Youth and Comics

I’ve been reading comic books for so long I don’t remember my first one anymore. I remember when I was a kid I didn’t have a lot of friends and I was bullied, comic books were the one place I could escape to. Comics were my escape into a better world where there was somebody looking out for the little guy. They were a place I could go to be happy.

Once a week my mother would drive my siblings and I to a mom & pop quick stop that closed so long ago I can no longer remember the name. I would scan the spinning wire rack by the door looking through twenty different titles to find my favorites. At the time I was reading The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The West Coast Avengers, and the brand new Secret Wars. I would read at least one of them on the ride home. I’d run into my room as soon as I got back leap on my bed and read the rest. I would share them with my brother and we’d talk about how cool the superheroes in the stories were.

Some of the other kids at school read comics as well; most of the popular titles when I was a kid were Spider-man, Batman, and Superman. I never enjoyed those books as a child because they were all so sad. The heroes in them complained about how hard it was to be a superhero and how they wished they weren’t burdened with it. My heroes had fun, they loved having superpowers; being able to hurl cars, fly through the sky, and fight bad guys, and they loved it. Not so much Bruce Banner, but he was hardly in the book and the Hulk was clearly having fun.

In my mind I always connected more with the Hulk than the others. I was a big kid and I got picked on by most of the kids at my school. I saw myself in the Hulk, who if they had just left him alone would have gone off and never bothered anyone. His book to me was always him off by himself not hurting anyone, usually in the middle of the desert, and then here comes the biggest bully there was, General Thunderbolt Ross. He’d show up with tanks and helicopters, dozens of soldiers and Special Forces, and they’d attack the Hulk. When I was a kid it looked to me like they were attacking him because he was different. I could relate to that.

Over the years my little mom & pop store closed and I found actual comic shops. What a revelation they were. I wasn’t alone anymore; here were people like me who were a little different, kind of quiet, and really geeky. They didn’t care that I was a little bigger than anyone else. They accepted me for who I was; one of them.

Since then I’ve gone through various books and stories, I’ve read the Mutant Massacre, the Contest of Champions, The Age of Apocalypse, and Kingdom Come and beyond. I’ve looked at books published by every company from Marvel to DC, from Image to Archie (who once teamed up with the Punisher and it was amazing). Some of the stores I’ve shopped at have closed and some have moved and grown. I now shop at two different stores and I’m happy to call them both a solace, my Fortress of Solidarity if you will.

This weekend is a celebration of comic books and the store that support them and the people who read them. This Saturday, May the third, is Free Comic Book Day. It’s a day where we celebrate the ever growing day of geekery that is superheroes and comic books. It’s a day to gather in celebration of a shared love. Mostly it’s a day to celebrate and support our local comic book stores. I’m thankful for the existence of The Bookery in Fairborn and Epic Loot in Miamisburg. I hope they know how much I appreciate them.
If there’s a comic shop near you, check them out this weekend maybe they’re doing something for free comic book day. If you’re curious if there is anything in your area then head over to the free comic book day website and look around. It’s a great day, and even if you’ve never read a comic book before, it’s worth a try. Hopefully you’ll find your Incredible Hulk.

Excelsior!


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