Redartz: Good day, everyone! Hope you'll forgive me for some verbal wandering today. Usually in these "Adventures in Comics" installments, we discuss fairly specific activities or events related to our favorite hobby. Today, though, I'd like to look at the 'big picture'. That is, comics in general. Have they had an impact on our lives, our attitudes, our goals? How have they affected our journey down this long road we call Life?
Let me start by saying I don't mean to trivialize anything about life itself, our decisions, the highs and lows we all face as human beings. Indeed, life has enough challenge each day to sober up even the most cheerful of Pollyannas. And regarding the things that affect our lives, there are many factors far more influential than any hobby or pastime (our families and friends, to begin with).
That said, I feel no apologies needed for my love of comics. Most every person who ever lived has had something they enjoy doing to relax, to escape for a bit, or just to help them 'feel themselves again'. Comics have been my 'thing' for most of my life now. I've loved them from the start.
I started reading pretty young, in fact I recall reading the newspaper at age 5 (specific memories of reading about the "Palm Sunday Tornadoes" of 1965). Book reading followed soon after, and already I was noticing the pictures in those books. And when an older neighbor introduced 7 year old Redartz to this thing called a 'comic book', well, the die was cast. Already an enthusiastic book reader, now there were these fascinating magazines with cool artwork to enjoy along with the textual material.
An aside, historical type- I recall reading Dr. Frederick Wertham's book "Seduction of the Innocent". One passage was rather denigrating to comics as a medium, referring snidely to 'pictures with words in balloons'. The inference was that reading comics was lower, or less intellectually challenging, than reading an actual book. I couldn't disagree more. Comics as a medium combine the best elements of both literary and visual arts. And subject matter varies as widely as it does in any other creative format: film, books, or whatever. That's one of the things I find most rewarding about comics; there's something for any mood or interest. How can you not love a hobby which gives you light fun with Archie, dramatic adventures with Spider-man, crazy satire with MAD, chills with any of the horror books? Or if you're looking for something a bit deeper, Maus is as powerful a tale as any film or novel you'll ever find. Looking for adult material- there's the undergrounds. Will Eisner was right, comics (or as he preferred, 'sequential art') is perfectly valid as an art form, high or low.
Anyway, once I started reading comics, I never stopped. Sure, the material changed; Casper to Superman to Spider-man to Archie and then to full scale collecting. And adulthood added a whole range of graphic novels to the mix. But through it all, the appeal of comics remained consistent. And that's not all. Comics led me to explore other areas, as well. Initially, when I started college, my goal was to become a comics artist. Of course I soon learned that my figure drawing was insufficient, but on the other hand discovered a whole new world of fine art and photography. Reading various graphic novels inspired more curiosity about history and other cultures. New friends and new experiences followed, all stemming from the welcoming atmosphere of art school and the company of like-minded folks ( and numerous comics fans). And to push this all even further, I met my wife at a party with one of my art-school buddies. So I used to tease my sons with "You know, if it wasn't for comic books...". At any rate, I found it funny. The point is: comics, in general, enhanced my life in various ways and pointed me in directions I might otherwise have bypassed.
So, to sum things up, comics have been a pretty big part of my life; and a beneficial one at that. Comics have provided entertainment, education, inspiration, diversion, and indirectly a career. They have given me wonderful stories such as "'Bone" and "Y-The Last Man". " The Avengers/Defenders War" and "Days of Future Past". "A Contract With God" and "Sugar and Spike". Enemy Ace and Little Lulu. Batman and Forbush Man. And so on, and so on, and so on. You get the idea, there's no limit to the wonders that I've read, and to the ones that await. It gives you something to look forward to; whether rereading an old favorite or discovering some new comic creation. So Dr. Wertham, if you're out there listening, I'll continue to take my words with pictures and balloons; thank you.
6 comments:
Red that was a fine statement!
For my part, though Comics did not have a discernible impact on my life for the first 54 years, these last 3 they certainly have!
First I discovered comic blogs like this!
Second I got to meet you Marti, and Doug in the flesh and go to C2E2 with you!
Third, I enjoy the heck out of the fellowship here and at Steve Does Comics blog in the UK! I mean one fellow and I from the UK whom I’ve never met have shared wonderful emails photos and exchanged comics and paraphernalia!
Beautiful! All because of Comics or more precisely your blog on Comics!
You just never know how you can positively impact a person’s life!
Thanks again for the blog!
