I'm a huge geek

So as I posted earlier, I spent nearly $100 on comic books Saturday. A lot of that went to getting issues of comics that I've been reading about but haven't had the opportunity to buy. One of them was Young Avengers.

The Avengers were one of those comics that I've read on again/off again for a while. I never really got into them because there was just so much fucking back history to go with it. Now, that might sound a bit hypocritcal because I did pick up the X-Men (and have been reading X-comics for close to 15 years now), but there was always just something about the Avengers that never stuck with me. I read them because of characters like the Scarlet Witch and Spider-Woman.

But now we have Young Avengers. I originally avoided the comic because I found out it was going to be written by Allan Heinberg, a writer and producer for The O.C. Now, I love The O.C., but for some reason, I thought the internal geekiness of the show wouldn't translate into a comic book.

Three words: I was wrong.

I've only bought issues 1, 4, and 5 (I need to track down issues 2 and 3), but I'm in love. More so than I can say I've been with a comic book since Grant Morrison's run on X-Men. The way Allan handles these new characters of Patriot, Iron Lad, Asgardian, Kate Bishop, and Hulkling, as well as established characters as Captain America, Iron Man, Jessica Jones and the semi-established Cassie Lang, well, there are no words. I've had to read the three issues I have repeatedly today just to get the full greatness of them.

The fact that there's been a controversy over whether Asgardian and Hulkling are a gay couple kind of adds to the appeal. Although I'd never read a comic just because it features a gay couple (I absolutely hated Strangers in Paradise and still do till this day), if Asgardian and Hulkling do turn out to be together, good for them. I think one of the things that attracts me to this book is the way is depicts adolescence. And a lot of teens read comic books. Some of them are gay. I know I was one of them. From experience, I know how hard it is to find a gay role model when you're a gay teen. If you're a comic book geek like I was/am, it's even harder. I don't know where I'm going with this, because I'm half in the bag, but I hope that Asgardian and Hulkling are a couple. Let's face it; gay couples today are only accepted in the mainstream if they are a girl/girl couple. Having a male gay couple in comics, especially a mainstream comic (Apollo and Midnighter from The Authority DO NOT COUNT), is a fucking great thing. It shows that you can be young, gay, and a superhero, and I think that's something the gay community has always been missing.

But even without the gay aspect, I would still be a fan of Young Avengers. It's a well written comic book, and it just goes to further the fact that fanboys can write a good comic book. I know if I had the chance, I would try my best to do such. So yeah. Check out Young Avengers. It's a good read.