The most preferred pastime

Comic books

Do you remember the days during those growing up years, when you used to read comics to kill boredom? What about the times when you hid them from your parents due to the fear that they will throw them away?

Though we may have left our childhood days far behind, some of us are still crazy about ‘Archies’, ‘Tinkle’ and action comics like ‘Batman’ and ‘Superman’. Childhood can never be complete without a healthy dose of these.

So what makes the comics alluring? A cheerful Anjali says, “I like comics mainly because the art fascinates me. They offer a versatile story line than any novel would. Comics are able to keep things fresher. I read them when I was growing up and I still read them. They are my favourite pastime.”

 Sanjana, who loves reading the Chacha Chaudhary series says the characters are remarkably different from most other comic-book characters. “The character of Chacha Chaudhary is neither a muscleman, nor does he have extraordinary powers. Instead, he uses his shrewd brain and presence-of-mind to fight off evil robbers and thieves. Apart from this I also like the character of Rocket (Dog) in this comic. This comic will remain my favourite till the end,” she says with a beaming smile.

Sarah, on a serious note says, “They are a very good way to study modern or pop culture and they should be taken seriously. Comics offer reading materials and visuals which appeal to the senses. I like the art done by Todd McFarlane for ‘Spiderman’. I used to read comics a lot when I was small but now it has come down. I feel the earlier  generation grew up with Indian and American comics while the new generation reads Japanese comics like Naruto, Bleach, Inu Yasha, Samurai X and many more. Most of the animation series we see on TV have been taken from the comic strips.”

However, she feels that some of the comics tend to be too graphic and disturbing for very young readers. So it’s better if children below the age of 12 avoid action comics.