It was always the comics.
Wait, you say. What was always the comics? A source of amusement? The people you blame for an embarrasing moment? The best liner for your burrow? What was it?
None of those. It was the comics that sparked my interest in writing, I think. As a child ‘vark, I spent a lot of time by myself, for a variety of reasons. And during that time, comic books became my best friend. I didn’t just look at the colorful pictures. I READ each and every word. Back in those days, comic books were a lot safer to read for small children and aardvarks alike, so no one really had to worry about picking up bad language.
The stories fascinated me. True, the artwork caught my attention, as it should. And like any comic fanboy (fanvark?), I certainly had my favorites. Early on, I gravitated toward one book in particular: Superboy and The Legion of SuperHeroes. As a teenager, Superman would travel forward in time to the 30th century, to team with anywhere from 20-30 other teens from different worlds, each with a unique power of their own.
And to a youngster such as myself, this was magic. Friends. With superpowers. For a lonely kid with a vivid imagination, this was comic nirvana. Of course, other books, other characters would drift into my little world. I tended to prefer team-based books, such as JLA or The Avengers. Again, a lonely kid always desiring the company of others.
And over time, I began to be inspired by these characters, these writers, these stories. I began to create my own characters. Of course, they were pretty silly, as first. That’s normal for a kid. But the spark was struck, and the ideas continued to flow for years.
Until they didn’t
To be continued…..
The Naked Aardvark 