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As children, many of us made a weekly ritual of bugging our parents until they bought us the comic books that we wanted. Every Wednesday, the books would come out, and every Wednesday the chanted harassment of "please, please, please" would begin until they relented. It was a simple time filled with clear lines. Both in our lives and in the things that we read. Heroes and villains. There wasn't much in the way of ambiguity there.
For better or worse, as we grow older, comic books usually take a back seat to other activities. School, movies, work, sports, and dating push their way into our lives and we no longer have time for Spider Man and caped crusaders. I've often wondered why it is that this has become the accepted norm. You wouldn't get the same reaction of acceptance, and even approval, if you just stopped reading other kinds of books all of a sudden. And the great comics of today and yesteryear are artistic triumphs that are just as important as any literary masterpiece.
The love affair that Hollywood has cultivated with comic books over the last few years has, no doubt, ushered some of these adults back to the industry they spurned. One blockbuster after another in the theaters has to have a positive effect. Superman, Watchmen Batman, Iron Man, Wolverine, the list goes on and on. And is it any wonder that these epic stories with their larger than life characters are perfectly suited for dramatic portrayal on the big screen?
Comic books can no longer be ignored and, worse yet, dismissed as a frivolous pastime unsuitable for anyone who has made it beyond their teenage years. They are now boldly declaring themselves worthy of acceptance in the realm of entertainment and popular culture.
With this awareness comes increased readership for the titles involved, no doubt. A new batch of people who rediscover what loyal readers have known all along - that there is something special within the pages of the comics that gave rise to such characters. That their stories were there and just as compelling long before the silver screen got a hold of them.
Some of these new converts may very well wonder how they ever overlooked comic books to begin with. There's the classic Jekyll and Hyde story that is The Incredible Hulk. Spider Man's struggle between trying to live a normal life while keeping the ones that he loves out of harm's way as a result of his secret identity. Batman's fanatical determination. Wolverine's struggle with his more primal self. Rorschach's willingness to blur the lines of right and wrong in pursuit of justice.
Comic books are literature at its very best. They reflect the drama, pain, and pleasure of the world around us. Bringing to light everything that is good and evil, pushing both concepts to the limit. Taking our innermost desires and projecting them onto their pages.
A good story is a valuable commodity. It makes no difference whether it is in the form of a book, movie, comic book, or campfire tale. The medium should never be looked down upon. But embraced for everything that it is.
