How Comic Books influenced me growing up. 

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Avatar for JLoberiza
3 years ago

How Comic Books influenced me growing up. 


Let me start this post with a pop quiz. Do you know this person? 

Who am I?

Who is he? Why is he in every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie?

Write your answers in the comment section, if you will.

'Excelsior!' 

That's his expression or manner of greeting. 

MARVEL-ous day, readers! In this post, I will share with you how comic books influenced me while growing up. 

If you had been following me in NoiseCash, you have seen some of my fanart of Wolverine and other comic book superheroes. 

A Fourth Of Four

I'm the fourth of four boys in the family. My brothers had a huge collection of Marvel and DC comics, and our parents also bought different Tagalog comic books every week. 

As kids, I remember that all four of us love to draw stick figures. And soon we would trace the drawings from the comic books. 

"Reading" Comic Books at an Early Stage.

I enclosed that in quotation marks because I started "reading" comic books before even I learned how to read! 

OK, how can I read when I don't know how to read yet? 

The truth is, I would just look at the pictures and imagine how the story goes based on the drawings.

My favorite comic books were

  • The Uncanny X-Men

  • The Avengers

  • The Amazing Spiderman

  • Detective Comics (Batman) 

  • Superman

  • The Incredible Hulk

  • The Mighty Thor

  • Tarzan

  • The Fantastic Four

  • The Flash

And a whole lot more… 

Saturday Cartoons

There was no cable television yet, and no YouTube. So on Saturdays, I would watch reruns of  'Super Friends'  and Spiderman cartoons. 

Plus, I remember watching the reruns of the original Batman and Robin live-action series starring Adam West.

Batman and Robin with Adam West as Batman

And once a week on a weeknight,   the whole family would watch the original Wonder Woman starring Linda Carter. I got excited when she appeared in a cameo in the WW84 movie starring Gal Gadot. 

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How Comic Books Influenced Me. 

Aside from my love for drawing, comic books have influenced me in more ways than one. 

Reading in English 

English is our country's second language. Thus it is taught in schools at a very early stage. 

Since I love comic books, I learned to read early. 

But it wasn't Marvel or DC comics at first. It was Disney's comic books like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Because Disney's dialogs are short and easy to understand for a preschooler. While the superhero comics have lengthy sentences. 

But as I grow up, I've been reading Marvel and DC comic books often. Even in college, I would set aside part of my allowance to buy a comic book or two each month. 

If only I knew that first edition and limited editions increase in value over the years. I could have bought some for investment purposes. 

My Love For Drawing

As I have mentioned, I have loved drawing ever since I was a child. 

I started by drawing stick figures. Then I started tracing Disney characters. Then to the more life-like drawings in Marvel and DC comics. 

Shihonage - one of my drawings using water-colored pencils

I never outgrew my love for drawing. 

And I never outgrew my love for comic books. 

While in college, I learned about Filipino comic book artists named Whilce Portacio. I was amazed by his works in the Uncanny X-men and Wetworks. Where he introduced Grail a superhero of Filipino ethnicity. 


Grail (Salvador Joel Monday)  by Whilce Portacio

The Passion Lives On. 

Though I never became a professional comic book artist, my passion for drawing lives on. 

When I learned how to use Photoshop and Corel Draw, I made my characters. 

Two of my works I created using Photoshop. 

When I'm not on my computer, sometimes I will grab my pencils and sketchbook and draw whatever comes into my head. 

Sometimes, I have this crazy crossover idea and draw them. Like putting the Predator against the Hulk and Wolverine. 

Drawing on My Mobile

I don't have a laptop right now, but it did not stop me from drawing. Sometimes I will draw a sketch on paper and trace it on Medibang Paint, or draw directly on the app. 

Some of the digital drawings I created using Medibang Paint. 

Creating A Story. 

There are times that a story would build up in my mind. In the past, I would grab some clean sheets of paper and draw the story. 

Some of the characters that I made comes with a story. 

Even the Wolverine VS the Predator has a story. 

Hopefully, I could publish them soon. 

Future Plans To Monetize My Passion

One of my plans to monetize is to offer my services through Fiverr. 

And one of the gigs that I have in mind is a gig that I would call "Who Wants To Be A Super Hero?" 

Do you want to be a superhero? 

