My Mother’s most ambitious task as a parent was to motivate my brother and me to read. And while our choices in literature varied greatly, our desire to read was met with great approval.
Her taste in the written word was singular. Romance Novels. She read them voraciously all of the years of my youth. When I was 9 years old and my brother was 7, she began taking us with her to the bookstore. Our preference in reading material had become singular as well. The Comic book.
Every Saturday around noon she would take us both to a bookstore in the Northtown Shopping Center located on North Main Street in Dayton. The store was a stone’s throw from a library, and ironically, we never set foot inside the “free book” zone. Mother did not wish to ever return her books.
My brother and I were allowed the purchase of one comic book apiece. We reveled in perusing the new issues of our favorites and it seemed as though solving for world peace would have been easier than choosing one single, exhilarating book! We were given a time limit- and our hearts raced as we desperately tried to narrow our selections down to a single choice. With the clock ticking, and no single selection made, negotiation always seemed to be our only hope- we would beg to have 2 books apiece and we would agree to forego the trip next week. We knew that if she had a sizeable stack for herself on the counter, the odds would be favorable for us to score the second comic book. If she didn’t find anything she liked, we knew we would be lucky to get a book at all, for there were occasions when she announced that the store had nothing she was interested in and we needed to leave at that moment. It was always worth the risk to beg for the additional copy.
While my brother’s choices almost always leaned toward the Superhero genre, mine were varied and at times more suitable for older teenagers or adults. My immediate go-to comics were Peanuts, (Charlie Brown) Dennis the Menace, and Richie Rich. When mom wasn’t paying attention to what we were choosing, I would slide in Andy Capp, Doonesbury, or Mad Magazine. My brother and I both loved Mad Magazine but knew it was treacherous to try to hand it over as a first or only choice.
I learned a lot about life from comic book characters. Charlie Brown was a very sympathetic figure to me and I loved him dearly. As a child I too, was picked on and bullied at school, so Charlie Brown and I had a lot in common. He was not handsome or popular, and he wore a funny shirt. He never gave up trying to fit in and was kind, thoughtful, and loved his dog. His dog Snoopy was also a favorite character in the series. He was the complete opposite of Charlie Brown- funny, sarcastic, witty, and charming. Loveable to a fault, and unexpectantly loyal to his owner. Charlie Brown taught me that there are lonely people in the world and that a word of kindness or consideration could make someone’s day brighter. I always hoped that the “Little Red-headed girl” would fall for my hero and be his girl.
Dennis the Menace was an interesting character study. Dennis had an answer for everything. If it broke, it wasn’t his fault. If it was lost, it was never needed to begin with. His cute face and colicky hair could not only charm a snake but could drive his adversaries mad. His neighbor Mr. Wilson’s patience was tested each time Dennis barged into his front door, and his school mate Margaret would lose her composure, her cool, and turn hard on her heels for home each time Dennis would foil her scheme to change his behavior. Dennis had a friend a year younger than him named Joey. Joey was sweet, thoughtful and looked up to Dennis like a big brother. Gina, a girl Dennis really liked, was sassy, cool, and beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to be Gina? I learned from Dennis’s antics that while being a prankster seemed fun; I didn’t want to be like him. He could be annoying even when he was funny. I could really like Dennis and dislike his shenanigans all at the same time.
Richie Rich was generally the comic I chose when nothing else appealed to me or there were no new issues on the shelves. Richie taught me that money gives people lots of power and that wealth unearned can be used in a nefarious way. Richie was a generous kid and never abused his wealth. He had a very affluent cousin who was a snob and treated others with condescension. Richie also had an affectionate dog named “Dollar” and a dutiful robot nanny named “Iona.” Richie taught me to share, to have compassion, and to give to those less fortunate.
Andy Capp – My parents could not fathom why in the world I would want to read a comic strip about a married British couple that lived below the poverty line and argued every day. The husband was a drunk who divided his time between the pub, the couch, and the racetrack. He loved to bet on pigeon racing. Flo– his wife– worked by cleaning homes for others. She was the main source of his income other than his unemployment check. Flo would chase Andy out of the pub at closing time and reminded him of his duties with the flailing end of a rolling pin. The two of them were often visited by bill collectors, furniture repo men, and a dutiful Vicar. Andy Capp was most likely the only comic book character to ever be the victim of identity theft– until the thieves realized whose identity they had stolen and tried desperately to give it back. I don’t think I need to enumerate what life lessons I learned from Andy–there are too many to list. I learned some British words like “row, snooker, constable, and moocher.”
Doonesbury was a comic strip that appealed to the rebellious anti-war generation during the early ‘70’s. I read it to try to understand what all of the protesting was about. I didn’t always agree with the comic strip’s content, but even when the comic protested it did so peacefully. It was less than patriotic at times, and not always funny. I did wish to educate myself about what was going on in the world and a comic strip was less grim to me than the reality of the war on the 6 o’clock news. Doonesbury had a funny football character, bikers, and silly college girls. It was much more interesting and thoughtful to read than the “Archies.” The characters had depth and vision. They taught me that the world was imperfect but that in the midst of turmoil there was always hope and humor.
My final comic love was Mad Magazine. It was a brilliantly assembled smorgasbord of wit, political satire, silliness, and parodies. A kid couldn’t wait to open the back cover and fold it carefully to reveal the answer to the illustration’s secret question. Mad Magazine showed a world full of half-truths, subliminal ad placements and treachery. It was also full of rhymes, poetry, sports, and spies.
Mad Magazine, more than any other comic, taught me to think for myself and to never trust the media implicitly- and they were a form of media. How ironic that a comic book’s marketing plan would be to show its customers how cavalier they could be by making jest of not only their own content but of their own audience as well.
My tastes in literature broadened as I grew. I discovered history, religion, fiction and autobiographies to further my own education. Authors that inspired me were Dickens, Austen, the Brontes, and Wilder, to name a few. Comic books have always been in the mix as I discovered new piquant cartoons over the years. The Far Side and Calvin & Hobbs became fast favorites. However, I will always treasure the practical insights I captured in my youth from Andy, Charlie, Dennis, and the Gang.
