Marvel Comic Books

I have read comic strips since I was about seven years old. I guess most people grow out of it but I never did. I never I had a reason to. I still enjoy the characters, the stories and the art work, particularly from the golden age of the 1950s and 1960s. Comic book stores are my favorite haunts, especially the ones selling used editions. As a middle aged woman, I do get some funny looks. Fans of the genre tend to split into two camps, the DC Comic book fans and the Marvel Comic books fans. I like both but I think Marvel has the edge.

Since 1939, Marvel have produced some of the greatest comic book heroes around. They've kept to an impressive standard and had the best writers and artists working for them. Broadly speaking, DC Comics had the perfect specimen type superheroes such as Batman and Superman. Marvel Comic books are more interested in characters who are not perfect. They tend to be outsiders and only able to express themselves when they slip on the guise of their alter ego. This is why people identify with them more. They have their problems just like we do. The major strips to come from Marvel Comic books include The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Captain America, Daredevil and X-Men.

My favorite hero is Spider-Man. He is an adolescent struggling with the usual teenage angst of fitting in at school and getting a girlfriend. He's not at all confident and he talks back to his guardian Uncle. It's a typical Marvel Comic books situation, as we watch him go thru the emotional wringer. The Incredible Hulk is on the outside of society. David Banner has to keep moving from town to town never knowing when he's next going to turn into the Hulk or if his real identity will be discovered. Just when he feels like settling somewhere, he has to run again. Both Spider-Man and the Hulk have had their worlds turned upside down by accidents. Both Marvel Comic books stories are about losing control over your own destiny. Both men have a crushing sense of duty and have to make sacrifices.

I like the way Marvel are not afraid to tackle serious subjects, reflecting the state of society at the time. In 1971, Marvel Comic books ran a three episode Spider-Man story with an abuse of drugs theme. It portrayed the taking of drugs as an extremely negative experience. I bet it did more good than a hundred Government warnings. I hope all comic strips continue to explore social issues. There's no better medium in which to do it, it's mostly the growing generation that are reading them. Marvel Comic books were always at the forefront of this and still managed to entertain.