Geek Out Challenge – Day 27

It is Day 27 of the Geek Out Challenge true believers, and our topic du jour is superheroes! Whether being exposed to gamma rays, taken super soldier serums, or simply able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, superheroes have permeated our culture and everyday lives much like that of the gods and monsters of Greek or Egyptian mythology. The majority of our best known superheroes began in comic books, but as of the last couple decades these characters have become better known from the movies and tv shows based on the source material and are still some of our most beloved characters.

Favorite superhero?

My choice of favorite superhero would have to be either Batman or Spider-Man, not real unique choices, but have been a significant part of my life nonetheless. If I had to decide one JUST one I would probably lean towards Spider-Man. A superhero’s alter ego(i.e. Peter Parker or Bruce Wayen) is what gives a character any level of depth and establishes a connection between the reader/viewer and the character. Peter Parker resonates with many people in how he is just another geeky teenager before being bitten by a radioactive spider; he has the same worries and insecurities as anyone, gaining his spider-powers along the way only adds to the responsibilities piled upon him. I have always been drawn to how Peter Parker has such a strong desire to help others and do the right thing, even though he initially feels responsibility for no one other than himself. We all know the origin story – Peter’s Uncle Ben is murdered by the very same person he witnessed robbing the wrestling promoter who had just cheated him some money, pushing Peter to devote his life to using his powers to help others – “With great power, comes great responsibility”.

Peter Parker has always been interesting in how life beats him down routinely, but still never gives up and is constantly striving to be better. I’ve always found this aspect to be inspirational as he demonstrates an incredible amount of determination, responsibility and overall faith in the good of humanity, the kind of things I don’t always feel I personally have in great supply…

That’s all for now, who’s your favorite superhero? Let me know in the comments below. There’s only a few days of the Geek Out Challenge left, let’s keep the momentum going!

Excelsior!

Geek Out Challenge – Day 11

Day 11 of the 30 Day Geek Out Challenge! Today we’re talking about manga and comics, more specifically, your favorite manga or comic series. One of my favorite things to do during those nice summer days as a kid would be to sit outside with some lemonade or soda and a stack of comic books. I lived a moderate distance from anywhere that sold comics, so when I would go into town with my mom or dad I would look forward to browsing through the comics at our local drug store and bringing one home with me. There was a fair variety of comics that I read, Spider-Man to Batman to Sonic The Hedgehog to Street Sharks(remember that?). I still enjoy reading comics as I did when I was a kid, though presently I tend to pick up comics that have been printed by volumes or collection at a Barnes and Noble or off Amazon, primarily your standard Marvel or DC titles. I have listed what was probably my favorite as a kid, along with a couple that I have really liked picking up in the last few years.

Favorite manga or comic book series

Spider-Man – I’m going to list this simply as a whole, due to the fact there are many different lines of Spider-Man comics such as – The Amazing Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, or simply…Spider-Man. I also mentioned I collected any issues rather infrequently which made the already convoluted story arcs such as the Clone Saga even more confusing as a kid; regardless of that, Spider-Man would still have to be my favorite comic series. One of my favorite shows at the time was the Spider-Man Animated Series I watched on Saturday mornings and after school, so it made me want to collect any comics I came across. I would pick up new issues at the local drug store mostly, but I’d also look around any nearby garage sales for the occasional odd comics that someone would be selling. One of the things I remember most during the Clone Saga storyline is Ben Reilly finding out that he IS in fact, the real Spider-Man and that Peter Parker is the clone! This was quite confusing as a kid, and even reading up on it now seems just as confounding. Ben Reilly’s Scarlet Spider – complete with the ragged “90’s grunge” outfit is memorable enough that I was more than excited to see it as an unlockable costume in the recent PS4 exclusive – Marvel’s Spider-Man(great game! btw).

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  Some of the issues I remember having as a kid…

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X-Men ’92 – A newer(kinda) comic book series that I’ve really liked in the past few years is X-Men ’92. As the ’92 suggests, the art style is drawn to look the same as the X-Men animated series from the early 90’s that I loved. I’ve been able to find quite a few issues around town and really like reading them.

Batman ’66 – Another comic series that is essentially a tv show in printed form. Batman ’66 is drawn to resemble the aesthetic from the Adam West Batman tv show of the 60’s. The comics are written just like that of the tv show, campy dialogue and everything… it’s pretty great; I really enjoy reading these as well.

In reading over my list it would seem that television probably influenced my interest in comics more than the other way around, but this was before the MCU and before the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy so the Marvel Comics cartoons as well as Batman the Animated Series were as good as it gets back then. I believe that’s enough reminiscing about cartoons and comics in the 90’s for now. What are your favorite manga or comics from past or present? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks again to Megan at A Geeky Gal for the fun questions 🙂 We are through 11 days of the Geek Out Challenge and we’ll see you tomorrow…same BAT-time, same BAT-channel!