Heroes .............
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Album:The B-52s
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Lately I have been exploring my love of comic books. My son Alex and I have been reading 'The Marvel Universe Handbook' together. Marvel has always been my bag, though I will say DC has the costumed adventurer I always wished I could be. That was the Flash.
Growing up on a piece of isolated farmland in Pennsylvania my mind tended to wander. I read a lot (big surprise there) and one of the things that was in constant rotation (at least in monthly installments) was X-Men, Rom, Iron Man, and the Silver Surfer. My formidable years were spent grappling with heady ideas like race relations, moral absolutes, and personal strife. Comics became a teaching tool for boy without a father. In those half tone pages I found a bit of truth about the world outside my limited experience. Honestly, comics made me who I am today. Granted the stories were fantastic, and yet they were based in in a semblance of reality. In my house comics are completely encouraged for good reasons.One, they help to teach my kids reading skills. Kids who read well do better in life, period.Two, Comics are a great starting point for discussions about serious ideas. Death, alcoholism, bigotry, and honesty are just a few that come to mind. These are topics I prefer to teach my kids myself, rather than farming them out to a third party. I can't tell you enough about the virtue of my 8 year old asking me about bigotry and the conversation that stems from the pages of a pulp comic, talk about a teaching moment.Third, Is an appreciation of art. I defy anyone to come up with a con to this one. Just look at at Alex Ross' Golden Age 'Flash' above. To me it is gorgeous. Drawn in the way I had imagined him to look like in real life. Fourth, It encourages imagination. This is the 'What if' factor. Pretend play is a great way to explore your own personal limitations. In all, I guess what I am trying to say is comics can be useful. I think of them as mirror or supplement to real life, but more to the point, comics have helped me open up a dialogue between my kids and ultimately they have open the same dialogue within myself.
Growing up on a piece of isolated farmland in Pennsylvania my mind tended to wander. I read a lot (big surprise there) and one of the things that was in constant rotation (at least in monthly installments) was X-Men, Rom, Iron Man, and the Silver Surfer. My formidable years were spent grappling with heady ideas like race relations, moral absolutes, and personal strife. Comics became a teaching tool for boy without a father. In those half tone pages I found a bit of truth about the world outside my limited experience. Honestly, comics made me who I am today. Granted the stories were fantastic, and yet they were based in in a semblance of reality. In my house comics are completely encouraged for good reasons.One, they help to teach my kids reading skills. Kids who read well do better in life, period.Two, Comics are a great starting point for discussions about serious ideas. Death, alcoholism, bigotry, and honesty are just a few that come to mind. These are topics I prefer to teach my kids myself, rather than farming them out to a third party. I can't tell you enough about the virtue of my 8 year old asking me about bigotry and the conversation that stems from the pages of a pulp comic, talk about a teaching moment.Third, Is an appreciation of art. I defy anyone to come up with a con to this one. Just look at at Alex Ross' Golden Age 'Flash' above. To me it is gorgeous. Drawn in the way I had imagined him to look like in real life. Fourth, It encourages imagination. This is the 'What if' factor. Pretend play is a great way to explore your own personal limitations. In all, I guess what I am trying to say is comics can be useful. I think of them as mirror or supplement to real life, but more to the point, comics have helped me open up a dialogue between my kids and ultimately they have open the same dialogue within myself.
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