Meet a Real Super-hero

Why do I collect comic books? Why do I still get a rush when a new Batman movie comes out, or Spider-man 3 is in the works?

Thanks to my father. Back when I was 8 years old, I had the mumps. To help pass the time away (and to help me learn to read) my dad bought me my first comic book.

It was Green Lantern # 36. I remember the cover so vividly. From there it was Batman, Superman, Spider-man, the Fantastic Four and a weird group called the X-men.

I never lost my love for this characters.

In my boyish mind, my dad was my hero. Big, strong seemingly invulnerable. Performing feats of strength and being able to fix anything. When the Adam West Batman series was a national craze, he made me my own bat-suit that was the envy of all the kids in the neighborhood. (it even had a utility belt made from a metal band-aid container painted black with the bat-signal on it!) ((raise your hand if you remember metal band-aid containers!!!)

As the turbulent late sixties gave way to the protesting early seventies, the comic books went right along. Stories about civil rights, drug use, anti-establishment sentiment and rebellion reflected our society.

In my young teen-age mind, my dad was a flawed hero, kryptonite could fell him. Life could affect him and press on him. I would start to question his authority and begin talking back, rudely.

As the seventies continued into the "me" generation, comic books followed with self-pitying heroes, questioning their "rights" to be heroes. Brooding and dark, this kind of writing even crept into Batman, Spider-man and the "main stream" heroes. It was also the beginning of the "anti-hero", heroes who would bend or break the law to suit their own sense of "justice".

In my teen-age mind, dad was the enemy most of the time. We argued over everything from politics, to religion (usually my lack of), to girls and everything in between. There were many a slammed door and angry outbursts on both parts.