My Relationship With Comic Books (and a Short Review of Wonder Woman)

If someone had asked me a year ago if I was a comic book fan I would have said, “Eh, not really.”

However, I just read Wonder Woman, Vol. 2, Year 1 and halfway through it I got thinking about my relationship with comic books. I realized that somehow some patriarchal stereotype of who a comics fan is had made me think I was something I wasn’t. I am totally a comic book fan, I just never read “boys” comic books.

There was a time I owned a notebook with every “Blondie” strip from the Sunday comics taped inside it. I also read every "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," “Archie," and "Betty and Veronica" book I could get my hands on. I read Garfield until I wore through the binding, and I discovered and devoured Dilbert years before I understood the office politics involved.

What I didn’t read was superhero comic books, and the stereotypical image of a “comic book fan” includes superheroes. I fell for that trope so hard I questioned something I’ve known about myself for years.

I am most definitely a comic book fan.

My quick review: I definitely enjoyed this book. The artwork was beautiful, it was timely commentary on our modern world, diverse, and inclusive. It was empowering, and a great accompaniment to the spectacular movie this summer.

And in the future I’ve got to remember that I really am a comic book fan.