Your Friendly Neighborhood Comic Reader
It’s no secret that I love comic books. I love the art, the stories, and putting each book in their own protective sleeve and adding them among the rest of my collection. I had the pleasure of interviewing a good friend of mine this weekend who shares my love of comics and superheroes. It was fun and insightful to see why comic books are so special compared to other mediums and why people are drawn to these types of stories.
Gabby: What do you like about comics?
Nick: I have always loved stories and I’ve found that comics is probably my favorite medium for stories. It’s a beautiful blend of clever writing and beautiful artwork. I also enjoy the way different writers and artists approach the same character by adding their own twist to the character while keeping their core relatively the same depending on the writer.
G: How did you start reading and collecting comics? Did a family member or friend introduce them to you or did you discover them on your own?
N: It originally started when I started watching the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies and my dad started talking about the stories behind them in the comics and I became fascinated. So much so that I asked my parents to get me an encyclopedia on both Marvel and DC comics so I could learn about all the characters and learn about their stories. After that I began to seek out comics more, buying them when I could or going into a bookstore to read them. But I guess to sum it all up simply my dad was the one who got me super into comics by just talking about them with me.
G: Do you have a favorite comic in your collection? Why is it your favorite?
N: My favorite comic in my collection is probably either Spider-Men 1 or 2. One because the art style is really awesome, and the way they use Peter Parker’s character as well as the way he approaches being Spider-Man to further and grow Miles’ character as his own version of Spider-Man is a very new and interesting twist on the story. I just love the dynamic of someone who is brand new to being Spider-Man teaming up with someone who has been Spider-Man for so long. To put it simply Spider-Man is my favorite character and throwing more Spider-Men into one comic is a good way to rope me in.
G: How do comics express some attribute of your identity?
N: Comics appeal to the creative aspects of my identity such as my enjoyment for drawing and fiction writing. Overall I feel it appeals to my general love of stories about heroes which has become a huge part of who I am because it gives me an idea of the kind of person who I strive to be.
G: Is there a character that you identify the most with? Why?
N: I would say I most identify with Spider-Man. Because no matter what happens, however messed up, he still rises to the occasion to do the right thing. Also, he has a strong desire to protect those he cares about which, while this is a common trait among superheroes, in my personal opinion I think it really shows more in his character than others. Those are two traits that I associate with myself mostly due to how protective I am of the people I care about.
