, shall we?
As a child my mom used to read stories from the Greek myths to me. I just ate it all up, I could not get enough! The stories of Zeus, Mercury, Ares, Perseus, Hercules, and the rest just filled my head with larger than life stories… stories of good vs. evil, adventure, and cautionary tales of what happens when you cross the line, whatever line that may be. Now, add to this being obsessed with The Three Musketeers, Zorro, The Lone Ranger, and anything else hero related and you can see a pattern forming. I was a sucker for the hero’s journey before I even knew what it was. Back when Saturday morning meant cartoons, I watched The Superfriends all of the time. That show reminded me of the myths that my mother read to me, so, yet again, another thing for me to be hooked on! I had not even touched a comic book yet…I’m thinking I’m probably about five years old at this point.
So imagine my surprise and wild wonder when my mom bought for me my first comic book… either that or my grandfather bought one for me when I spent the night at my grandparent’s home. At any rate, my initiation was complete. Here on paper, in a visual format, similar to what I could see on TV, were the superheroes that I was growing to love, an extension of the myths I was already fond of. As I got deeper into comics and came to know Spider-Man, Superman, Power Man and Iron Fist, I found that I wanted to know how they all got their start, what made them all the heroes they’d come to be. I was lucky in that Superman: The Movie had hit the big screen and I got the whole of Kal-El’s origin… how an orphan from another planet came here and learned to use his abilities to promote Truth and Justice… and, because it was the 70’s, The American Way! I managed to get one origin down… there were more to go!
I lucked out because for a time there was a candy, basically a cheap piece of gum, which included the “secret origin” of a number of super heroes from Marvel and DC. I collected Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, The Flash, and Aquaman from DC. Marvel offered Spider-Man, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and Hulk. I thought that it was odd that DC got more love, but it didn’t matter, I had increased my knowledge. From these books I learned that most of the heroes I looked forward to following the monthly adventures of had largely average beginnings. But some event changed them and catapulted these average individuals into extraordinary beings… basically, the hero’s journey.
As time marched on I continued my search and discovered the origins of more heroes and gained a deeper connection to some, while losing that connection with others, as I matured. Now, I find that I need my heroes flawed. They need to understand the human struggle and that we all make mistakes… sometimes the hero is the villain and vice versa. Of the big two, one publisher does this better than the other and that is why the majority of the books I am currently reading are from a company that has some Marvelous resources for characters. I have noticed that comics have seemed to grow up with my generation. I don’t know if that is because the ones after us aren’t reading much or if there’s something else afoot, but it still holds true.
Comics today have now embraced their role as the new mythology and I feel that it is about time. Comics are doing an excellent job of reflecting the world as we know it and the hero’s place serves as an excellent commentary. Some heroes fight for change and push for society to be better, while others see us as flawed and do not believe that civilization is capable of self improvement. There are other characters out there who represent all of the various POV’s between… it makes for a difficult time when you’re just looking for some light reading, you know? However, I am ultimately saying that, if comics continue to display the depth and quality of writing and characterization that I have seen for the last decade or so… I will be a fan until my last breath.
