I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve done any of my superhero movies and writing series. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to go back to do that. Other things have precluded me from doing so. But this is a special occasion and so requires some special attention.
You don’t have to worry about any spoilers in this post. I don’t like doing that and I not into that, to begin with.
Tomorrow is going to be the beginning of the weekend for what many have been waiting for. It is what is called the end of Phase One in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I bought my tickets about a week and a half ago because I wanted to make sure I did not miss out on this event on opening weekend. I anticipate there is going to be a mad rush of people going to the theaters and I will still have to go early just to grab myself a good seat. But I don’t mind because I’m ready for that.
What they have done with this is make it a big deal which is what it’s supposed to be. The movie is over three hours long which means they are going to spend some time wrapping this up. They have done such an excellent job over the years making these movies of heroes that I grew up with and that inspired me to write what I’m writing today.
My first exposure to comic books was back when I was in fourth grade. I don’t even remember how I acquired the book but it was Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, issue #1 from his first run in 1968. As I said, I don’t know how I acquired it but I do remember having that comic sitting on my nightstand next to my bed in the room I shared with my brother and reading that thing over 10 times. I was enamored with it and would watch the old motion comic Marvel series that had Captain America, the Hulk, and the Sub-Mariner. I was hooked.
The reason why I was hooked is because of the virtues superheroes stood for back then. We have thrown a lot of that to the wind today which is why I don’t collect a lot of modern comics. I’m that guy going through the dollar bins of the 90s and 80s looking for comics from that era. I currently own between 2500 to 3000 comics. A good portion of them I have not read yet and I’m excited about that. In addition, I have over 120 superhero prose novels. I’ve mentioned this before but this is the first time you’ll get a peek at my collection.
Avengers: Endgame is a big deal. It’s not just a big deal in terms of Marvel movies, but it’s a big deal for us fans who have been along for the ride for more than the 10 years the movies have been out. We have been around for this ride since we were in high school back in the 80s and before that, many of us grew up with comics when we were in grade school.
I started collecting Avengers comics back in the late 1980s. I was collecting Avengers comics when everyone was collecting X-Men. I always thought the Avengers were the better team. I was there when Dr. Druid led the team; when the black, female Captain Marvel was putting it down, and when the Vision lost his mind and an entity called Quasimodo was behind it. So when it comes to the Avengers, I didn’t just hop on this bandwagon yesterday. I didn’t hop on his bandwagon a decade ago. I’ve been real deal for 30 years.
Those heroes in comic books are part of what inspired me to write the novels I write. There are other things that supersede it but they are an integral part of the reason I write novels. If you’ve read Blackson’s Revenge, you’ll get hints of Daredevil and the Punisher, to characters I happen to like. There are so many more characters I have that are coming up that simply scream meta-human or supernatural. It’s my element.
You can believe that I am going to rekindle my series with Avengers: Endgame. It may be as soon as Saturday when I go see the movie. I’m going to be spending Friday watching Marvel movies for most of the day. I anticipate that after I see Endgame, I am going to be sad and yet satisfied at the same time. Critics are giving it rave reviews. We’ll see.
Stay tuned.
