My Mother's Love Of Comic Books Helped Inspire My Own

A handful of my mother's funnybooks.

My mother was always a big kid at heart. As far back as I can remember, she collected toys, watched cartoons, and occasionally played video games. Her biggest hobby was a love of reading however, and she often read comic books between whatever novel might have caught her eye. She was a big fan of the DC Universe in particular, especially Superman. I have fond memories of visiting comic stores (and the comic sections of book shops) with her on weekends. Sometimes we even made trips up to the big city in our state just to see what issues we could find. Comics were at the center of a lot of really good times for us.

I'm not sure if my own interest in the medium started separately or not, but I know my mom's enthusiasm for comics clearly had an effect. They were always around, and I loved looking through them even before I knew what most of the words said. Rather than keeping me away from them, this was actively encouraged. I quickly formed interests in tons of characters that I still hold dear today, and I immediately took to drawing them in whatever rudimentary way possible. That ultimately lead to one of the biggest aspects of my creativity and overall identity.

Goofy drawings from a goofy boy.

Whether it was a masterpiece or a silly monthly filler, I adored every issue I got my hands on. Before long, I was generously allowed to pick out a book or two for myself during our shopping trips. My love of simply browsing stores likely began with our comic hunts as well; I was perfectly happy just looking around and admiring the posters and action figure assortments. This was a beloved part of many of our nights out, and I cherish those experiences greatly.

I also have to give credit to my mother for being open to the fact that I never outgrew these interests as I got older. I've heard plenty of awful stories of kids being made to throw out their comics and toys, or coming home to find that it had already been done. There's a lot of pressure to "grow up" at a certain point. I was very fortunate to have never been forced into giving up what I loved to fit any social norms. Being raised by a mom that still valued geeky stuff (even as far as wearing Batman shirts of her own) was pretty awesome.

My mother was a sweet woman and largely kept to herself, but she wasn't afraid to literally wear her interests on her sleeve. Even if people judge or make fun of it at times, I've always been able to look to her and know that it's absolutely okay that I continue to love comics, toys, and games as an adult. My life has been and continues to be greatly enriched by this stuff, and I owe a big part of that to her. That's just one of many wonderful things she did for me over the years.

Unfortunately, today marks the fourth year since my mother's passing. I'm sadly uncertain if I ever made it clear enough to her, but I loved and appreciated her greatly. For whatever it's worth in the grand scheme, I'm happy to at least have this small platform to give her some much deserved praise. To grandly understate, she was truly one of the good ones.

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