What have you learned from comic books?

[Bel-Cam Jos]

I think I owe a minor debt of gratitude to the comic book medium. I have so much more background information because of reading them over the years. My first comic that I can recall owning and reading was a Superman vs. some pink guy who was hard to kill and could fly but was suceptible to freezing cold (it was a 2-parter, I think #331-332 or something), in the late 1970s ('78?). I did a lot of cross-country flying from Ohio to California, so the long trips required something to occupy my mind and time. Here's a sample of the lessons, themes, concepts, and terms I've gained:

* "With great power comes great responsibility"
* "[He's] the best at what [he] does, and what he does isn't very nice"
* Norse mythology
* You read cartoons and comics left to right, top to bottom
* They were always 22 pages (for a while, at least)
* Selling Grit got you cool, bizarre stuff (I never did :( )
* Be careful of cars backing out of driveways, UNLESS YOU HAVE A BICYCLE SIREN! And Charles Atlas was The Man!
* Terms- doppleganger, facade (spelled 'fasaud' ), simulacrum, pun, pariah, patriot, classified information, mephistopholes, suspended animation, geneticly enhanced, proportional strength, inter-dimensional, alternate realities, in-/vulnerablity, harbinger, impartial observer, omniscience/omnipotence, sidekick, etc.
* Comics are seldom comical
* Getting your letter printed in the readers' column was the ultimate achievement :(
* Winning a contest was the second-highest achievement :cry:
* Don't be too sad if your favorite character is killed; just wait a few issues
* Star Wars related: not everything has to match with accepted stories

What else, gentle readers?

[Vortex]

I started getting into comics when I was younger. Since my dad was all over the globe fixing computer, I tagged along always had a disney comic or two in my bag, bought a few at a train stations or sweets shops and bought a few old one like 3D man and old donald duck comics when we had to sit through many a doll and toy show with my mom.

As for what I learned.

Donald Duck speaks German, Polish, and Italian fluently.

The Brits had some werid Cricket based comics and used "Cor" alot.

Sea Monkeys are cool.

And don't let a bully kick sand in your face at the beach. Get the new workout machine and get the girl.

[Darth Jax]

i learned a lot about how to kill people. however, since the vigilante lifestyle just doesn't suit me, i never put it to any use. that and i know that i am not indestructible as they are in the books.

i read comics off and on as a kid. preferred books so i could supply my own pictures. think it's because i did read the comics as a youngster, and can still remember a lot of them, that i haven't enjoyed the first episode of most of the comic-turned-movie flicks that are available. only 2 come to mind that i enjoyed superman and batman. the rest seemed to pale in comparison to the comic or just changed appearances too much.

[dr_evazan22]

Well, I learned:

-With great power comes great responsibility

-That I shouldn't judge someone by a simple label (race, color, nationality)

-That most characters created, at least pre-1990, had a name that originated in a religious text (Bible, Koran,....) or from Shakespeare.

[El Chuxter]

If you die, you'll be back, and normally within a few months.

No matter how cool you look, Rob Liefeld thinks (wrongly) that he can improve upon your look.

Snake Eyes is ugly.

[scruffziller]

I learned that if people can make a living doing this(making comic books) then maybe so can I.

[Eternal Padawan]

Captain O assured me the (Janice/ Debra/ Karen/Holly) was standing by 24 hours a day!

Uncle Ben and Bucky are dead.

There are seven ways to disarm a guy from this position. Three with minimum contact, three that kill, and one that....HURTS!

Hanging by your arms for an extended period of time will cause you to suffocate.

Frank Castle taught me several torture/killing techniques. E.G. The Bolivian telephone.

In a knife fight, you ARE going to get cut. Expect it. Count on it.

I learned Russian from Peter Rasputin. "Boizche Moi!"

I learned German from Kurt Wagner. "Zum Tueful!"

I learned French from Remy Lebeau. "Oui, Cherie!"