“I read some of them, too,” she said, laughing. “But, seriously, I’m glad Charles has them to come home to. He works in the emergency room at (the University of Mississippi Medical Center). These comic books are a good stress reliever. They help get his mind off things he has to witness every day that most people don’t have to deal with.”
And there is another reason she doesn’t complain: The Pattons are certain that reading comic books has increased their two daughters’ vocabulary, comprehension and love of books.
“I remember when (11-year-old) Amiyah was in third or fourth grade, and she brought home these vocabulary tests she had taken,” Shayla Patton says. “One of the words she had defined correctly was ‘comrade.’ I was pretty impressed. I said, ‘How did you know that?’ She said, ‘I remember seeing that word in a Batman comic book and asking Daddy what it meant. He explained that Batman and Robin were comrades.’ There is no doubt comic books have opened up the world of reading for them.”
Jay Long, owner of Heroes and Dreams: Comics and Collectibles in Flowood, Miss., says he frequently hears similar stories.
“Comic books offer one of the best ways for a child to learn to read because one half of the brain grabs the artwork and the other half grabs the words and story. It’s a full reading experience.”
Flowood library includes graphic novels – a series of stories from previously published comic books – and Japanese-style comic books in its children’s section.
“It makes reading fun for a lot of youngsters who have never liked to read before,” said Antoinette Giamalva, children’s service librarian in Flowood. “And the teenagers really like the Japanese comics that are read back to front and from right to left.”
Comic books, which first appeared in the 1930s, remain a hot collectible.
“Our clientele includes kids who are in elementary school all the way up to people who are retired and have been collecting all their lives,” Long said. “Many of them are in here every Wednesday to pick up the new releases.”
“The movies have really helped,” said Van Peeples, owner of Van’s Comics and Cards in Ridgeland, Miss. “People will see a Batman movie or a Spider-Man movie, and then want to come check out the comic books about them.”
Prices are still reasonable from the two largest publishers – $2.99 for new single copies by DC, and $3.99 for those issued by Marvel.
Visually, comic books have come a long way over the past few decades.
“They used to be printed in four-color on paper that was much like a newspaper,” Long said. “Today, the art quality is just incredible. They use multi-colors and the pages are slick. And the art really draws the reader in.”
Some things haven’t changed: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men and Wonder Woman are among the top sellers.
“But DC and Marvel will come out with something special for the summer,” Long said. “This year, DC has The War of the Green Lanterns, because there is a Green Lantern movie coming out. DC also has The Return of Doomsday, the character who killed Superman in 1992.”
Have no fear – Superman is alive and well.
“Death doesn’t seem to be a big sticking point in comic books,” said Clark Lee, 38, a media specialist at Mississippi Public Broadcasting and an avid collector, particularly of Batman and X-Men. “They even killed Batman off in a way … sent him back to the beginning of time. But they always find a way of reviving them. And it makes for some pretty good collectibles.”
Like most hobbies, collecting can be as expensive as one wants to make it.
“The most I’ve ever paid for one was $370,” Lee said. “It was The Incredible Hulk, No. 181. I bought it because it was the first full comic appearance of Wolverine. I got that in 1999.”
Giamalva, 24, has been collecting about two years.
“We were setting up for a comic day here at the library and I picked one up and started reading,” she said. “I found it really interesting. Now, I’m into mostly the graphic novels of Lois Lane, Batman, Mockingbird, Hawkeye, Black Canary and Green Arrow. I’m buying something every month.”
Everyone collects differently, Long said.
“When people ask me how to get started, I encourage people to read what they like,” he said. “So many people back in the 1990s were buying comic books on a speculative basis, trying to figure out what comics would gain value and be worth a lot of money about the time their kids were starting college. That’s a pretty unrealistic way to look at it.
“So I suggest people find a character that touches them, that they love reading about and if it becomes worth a lot of money one day, great. If not, they still have something they love.”
And, in some cases, a guide to life lessons.
“Our oldest daughter, MiKayla, is 12 and nearly 6 feet tall,” Shayla Patton said. “She doesn’t like being in the spotlight, but it’s sort of hard for her to walk around and not be noticed. So we always tell her, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ She first heard that when we were reading her a Spider-Man comic book. And that’s a saying we use throughout this house today.”
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Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, www.clarionledger.com
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-04-25-11 1818GMT