Without fail.
My dad and I would run errands. We would go from one end of our hometown to another. Talking. Laughing. Just being.
It was a weekly journey. An expedition. Don't remember the destinations. But one.
At the end of the trek, we would always end up at the same place...
The comic book store.
See...I loved the world of super heroes. DC and Marvel. Superman and Spider-Man. I couldn't wait for the latest issue. It was like Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun. Every week.
One night...I even lied down in an empty sand dune and prayed for the Captain Marvel lightning bolt to hit me to transform me into the "Big Red Cheese" himself. Didn't work.
Many years later...I tried to explain to my kids the magic of Super-Herodom but alas...they just thought I was a dork.
Truth.
I locked the super hero memories away...
Until recently.
Not exactly sure what triggered the time machine trip back. The 1980's Superman stuff was pretty good (lost me with the whole Gene Hackman - Lex Luther thing). The 90's Batman had potential (Val Kilmer killed Jim Morrison AND Bruce Wayne). The 2000's Spider-Man had a good start (Tobey Maguire wasn't Pleasant...Ville though). Nothing really grabbed me.
Tony Stark. Oliver Queen. Iron Man and Green Arrow.
Well done. Got me.
Immediately transported me back to Saturday mornings with my dad.
It's awesome.
And both comic book empires now continue to tap into the long lost memory of an 8 year old on a Saturday morning quest with his Dad.
Pretty cool.
Pretty super.
Thanks DC and Marvel for jogging my brain.
Shazam!
