Comic Books - A State of them, if you will
I wrote about 12 different openings to this, none really capture the feeling of what I wanted to say.
Comic books, for me, are(or is) a personal hobby of mine that provides me entertainment. Whether it's reading them or hunting wanted issues down, it's all about the bass (dated reference!)
It's all about the comic book.Â
And through out my life, my relationship with comics has been a personal one. I didn't discuss them with a lot of people, I didn't have anyone around me IRL that collected comics.Â
Sure, I could chat up my LCS owner, but even then, it was short and sweet.Â
Then came the Internet and twitter and now, we have this whole - comic book community. Although, I'm still not immersed in it.Â
I can throw in some comments now and then. I can agree or disagree with other's on what's good and bad about, well, not just the stories, but the overall issues that come with being part of a community.Â
I rarely do, but that's fine with me. I don't have the time to get into several debates on differing issues. I got shit to do. That's not to say, those who do are somehow bad, or whatnot. It's all fine (like I said).Â
This is the best time to be a comic book reader. There are a huge selection of titles to choose from. Hell, there are a bunch of comic book websites, forums, podcasts, etc etc (and by etc, etc I mean you can find ANYTHING to do with any part of comics....)
With the good, comes the ugly (I'm skipping bad, because bad is ...well, bad. I might like comic X, you may not, done!)Â
The good is great! Which makes the whole - there's good seem silly - but hear me out.Â
We have some of the best comics around. That's just part of it though. We also have access to some of the people that make those comics.Â
This year I met a hand full of them when I attended my first comic expo. Some were chatty, some weren't but they were still pleasant. All of them signed stuff for me. I bought some stuff from creators I would not normally have and I enjoyed it!Â
I also met some local creators, who again, were very pleasant and I picked up stuff from them. All in all, great time. Everyone should have a great time at cons.Â
Do you like to make comics? I mean, I don't have the skill, the talent, the time, the _____. I'm totally ok with that. BUT if you have any of that stuff, this is the best time to make them! Throw them on the web. BOOM! Dream come true for some.Â
There's also an ugliness to comic books that comes out when we live in this information overload driven thing-y called the WWW. We hear of wrongs that happen all the time. We get to see some of the nasty ugly things that take place ...that has to do with our hobby.
I hardly get deeply involved (online) with these debates and whatnot. It's not because I'm sitting back saying, this is bullshit or question it. I work with what I can control. If someone was being a huge asshole at my LCS, I'd say something. I mean, it hasn't happened while I was there but I'm the type to do that kindÂ
I try to expose comic books to my kids, but they are their own people and if they like them, or don't ...it's ok. By this, I bought comics for both my son and daughter, I didn't try to give Batman to my son and Batgirl to my daughter. A comic is a comic and if they ever do get into them, they have a huge range to choose from (like I said earlier, pay attention!)
Turns out, my son, no interest in comics whatsoever. My daughter likes them but likes drawing way more, so, I can encourage stuff like that.Â
So what's the point of this huge thing? Like comics, in a way, there is no point. They are there for enjoyment. I see people on twitter that just seem like they don't enjoy comics yet keep talking about them. They might just be louder about what they don't like, but to me, if you don't like comics, don't read them.
Don't be quick to anger. I know we live in a up-to-the-second type world. Sometimes it's nice to see how things play out. If something bothers you, speak up. Speak up in your way. I mean, be constructive, or as constructive as possible.Â
Christ, this is sounding like a - don't be hatin' - piece. It's really not. If you want to hate, hate. I have the choice to listen, or not.Â
In fact, this isn't really a piece that has a defined point. Really, just thoughts. I've been reading & collecting comics for a long time now. I would never say - the good old days - that's silly. If I believed that, I'd probably just buy and read back issues. Things are good, really good. There are problems, but not everything IS a problem. When everything seems to be a problem and becomes a problem, it over shadows the real problems.Â
Good thing I can spell problem right :)Â
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