Great post, Wil. You and I traversed a very similar path with comics. I fell off around 1994, tried to pick them up again in 2003, and finally did around 2008 when a good friend recommended the Kevin Smith Daredevil relaunch. Since then I've been a consistent reader and since 2020 I've been hooked on Marvel Unlimited. I loved Spiderman as a kid - and still do - but I'd say my go-to characters as an adult are Daredevil and Punisher. The duality of the two never gets old to me, and I like the more real-to-life stories. Plus, the cadre of villains in their orbit - Kingpin, Bullseye, the Hand, etc. - are incredible.
I read age-inappropriate comics to my kids all the time. I watched Aliens and Full Metal Jacket before I was 10, so I figure they'll be okay. My son loves Venom and Miles Morales, my daughter is a Ghost Spider, Silk, and Spiderman fan.
I also agree that, despite their present cultural ubiquity, fictional characters like Spiderman and Captain America are the ultimate role models. They make mistakes, but they learn and keep trying to do better. A worthy approach for us all.
Kevin Smith’s Guardian Devil is awesome. That Spiderman pep talk at the end? And those Joe Quesada Billy club coil lines? You’re going to make me need to revisit it soon.
For sure, my kids are going to love superheroes, how could they not? I confess they each already have brightly colored capes with the first initial of their names emblazoned on the back that they love running around in and pretend power blasting from their open hands.
And on our bookshelf, more reachable than the Squirrel Girl, I got an old paperback Superman Spiderman team-up dc/marvel crossover comic where they fight Parasite and Dr Doom AND Wonder Woman and Hulk cameo. My son loves turning to the pages with Hulk and grunting. This same son caught part of Moon Knight with me and now asks mom for the show with the bird skull monster.
Love the double stitches and also I would be the one posing your Spider-Man action figures in various sex positions for you to find every time you returned back to the room. Heh-heh. I blame my dad for raising my sister and me as the boys he never had.
I enjoyed this commentary on Disney-ish dominance of pop culture contrasting with the idea of “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” https://animusmagazine.com/2022/06/29/childish-things/
This description had me laughing:
“”””Meanwhile, the stars of Lightyear (Pixar’s prequel of sorts to the Toy Story films) were last week roped by Disney into an unboxing video that perfectly encapsulates the creeping infantilisation of cinema: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer and the shy and retiring Taika Waititi all unveil a succession of Lightyear-related action figures and toy spaceships and a cat toy that goes “peepu-peepu-peepu”. “I love Peepu-Peepu-Peepu,” exclaims Palmer, in a fun new twist on the myth of Faust. “””
“A fun new twist on the myth of Faust” is such a wonderful way to describe that anecdote. As a sentence it’s a pleasure to say; as an idea it is a clever lens to view celebrity promotional tours, and one ripe with many more story possibilities!
Great post, Wil. You and I traversed a very similar path with comics. I fell off around 1994, tried to pick them up again in 2003, and finally did around 2008 when a good friend recommended the Kevin Smith Daredevil relaunch. Since then I've been a consistent reader and since 2020 I've been hooked on Marvel Unlimited. I loved Spiderman as a kid - and still do - but I'd say my go-to characters as an adult are Daredevil and Punisher. The duality of the two never gets old to me, and I like the more real-to-life stories. Plus, the cadre of villains in their orbit - Kingpin, Bullseye, the Hand, etc. - are incredible.
I read age-inappropriate comics to my kids all the time. I watched Aliens and Full Metal Jacket before I was 10, so I figure they'll be okay. My son loves Venom and Miles Morales, my daughter is a Ghost Spider, Silk, and Spiderman fan.
I also agree that, despite their present cultural ubiquity, fictional characters like Spiderman and Captain America are the ultimate role models. They make mistakes, but they learn and keep trying to do better. A worthy approach for us all.
Kevin Smith’s Guardian Devil is awesome. That Spiderman pep talk at the end? And those Joe Quesada Billy club coil lines? You’re going to make me need to revisit it soon.
For sure, my kids are going to love superheroes, how could they not? I confess they each already have brightly colored capes with the first initial of their names emblazoned on the back that they love running around in and pretend power blasting from their open hands.
And on our bookshelf, more reachable than the Squirrel Girl, I got an old paperback Superman Spiderman team-up dc/marvel crossover comic where they fight Parasite and Dr Doom AND Wonder Woman and Hulk cameo. My son loves turning to the pages with Hulk and grunting. This same son caught part of Moon Knight with me and now asks mom for the show with the bird skull monster.
[shrug]
My son also loves Hulk. We read World War Hulk and the Immortal Hulk series by Al Ewing. Incredible artwork.
Love the double stitches and also I would be the one posing your Spider-Man action figures in various sex positions for you to find every time you returned back to the room. Heh-heh. I blame my dad for raising my sister and me as the boys he never had.
And they were super poseable! 36 joints!
😂
I enjoyed this commentary on Disney-ish dominance of pop culture contrasting with the idea of “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” https://animusmagazine.com/2022/06/29/childish-things/
This description had me laughing:
“”””Meanwhile, the stars of Lightyear (Pixar’s prequel of sorts to the Toy Story films) were last week roped by Disney into an unboxing video that perfectly encapsulates the creeping infantilisation of cinema: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer and the shy and retiring Taika Waititi all unveil a succession of Lightyear-related action figures and toy spaceships and a cat toy that goes “peepu-peepu-peepu”. “I love Peepu-Peepu-Peepu,” exclaims Palmer, in a fun new twist on the myth of Faust. “””
“A fun new twist on the myth of Faust” is such a wonderful way to describe that anecdote. As a sentence it’s a pleasure to say; as an idea it is a clever lens to view celebrity promotional tours, and one ripe with many more story possibilities!
Also, for thoughtful superhero media insight, I’m a big fan of Darren Mooney:
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/thor-best-superhero-avenger-mcu-military-industrial-complex/