IN PRAISE OF COMICS

It's such a funny industry, this pulp-fiction cartoon funnybook one. Comic Books. The very words immediately evoke pale, introverted teenagers escaping the surly bonds of everyday with their heroes in tights or their deep Goth angsty Neil Gaiman mythologies.

And I love them. The comic books, I mean.

I have to thank my friend David McKinney for my love of comics; he was my best friend in the seventh grade and, if not for a tussle we had where I broke my arm on his bicep (it's an odd story. I'll tell it some other time), I wouldn't have had my arm in a cast that summer and therefore wouldn't have read so many comics to pass the time.

Up until then, sure I'd seen comics at the local corner store in the "Hey Kids! Comics!" rack, but I hadn't paid them too much attention. To me, comics were little bits of fluff with self-contained stories which had running gags or short punchline-oriented strips.

Well, most of my exposure to that point had been Archie comics, Richie Rich, and other Gold Key treasures for kids.

But when you're stuck in a cast all summer and everyone else is going swimming, there's not a lot to do but read. So my parents took me to the store and bade me snag a whole bunch of comics.

I still remember some of them: House of Mystery, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew, and Alpha Flight #1. I remember being frustrated because the stories ended with cliffhangers; but a week later, I saw NEW issues at the store and lo and behold, the stories continued!

What? Comic books were SERIAL stories? Hot DAMN.

From that point on, I was hooked. I could follow characters month-to-month through their trials and triumphs; could empathize with them, escape with them, be mesmerized and fascinated by them.

Comics are a world. They are an immersive universe that, once you open the book, you are sucked into. You are INVOLVED. You are entranced. ...or at least, *I* am. And, I think, all true comics fans are.

Because there's a lot to be a fan about. There's creativity. Surprises. Transcendence as well as trash. And one can share all one's observations with others.

I was 13 when I had my life-changing arm breakage; I have been devoted to comics ever since. Twice I've had to leave comics behind as my budget forbade me to indulge my habit; but here and there I manage to continue my exposure, whether borrowing from friends or discussing online.

I want to LIVE comics. I want to write them. Help CREATE them. I have already been published with my first-ever story, done jointly with Mrs. M, entitled "Social Obligations." It was published in a furry comic called FURRLOUGH, in issue #78. I proved that yes, I could write a script and get it out there.

Mind you, furry comics aren't exactly hard to get into. Semi-literacy and funny animals is all it takes. Talent...not so much.

So my goal now is to get some scripts ready for Marvel and DC. Or really, any larger comic company. Dark Horse. Wildstorm. America's Best. Whoever will have me, that I can create for. Anyone who will give me a membership card to this world, this universe, these MULTIverses of comics industry.

Kevin Smith. Alan Moore. Neil Gaiman. Peter David. These are my heroes. These are the giants. These are the guys I want to be hanging out with; but more precisely, these are the guys whose league I want to be in. To be equals with my heroes. Imagine sitting at the same table as the creator of Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Imagine talking to some of the creators of the original Super Heroes. The people who INVENTED the over-the-counterculture.

It's a heady thought. And all it will take is a little perseverance on my part.

Comics. They've been a part of my life so long I can't imagine the world without them. Moreover, I can't imagine not wanting to MAKE comics. I think every fan must at some point want to do the same; Mike and Kyle got accosted by some "writer" at the comic store asking for their business cards-- because he was writing a comic and hey, would they illustrate it?

And I've got to be more on the ball than THAT guy. I've got to be more serious, LESS lazy, MORE perseverant, and I have to WANT it more than just wishing. And I think I do. I mean, I've DONE it already. I have had a measure of success-- breaking the barrier of First Publication-- and have since done three self-published print comics for a niche market which have paid the bills and mortgage; hell, isn't THAT comics? Black and White self-publishing? Lookit me, I'm the 80's alternative comics boom baby, dancing in the fallout.

If you haven't read comics in a long time, stop by your local comic store again. See what you're missing. If you haven't read comics EVER-- Good GOD-- stop by that store and grab yourself a trade-paperback graphic novel, and start at the beginning of a story. ANY story. Treat yourself to rich, visual storytelling. See how deep you can go. Because baby, the talent pool is deep-- and the water's fine.

Posted by Agent M at October 21, 2003 10:54 AM