Cheers! CH-47
I think I mentioned this at the BAB before, but comics really had a direct impact on me early on; I grew up in a non-English-speaking household, and initially had a lot of reading comprehension problems (up to the second grade). It was when I started actually reading my comics rather than mainly skimming them and just marveling at the art that my reading skills shot up. It turned me on to the joys of reading not just comics but books in general. And comics led me to a number of literary genres that I still enjoy today, mainly science fiction and fantasy, but also crime/thriller and pulpy action.
And like Charlie, in more recent years, thanks to blogs like this one and comic book forum sites, I've actually struck up a few acquaintances with fellow comics fans, with whom I occasionally correspond via e-mail and, in one case, even met in person on a trip back home to the US.
Well, I couldn't have articulated it any better than your summation Redartz.
So "Hear,Hear"!
Charlie and Killraven- glad you approved of my little essay today. A bit of a departure from the usual material, but it seemed appropriate to offer a salute to the medium in general, and what it has meant to many of us.
Edo and Charlie- you both make the great point about the the fine online communities that comics fandom enjoys (granted, some friendlier than others). One of the best results of doing this blog has been the conversations and communications with all of you. Yet another perk to chalk up to comics...
Thoroughly enjoyed your essay here, Red-- thanks for taking the time to write and share it!
Something that I've rather enjoyed seeing over the past decade, with the explosion of successful cinematic/television superhero entertainments, is that the "mainstreaming" seems to have finally quieted so much of the truly over-invested contentiousness of what has historically been a comparatively tiny niche of devoted fans. Really, guys (for the most part) just about our age-- who grew up with the blooming of the Marvel Universe. And there's always been that sub-set for whom the genre went beyond just being their "thing" that triggered their sense of joy--- that went beyond being their passion, even--- where their love of comics was the thing that made them feel like an "insider", and was the thing that they could be superior to everyone else in. More like, well, a religion, I suppose-- but a fundamentalist one, which could brook no questioning or alternative points of view. We've ALL come across this personality, I've no doubt, 'cause the hobby seems to attract 'em--- and of course they're an easy target for parody, so they've become the stereotype Comic Book Fan for years and years. And unfortunately sort of became the (incorrect) default definition for all the rest of us.
Does it seem like that FanType is ageing out, maybe? Possibly just mellowed with time, realizing that they'd been fanning false flames of futile fires all the while? That getting into an extended rage over someone's preference of Cockrum's X-Men over Byrne's is not worth the effort it takes to even accelerate a heartbeat- that it is the very definition of a tempest in a teapot. . . full of sound and fury and signifying ABSOLUTELY nothing?
As much as I've hated the collapse of all of the mainstream universes (which contributed to my dropping buying ALL comics), the fact that it has rendered so much of the snarky, insular, continuity-picking community moot is rather a benefit, IMHO.
The younger, movie-fied generation is clearly very open to new takes on our old pantheons-- and aren't burdened by the minute particulars of the source material (because they're not nearly as invested in it), as long as it's not a completely direct departure from it. A distinction that I give these younger fans SO MUCH CREDIT FOR. . . because it exhibits a wonderful balance of open-mindedness along with respect for the past. And my own POV on has shifted on casting choices in particular because of their influence. In a genre where the source-material is exclusively white/male, I've come around to where I would PREFER to see non-white/non-male actors take on some of the remaining primary roles. And conversely-- Tilda Swinton was damned good in Dr Strange (and I love her in general), but there's just no reason to make an already non-white source character a white character-(there's the mention that The Ancient One is an old Celt--)- LOTS of young folks will. Not. Go. To. Movies that Whitewash. I mean--- LOTS-- and they have no problem communicating that with each other.
I. . . I'm just rattling on, aren't I? Ohhhh boy-- train of thought editorial. . . my apologies Red & all! No offense taken if ya didn't make it this far. . . !
HB
Some interesting thoughts there, HB! Regarding the 'Comic Book Guy' type of fan, you're probably right that they are on the decline in number and in influence. On the other hand, if you ever scroll through some of the comic book groups on Facebook, that surly, parochial tendency is very much alive. As with 'our generation ' of fandom, most online commenters are friendly and courteous; but in most threads you'll see the inevitable nasty Troll pop up...
Oh, and I concur with your take on the current generation and the variations on source material. I love a good story most of all, and many of these 'new approaches gave been good entertainment. As you noted, the old continuities are all gone, so now it's easier to deal with such experimentation- sort of like a universe of "What Ifs"...
Post a Comment