The early 90s were filled with imagination and wonder as a young punk kid. I remember stumbling across a stack of comics in my older brothers room. I was both terrified and fascinated at what my young adolescent mind had seen.
I remember a very small comic book shop that was close and nearby to my cousins house. I believe it was called Abyss Comics. Anyway, they apparently had an adult section, and I think my brothers were actually able to take advantage of the selection of books. Well this pissed off my dad, and from what I understand he might have had something to do with that place disapearing. Which actually did piss me off. Because it was one of the best comic book shops as a kid. They had a huge selection, and they had the bargain bins. And you could easily get 15-20 comic books for a couple bucks. Times back then where great!
I do remember with some friends viewing some images and themes that were even too much for me! it was hard sexual content. And maybe even scenes of violence. I was very sensitive to violence and horror as a kid. And my older brothers knew this, and they would try and take advantage of it, any time they could get! I remember being terrified from seeing horror movies like. Faces of Death, Hellraiser and Nightmare on Elm Street. Even the People Under the Stairs somehow scared the shit out of me.
It was bad enough I had an overactive imagination, but fuel that with images and scenes that were very graphic and I couldn’t comprehend them. I was easily disturbed to say the least.
Its actually kind of crazy to think about this, in light of today. I think most kids now are probably selling their private parts when they hit 18 on onlyfans. It seems like we are extremely desensitized and are consuming more and more overtly sexual and violent images.
Navigating life without God, is a lot like sexual frustration. Or plateauing in physical fitness or with drugs. Its a feeling you cannot satisfy. And a lot of people will do their best to exploit it, or maybe even become suicidal. The bible says it plainly, “the heart is desperately wicked/evil, who can know it?”. And even further in Romans I think our chief among sinners Saul or later Paul, fully illustrates and explains it perfectly. We are wrestling with our flesh, and without battling against we cannot fully manifest the spirit of God.
So adult comic books were something a part of my past. I think more commonly I would relate these to the quarterly magazine Heavy Metal. This magazine would have several small stories that were very adult in nature, and graphic in content.
I for one, love this art a lot better than modern anime. Its really fascinating to me to see both the degradation of animation and comics. And especially Japanese animation. America and the world at whole is obsessed with this stuff, and its still baffling to me. I remember when I was younger, I would obsess with it, like anyone else. But with newgen manga we had a great selection! like Mad Bull 34, Angel Cop, Violence Jack and Fist of the North Star. The animation and violence was top notch! add to the fact it was gratuitous and the dialogue was hilarious. I loved it.
So this concludes my little outing with, “adult” comic books. And otherwise violent media. I think if you are mature enough to navigate this, it can be a breathe of fresh air, from the convoluted and boring market as is. I have discussed comic books in the past a good bit! I did collect the most for the Punisher and the Maxx. While I think my fandom and interest in the X-Men and Batman far exceeded my ability to collect, it does go without saying, it helped shape my interest in the medium.