I loved walking in the uneven disowned parking lot. Cigarette butts and the smell of booze littered the pavement that grounded an assembly of stores. Left, just look left. A big house that sheltered all my weird hobbies. Comics, video games, action figures, t-shirts branded with a character from the Marvel Universe. Hastings had the nook and crannies that satisfied my thirst and hunger for collecting odds and ends. Saving my money instead of spending it at Hastings would be wise. The senior center only paid me nine dollars an hour. Five hundred dollars in a check is unthinkable. I get three hundred if I am lucky. Yet I continued to spend like an alcoholic pounding down the booze and liquor. Spending money on my short and very brief addiction towards comic books lasted most of my freshman year in college.
The newest additions are always resting on the display shelf near the storefront. Older editions are grounded and stored away inside drawers available for public access. Digging through the older comics is going to give me arthritis. Things were supposed to be alphabetized. Yet the comics were always scattered and confusing just like the store. It was a pain flipping and pushing through the comics to search for Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. Star Wars, Hulk, Iron Man, Batman, Captain America, all the comics that involved a superhero, Hastings had. However, Hastings always had a dearth of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comics. It was Superman this, Star Wars that, all the superheroes were flying off the shelf for enthusiasts and addicts like myself.
So why do I like Luke Skywalker, the superhero?
Everyday I go to the University to learn. I want to learn from my teachers and, sap away the rich nutritious concepts from my teacher’s mind. However, “one repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil.” I must strive and grow to surpass myself, my teachers. I envy Luke Skywalker. Luke surpassed his teacher, Obi-Wan. However, it is my envy towards Luke that makes me like him. I want to grow and become better than my teachers, like Luke.
Nonetheless, I envy Luke when he becomes a superhero. When Luke becomes a superhero, he defeats his father in combat while surpassing him. As a boy I wanted to surpass my father. I wanted to do better than my father and exceed his expectations. I’ve been taught and trained to achieve more than my father. I must supersede my father. Luke supersedes his father. I can connect with Luke which is why I like his character.
My friend once told me, “It’s either comics or drugs. Or really smoking. Hell, comics are like my cigarettes. I’m not going to stop at one. I buy comics in bulk, packs, knock one out less then thirty minutes across the day”.
Boxes looted and crated with pounds of stories. Stories about the superhero and his journey. Comic books. My friend is addicted to comic books. My friend, addicted to the superhero. I am addicted to the superhero. We are addicted to the superhero because we want to see the superhero grow, we want to see the hero grow into a superhero, we want to see the development and character of the superhero, we want to relate to the superhero and want to strive to become a superhero.
Why are you addicted to the superhero?
