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February 14, 2006
How many of you out there read comics? How many of you used to read comics? Of those who haven't picked up a comic since you were a kid, have you picked one up recently? Well if you haven't, find a comic shop, pick up a copy of the title you were oh so fond of while growing up and compare it to what you remember as a child. I used to pick up issues of Superman and/or Action Comics whenever I went shopping with my parents. As I got older I started collecting them more seriously - plastic bags and all. I kept this up until about the first year of University - when my interest started to wain. Anyways, over the years I wandered into local comic shops and browsed to see what DC had to offer - I was never into Marvel. Recently I started picking up back issues that I had bought when I was in elementary - for about 5 to 6 times the cover price ($3.00 to $4.00). A few months ago I wandered into a shop and came across a title that is a sequel to a story DC ran 20 years ago - Crisis on Infinite Earths being the original and Infinite Crisis the new one. As I had followed the original, I decided to pick this one up and have been following it ever since - it runs only 7 issues and is at issue 4 right now. The original Crisis is what got me into serious collecting and into a variety of other titles. Like then the new Crisis has me going through DC's list of titles and I have ended up right back where I started - Superman. One thing about todays comics really struck me as I was comparing them to the issues from 25 - 30 years ago. Aside from the fact you can't buy comics from the local corner store anymore (when was the last time you saw a comic rack at 7-11 or Mac's?) and that the average comic costs between $3.50 and $5.00 (Can) compared between .30 and .50, the content today is virtually R-rated in terms of the actual stories and pictures - or at the very least extremely mature themes. 25 years ago you saw your favorite super hero grab the bad guy by his shirt and throw him in jail. Today you will find villains and heroes alike using methods in battle that perhaps only the Terminator would use. Bottom line - comics are not for kids any more. I realized that an 8 year old boy today should not be reading the average Superman Comic - assuming he can actually get his mom or dad to drive him to the comic shop. How times have changed. Makes me wonder if and how Archie comics may have changed over the years. later,
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