How did I fell in love with comics?

I can exactly follow my way of not being interested in superheroes to how it's become my favorite subject and one of my biggest passion. It didn't start with comic books, but with animation. We never had Cartoon Network at home, but my grandparents did. We visited them every Saturday, and it was our only time in the week when we could watch shows like Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and most importantly: Teen Titans. It was love at first sight, and when I learned that Robin (who was my first love in my childhood years) was in every Batman series, I needed to watch them too. It was inevitable to get to love not only Batman but his rouge gallery as well. It was the first time when I found the antagonists not only interesting but likable as well.

I was fifteen when I started to watch Smallville, which is a ten season of pure bliss about how Clark Kent became Superman. I loved every minute of it, and when it ended, I simply felt empty. This was until the moment I learned that they continued the series as comics. I knew I immediately needed to get them. I found them on Amazon, and I begged my dad for three days to buy them for me. He eventually did, and I was on my toes for two weeks until they arrived. One day I got home from school, and I found a package on my bed. I needed a moment to realize what it was, but when I did, I couldn't have been happier. I picked up a scissor and destroyed the wrap, and when I saw the covers, my heart almost jumped out of my heart. Since English isn't my native tongue, this was the first time I read something in English without any guidance. I had fears that I won't be able to enjoy it due to my inexperience, but I was pleasantly surprised. I not only understood it, but it opened a new world for me because the illustrations made the story simply more. The last time I read a book with pictures, I was still in kindergarten. The comic series had two spin-off ones: Titans and Harbinger. The former immediately triggered my childhood obsession with the Teen Titans, so I already knew what my next reading would be. I found it online, but I had to buy the team's run from 2003. I saved my pocket money for months so I could buy all the issues but when I finally could hold them in my hands, it worth every cent. 

Around this time, comics started to take more and more places on my shelves. They were a colorful addition to my fantasy novels and Poirot stories. Following Smallville, I turned my attention to the movies. After I watched every Batman movie ever made (yes, even the bad ones) and this caused me to buy new comics. Until this point, I was only interested in DC products and stories, then I started to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe's movies and the X-Men movies. A dozen new characters I could be obsessed with. After watching the Thor movies, I bought two series, and last year two more. Doctor Strange was the first superhero movie I watched in the cinema, and it came as no surprise when I needed to spread my collection and knowledge to his character as well. After I watched every X-Men movies I bought comics. When Logan (2017) came out, I bought Old Man Logan. When Dark Phoenix (2019) came out, I bought The Dark Phoenix Saga. 

I had bangs since I was six. Even thinking back now, thirteen years later, I still can't recall anyone else having bangs. In a way, it made me feel special. I started to read The New Mutants (started in 1983), and when I reached issue #14, "Do you believe in Magik?" I met my new favorite character, Illyana Rasputin AKA Magik. One thing about her is that she had the same bangs I had, and this made me incredibly happy, especially that she became my favorite character. Of course, it wasn't only because of the same hairstyle. After I read the issue, I needed to get her origin story, which I did. It's a four-part mini-series, and sadly I couldn't place them in a way to have all the covers visible. I was proud to have it, and I brought it to school with myself just to show-off. 

Of course, comics are not the only thing I read, but they are my fastest readings. I read them in one sit, and I can't help but turn to the first page again and read my favorite panels again. Seeing the different and detailed drawing just makes everything more significant. For a time I thought, I am too old for these kinds of stuff, but it turns out, I am not. The journeys of these heroes awoke a feeling of courage in me. If they can save the world, why couldn't I succeed in smaller tasks? In some stories, I saw myself in away. I saw myself in Clint Barton and Kate Bishop trying to prove her worth without superpowers. I saw myself in Zatanna with a hope to fill my life and world with magic. I saw myself in Supergirl trying to find my place in this world. Their stories aren't only good stories to me, but idols I could look up to. They also gave me a new dream: to become a comic writer. Oh, how I long to write new stories to characters like Magik or Zatanna!

I've never been to America, and when I'll have the chance to do so, my first visit won't be a museum or a monument, but a comic shop. The classic comic shops with their wide selection of stories, figures, T-shirts, and everything you could ever want. I have an American penpal, and I already asked her to buy me some stuff and mail it to me. Since she is a comic reader/collector as well, she did it with pleasure. 

For a time, I considered comics as superhero stories and thought no other genre use this form of story-telling. Around when I was eighteen years old, I started to read Neil Gaiman's writings, and he quickly became one of my favorite writers. Just around the time, I thought I've read everything from him, I learned about the Sandman universe. I found the series in my local bookshop, but my enthusiasm was quickly abated when I saw the price tags. I left the shop wondering how much I must save from my pocket-money to afford them. Every week I got lunch money to buy something at my school's cafeteria, but I never spent it, I saved all of them to able to buy the desired comics. I was hungry all day before I got home, but in my mind, I already prepared how great it will be when I finally own the comics. On the 14th of February, my 19th birthday, I got the whole Sandman collection. Turns out, my parents paid more attention than I thought. 

I needed to buy two more shelves for my comics, and sometimes I feel like it's not enough. Currently, my collection includes the followings:  Smallville Season 11, Smallville: Titans, Smallville: Harbinger, The New Mutants (1983-1991), New Mutants: War Children, Sandman (1989-1996), Zatanna by Paul Dini, Constantine: The Hellblazer, Hellblazer: City of Demons, Hellblazer (1988-2013), Supergirl (2005-2011), Batman: Death of the Family, Batman: Killing Joke, Batman: White Knight, All-Star Superman, Doctor Strange (2015), Doctor Strange (2018), Thor (2007-2009), Thor (2018), Journey Into Mystery (2011), Magik: Illyana and Storm Limited Series (1983-1984), What If? Magik, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Old Man Logan, Old Man Hawkeye, Hawkeye (2012), All-New Hawkeye (2015), All-New Hawkeye (2016), and Scarlet Witch. Does it seem much? Perhaps, but there are so many stories I still haven't read. No, this is still so little. 

My collection grows every week. My mother calls my eternal desire to extend my personal library and read as many stories as possible my superpower.