My awesome hat

Back when I was still a kid, my folks used to periodically pick up Archie and Jughead digests while doing the groceries. Once read, these would never get tossed out, but rather placed in a box which we kept in the hall closet. Every morning before school, my mother would tell us (myself and my two siblings) to get our comics and sit down for breakfast. And every morning, we’d read about Archie and Jughead’s trials and tribulations over peanut butter and jelly toast.

Thus began my love of comics. By the late ’70s, I’d started working as a newspaper boy. I used my hard earned dollars to purchase real comics… no more of this silly business. I’d grown up and couldn’t be bothered with the likes of Jughead anymore. From then on, I sunk every dime I earned on X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman and likes. My collection grew until in my mid-teens, I started caring less about the escapes of men in tights.

It was around this time that I’d begun reading more serious novels, better able to appreciate the written word. I’d always read novels in addition to comic books, however by my mid-teens, I’d started turning to Hemingway, Steinbeck and Joyce. I’ve since amassed a library of nearly 2,500 books, and have written several myself. Though I never looked down on comic books, I did not think I’d ever begin reading them again.

I was proved wrong by an iPad. Having picked one up shortly after its initial release, I kept hearing how it was the perfect reading medium for comic books. I decided to give several titles a shot, and it was not long before I was sucked back into this colorful world. Since then, I’ve sought intelligent, well-written stories, and have been rewarded with titles like “Astonishing X-Men”, “Joe the Barbarian” and “5 Ronin”.

That said, I’ve also been sucker punched by titles I’d rather not utter (I’m looking at you Thor).

My current collection is a blend of digital and hard copies. Having sold my original collection, I have had to start from scratch. My hard copies look fantastic in our library and the collection has grown to the point where I think I may actually have to start putting them in order.

Some day.