Super Hero Movies

To anyone that will listen, I will say that two things in my childhood contributed to my love of reading. First, during weekly mass at St. Pius X in Cedar Rapids, I remember having the book in the pew open to the readings and as they were read, I followed along. It was like someone was reading aloud to me and by following along, I know I increased my vocabulary. The second was reading comic books. So, when I feel giddy and excited and immature about seeing the scheduled super hero movies that Hollywood is going to make here, there's definitely a source for those feelings. And what essay about comic books can begin without stating there is always a lingering sense of regret when I think about that collection and considering how much money those comic books would be worth to a collector in 2014. Every kid who read comic books believes their collection would be worth a lot of money, including me. 

I often smirk when I remember how certain things in life make a huge impression in the brain. I don't regret the time I spent reading comic books as it nurtured my innate desire to read. I do vividly remember that it was Donna Schlampp who gave me a subscription to Thor. Donna is my godmother. I don't remember the context for why I received that gift - birthday? Christmas? - but I remember being initially disappointed by her gift. I remember it was given to me with a Spider-Man comic book. I remember that Spider-Man was a super hero I knew about but Thor was an unknown hero. Maybe it was the fear of the unknown that I was reacting to in that dim memory of being disappointed.

I remember that each issue of Thor arrived in a brown wrapper. I remember I could simply slide the comic book out of that wrapper. Immediately retreating to my room to read a new issue of Thor was a monthly event. I think reading Thor made reading Shakespeare somewhat easier for me. The characters in the Thor comic book didn't say things like "I like the way the sun looks as it goes down on the horizon." Instead, their characters used phrases like "Upon the distant horizon, sets the sun I enjoy." The way the words were arranged were not easy for me to comprehend as a child but because I read Thor on a monthly basis, I learned to understand the way the characters spoke. Maybe every English major should read Thor as a way to learn how to read literature like Shakespeare? I crack myself up.

Back to reading comic books, I remember exactly where I sat when I read comics. I sat in my bedroom, on the floor, with my left leg in my closet and my right leg out of my closet. I had two sliding closet doors on a track. There was a large maroon box without a lid and it was in this box that I stored my comic books. This box was large and covered my entire closet floor. Leaning against the wall, I sat next to this box and read comic books. I can't begin to estimate the number of hours I sat and read comic books. I read Justice League of America, Thor, and many others. It is still a natural impulse to look for comic books if I am anywhere that has a magazine rack.