Miscellany: Comic books and me

I was never really a huge reader of traditional American comic books in my youth. I did have a few issues of Marvel's "Robocop" series and a couple of the "Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight" series (specifically, the "Prey" storyline featuring the twisted Dr. Hugo Strange), but my main focus in those days was reading good old-fashioned books, along with healthy doses of Calvin & Hobbes.

This changed a bit as I aged. For one thing, most of the comic books were being collected in convenient graphic novel format, great for reading on the run. With the help of the local library, I read many of the seminal works in modern mainstream comics - "Watchmen," "The Dark Knight Returns," and more. I found that movie adaptations usually pale in comparison to the writing and artwork found in most of these classics (compare both versions of "From Hell" and you'll want to kick the screenwriters in the nuts).

However, while visiting "All-Star Comics," a dedicated comics shop tucked in the corner of a strip mall, I was dismayed to learn that comic books are in trouble. While manga is as popular as ever, the mainstream superhero comics are attracting fewer readers. This is occurring even as people flock to "Spider-Man 3" to the tune of 150 million dollars. Why someone would pony up $7 for a movie ticket and not $2.50 for a comic book featuring the same characters or $10 for a 200 page, full-color graphic novel is puzzling to me.