My First Comic Book

I must have been around five or six when I first saw He-Man on television.

This was probably around 1989 or 1990. We had only one television channel in India, Doordarshan, and I didn’t really understand how the telecast schedule worked.

I would sit in front of the television, waiting for He-Man to appear. Sometimes he did, and sometimes he didn’t. I remember feeling dejected on the days when he didn’t show up.

I don’t remember much about the storylines from that time. What I remember is He-Man raising his sword and how fascinated I was by him.

I just wanted to watch He-Man.

Every summer, when school closed for the holidays, my parents would buy me a new toy. One summer, I chose He-Man.

I think the toy cost around ₹500, although I don’t remember the exact price. We were a lower-middle-class family, and it was an expensive toy for us. But my father bought it for me.

I was so happy.

I played with He-Man throughout that summer, making up my own adventures around the house.

We had ropes tied inside our home for drying clothes. I would use them as zip lines, sending He-Man from one place to another and creating my own storylines along the way.

I could spend hours playing with him.

Looking back, particularly now that I’m a father myself, that memory of my father buying me the toy means a lot.

I didn’t understand the financial considerations at the time. I was simply happy that I had He-Man.

I was allowed to have that happiness.

He-Man was no longer around after the early 1990s, but my fascination with superheroes continued.

Superman was one of my early favourites. The idea that someone could simply fly, without needing any equipment or machinery, captured my imagination.

Then came Spider-Man.

I loved the Spider-Man films from the 2000s, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 became one of my favourites. Then there were the Avengers, with Iron Man, Captain America and all the other characters coming together.

I enjoyed watching these superheroes on the big screen. What appealed to me about Superman and Spider-Man was that, despite having extraordinary abilities, they used them to help ordinary people.

I liked Batman too, particularly The Dark Knight, although his world felt different from the superheroes I had grown up watching.

Through all these years, superhero films remained a constant source of entertainment for me.

But there was one thing I never really understood.

What was the fascination with comic books?

Of course, I knew that characters like Superman, Spider-Man and Batman came from comics, but I had never read them myself.

Watching The Big Bang Theory made me even more curious.

Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj would discuss comic books in the same way people discuss films. They had their collections, their favourite stories, and an entire culture around reading and collecting comics.

I hadn’t realised that comic books had such a following.

I wondered what people found so fascinating about them, especially when these characters were already available to watch on the big screen.

It remained a curiosity for years.

Until recently.

I had just watched Spider-Man: Brand New Day when I happened to pass by the Forbidden Planet Megastore near Tottenham Court Road in London.

That was the little push I needed.

I had been curious about comic books for so long. Why not finally try one?

Walking into Forbidden Planet was quite overwhelming.

There were shelves full of comics and graphic novels, different characters, different collections and what seemed like endless versions of familiar superheroes.

I felt a little lost.

Where was I supposed to begin?

With superhero films, I generally knew where to start. But comics seemed to have so many different storylines, writers and versions of the same characters that I wasn’t sure which one to pick.

I had anticipated this, so I did some research and asked ChatGPT to help me find a good starting point.

Eventually, I landed on Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1: Married With Children.

I found the premise interesting.

Here was a version of Peter Parker who was older, married and had children. Being a husband and father myself, I could relate to that stage of his life.

It was also a different take on a character I had known through the films for years.

I decided to buy it.

Along with Spider-Man, I picked up Batman: The Court of Owls, another comic that seemed like a good starting point.

Buying those two books felt special.

For years, I had watched characters in The Big Bang Theory discuss their comic collections. Now, I was finally going to experience that world for myself.

After buying the books, we stopped at Blank Street Coffee for a drink.

That was where I opened Ultimate Spider-Man and read my first page.

Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1: Married With Children

Batman: The Court of Owls: The Court of Owls Saga: DC Compact Comics Edition

Over the next few weeks, I continued reading until I finished the first volume.

The story was good, but what impressed me most was the amount of work and skill that must go into making a comic book.

Every character had to be illustrated, every expression drawn, and the dialogue placed within each scene. I found myself appreciating the artwork and the effort involved in bringing these characters to life on a page.

I also enjoyed seeing different versions of characters I had known through the films.

There was something fresh about it.

You might know who Peter Parker is, but that doesn’t mean you know exactly how his story will unfold in this particular version of Spider-Man.

It made the story less predictable, which I liked.

Having said that, when I finished the first volume, I wasn’t particularly eager to pick up Volume 2.

I enjoyed reading it, but I didn’t feel the urge to immediately continue the story.

Instead, I wanted to try Batman.

Perhaps The Court of Owls will offer something different. I’m curious to see how I’ll enjoy its darker world and storytelling.

I enjoyed my first comic, but I think superhero films still hold the real magic for me.

Next, I’m going to try Batman. Let’s see how that goes.