Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… even typing it gives me chills. When I received my first comic book at age 8, the larger-than-life morality plays captivated my imagination. It still holds true today, as my twin brother and I have thousands of comic books between us.
Now you might wonder, “Who attends these events? And do they still live above their parent’s garage?” While there are many hard core fans who dress up for these events, many are like me, who grow up enjoying the stories they read, imagining themselves alongside the Star-Spangled Sentinel of Liberty fighting threats to the American Dream, or skulking just beyond the shadows of the alleys of Gotham City, bringing justice to evil doers. And as I grew up, the stories and characters matured as well, with intricate story plots and complex heroes and villains.
There is no cooler place to get your comics than on the streets of Philly. When I worked in Old City, I looked forward to Wednesdays, the best day of the week for comic book fans, as new issues come in that day. I’d quickly walk from 8th and Pine to Atomic City Comics on South Street, where Joe and Mr. McIntyre would give me a warm greeting and hand me my comics from my pull list. Yes, I reserve my comics. It’s like valet parking for geeks. And it’s awesome. You’ll never miss an issue.
And much to my mother’s – and my wife’s – chagrin, I’m not the only one. That was extremely apparent as the city hosted Wizard World Philly, a three-day event celebrating comics, sci-fi, anime and more. It’s sponsored by Wizard, the penultimate magazine of comics, entertainment and pop culture. Over 30,000 people attended the event last weekend, which celebrated its 11th year in Philly.
Now you might wonder, “Who attends these events? And do they still live above their parent’s garage?” While there are many hard core fans who dress up for these events, many are like me, who grow up enjoying the stories they read, imagining themselves alongside the Star-Spangled Sentinel of Liberty fighting threats to the American Dream, or skulking just beyond the shadows of the alleys of Gotham City, bringing justice to evil doers. And as I grew up, the stories and characters matured as well, with intricate story plots and complex heroes and villains.
There is no cooler place to get your comics than on the streets of Philly. When I worked in Old City, I looked forward to Wednesdays, the best day of the week for comic book fans, as new issues come in that day. I’d quickly walk from 8th and Pine to Atomic City Comics on South Street, where Joe and Mr. McIntyre would give me a warm greeting and hand me my comics from my pull list. Yes, I reserve my comics. It’s like valet parking for geeks. And it’s awesome. You’ll never miss an issue.There are plenty of places to get your fix. From Fat Jack’s to Brave New Worlds, a comic book store in Philadelphia is just a short walk away. And from there, your imagination can take you beyond the City of Brotherly Love to worlds of excitement and wonder, just with a turn of a page.
- Frank Sinatra
No comments:
Post a Comment