I used to think that if I worked in the same job long enough, the work would get easier. But that has not been the case for my Worlds of Wonder (WOW) stint, which started 30 years ago.
Three decades ago, my first WOW review (which started as Marvellous Mags in the 1980s) of Tales Of The Marvels: Inner Demons was published in Section 2 (now StarLifestyle), and it gave my dad a reason to buy an extra copy of The Star that day.
Personally, I needed to make some pocket money back then, as I had a few milestones awaiting, but the best thing about seeing my review being printed was that it felt like the closest I could get to landing my “dream job” at one of the Big Two – Marvel or DC Comics.
Six months later, I was invited to a lunch event for columnists. I was the newbie but had the honour of sitting next to the most senior columnist, D.J. Batzer who wrote the Astronomy column for 22 years.
I remember asking him how he managed to do it for so long, and his response was classic: “Astronomy is a very huge subject”.
I believe the same theory applies to comics, as it has given me a lot of purpose, therapy, friends and turned my character not into a dimension but rather, a multiverse.
So, after three decades as a columnist, the best way to summarise it is through the following list of reasons/things/trends/events that make me reflect back with pride and joy.
Secret Origin: I never expected to be a freelancer for 30 years, but it has its perks, in terms of the flexibility to work from home.
The initial plan was to be an “assistant” for Davin Arul – who co-founded WOW – but somehow the job description changed, when Davin told me that I would be taking over his column instead.
Marvel Vs DC: My most memorable coverage happened in 1996, which was the Marvel Vs DC event. It was the first (and only) time that the Big Two allowed fans to decide who would be the winners.
I recall camping outside Final Frontier (a comic book store in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur) to get the final score, before finalising the write up with my editor then.
In case you were wondering, Marvel won 3-2 (or 6-5, if you include the side battles), and it was akin to a World Cup final for comic book fans.
Backstage Pass: While the San Diego Comic Convention remains on my bucket list, I am grateful that this job has given me the opportunity to meet and speak with some of my favourite comic talents, including Arthur Adams, Todd Mc Farlane, David Lloyd, Joe Madureira and Alex Maleev.
Not a kids’ hobby anymore: With the average cover price increasing four-fold (from US$1.50 to US$6/RM6.10 to RM24.30 based on today’s currency exchange rates), it’s not just the kids who can’t afford to buy comics any more. Those who wish to continue to read can do so online (which is a lot cheaper).
Compounding matters further is that there are so many other competing entertainment avenues. Comics are in the last bastion phase for traditional hobbies.
Quality – Art Vs Script: The 1990s was very much art-centric, with the birth of Image Comics proving it. Subsequently, the last two decades have seen more balanced success between art and script.
One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is talented artists only drawing covers. Whether it’s timing or remuneration, nothing beats having a full issue/storyline completed.
Under covers: From catchy covers to variant covers and now even blind bags, it is not a surprise that (most) collectors today are buying comics just for the covers.
Variant covers have now expanded from the usual first / milestone issue to (almost every) regular issue.
Comic book movies: With six comic book movies on the Top 20 all-time highest box-office list, we have certainly come a long way from those exposed Spidey web shooters in the Spider-Man TV series in the 1970s.
There have been plenty of sights to behold with key comic book moments immortalised on the silver screen, from a tour of Wakanda to Thanos’ infinity gauntlet snap. No comic book tale is beyond production.
Super TV shows: And if a movie is too costly or time-consuming to make, there’s always other routes like becoming a TV show or animated series. From WandaVision to Peacemaker, every character seems to have a shot on the small screen.
Spider-Clones: Remember how blasphemous it felt when Marvel tried to replace Peter Parker with his clone aka Ben Reilly in the1990s? Well, the situation is a whole lot different today, with an entire Spider-Verse of Peters, Gwens, MJs and Uncle Bens.
Multiverse merry-go-round: In 1985, DC restructured its universe and eliminated the multiverse with the major Crisis On Infinite Earths event in conjunction with its 50th anniversary.
However, this was progressively undone via the Infinite Crisis (2005) event, Flashpoint (2011) event and finally, 2022’s Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths event, which restored an infinite number of Earths.
Rebirths and resurrections: No death has been sacred over these three decades. Superman and Batman have died and come back, as well as their parents.
Even Bucky and Gwen Stacy have not been spared, and let’s not even mention the countless X-Men who have “died” and been resurrected over the years.
More diversity: While it made perfect sense for Marvel to finally introduce a Chinese/Asian Iron Fist, there were other “re-castings” that received mixed responses – including a white Black Panther, a black Captain America, a Muslim Ms Marvel, plus female versions of Wolverine, Daredevil, Thor, and more.
Malaysia Boleh!: I was ecstatic when Milx drew one issue of Silver Surfer for Marvel (in 2003-2004), but today we have many successful and established Malaysia-born artists in mainstream comics, including Billy Tan, Sonny Liew, Alan Quah, Puppeteer and Kael Ngu.
Best of all, we even have a Malaysian Eisner Award winner: Erica Eng Hui Qing, an artist and animator who won in 2020 for her autobiographical comic, Fried Rice.
JLA Vs Avengers: After its abrupt cancellation in 1983, we finally saw this epic event materialise in 2003.
This was definitely George Perez’s labour of love, and the most creative effort ever invested in a team up and inter-company crossover.
It’s a Miracle, Man: The longest legal wrangle in comics ended in 2009 when Marvel Comics acquired the publishing rights to Miracleman/Marvelman.
This development put to rest a seven-year-long legal suit by Neil Gaiman against Todd McFarlane over the rights to the character. Sadly, after 16 years, we are still inundated with tons of reprints of old Miracleman tales.
Pandemic-monium: One thing I missed about the Covid-19 pandemic is the excitement it brought once again to the hobby of collecting comics.
During the pandemic, prices of back issues soared and so did the demand for comics.
