Somewhat Secret Origins of Comic Book Geeks: Me!

My epic journey to becoming a Comic Book Geek

Maybe not my origin, but one can dream…

Recently the folks from Comic Book Couples Counseling visited Comic Carnival while on their Road Trip and their Support Your Local Comic Shop. I was not present, but that’s OK, I don’t live at the shop no matter what you might think. I had a chance to share their tour of the shop (previous post) and now their Interview with Tim, the owner of the shop (and my boss). I was very interested in their first question about what was Tim’s “Comic Book Origin.” Which got me thinking about my personal “Comic Book Origin.” Every comic book reader has some kind of origin and what got the started down the slippery slope to comic book geekdom…

In third grade my mother had a professional photographer come out and make a book about a day in the life of my older brother and me for Father’s Day. This was one of those photos - me, sitting around reading the 1974 Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag from Marvel Comics.

The Early Years

I don’t remember where it started, I just know I was interested in comics for a very long time. I started, as most kids did reading Snoopy, and the newspaper strips. I do remember my father buying me a copy of the Nostalgia Press Flash Gordon Volume 1 around the same time as the photo above which I always have said was the first comic story I remember reading. As a kid I would ride my bike to the drugstore, or the 7-11 and go through the spinner rack to see what was available. Those of us who lived through these times know that it was kind of hit or miss. I had been watching Super Friends on Saturday mornings and really was drawn to the Flash. I even had a red sweatsuit that I would run around the house in.

Around third grade (Don’t remember which year in third grade, but that’s a story for another time) I remember discovering comics as way to escape. My parents had sent me away to soccer camp at a local college. I brought a few pocket books of Hägar the Horrible. I used these to escape the social Lord of the Flies environment that sports camp can be. Funny thing- I did the same thing with Bloom County during orientation & rush week in college. I guess I knew where my safe place was, and it had something to do with comics.

Then in the late 70’s I recall going on a roadtrip with my neighbor (I was supervising their kindergarten/first grade son) and we ended up in Ketchum, Idaho visiting with some of their friends. One of the kids had a stack of comic books that inspired me. I was reading mostly superhero stuff at the time. This kid was my age and he was into Harvey Comics, so Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, and the like. This stack was amazing and he even had originals of some the reprints that they had published. I looked at this collection and was inspired. His 80 comics seemed like an impossible task for me, but… wow. I started my collection right then and there. The problem was what should I collect?

On Friday nights we would go out to dinner and there was a bookstore across the way. My parents would let my brother and I wander the bookstore and hopefully we could convince them to buy something for us. This was the time period when publishers had books with the origins of their heroes in them- Like: The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer, Secret Origins of Super DC Heroes by Denny O’Neil, or Origins of Marvel Comics by Stan Lee. These all ended up on my book shelf at some point and were well read.

I started randomly picking up comics- quantity over quality. Soon I started reading more and returning to heroes like the Flash and Teen Titans. I basically rode my bike to the 7-11 at the corner and spun the rack hoping each week for something new and maybe, the next issue of something I had been reading. Comic book editors would often add notes to books explaining a backstory with “as seen in issue #25,” Of course, hunting down issue #25 was impossible for a middle school kid, but I could dare to dream.

When I’d visit my grandmother in Indianapolis there were some comics left in my uncle’s old bedroom where I stayed, Archie and a few superhero comics. These I would read and reread. When my grandmother sold the family homestead there are a couple of items I curse myself for not picking up- these comics and the “pretzel jar” top the list. I recall as a kid sitting on the bed leafing through the phone book and finding “Comic Carnival” in the listings. I would ask my grandmother if we could go… the answer was always “no.”

Before driving I was limited to where I could go - ride my bike, take the bus, or ask my mom to take me. The nearest shop I knew of was too far for me to bike to, and outside of the range I was allowed to use the bus. As for getting my mom to drive me- nope, not an option. Once I could drive… I was off. I could finally get issue #25 and find out the illusive backstory. I could also start going to conventions.

Freedom to Geek!

I grew up in Southern California and there were conventions that happened throughout the year. I didn’t get to every one, but once I could drive I did make it to a few. I recall one right after the show “V” had come out and waiting in line for tickets as a cosplayer dressed as one of the characters walked around talking about eating live mice 🙄. I tended to hit the exhibit hall and wander for a few hours until I ran out of money. Always concerned if I had enough left to pay for parking. I was the oldest in my group of friends so I was the guy who drove. Sometimes I’d buy junk, other times I’d focus on one issue and spend everything on it. My collection had grown way beyond 80 books by this time.

I was knee deep into DC and some of my friends would be reading Marvel. We’d swap comics and compare stories, writers and artists. I started reading some Marvel comics, around this time, X-Men, and Fantastic Four (I was a John Byrne fan). George Perez was my go to DC artist as I was still reading the Teen Titans.

