Comic comeback

Growing up, I was never really into comics, but my brother was. He had stacks of comic books in every corner of his room.

To be honest, I didn’t think it was the coolest or hippest hobby out there. But now, as I get older, I look back and think he was on to something.

Comics and graphic novels are becoming more mainstream every year. When I was younger, comic shops were full of only people who had the passion for reading comics.

Now the aisles of comic shops are filled with all kinds of people looking at the broad spectrum of comics and graphic novels that are available.

I think the cause of this influx of people to the animated world is the wide use of comics and graphic novels in film. And these aren’t small, independent films. These are movie-of-the-summer blockbusters.

Films such as “Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight” grossed huge numbers at the box office. And even with those gigantic moneymakers, other films based on lesser-known graphic novels have been released.

Zack Snyder has directed two movies based on graphic novels just recently. First, he directed the smash hit “300,” a graphic novel written and illustrated by Frank Miller. His next film came with this weekend’s release of “Watchmen.”

“Watchmen” is the main reason I started thinking about comics again. Here was a graphic novel I had never heard of before in my life, yet Time magazine named it one of the 100 best English novels from 1923 to the present.

I have friends who, after they caught the “Watchmen” bug, went out and bought the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons masterpiece and loved it instantly. And these people would never have picked up a comic or graphic novel in their lives had it not been for the movie getting their attention.

I believe this is a motif being seen more frequently all over. There is no doubt in my mind that movies are behind it all.

It’s officially hip to read comic books. There’s something I never thought I’d say, but it really is true. Even celebrities are getting into it now.

James Franco got into comics and graphic novels after being in the “Spider-Man” movies. He is a big fan of graphic novels, and his favorite author is Frank Miller, according to an interview with complex.com.

Personally, I’m happy comics are cool now. Had it not been for “Watchmen,” this weekend’s No. 1 in the box office, I would have never known Time, a magazine I hold in high regard, thought a graphic novel was so influential.

So, after 15 years of bugging my brother about his comic obsession, I finally get it. And all it took was a few big movies to open my eyes to the world of comics and graphic novels.

I just dread giving him the satisfaction that all this time, he was right and I was wrong.