Day Eight: Marvel v. DC

I am a comic book kid.

Last night at work I had a little boy come in who was wearing gloves with Spiderman on them. I complimented him and told him that Spiderman was one of my favorite super heroes. He said “I didn’t know girls could like Spiderman.”

His parents and I laughed it off a little, but it made me realize that I love the fact that I love comic books. Ever since I was a little kid, my parents would buy my brother comic books and I would steal them to read under the covers with a flashlight. Considering that I own the entirety of the Spiderman v. Carnage arc, it explains why I’m a little messed up.

While talking to a friend who has a seven year old girl, I asked him if he tried getting her into graphic novels and comics to help her enjoy reading more. He told me that he would love to, but his wife didn’t want her to read comic books because they had too much violence in them. She said that the little girl was too young to expose to that kind of violence. Meanwhile, she happily allowed my friend to take their five year old son to the Avengers movie.

Growing up in the nineties, there was a definite dichotomy between girls and boys when it came to reading. Little girls read The Baby-Sitter’s Club, which if you recall treats women like unpaid civil servants who are good for nothing but crushing on guys and watching small children in their free time. Boys got to read Goosebumps and comic books. I grew up around mostly boys so I read a lot of comic books as a child, and I mean a lot. We have a dresser upstairs just full of the things. They aren’t worth anything either because my brother and I read them so many times that they’re all falling apart.

Spiderman, Superman, The Xmen and Hellboy (best superhero ever!) taught me something that the Baby-Sitter’s Club could never teach me: self-value.  The basis for BSC was that young women could learn lesson about honesty, bravery and love while preforming their natural role as caretakers of small children. Superheroes taught me that courage, strength and heart are the best weapons against all enemies and that all weaknesses we have should be embraced and protected, not exploited. The mutants of the XMen universe struggle with the same self-acceptance that I and many others struggle with every day.

I am aware that the comic book world is a male dominated field and that most of our superheroes are boys in tights (no comment.) But there is a growing love for the strong female in our comic universe. Recently Cat Woman and Black Widow have become some of the most wildly popular heroes among boys and girls. I’m not saying you should let your daughter dress in a skin tight cat suit for Halloween, but there is no harm in letting them read a story about a girl who isn’t afraid to walk alone at night, who fights for what she believes in and carries a story independent of the male protagonist.

I love comics and I love graphic novels and I love superheroes. Being raised on this kind of literature has helped me to be a stronger person, a stronger woman and a better writer. I know my geekness is something my boy loves about me, too.

Challenge to my Readers:

Be someone’s hero today by doing something nice. Donate to charity, serve at a food bank, buy from locally owned small shops instead of big box stores. Help someone carry their groceries or say something nice to someone having a bad day.

In the meantime, also check out all these people who are working to be heroes for the whole world:

Free the Girls

(Red)

Habitat for Humanity

Bread for the World

Operation Home Front

In the giving spirit, buy a tshirt or a bracelet from your favorite charity to give to a friend. They make great gifts, support good causes and help raise awareness. We don’t have to wear tights to be superheroes.

Note: It saddens me to write this, but at this time of year many scam charities come out of the woodwork. Make sure that your money, your time and your donations go to the place that is doing the most good. This site will tell you the top rated charities according to their rigorous standards. Not all charities are on here, but many of the major ones are.