Of Matters Comical

Cal and SamuraiFrog both did this quiz, so now I will, too:

1 Did you read comics as a kid?

Yes. I didn't read a whole lot of comics as a young kid, but I did read them. I got heavier into comics in junior high and then high school. When I was a young kid, my favorite comics weren't superhero comics, but Richie Rich ones. I loved the Richie Rich stuff -- not just Richie, but his girlfriend Gloria; his buddies Freckles and Pee Wee; his butler, Cadbury; his parents, Richard and Regina; his science teacher and resident inventor, Professor Keenbean, and all the rest. Those stories were a lot of fun for me. I eventually stopped getting those and left off comics for a few years, until seventh grade, when I started back into comics with Marvel's Star Wars series (just beginning post-Return of the Jedi tales) and gradually exploring other Marvel series.

2 Who bought you your first comic?

My father. I'm pretty sure it was a Bugs Bunny comic, and I'm pretty sure this was when I was in kindergarten.

3 Did you take any time away from comics? Why?

Well, the few years between third grade (or thereabouts) and seventh grade, and then I stopped buying comics during my senior year of high school, because money was just getting too tight and I was heading off to college anyway. In truth, I had just got my first CD player for Christmas that year, and I wanted to buy CDs. So I made the decision that it was time to give up on comics. I was all about the music at the time.

4 What brought you back into comics?

If you mean "Back into comics" as in, "Back to going to the store every Wednesday to get the new ones", I've never come back to it. But I have bought a number of trade paperback collections of comics, and a lot of graphic novels, over the years. I still love the comics medium, but monthly buying is just too expensive for me.

5 Do you prefer getting comics monthly or in trades?

Well, I just answered that, didn't I? Trades and collections. A lot of comics I read via the library, because even trades and collections tend to be too expensive for me. I know I've said this many times in this space, but I continue to be convinced that the simple matter of price point is a big part of what keeps comics from really going mainstream in this country as a storytelling medium. Yes, comics are continuing to gain more and more acceptance and I don't see this process ending at all, as the creative powers in comics just continue to get better and better, but still: the high price of comics, especially the trades and collections, has to hurt the simple browsing aspect of comics acquiring new readership. How many people are going to buy the giant omnibus of Bone when they haven't read much by way of comics, knowing that the thing is $40? Only someone who has already internalized that comics are great, that's who.

6 Do you know the name of your Local Comic Shop (LCS)?

Sadly, the little store in my town that had comics closed recently. I'm not sure to what degree it was due to economics, but the place had been around forever, so it's entirely possible the owners decided to retire and move to Florida. Anyway, this sucks because as far as I know, all of the other comics stores in the Buffalo area are a long enough drive away to be fairly inconvenient to get to as a regular destination.

7 Does your LCS know your name?

Nope.

8 Do you own any old number 1 comics (must date before 1980)?

Marvel's Star Wars #1. That's it.

9 Do you own any original comic art?

No.

10 Do you bag and board your comics?

When I was a monthly buyer, I bagged them (but not boarded). I don't bag my trades and graphic novels.

11 Where do you store your comics?

They're in my parents' garage right now. When we get a place with more space, they'll come to live with me forever. Oh yes!

12 How many comics do you read right now, in either floppy or trade format?

I don't read any comics "regularly", but there are creators whose work is kind-of permanently on my radar -- Jeff Smith, Craig Thompson, Bryan Talbot, et cetera.

13 What would be your number one, all-time desert island, favourite comic series?

Hmmmm, that's tough. Maybe the entire Marvel run of Star Wars. There was a lot of great stuff in that old, underrated series.

14 Do you follow comic creators on Twitter?

No. But I barely ever get on Twitter. (My answer is exactly SamuraiFrog's, so I just kept his.)

15 Do you have a favourite comic creator?

The ones I mentioned above, I suppose. I also love Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy's collaborations. (BTW, here's a page from one of their works, revealing the source of my Net moniker.)

16 Do you harbour any aspirations to create your own comics?

I can't draw to save my life, but if someone who can wanted to test my scripting abilities, I'd absolutely give it a go!

17 Do you access comic news online, if so where?

Nope, aside from what I see in blogs that I read that talk about comics a lot.

Time to pick sides...

Marvel or DC?

Back in the day, I was an exclusive Marvel reader, until Crisis on Infinite Earths came along, which I thought was just an amazing tale. (My impression is that serious fans saw Crisis as flawed, but since I didn't know anything about the DC universe when it came out, I had no idea of the flaws and just enjoyed the story.) After that I started reading a few DC books -- their late-80s relaunches of Superman and Wonder Woman, for the most part. I loved the Wonder Woman relaunch, and I enjoyed it again when I recently got some collections out of the library.

Superman or Batman?

Superman. I've enjoyed a few Batman tales here and there, and I like the movies that they're making now, but for the most part, the whole "Dark Knight" thing doesn't do a whole lot for me. When I finally read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns a few years ago, after hearing it spoken of so reverently ever since it came out, my reaction was "That's it?"

Spider-Man or Wolverine?

Oh, wow. That's very close, actually. Spiderman is my default answer whenever someone asks me to name my favorite superhero, but Wolverine is right up there, too.

Iron Fist or Luke Cage?

I don't know the first thing about either one, to be honest.

Nick Fury normal or Nick Fury Sam Jackson?

Don't really care. I wasn't much of an Avengers fan, so Nick Fury was never really on my radar as a comics fan.

Spandex or real life stories?

Either, as long as the story is told well.

Golden Age or Silver Age or Modern Age?

There are great comics in all eras. I've read the fewest Golden Age comics in general, though.

Digital or paper?

Paper, but aside from the comic strips I read daily, I haven't read too many comics online.

Gotham or New York?

New York.

Hero or villain?

Heroes, but they need good villains, otherwise they're lame.

Cape or no cape?

Doesn't matter, really. Some characters need one, others don't.

Cowl or domino mask?

Again, I don't really have an opinion here. I am always amused by the notion that masks are as protective of secret identities as they are in the superhero universes.

Nothing in this quiz about manga, I notice. That's interesting.