I recently took a hit for not loving all comics and have found myself deep in thought regarding this issue. I’ve spent hours reflecting on my comic-reading evolution. Many people in my family love comics. My grandpa Elvrum has a fantastic comic book collection that I like to peruse from time to time. I have very clear memories of sitting on his lap and having him read to me (and anyone else that would listen) various comics from the Funny Pages. Of course I never really got or understood Doonesbury or Mark Trail, but loved Garfield and Dennis the Menace, as they were more age appropriate.
I soon discovered a huge pile of Archie comic books in the back room at my Grandma and Grandpa Lowman’s house. Oh, I loved reading those. I’m willing to bet my Grandpa Lowman found them at some garage sale and thought we’d like them. He was right. From Jughead to Veronica, I loved all the characters in this series.
For all the love that I had for Archie and the Gang, Phil and Izak had their own comic appreciation. Phil loved Mad Magazine and Izak…well, he had a passion for Fox Trot and Calvin and Hobbes. Since we had such a surplus of all three of those around the Elvrum home, I had no choice but to jump on the bandwagon. Izak enjoyed reminding me that I was like Paige Fox and he was Jason. 
In college I discovered For Better or For Worse and the fact that the comic moved in real-time. I also discovered that I could read these comics daily online, which I did. Sadly, this comic has now moved to a hybrid and no longer moves in real time. After many years, I’ve slowly said goodbye to those characters and moved on. Just this past year I came across Funky Winkerbean and am again enamored. Like For Better or For Worse it also runs in real time and deals with modern issues. One of the main characters, Lisa, died of cancer and it felt like a friend had died….I mourn for her husband and young daughter as if know them. I guess after going back and reading the archives and following along daily, I do know them.
Phil went through a phase of writing his own comics and Izak and I attempted as well (HJE’s Sore, anyone?). I don’t make pretty comics and I certainly don’t make funny comics. In fact, the comics I made were pretty ugly. I don’t consider myself an artist, but I do consider myself funny, so it was hard hit. Other people have the ability to make pretty funny comics and I have the ability to enjoy them.