Almost everyone has that story… They went off to college and their parents threw out all of their cherished (insert collectible item here). This year while working at Comic Carnival I saw this firsthand- parents would come into the shop asking if we bought comics, and how much would we pay. You just knew they had decided their now young adult child was too old for these childish things and it was their parental duty to help them grow up- like the mama bird pushing the baby out of the nest. If they only knew how much time effort and money their child would spend in later years to regain what they had thrown out. In my case, as the story was relayed to me, my parents started this process. Basically they were going to clean out my closet which included my comics. Fortunately, my older brother came along and pulled out the Holy - Overstreet’s Price Guide and a handful of comics from my collection. After seeing what the value of these books, he asked if they would like to explain to me why they threw these away and deal with the aftermath of such a move. When I returned my comics were untouched- except for the Paul Smith run of X-Men which was the small price I believe my brother took it in payment for his services.

With every hobby, you hit a “dark age".” A time when they stop actively collecting or pursuing that interest. Sometimes it has to do with other interests (Girls), or life getting in the way. I did reach this point for a couple of years when I first started teaching. Soon I realized the power of comics in a classroom setting. Also I was working towards my Master’s and needed to escape even briefly. Comic Carnival was on the way to the university so on Tuesdays or Thursdays I would stop by and pick up a few books before class. This would have been the mid 90’s.

I must become a.. Public School Teacher!

Teaching With Comics

As a teacher I made sure that comics (“graphic novels”) had a place in my classroom. While there are many teachers who think comic books aren’t “real reading” I know too many people who say comics were their catalyst for getting into reading. “Comics are a gateway drug for literacy.” That was probably my case too. In my classroom, I usually had one rule which was it had to be a story. I had nothing against reading books of compiled comic strips, I started there with Hägar and Snoopy, but for the most part those were a gag a day and if I’m trying to teach about character development and plot, they don’t work that well. Garfield and Calvin don’t necessarily go through a defined arc and grow as characters… They are awesome, but it’s not their purpose.

In teaching I had a spinner rack in my classroom and it was loaded with all ages titles. I would read everything on the rack or on my bookshelf to make sure it was not going to get me in trouble with admin or parents. I used to consider the Comic Code Authority stamp as a good judge of what I could put out for kids, but got called on the carpet for a few issues of Batman and realized there and then that it wasn’t so cut and dried. Sure the Code disallowed werewolves, but topless bars in silhouette… not so much. Adults need to understand comics aren’t always kid friendly. You need to read them first. Hint: Deadpool is not child friendly.

Now it’s harder and harder to find monthly titles that work for kids and in this political environment it’s hard to find something that someone won’t want to ban or be shocked that you would want a kid to read about treating people kindly.

I’ll have to get into this more in a different post (this is my soapbox after all) but I would consider a few comics (graphic novels - you say tomato…) to recommend in no particular order:

• Bone by Jeff Smith - What lead to Scholastics domination of kid’s graphic novels. Although Telgemeier’s adaptations of Babysitter’s Club really started it off.

• Anything & I mean ANYTHING by Raina Telgemeier- Check out what may be acceptable in your community. Drama deals with LGBTQ+ which is great for those kids, but some parents in your community may throw a fit without even reading it.

• Hilo by Judd Winick - OUTSTANDING! Simply love the universe, the characters, the growth, and silliness.

• Katie the Catsitter W: Colleen AF Venable A: Stephanie Yue - Had to replace this a few times and had kids waiting for the next issue to come out.

• Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi - Another great series that with its conclusion means I have to find the next big thing. Something my niece actually read even after I recommended it.

• Science Comics various creators published by Macmillan - These teach some hard science topics in an amusing way

There’s a lot more and I always tried to keep away from pop culture staples, so if a cartoon or movie was made using the characters… I would stop buying it for my classroom. I wanted the kids to see comics as more than just superheroes and cartoon shows on paper. Sadly, a number of the introductory volumes of these aren’t available at Comic Carnival or I would say “Come on down!”… but look for them, they are awesome. I’ll try to climb on the comics are reading soapbox with school starting up soon.

The Geek Adventure is Just Beginning

I’m reading a lot of cool stuff nowadays and I would suggest going back and looking at my “This Week in Comics” posts. Besides that I am collecting original art more, not just conventions sketches, but also pages. Usually of characters I like (Dave Stevens The Rocketeer comes to mind- duh.) or comic pages by artists I’m currently reading.

In my current group of friends I tend to be the “comic book guy” but among comic book guys- I know nothing and still have a lot to learn. Which is why I head out to conventions and actually go to sessions. CXC is coming up… time to learn more about manga.

Yes, I am a whiz on skis, or at least was… but that has nothing to do with my origin.