Candy, Comics & Halloween I was rummaging through the “Hey Buddy” archives and I found a column I had written way back when I was working at Wizard Online. After a quick re-read. I thought it would be cool to share with ya’ll. And even though some of the comics and characters mentioned here may seem a little dated, the core message remains the same. Happy Halloween, comic fans! Buddy :::Ding dong::: There's a kid at your door holding open a plastic bag while trying to look cool in an ill-fitting Spider-Man costume. That means its Halloween! (At least, I hope that’s what it means.) You can give that kid some stupid "fun size" candy or you can give him something really cool. I strive for cool, so every year I hand out comic books for Halloween. For a long time, my family thought this was nuts. "Why would a kid want a comic book for Halloween instead of candy?" So, usually I offered candy OR comics. Last year, kids returned to my house because I was "that comic book guy." Vindication, baby. This year, I'll be giving out comics again. Stop by my house and you'll get a choice:
I realized a few years ago that I will always have "my collection." I'll never part with my Amazing Spider-Mans, Avengers, Daredevils, Machine Mans, Preachers, Green Arrows, Batmans and many others. But that does not mean I can't share some of the other stuff that doesn't have an emotional grip on me. Let's face it. There are some comics that are good reads, but I doubt I will ever read them again, I buy a lot of comics, but I don't need to save every single one of them. Of course, every time I start to separate my Halloween comics into categorized piles, I realize how few comics are for the Kids and Young Superheroes stacks. Yeah, there are enough comics for everyone, but not a great variety. Man, what the heck happened? When I was a kid, there were tons of comics for my young, hungry mind. My mom could buy me almost any superhero comic book with complete confidence. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Comics aren't just for kids, and thank God for that. I doubt I'd remain as passionate about comics if I grew out of them instead of growing WITH them. There's always a stepping stone from one passion to the next. And like in television and film, kids step up from Disney and Teletubbies to Buffy and Varsity Blues. Kids will step up from entry level comics to superhero books to mature books…IF we give them something good to read. Comics are pretty darned expensive to buy today, so it's tough for a family with four or five kids to get enough comics for everyone. Share your comics this Halloween. If you have doubles of something, share it. If you have something that you're just sort-of-keeping, but don't care about, give it away. You will be amazed at how little you miss it. And how much room it leaves in your collection for stuff you REALLY want. Also, if you have a little kid in your neighborhood be SURE that you are giving that kid the right comic for his or her reading level. A six-year-old kid won't appreciate the nuances of Astro City and you just wasted a comic. And, after Halloween is over, don't be afraid to hand that remaining stack of comics over to some kid who doesn't have any comics. Maybe you will help to turn that kid on to the wonderful world of comic books. Just like someone, somewhere turned YOU on to comics. Happy Halloween! Buddy Scalera October 29,1999 |
