May 4th, 2012. A day I never anticipated seeing in my lifetime. Or more correctly, the release of a movie that I never believed could happen, at least until I saw Iron Man, but I digress...
Fast Forward back with me to a time sometime between 1981 and the summer of 1984. One one of these fateful days, my Dad took me to the Book Bin in Albany, and I got the coolest comic book I had ever laid my eyes on:
Yep, Avengers # 200. The first page of the story was half torn out of the book, but I would swear I read the story 500 times in my lifetime. I was hooked, and see the team on the cover? They are the end all, be all, of who I think of when the Avengers are mentioned in my mind. In fact, my default idea is that very cover, every time. For those that wish to discuss the merits of the actual story, we can, but suffice it to say the subtext went over this 10-12 year old kid's head, so either way, I was hooked. While there were the Big Three (Cap, Iron Man and Thor), I gravitated to the grade B and C characters like Hawkeye, Wonder Man and the Beast. They were the magic that held this book together.
Fast forward to the summer of 1984. Olympics, and trip to Ohio with my Dad. Imagine the joy that came over this little 13 year old who saw this in a drugstore:
Hawkeye! Wonder Man! Iron Man! Together again...and in a # 1 issue? I had to get it... but I didn't ask my Dad for it... until we got home. And by then... it was nowhere to be found. Luckily, my parents didn't just shake their head and tell me to forget about it, they went to the distribution center that shipped out magazines to all the stores and asked if they could find this one comic before it was returned (shredded!) forever.
And they did!
And they asked if they would ship West Coast Avengers to West Scio Grocery, where once a month I would ride my bike all the way there and back, just to get an issue.
Side note:
What responsible parents would let their 13 year old ride a bike over 3 miles, each direction, to buy a comic book nowadays? Thanks Mom & Dad! Different times...different place!
But distribution was sporadic...and I was desperate...and there was a crossover....
: )
So we found a comic book store in Albany. And my Dad took me, and I received my first pull box for comics... and I was hooked... forever.
Or at least for the next 25 years where I made monthly purchases until comics simply priced themselves out of my monthly budget....and my conceivable living space in the house. Thousands of issues are boxed in a closet, 100s of Trade Paperbacks are on my bookshelves.
And they are awesome! And I've been able to share these with my children, and they have their Dad's love for the characters and the medium. So much so, my girls are now published artists in Womanthology...but that too, is for a different discussion.
So that leads me to today. Off the heels of Iron Man 1 & 2, a revamped and much better Hulk, Thor and Captain America, Marvel Studios offered the Avengers. Something I never dreamed possible as a pre-teen. I grew up on the 70s Spider-Man and Captain America TV shows...Marvel doesn't fare well in other mediums.
Yet, they've been on a roll for me. The 2nd and 3rd Spider-Man movies were duds. Wolverine was okay, but a travesty against Deadpool. I even enjoyed the Fantastic Four movies. They got right what I loved (Ben & Johnny) so I was happy.
But this? This was MY comic. The comic movie I told the news in Charlotte the summer that Iron Man was premiering was the next movie that Marvel should make, unless they made a WWII Captain America movie.
I am convinced Marvel Studios saw that interview and said... "He's right!"
: )
So today, I grabbed my 4 oldest kids and took them to a matinee of the Avengers. I tried to set the bar low, knowing that all those glowing reviews could tilt me to dislike this production if I wasn't blown away.
It was never a doubt, from the opening of the movie to the final credits.
This is the movie that I've waited almost 30 years for, and I was not disappointed.
I sat in my seat, soaking in every frame of the film, and just literally rejoicing at what was unfolding on the screen in front of me.
Side Note: The last time I went to a real movie theater (non-military) and saw a movie on opening weekend: Air Force One (1997).
Yeah, it's been awhile!
I laughed.
I cried.
I have moist eye syndrome, they tear up easily. : ) But most of the time, the corners of my eyes were indeed moist from smiling and just being in awe that the 10 year old inside of me was seeing something happen that I never could have conceived.
And yes, the 40+ year old on the outside was loving every second of it.
