My Dirty Little Secret

It is the beginning of a new year and I figure it is time to come clean, to share a dirty little secret with you.  It's not something I share with many people and only when I have achieved a certain level of comfort with someone, when perhaps that person can't simply turn around with a smirk and walk away from me.  Brace yourself.  I read comic books.  I think I can legitimately announce that I have a comic book collection.  A small one but a collection, nonetheless.  I could put on airs and call them graphic novels but whenever I have done that in the past, most often people mistake it for . . . well, a completely different, more, ahem, individual genre of literature, if you know what I mean.  When I call them graphic novels around Mike who knows what I am talking about, he smiles and says, "Comic books.  You mean comic books."  So there it is.  I'm a forty year old woman who reads comic books.

As a child, I read comics.  Who didn't?  That was a long time ago though.  I blame my new found appreciation for comic books on my brother-in-law.  It began several years ago with a mutual appreciation of books.  Eventually this led to talk about, well, if you knew him, it led to talking about everything.  Then a couple of years ago, for Christmas or my birthday, he gave me a comic book based on a favourite TV show.  This led to online purchases once or twice a year for more comic books.  You see where this is going, right?  About six months ago, I took the big step and walked into the local comic book store.  Every stereotype that you have in your head at this moment of who you will find in that store?  Well, they are pretty much true.  It was kind of intimidating that first trip.  I don't know much about comics and these people?  They know their comics.  You know what else?  They love to share their love of comics with others.  To be honest, it didn't take much to get me hooked.  Think about it.  Wonderful stories combined with beautiful art -- all in one book.  It didn't take much convincing.

Just as often  the boys will be with me.  There are some great kids comics available too as long as you steer them pass the more "graphic" shelves.  I have even convinced Mike to join us once or twice.  The first time he went, one of the guys who works there started talking to me right away.  Mike:  "Oh man, he can sense that you are one of them.  These are your people."

So there you have it.  Go ahead.  You can laugh.  Those people I mentioned at the beginning?  The ones I am comfortable telling?  They all smiled in that special way when I told them and they are still around.  I wonder if people would find it more shocking if I told them I read the other kind of graphic novel.  Which I don't.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my cup of tea and I have a date  with Cinderella:Fables are Forever, issue 6.