4 Major Benefits That Come From Reading Comic Books.
You can’t go anywhere without seeing Superheroes these days. You turn on your TV there’s a superhero. You’re scrolling through your phone? OH there’s some more! Taking a stroll in town? ANOTHER ONE!
Superheroes have become an integrated part of not only pop culture but our day to day lives. As a fellow Comic Book fan myself, I can’t help but be pleased. I never thought I’d see the day where something that used to make me “uncool” would accepted everywhere by damn near everyone. Its the surge in popularity that compelled me to write this.
As visually enticing these shows/movies are, my preference will always be actual Comic Books (especially single issues). While this has become a costly hobby in terms of money and space, its the incentives that these Comics provide, that make these minor “downsides” worth it. In this post I break down the top 4 major benefits that come from reading Comic Books. My hope is at the end of this, you’ll be encouraged to expand your horizons and enjoy the good that Comics supply.
4. There’s Always something new to look forward (or backwards) to:
As I mentioned above, I’m a huge fan of single issues. Every Comic Book Day (Wednesdays), I know that there’s 4–5 new issues of current Comic books waiting for me at the Comic Shop. The individual issues themselves are short and I spend on average 5–10 minutes on each. However there’s a lot to absorb in terms of art and story. Often I’m left with much anticipation for whats to come next, which I’ll find out in two weeks or A month (A much shorter wait time than the movies). Whenever I want to learn more about specific characters histories and/or previous events pertaining to these universes in general, I have that option too, thanks to Trade Paperbacks, which are collections of previously released single issues. For someone who wants to get into Comics, this is the best way, especially since they make more lengthier reads and you can find trades that collect older and newer stories.
3. Comics Provide a (healthy) Escape from Reality:
Let’s face it, life isn’t perfect. Whether you’re rolling in money or you’re just an average person like me with a 9–5, we’re all go through a multitude of obstacles in our lives. Sometimes you need a break; something to take your mind off of work, your stressful significant other, or maybe even a death in the family. No matter what it is, the variety of highly imaginative story telling and astonishing art work that you’ll find in Comic Books can provide the escapism that you need. Reading or rereading how my favorite characters wildly got through their Crisis’es not only helped me forget about my troubles temporarily but they also encouraged me to keep fighting through them. I challenge you, next time you’re going really going through the wringer, to try and pick up a Comic Book. Who knows? Maybe the time you spend reading is just what your mind needs to recharge and you’ll be able to tackle whatever problem, In a way that you weren’t thinking about before.
2. Comic Books are relatable in every day life:
Contrary to popular belief, Comic Books are more than just superheroes kicking the big bad’s ass and going home until the next crisis occurs. A lot of these heroes are real people with real issues just like you and I. It was quite an eye opener reading as Nightwing dealt with the possibility of being a father. I only had the surface level knowledge of him, based on his appearances in the Batman Animated TV shows/Movies. Seeing this character go through something so familiar helped me to further appreciate and most importantly, humanize him. Now Nightwing is one of my top three Comic Book characters of all time. As I read more Comic Books, I was able to gain similar sentiments for other characters thanks to stories that explored a range of other heavy subject matters such as: Addiction, PTSD, and Racism to lighter topics like Love and Personal redemption. Superheroes doing superhero things are astonishing. But as much as you and I have pondered on it, we all know its not possible to emulate what they do on the field. Picking up their Comics and seeing how they relate to you on a human level is surely the second best option.
- Comic Books are more accessible now than ever before.
Say what you want about technology but it does make life easier. I hate speaking on the phone so texting/messaging has become my primary method of communicating with friends and family. Also, Sending and receiving money doesn’t require traveling, thanks to money transferring apps. Whatever tasks or daily functions that need completing, most of them can be done with a couple of swipes or clicks. This couldn’t be anymore truer for Comic Books. Thanks to services like DC Universe, Comixology Unlimited, and Marvel Unlimited, traveling to the Comic Book shop isn’t mandatory. Not only are these services really cheap (and offer free trials), they also do a great job of pointing you in the right direction of where to start reading. All you need is a credit card and the existing/growing world of Comics will instantly be made available to you on (most of) your preferred devices. As much I love physical Comic Books, these apps have become a great resource for helping me brush up on my history so I could understand the current titles I’m reading (without having to hunt down the physical copies). You probably kill God knows how long mindlessly scrolling through your social media feed daily, so why not substitute that some of that time scrolling through some Comic Books?
Since I made the plunge to explore the world of Comics outside of TV/Movies, life has been a little easier. Thanks to Comics, I have a set day in the week that that I can always look forward to and there’s always more to learn outside of that. Comics are always there when I’m going through tough times and thanks to its accessibility, I can easily delve into the worlds of my favorite heroes/universes without much effort on my part. My hope is that you too will be inspired to venture into the ever growing (and more consistent) medium and reap these benefits for yourselves.
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