Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
As a kid, I was addicted. My dealer knew me by name. I used to get my fix weekly, twice a week, sometimes even daily. And not just low-brow offerings that catered to the most animalistic of my instincts. When in money, I also used to get some deep stuff. The mind trip ones. The habit consumed all my free cash. It got so bad, I did things– terrible, heinous things, like coming first in class and cleaning my room everyday– to finance my addiction. I have never recovered fully, and I still go and get my fix, wherever I can. Admittedly, as a poor college student, I finally knocked the habit back to some extent. But only just.
I was a comics junkie. Yes, I am 24 years old, I work in a tech company, I have seemingly important views to share on anything and everything, and I still am a comics freak. A super freak, if you will. And if you know people around me, this is not a non-sequitur. With my daily-to-visit web comic list growing exponentially, I had become increasingly lackadaisical about my hobby of late. And then I remembered the good times.
I was just like any kid, feeding his fantasies with any and every comic that the local bookshop, or firang land relatives deemed fit to keep for my consumption. DC comics were decidedly cool for a while, but soon got to my nerves with its goody two shoes renditions, and the burgeoningly geriatric lineup of heroes. Only Batman was something I invested in for a while. And that too, because the art was to kill for. I was a steadfast Marvel fan. X-Men, Wolverine, Spider-man, The Hulk, Avengers and too many more to count. They were cool, were better drawn(except when Alex Ross decided to pen DC heroes), and somehow I veered towards this literary endeavor more.
I read a lot of annoying Archie too. Indulging in a pubescent fantasy was apparently a norm, as me and many of my friends found out. But they lacked punch. They were funny at times, but were too saccharine laden to hold my interest for as long as the wry, witty and excellently drawn Asterix. I didn’t dislike Archie and his merry gang, infact I liked them a lot. I just grew out of them faster than most fantasies that other comics offered. Asterix, on the other hand, was my guilty pleasure. I liked it so much, and they were so bloody expensive, I spent money meant for clothes and fast food on them. 
In the Indian scene, I was a huge fan of Indrajal, with their lineup of Mandrake, Phantom, Flash Gordon, and a very adult themed Garth. Never a fan, or even an acquaintance of the vulgar and violent Raj comic heroes, I read a lot of Diamond comics. In fact, I was a fan of an old farmer dude, whose only super power was that he was smart. Smarter than a computer, if you believe the creator.
Sadly, due to lack of funds, and the fact that I never could get my hands on most, I stayed away from the independent comic scene. Elfquest, Nexus, Mage, and others were beyond my reach and my pocket. With one exception.
Cerebus was an odd comic. Black and white art as opposed to full color extravaganzas. A talking sword-weilding aardvark as opposed to men wearing their undies on the outside. A Canadian comic in a market deluged with American heroes. Book form as opposed to thin longish comics. Self written and published as opposed to editor driven syndication. Cerebus came as a benevolent gift from some unknown benefactor to my school library. And I’m pretty sure no one ever read it, as it was fairly violent, anti establishment, and very very funny. My schoolmates will vouch for the fact that my school was hardly an establishment that tolerated, much less understood humor. But that is beside the point. The few that were there were in mint condition, and I was the only one who checked them out. You see, one of my favorite comic books was not only an obscure, less read comic, it didn’t cost me any money. 
By an artist called Dave Sim, Cerebus is about a barbarian aardvark who talks of himself in the third person. He likes ale and gold. A lot. In the course of his story he’s been both Prime Minister of Canada and Pope. If you ever see one, just grab it with both hands, and yell for me, ok?
And I am out of comics to talk about. I could talk about how much I loved Asterix, but that would be repetition. So I’ll talk about games (duh!) next. Seeya then.