Reading Comics

When I was growing up I hardly ever read comic books. Mostly due to cost, I guess. They just seemed a bit extravagant in those years, though I did collect a lot of used Archie comics....

I would not say I am an adult who is very into these creations, either, but I have a respect and appreciation of the form. Some people who know me think of me as artistic. I would not share that assessment, but I would say I am creatively sympathetic--in other words I relate to creative works but don't have a particularly artistic hand. When I was a teenager I guess I sort of wished I could get into comics a bit more, but somehow it seemed too broad a topic and I still lacked money to pursue it. I remember reading some of my stepbrother's comics (especially Spider-man) and thought they were surprisingly good.

And I remember The Dark Knight Returns (a Batman novel if you didn't know). It was the first graphic novel that really caught my attention, and I appreciated its style and quality, it's grittiness and the serious way it attempted to treat the subject matter.

So much time elapses, and for some reason, recently I got on this kick to see if I could download some old comics. I had heard there was some great comic/ebook viewing software available (try Comic Rack - it's great!) and found some archived comics....not sure where...and I really enjoyed it! (I must confess I only read about a third of them word-for-word as some of the villains of the month were pretty dull. (e.g. the bear guy.) It is true that many were forgettable, but the experience of reading every issue accumulates into an experience that was pleasing and definitely had that time travel sensation....I read 12 years worth of Spider-man in about 5 weeks.

I could see how the original Spider-man was something special, in part because it featured a gawky, four-eyed high school kids that wasn't the popular one, wasn't the handsomest, and had real issues to deal with. (That's the standard consensus you will read anywhere.) I was fascinated at the creation of the look, the villains, the artistic style. Steve Ditko's artwork was special, and I am glad his contribution to the creation of the character seems to be gaining wider awareness. Stan Lee certainly did a lot of things well, in terms of creating characters, story writing, and generating an assessable culture and persona to Marvel. Plus, I  have read, he also brought a strong level of commitment to delivering the magazines every month, not a trivial requirment to allow a company to grow. The Marvel Method was born of convenience, but it also empowered artists to take a larger role in creating plot and character. I find it fascinating to see the changes in style that come with different artists: the penciller, the inker, the colourist, the writer, etc.

I need to go back and re-read the Ditko issues to really reflect on his style, but I know that after he left, around issue #38, the new look was at the same time bold and striking and yet somehow there was something lost in the shift. Now Peter Parker was handsome and the ladies all liked him, and he was bolder and more confident, too. The artwork was bolder, more well suited to making posters, but sometimes lacking in detail and movement. (Don't get me wrong, as time went on I grew to like the John Romita years very much and when alternate artists appeared, I missed John's steady hand.)

I found an excellent documentary on YouTube, called In Search of Steve Ditko and I recommend it if you are interested in this elusive individual and a peek inside those early days. Another great is Once Upon a Time the Super Heroes.

Apparently, Spider-man and the emergence of Marvel comics represents the Silver Age of Comic Books...(early 60's to early 70's) there were so many new titles and readership skyrocketed. I can see why. They were fun reads, and aimed at the right level of target reader. there were some great story lines, especially about the Green Goblin, though that whole story arc was surprisingly brief. In today's market, it would likely have been much more of a perpetual storyline.

I hear they are making a new Spider-man movie, more based on the high school days of Spider-man. You see, in the early years, Spider-man was allowed to age and graduated high school and went to university. Then he sort of stopped frozen in that stage of life. I like the idea of allowing time to pass, though I think I would have done so much more slowly, stretching the years out more. The new movie could be good. The previous trilogy was very good, (well, really the first two movies were good) but it is not a bad idea for a reboot. I think I heard that Peter's original flame, Gwen Stacey, will be the main love interest. More true to the original.

I reread The Dark Knight again this year and I must say, while it seemed sophisticated to a 15-year-old, it doesn't hold up as well now...though it remains a good graphic novel and I believe it is bench marked as one of the top 5 graphic novels of all time. (Yes, I also read Watchmen, but it really seemed to be more significant as a new idea in its time than all that striking to read so many years later.)

I an going to read The Long Halloween and Year One (Batman titles) next, because apparently they were a major inspiration for the second Christopher Nolan Batman film, The Dark Knight. In think I read Year One years ago, but I forget it now.

So you can see I am a newbie, a tinkerer, not a die-hard enthusiast. For me, it is probably a fad of a sort. It will pass, but in the process I will have "caught up" on some overdue explorations of youth, and it's pretty fun. (Eventually I will search out the Todd McFarlane years...)