FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS!
By FRANCO
Ask anyone today and they have at least heard of the Avengers. They even know relatively obscure or secondary characters like Hawkeye or Black Widow.
When I was a kid, though, comics were looked down upon, especially when you were in school. “You need to read real books” (which I also did). “You’re never going to learn anything from those things.”
Why would anyone think that? It was OK to read words on a page like Hamlet or The Outsiders but not read anything gripping like the Dark Phoenix Saga in a comic book? We could study DaVinci or Rembrandt but overlook the fact that a comics artist was doing the equivalent of the Renaissance masters’ anatomy studies, over and over on every page? The logic astounds me.
I remember being in class one day and the teacher asking us a question. It had to do with how your inner ear affects your balance. I was the only one with the answer.
“How did you know that?” I knew that because of an Avengers comic where the Wasp flew into someone’s ear and messed up their equilibrium (another word I learned from comics). The teacher was impressed.
The only reason I passed science classes in high school was because of comics. Science was never my strong suit (math was actually my worst subject). But I would always try to do a bunch of drawings to help me remember the science stuff. One teacher even asked me to make a bunch for the classroom for extra credit. I remember thermodynamics distinctly because of the fire-and-ice guy Equinox from an issue of Spider-Man comics.
Equinox? Yeah, I thought he was a cool villain.
Had to look him up online again. This is what popped up first: Terry Sorenson, also known as Equinox, the Thermodynamic Man, a guy with all the powers of Iceman and the Human Torch. In the past he’s been both a hero and a villain. So it can be a little hard to gauge his temperature.
Someone had a sense of humor there. That was another thing I learned from comics. Spider-Man and his quips.
Anyway, comics ain’t so bad. And you never know, you might learn a thing or two.
Happy Friday!
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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.
October 3, 2025
>> relatively obscure or secondary characters like Hawkeye…
>>
I’d argue that Hawkeye was neither. He was in the 2nd iteration of the Avengers and around for much of the Bronze Age. As to education, I think comics are great for learning history. I’d love to teach about the lead-up to/and through the WWII period with a slant accented with comics and their creators.
October 3, 2025
Equinox was the first character I “aped” from Byrne, and yes I was using words other kids in 5th grade were not. Some not so flattering like cur and cretin, thank you Dr. Doom.
October 3, 2025
Thanks to Ray Palmer (or more accurately, writer Gardner Fox) I was always able to remember the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite after reading the Atom’s origin tale in Showcase #34.