Final Thoughts

Comic books were a great influence on me when I was growing up. Not just for my love of drawing, but in reading and understanding English as well.

I don't know with the kids today. But with all the gadgets surrounding their world today, I'm not sure if they will find enjoyment in reading printed comic books.

But, I do hope I could influence my kids to enjoy reading more than playing with their gadgets.

How about you, do love to read comic books?

Thanks for reading.

Image Credits

Stan Lee-https://americanprofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/stan-lee-marvel-comic-icon.jpg

X-Men comics and lead image - u splash

Batman and Robin -https://www.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/08/superheroes-west-1-raw.jpg

Comic Books -Unsplash

Shihonage- my own work.

Grail -https://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Grail-Image-Comics-Wetworks.jpg

The rest of the images are mine









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3 years ago

Comments

Ganun nga ata kapag mahilig sa comic books. Yung isang pinsan ko laking Funny Komiks tapos magaling nagdrawing nung bata kami. Di ko lang alam kung mahusay pa siya magdrawing ngayon. Ako ginagawa ko naghahanap ako manipis na bond paper tapos ittrace ko. Hahaha. Funny Komiks ako nung bata tapos sunod sila Pupung, Pugad Baboy at Beerkada na sa mga newspaper.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

waah,, namiss ko tuloy si SuperCat at Niknok ng Funny Komiks! hahaha. Si Polgas nasa Rappler na kaya lang hindi na ako bumibisita sa Rappler.

Yung tracing, isang way din yun para matuto kang mag drawing eh. :D

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Wow! You have an amazing talent! I'm pretty sure you'll go places with that skill :)

I remember reading XMen comics when I was a kid, but I prefer Filipino comics more (Funny Komiks) because I find it hard to follow the intricacies of XMen graphics 😅 but that was then. Unfortunately, my comics collection are now gone. Sayang 😞

Ans: Stan Lee!

$ 0.10
3 years ago

Ako din r. Meron akong naiwan. Kaunti na Lang. Yeah. Niknok any paborito ko sa Funny Komiks. Ang Aliwan Komiks maganda rin

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Oh yes definitely I also love comic books. My favorite is Jim Lee's The Uncanny X-Men. His art is the best among the rest! Haha~ My only wish is to have an autograph from him or even be in a meet and greet event one day. Ah I wonder when it will happen.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

Now, here is a Marvel Fan. Hehe. Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio teamed up in XMen. Teka... Kilala kita a... From bitlanders di ba?

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Yes po. haha. Nakita ko post nyo sa Twitter kaya napasali din ako dito sa read.cash. Not sure lang kung nagamit ko yung affiliate link nyo. Sa phone ata ako nag-sign up kasi. Hehe. Tinag ko kayo sa intro post ko nga. :D

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3 years ago

Hehe. OK Lang. Welcome to read. Cash. Hindi no napansin ang pag tag nyo. Check ko later. Phone lang din gamit ko ngayon. Sirs laptop ko. 😁

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3 years ago

i have not read any comics but I have watched the movies and I know there's a huge difference but I am a silent fan of mcu

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3 years ago

I do read comics every once in a while but indeed, it's an outlet of creativity for me. Honestly, I've been hooked to digital comics (webtoon) which pretty much helps me to get my creative juices flowing.

Love that creativity of yours! Unfortunately, I can't draw but I do love to have my own webtoon someday. Indeed, the comic industry had a positive impact on you.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

Thank you

$ 0.00
3 years ago

You are really so gifted. Do I know the man's name? I don't think so. I can relate with how comic books help in developing ones reading ability. Comics are fascinating to read, the drawing, paintings and all.

You are amazing.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

You have great talent! I can't even draw a cat's face lol! Keep going and I believe you can monetize it especially in this digital age. That comic 'reading' you did back then somehow influenced you in a positive way. Amazing!

And pardon, I don't know the name of that guy :D

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3 years ago

Thanks.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

You make good pictures. As a child, I was passionate about the anime that was broadcast on television, and without knowing what comic / manga were, I created my own story with drawings in different frames and I put dialogues on them, it's something quite curious, I was about 9 years old when I started doing it. And although I currently prefer to write, drawing is something that I am passionate about and I would like to practice more.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

Thank you. I used to do that too. Drawi g with frames and dialogs. Hehe

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3 years ago