When I was eight years old, DC Comics killed Superman in
1993. Having only known Superman from the Christopher Reeve movies, I really
didn’t know him in the comics. I remember the news raving about it and before I
knew it, there was a copy of Superman #75 in my house. I read it, loved it and
later on, began collecting the Reign of the Supermen story line. Since comics
weren’t a big thing where I lived, I managed to get most of the singles. Though
I missed a bit of the story at the time, it was still my favorite.
Superman #75, 1993. DC Comics. |
At seventeen, I still worked there. Due to personal
situations in my life, I became clinically depressed. Suddenly comics and books
no longer held any magic for me. I stopped believing in a lot of things. I just
functioned, living in a world devoid of color.
But then I ran into a book that straight out b-slapped me
into existence again. It was a comic book that had nothing to do with
superheroes. The closest thing it had to it was the author’s love for them. It
wasn’t even a series at the time, it was a single issue. It was called True Story, Swear to God by Tom Beland.
It was a realistic tale about love, started by something straight
out of a comic book. A California
artist finds himself in Disney World and ends up meeting the love of his life,
a Puerto Rican radio personality, at a bus stop in said theme park. Hilarity, awkwardness
and magic ensue and as a reader; you willingly follow their journey, hoping
everything finds a way to work out for these characters. At the time I picked
it up it was only a single issue, but thankfully now there’s two trade
paperbacks that I know of, chronicling how it went from a chance meeting to a
relationship we can all relate to in some form or another. The comic being
autobiographical struck my fancy, since at the time I hadn’t encountered such a
thing.
Collected Edition of True Story, Swear to God by Tom Beland Vol. 1, 2008. |
Even though I've never run into the people who wrote the
Superman books back in the day and have only met Tom Beland casually at
conventions, I've always wondered if these authors know about the change they
make in their readers. In my case, one comic book gave me a love for a genre,
whereas another one changed my outlook in my darkest times. Is this what they aim for
when they put their stories out in the world? I sure hope so, because they did
for me.
So do yourself a favor, get yourself a copy of the Death of
Superman (perhaps one of the most 90's books ever) and also a copy of the True Story, Swear to God trade
paperback. Not only will you read two really good stories that have totally
different formats, you'll be able to laugh at Superman's mullet (I do it all
the time, it's OK) and learn about life from Tom. I promise you that at the end
of the day, you'll look at bus stops in a different way while you remind
yourself of how awesomely ridiculous the 90's were.
Just look at that hair! Amazing! |
Which comic books were life changing for you? Sound out in
the comments below!
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the 2 series that you mention did have a strong impact in my life at two very different stages of it. But there were others that were also very influential in very important moments of my life:
ReplyDeleteCarl Bark's Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics and old 50s (spanish translated) Superman and Batman comics introduced me to the comics genre (read to me by my dad, instead of story books, when i was an infant).
old Mad magazine were available for my delight throughout my childhood.
Archie comics and EC horror, science fiction, crime and war comic reprints (the originals were from the 40s) were there during my teens (along with Reign of the Supermen in the 90s).
Calvin and Hobbes (by Bill Watterson), Battle Chasers (by Joe Madureira), Danger Girl (by J. Scott Campbell), and Crimson (by Humberto Ramos) were there to help me go from high school to college.
Lobo comics (by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley), and Conan comics (by Kur Busiek and Cary Nord) were there during my twenties.
... and it never quite ends, does it? :)
*Kurt Busiek*
Deletesorry.