Comic books.
In anticipation of the debut of the web series I produced for Stan Lee’s World of Heroes, I thought I would sit down and explore my love of comic books and try to grasp exactly how cool it is that I get to work with Stan Lee.
I discovered comic books when I was younger. My parents would drive us from San Francisco to Klamath Falls, Oregon. We’d stop at a small convenience store in Weed, CA and there was always a rack of comics there I would pick up one or two. The first I remember picking up was Elf Quest. I didn’t like it very much, I was just too young.
The next time I got into comic books in a more, hardcore way was when I was really into G.I. Joe. I began reading G.I. Joe comics and even had a subscription for awhile. But as I moved on from playing with those as I got older, I drifted from comic books again.
It wasn’t until High School, sophomore year, that I got really into comics, a hobby I’ve enjoyed up through today. I was a wrestler on the High School wrestling team and also involved in the theatre productions. That meant I was at wrestling practice until 4PM daily and then at 5PM I had theatre rehearsal. During that hour in between, I would go grab dinner somewhere, usually, regrettably, the 7-11 around the corner from the school. That is where I found the comic that started my comic book mania. It was an issue of Marvel Comics Presents. The book was an anthology series that showcased three or four different stories a month.
I loved the heck out of that issue, especially the art, and so that became my daily ritual. After wrestling I’g go to 7-11, get a (horrible) sandwich and a comic book and read them until play rehearsal started.
In a short amount of time, I had bought just about one of each comic book 7-11 had. I was hooked and I needed more. Then I found out about Lee’s Comics in San Mateo. Lee’s comic became my home base for my comic book addiction growing up. I went crazy buying comics. After a few weeks, I stabilized and found my favorites.
Though I have a love for Batman, I discovered early on that I was a Marvel Comics guy. Not sure why, I just connected with the characters more. My early favorite character, and still a favorite to this day, was The Punisher. As a ‘good kid’ in high school who saw ‘bad kids’ get into trouble and still get all the breaks, The Punisher was cathartic to me. Here was someone who punished those who did wrong. I loved him. In high school I saved my cash and waited for a sale at the comic book store and picked up Amazing Spider-Man #129 that features the first appearance of The Punisher. I got it for $113. First time I could remember really saving every penny for something. I still have that book today.
I also found a fondness for Daredevil, who is easily my all time favorite. It has been a goal to own every issue of Daredevil ever printed. I’m a long way from that goal, but, maybe someday. I still read Daredevil comics to this day and I’m very excited for the Netflix series that will debut in April.
Another favorite was Jamie Maddrox, the Multiple Man. My favorite mutant/X-Men character. He wasn’t super strong. He didn’t have telekinesis or anything. He was just an average guy who could make exact duplicates of himself. All of those duplicates were just average ordinary guys, as well, but he could make a countless number of them and soon, the bad guys would be facing an army.
In the mid-2000’s I donated all my comic books, except for a select few, to charity and pretty much went cold turkey on comic books. Then I discovered comic books on the iPad! All the fun of reading them without worrying about where I’m going to store them.
Working with Stan Lee’s YouTube channel has been a lot of fun and I sincerely hope you enjoy the show. You don’t need to be a superhero fan to enjoy the show. Heck, you don’t need even need to know anything about superheroes to enjoy it. You just have to enjoy it.
The promo for the show is below and the first episode will debut later today at www.youtube.com/worldofheroes
Excelsior!
I picked up ElfQuest at age 12, which is the exact age that was right for me. Glad my parents didn’t care what I was reading. Changed the course of my life, I have Wendy Pini to thank for my college degree.
If you’re interested in giving it another try, all of the original stuff is online now and free to read! (recently recolored digitally by Wendy): http://elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/digitalEQ.html
Thanks Kristin, I will give it another look. As I said, I think I was just too young. I remember reading the issue I got several times, but it just didn’t click with me. Thanks for the link!
The first graphic novel is good…but the story doesn’t really get going til the second graphic novel where they actually start the title quest. Then you’re just in for a ride!
I also highly recommend Fables by Bill Willingham. I’m rereading then right now….such a well written story and an really interesting way to use fairy tale archetypes in new ways. Not for the kiddos.
Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz is another of my favorites….the inking is incredible. Sad thing about that book is Mark works so slowly that he put out two books and then never got back to them, so the story remains unfinished.
I could probably list comics all day. Not sure where you can find the above digitally, I was lucky to get the bulk of my Fables books as gifts.
Thank you for the recommendations! I will check them out. Admittedly, I more of a Marvel/DC superhero type guy but occasionally I’ll branch out. I enjoyed Y The Last Man, so I should branch out a little more.