#scottsfab50. A 50 day exercise in thankfulness. Day 17. Wicked late today. Insanely busy day, but a day that will end with todays item for which I am grateful: Comic books. (Hey, I told you not all of these would be serious!) I was reading comic books way before it was cool. As a child, I subscribed to SHAZAM! As a young teen, my favorite was the Legion of Super Heroes, as drawn by the great Mike Grell. I drifted away from comics for a while, but in 1986 I read a Rolling Stone article about something brand new: The Dark Knight by Frank Miller. I picked it up, and my love affair was rekindled. From there: Batman: Year One. Camelot 3000 The Killing Joke. The incredible Sandman series, and its whimsical spinoff of everyones favorite happy immortal: Death. The pulitzer prize-winning Maus. And perhaps the pinnacle of the art form: Alan Moores Watchmen. Im typically more of a DC guy, but occasionally a Marvel offering would catch my eye, like Deathlok. (You can imagine my delight when that character appeared on Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) These days, Im reading quite a variety. Im loving all three Green Lantern books. Gail Simones great new take on Red Sonja is putting the fun back into a medium that has been taking itself too seriously for a while. Justice League Dark does a wonderful job exploring the dangers of the mystic corners of the DC Universe. Mel Brooks son Max, author of World War Z is currently writing one of the most imaginative tales Ive ever read: Extinction Parade. Basic idea: what would happen, if during a Zombie Apocalypse, the vampires realized that their food source (us) was in danger of being wiped out? And at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, the delightful all-ages work of Art Baltazar & Franco (Tiny Titans) and well as Mike Kunkels brilliant Herobear & The Kid. If youre a parent of young ones, seek out the collections of those last two. Comics provide great escapism, but the best of them are thought provoking. And frankly, there are very few nuggets of wisdom that surpass Stan Lees observation that With great power, comes great responsibility. The world would be a better place if we remembered that. The best heroes sacrifice for the greater good, and understand their gifts are best utilized in service to others, for no other reason than its the right thing to do. I love that comic book culture has taken over. Even though I grew up a DC Guy, I far prefer the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the mish mash of DC movies. (How in the world did they screw up Green Lantern SO BADLY?) For my money though, the single best on-screen adaptation of the comics remains Batman: The Animated Series. Simply brilliant. So, its off to bed. Where I will engage in a nightly ritual. I will take a comic from my nightstand, and read it aloud to Tamar. Weve been doing this for decades. Might seem silly to you, but it ends the day on a relaxing note, lets me flex my voice acting muscles, and provides a little unique us time. Call me a geek if you will. Ive earned it. But Ill keep reading the adventures of my beloved heroes, whether in brightest day, or blackest night.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 04:03:52 +0000
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