Did you not know this? Surely, you must have suspected. I mean, there have been hints of this since I was young. My action figure wall in college, my collection of Nine Inch Nails import albums, my hetero-crush on Neil Gaiman...all of it pretty damning evidence. But if you have any lingering doubts, let me put them to bed right now: Eric Mowery is a Geek.
And why is this even a topic? Because last night, while discussing said geekdom, I had a thought: For years I've considered myself to be a fairly well read person; yet, the thing that I'm most knowledgeable about is still seen as somewhat shameful. Despite the recent influx of people hearting comics, superhero comics are still not taken very seriously. And if this is the case, how much brevity does my comprehension of comic books carry? Should I stop telling people I'm well-read? Where do I really fit on the Smart Smarter Smartest pyramid of social standings? Can having a brain full of Marvel comic trivia make me an literary juggernaut? Or did I only use the word 'juggernaut' because he is a Marvel Character? To find out, I had to break down my history with comics into sections.
Read on, True Believer, you're my only hope.
Part One:
"The first thing I ever remember reading is also the first thing I remember keeping."
Uncanny X-Men #113 came out before I was even born, but I was given a copy of it as a child. When I say 'remember keeping' what I really mean is: the first item I cherished. Above anything else, I coveted this comic and kept it rolled up and with me at all times. On my mental shelf of nostalgia, it sits beside my Nintendo, my Smurf Guitar, and my light up Glow Worm; however, no other single item had an impact of my life like this comic did. Be it a blessing or curse, my path in life shifted.
The X-Men are Marvel characters, and Marvel is who held my allegiance throughout my childhood. I, like many other boys, quickly became obsessed with Wolverine, but also fell in love with Daredevil, Alpha Flight (I know. I was the only one.), and Captain America. X-Men was my most accessible title (they sold that title at the gas station by my house) so I relied on that to get my comics fix. The man working at the local Uni-Mart always tried talking me into DC titles, but I couldn't be bothered. In addition to reading them, I also drew the images from them, and this practice dominated many of my evenings.
Part Two:
"No, no, stop, stop! You're far too kind."
When I was a teenager, I knew a great deal about movies. Whenever a family member had a question about an actor or series, I was quick to answer, and this knowledge always brought on a wave of undeserved praise. "You're so smart," my Mother would say. "I can always count on you to know what I'm talking about." But (sorry, Mom) this really had nothing to do with my intelligence. It just meant that I spent a lot of time watching films and reading reviews. If I've told you I've watched American Beauty and know of all the actors associated with it, you think, "A lot of people have and do." But if I'm asking you questions about the themes in American Beauty, it's parallels with other films, and what it's trying to say then maybe giving a shout out to my intelligence is warranted. If only because I'm creating a dialogue.
Growing up it was much harder to have dialogue about comics. Until chat rooms came along, a lone friend and myself looked to our semi-local comic shop to satisfy our need to discuss all things Marvel. This shop; however, always employed the variety of comic geek that would not waste their time reading mainstream issues of anything. And since my friend and I wouldn't dare read anything that didn't have a guy in tights as it's star, we were constantly at a loss for things to discuss. All of my dialogue happened with one other person, and I never once got to impress anyone with anything I'd learned.
My artistic ability excelled during this period in my life. I failed at getting my friends into reading comics, but I was very successful at getting them to appreciate the artwork I was pulling off because of comics. Eventually, I began writing and drawing a series of dailies that I passed around during lunch. 'Soldiers of Fortune' was my first but also my least successful. It was a straight-up superhero comic with a detailed backstory (well, as detailed as 8th grade gets) and complicated characters. It wasn't until 'The Adventures of Dickey' came along that my classmates began asking for these dailies by request. Dickey was a crudely drawn superhero who used his..well, I WAS IN EIGHTH GRADE! Come on. Seriously. How riveting a story line does one expect from an thirteen year old? Anyway, everyone loved Dickey. Yet, it was impossible to have a conversation about it. I marched onward, falling back on stupid humor, and waiting for the right moment to say, "Hey, if you like my comic, why don't you check these out?" And just when that moment finally arose...
...High School happened.
To Be continued!
Growing up it was much harder to have dialogue about comics. Until chat rooms came along, a lone friend and myself looked to our semi-local comic shop to satisfy our need to discuss all things Marvel. This shop; however, always employed the variety of comic geek that would not waste their time reading mainstream issues of anything. And since my friend and I wouldn't dare read anything that didn't have a guy in tights as it's star, we were constantly at a loss for things to discuss. All of my dialogue happened with one other person, and I never once got to impress anyone with anything I'd learned.
My artistic ability excelled during this period in my life. I failed at getting my friends into reading comics, but I was very successful at getting them to appreciate the artwork I was pulling off because of comics. Eventually, I began writing and drawing a series of dailies that I passed around during lunch. 'Soldiers of Fortune' was my first but also my least successful. It was a straight-up superhero comic with a detailed backstory (well, as detailed as 8th grade gets) and complicated characters. It wasn't until 'The Adventures of Dickey' came along that my classmates began asking for these dailies by request. Dickey was a crudely drawn superhero who used his..well, I WAS IN EIGHTH GRADE! Come on. Seriously. How riveting a story line does one expect from an thirteen year old? Anyway, everyone loved Dickey. Yet, it was impossible to have a conversation about it. I marched onward, falling back on stupid humor, and waiting for the right moment to say, "Hey, if you like my comic, why don't you check these out?" And just when that moment finally arose...
...High School happened.
To Be continued!
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