Stick figure drawings in A New Chapter

As someone that has worked with high level marketing and consumer trends, it has been a bit bizarre to see comic books go from stupid, nerdy drawings to coveted pieces that sell for thousands of dollars.

I grew up in the 1990s and I can see the change. I imagine for those before, the change was even more radical.
The first time I read some comics was in the early 1990s. At that time we had been moving a lot for my father’s engineering job. We had lived in Chile briefly and we then moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before its financial and political troubles, it was a beautiful city. Cosmopolitan to the bone, filled with great dining experiences, and plenty of cultural activities. It might be one of the best places I have lived at. We used to go walking through the city all the time. On time my dad stopped at a kiosk to buy cigarettes and asked me if I ever read a comic. Interestingly, I still have the comic he bought me. It was Batman. I remember liking it. Gotham at the time, looked a lot like where I was living. I loved the mystery/detective element of it.

Time went on and I made my little group of friends that loved comics. We weren’t many but I was also friends with the gaming and anime lovers. Interestingly, gaming was also frowned upon a bit back then haha. I remember we would sit together at our homes during sleepovers, visits, etc and just flip through the comics together. If we had the toys, we were definitely going to act it out later.

I was always so fascinated when I went to a comic shop. Looking at all the titles, all the different characters. Trading cards were huge back then too. They were fun to collect but I loved reading the back of the cards and learning about all the characters. It was always so magical going to those damn shops.

As years went on, we moved around some more. I remember when I was living up north, it got a bit trickier to go to comic shops. We lived in a more suburban area and the nearest town required a tiny drive. I stopped reading for a bit for that reason. It was also that liking comic books just wasn’t “cool” back then. The early teens were tough enough as it was.

Things kicked into overdrive when I was around 18. My last year of high school was awful to say the least. It felt like prison and I was just trying to do my time as quickly as possible and without trouble. The summer prior to college I discovered a comic shop near my new home and started visiting quite frequently. This was around the time Marvel kicked off the “Civil War” story line so it felt a good time to jump in.

Before I knew it, I was going to the shop all the time to buy new titles and hang out. Then meetups, then conventions, etc. I was going to my local library and getting all types of stuff to read at home. Some of my best memories of that time involve me staying up late at night. Back then I was still sharing a room with my brother. I had a nightlight and I would stay up until all types of hours reading book after book. To be honest, I was doing an insane amount of reading back then. I was in college at the time and taking a lot of reading-heavy courses.

I remember looking at my phone and seeing the time. “One more chapter.” Before checking it again 1 hour later. I also had a lot of shirts, hoodies, etc that I got over the years..some I purchased, some I got at promo events, etc. Occasionally someone would recognize the characters from the shirts but it wasn’t super common.

That went on for a few more years and then I took a break. I still read, primarily indie titles that are trying something new or different.

I guess I’m still surprised that so many of these characters became so popular, some even household names. If back in 1996, someone told me that Dr. Strange would become a household name, I would have assumed that person was high as fuck.

I’m happy other people get to enjoy it. I’m not some “gate keeping” guy or anything. But mass appeal changes how it feels and how it is made. The fandom has also changed. I meet so many people that are like “oh yeah I always read comics.” The reality is that back then, these groups were so small and tight-knit..that you knew most readers in your area. I understand now it’s “cool” to have that past. Just how everyone pretended to listen to Pink Floyd and Queen when they were little.

I still have a fond memory of my childhood. My best friend from the time I Was 8 to around 12, Santi. When I had to move again, we got to have a 2-day sleep over. We played games, watched movies, and all types of things. We became friends because we used to draw our own comics together (while we were at school, which meant we got in trouble multiple times for being rebels and drawing comics.)

I remember the last night we got to hang out. We tried to stay up late as much as we could. We watched Dragon Ball Z and other animes. We occasionally took breaks and played games too. Meanwhile, we would be playing with our toys, drawing or reading comics. It was not normal to stay up so late back then. I remember seeing the moon and knowing this was going to be the last time we hung out. We drew more, came up with more stories, colored in figures, and played around with story line ideas.

This was the 1990s and we kept in touch over the years through phone calls and e-mails. A lot of it revolved around what games we were playing or what comic books we were reading. We lost touch for a while and reconnected again thanks to online messengers. For some time, we spoke all the time about comics. He didn’t have as much access to them so I would read and give him summaries. Eventually, one day he got all weird with me and we kinda stopped talking after that.

We exchanged pleasantries over the years but it has now been some time.

Anyhow, I will probably always love comics.
I remember during high school, my dad kept telling me that I was missing out on some of the most “fun years” of my life. But I regret nothing. If I could back, I would do it all over again (in fact, I would probably read even more.)

Music: Intelligent Drum & Bass by Bailey

See You Later Space Cowboy.