Robin NygrenWhen I was 6, my first ever comic book arrived in the mail. It was a Spider-Man magazine, featuring a team-up with Fantastic Four against the Skrulls, a random toy and some puzzles in the back. I ignored those last parts and was glued to the double-sided Fantastic Four-poster featuring all kinds of fun facts about the team. And since then, I have never been able to stop reading, how much I have tried. When I was 10, I made my first real friend through him asking questions about Iron Man. When I was 15, me and some friends went to the cinema to watch Logan, starting a tradition to watch every single Marvel-film to release up til Endgame. And waiting for every single Marvel-release gave me patience to live another year. And another. And another.
When we read about Norse Mythology, I was ahead thanks to reading Thor-comics. When we read about Radiation, I was ahead thanks to reading Hulk-comics. Reading Spider-Man-comics helped me decide on a High School teaching graphic design and photography. Reading about Xavier and Magneto’s relationship helped me understand the complexity of human emotion, thoughts and social life. The grey in everything. Reading Doctor Strange and Spider-Girl has given me a basic understanding and ability to understand and separate different Multiverse-theories, something I’m extremely proud of as I never had any good grades back in school.
Being autistic, I had a lot of problems reading people's faces, understanding how they thought, what they meant, how the world overall worked. Reading these comics helped. And they helped me understand myself and find safety in an unwelcoming world.
I was never born with optic blasts but I understood how it felt to live in a world unwelcomed to exist. I was never stuck in a cave and built a suit of armour, but I understand trying to do better, and the ease to fall back into old habits. I was never bitten by a radioactive spider but I understood how it felt to try to do right all the time and have to world punch me back every single time. And gave me strength to rise back up every single time.
These characters have been with me every single important step of my life and guided me to figure out who I want to be. They taught me to help out, reach out a hand, to smile, to watch out for my fellow kind and motivate me to stop the void that filled my childhood from corrupting anyone else’s.
And it’s so fun to be here and show respect on such an amazing milestone. 85 years. Thanks Marvel, for saving my life. Excelsior.
A link to the drawing in its full glory and true size: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VHVlvQRKp3Y83xgOgjfrJBG_FviXpgmV/view?usp=sharing
2024-11-19 22:01:16 +0000