Comic Books - Cooler Than You Think!

I’m not a collector in the “I’ve-got-a-mint-condition-first-issue-of-Fantastic-Four!” sense. I don’t really care how many claws Wolverine has. I’m not overly concerned whether the Hulk is colored green or grey. In fact I don’t think comic book “collector" really applies to me at all. I’m probably more of a comic book "appreciator". My interest has always been in what can be accomplished with the medium of “visual story-telling”. In that respect, comic books are the best thing going. And there are some great comics out there. Well written and well illustrated but unfortunately not too well known by the mainstream public.

I’m not sure exactly where this interest of mine sprang from. I do know that as a child, comic books allowed me to improve my reading skills. “The Mighty Thor” evolved into an interest in mythology and Norse legends, “Challengers of the Unknown” got me hooked on science fiction. The combination of words and pictures was a perfect springboard for my childhood imagination.

Comics are probably more “accepted” now than ever before thanks to the many comic-film adaptations that flood the movie theatres these days. But this pales in comparison to some other cultures.

When I was in Japan for example, and to a lesser extent Korea, I was simply overwhelmed by the amount of comics that are published and used to illustrate topics as diverse as proper car maintenance to raising children. Certainly there were plenty of Manga titles dealing with meta-morphing robots and the like, but the Japanese have really embraced the medium in terms of what it can be used for. And it can be used for a lot more than just caped crusaders slam-dunking each other. Comic books that are several hundred pages long that deal with relationships and family are not that far fetched, and it’s nothing to see young professionals riding the metro in Japan, deeply engrossed in a Manga tale while awaiting their next destination.