As I mentioned at the end of my last entry, I had just been inducted into pro-Marvel camp (an irony, since I mentioned earlier that Robin was the comicbook boy sidekick I could relate to) and maybe I should explain this a bit.
I had said that comics became scarce; and the only connection I had with them was either the Batman and Robin TV shows with Adam West, or the Marvel Superheroes animated (actually a still drawing type of animation with art straight form the comic - add narrative voices and panel movement, meaning the comic was moved or a cut out of the hero was moved to present action) series. It was the latter that got me to recognize Captain America, Ironman, Thor, The Hulk and(Namor) The Submariner.
Naturally, I grew closer to these heroes - I got to know them, through the cartoons. It would also be noted that I would stumble upon a Batman story and for whatever reason there was, I'd find no trace of Robin. I believe it was at this time that DC wanted to try a more serious approach to Batman and used Robin sparingly... I guess, this made the attraction of reading Batman less palatable to my young taste and even back then, my school buddies and I would talk about how we found the Marvel heroes to be more human (i.e. with given weaknesses) and therefore, more believable.
Marvel also seemed to have some continuity - or maybe, I should say, seemingly better continuity. Sure - Batman and Superman were easily recognized, but the Marvel characters seemed more dramatic. Needless to say, I found myself collecting and supporting Marvel. I liked reading Spiderman, and the Avengers were really great! But since I was nearing puberty - I got attracted to a comic with the blurb ' "The Strangest Teens of All", which was of course the X-men.
During that time, I would collect any Marvel issue I could - regardless of title, I just wanted to read Marvel comics, period.
One would wonder what I would learn from all this? Well for starters, the now immortal quote "With Great Powers Comes Great Responsibility" from Stan Lee - thru Spiderman, made a lasting impression on me. I learned the frustrations of a teen from Peter Parker, I also learned the frustrations of seemingly unrequited love from Scott Summers (Cyclops of the X-men, for the uninitiated). I definitely got a lot of enjoyment in reading comics - hence the joy of reading in itself, and with this - the enrichment of my vocabulary... both from comics and from books.
Spiderman likewise taught me self-sacrifice, in terms of sacrificing your wants (and at times, your needs) for the betterment of others - as Peter would always do, complain about how it affected his life and loves - but chalk it all aside, when the need to help others came into play. Yeah... heroism meant you thought about your needs later - and that saving others in trouble came first.
I grew up to be more sensitive to what was right and wrong, and I really longed to be a hero in the vein of such characters. I would even start imagining adventure stories of myself, my school friend and whoever was the seeming aple to our young eyes then. I would plot, draw and plot some more. We would naturally win - as all heroes did. Ahh... to be young and innocent again...
High School came, and though others gravitated from toy cars (Matchboxes, Hot Wheels and Sizzlers) to girls - I clung on to my love for comics. Old friends left, but newer ones replaced them and my circle of comic friends grew - and even better, I got to meet others who'se collections dwarfed mine. I now had access to all those stories I'd missed, all those years. Small wonder I'd spend many weekend afternoons at my new friend's place - just reading comics.
It was around this time that I also got to jump into the All New, All Different X-men... and suddenly, I found myself seriously collecting this title. It was a new start, and I was on for the ride.
More on this next time.
I had said that comics became scarce; and the only connection I had with them was either the Batman and Robin TV shows with Adam West, or the Marvel Superheroes animated (actually a still drawing type of animation with art straight form the comic - add narrative voices and panel movement, meaning the comic was moved or a cut out of the hero was moved to present action) series. It was the latter that got me to recognize Captain America, Ironman, Thor, The Hulk and(Namor) The Submariner.
Naturally, I grew closer to these heroes - I got to know them, through the cartoons. It would also be noted that I would stumble upon a Batman story and for whatever reason there was, I'd find no trace of Robin. I believe it was at this time that DC wanted to try a more serious approach to Batman and used Robin sparingly... I guess, this made the attraction of reading Batman less palatable to my young taste and even back then, my school buddies and I would talk about how we found the Marvel heroes to be more human (i.e. with given weaknesses) and therefore, more believable.
Marvel also seemed to have some continuity - or maybe, I should say, seemingly better continuity. Sure - Batman and Superman were easily recognized, but the Marvel characters seemed more dramatic. Needless to say, I found myself collecting and supporting Marvel. I liked reading Spiderman, and the Avengers were really great! But since I was nearing puberty - I got attracted to a comic with the blurb ' "The Strangest Teens of All", which was of course the X-men.
During that time, I would collect any Marvel issue I could - regardless of title, I just wanted to read Marvel comics, period.
One would wonder what I would learn from all this? Well for starters, the now immortal quote "With Great Powers Comes Great Responsibility" from Stan Lee - thru Spiderman, made a lasting impression on me. I learned the frustrations of a teen from Peter Parker, I also learned the frustrations of seemingly unrequited love from Scott Summers (Cyclops of the X-men, for the uninitiated). I definitely got a lot of enjoyment in reading comics - hence the joy of reading in itself, and with this - the enrichment of my vocabulary... both from comics and from books.
Spiderman likewise taught me self-sacrifice, in terms of sacrificing your wants (and at times, your needs) for the betterment of others - as Peter would always do, complain about how it affected his life and loves - but chalk it all aside, when the need to help others came into play. Yeah... heroism meant you thought about your needs later - and that saving others in trouble came first.
I grew up to be more sensitive to what was right and wrong, and I really longed to be a hero in the vein of such characters. I would even start imagining adventure stories of myself, my school friend and whoever was the seeming aple to our young eyes then. I would plot, draw and plot some more. We would naturally win - as all heroes did. Ahh... to be young and innocent again...
High School came, and though others gravitated from toy cars (Matchboxes, Hot Wheels and Sizzlers) to girls - I clung on to my love for comics. Old friends left, but newer ones replaced them and my circle of comic friends grew - and even better, I got to meet others who'se collections dwarfed mine. I now had access to all those stories I'd missed, all those years. Small wonder I'd spend many weekend afternoons at my new friend's place - just reading comics.
It was around this time that I also got to jump into the All New, All Different X-men... and suddenly, I found myself seriously collecting this title. It was a new start, and I was on for the ride.
More on this next time.
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