FRANCO’s FREE FOR ALL FRIDAYS!
By FRANCO
So what if you like nerd things? I like nerd things. It’s fun! I have fun with all that stuff! And if you have fun, why not enjoy yourself?
Sometimes I’m not sure, but my wife gets that I like these things. My wife is an enabler for my nerdiness.
Here’s a picture of my son and me. I’m in the Aquaman hoodie if you couldn’t tell.
I remember asking my wife if these were silly. She said, “Yes. You look like an absolute dork.”
Then I remember asking if I should get them. To which she replied, “Yes, they look adorkable.”
Again… I like being a nerd.
So why are you telling us this, Franco?
Good question!
It’s a bit of a reach — but you’ll get my point… and you get to see me in an Aquaman hoodie! Don’t be jelly!
OK. So.
Long-form storytelling has benefits that enriched my life growing up. Why do I like characters like Aquaman or Spider-Man (or heck, any number of characters)? I was thinking about this one day. A long-form story allows for deeper character development, more world building. I became more attached to characters on a page with just the written word, or by reading comics, words and pictures over years of reading.
I so identified with Spider-Man as a young kid, because he was a young kid. I think I got my sense of humor from Spider-Man too. I got bullied a lot as a kid. My parents didn’t really believe in violence and fighting in school so I was usually the one that got beat up because I didn’t fight back. But I kind of did fight back in my own way. I would use words. I’ve been told I’m pretty funny. So I would say things to people sometimes. And as the fist was flying toward my face, I would sometimes question the thing I said that resulted in said fist flying toward my face.
But I got that from Spider-Man. The quips. Not the superpowers. But I also got deeper meaning from those stories. Perspectives I had not considered before. A higher purpose and morality in life. A kindness for my fellow human being. Impactful stories that instilled in me a sense that I can be a good person. A nerd… but also a good person. A hero in my own world. A more confident and secure person as I got older.
There was a sense of story that you got (still do) from all those X-Men comics I read month after month. A sort of storytelling that is unique to monthly comics that isn’t found anywhere else. I love movies. I love books. TV shows come close to comics — even more so with the flood of stuff we’ve gotten over the last few years, such as the Arrowverse.
When I was a kid, there was magic in those pages. It’s something I will never outgrow. So as an adult I sometimes wear an Aquaman hoodie. I like it. Reminds me of still being a kid
Aquaman is still cool.
Nerd.
Happy Friday!
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MORE
— ROBIN: A Legacy Character Done Right. Click here.
— In Defense of AQUAMAN’s Rad ’80s Blue Suit. Click here.
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Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three Eisners.
