For The Panel Biter's 100th post, I wanted to something special. A look into why I, Raffi your gracious host, first got into comic books and why they hold a special place in my life. Please excuse the size of the picture below, and also the headless little girl in the background. Don't worry, my younger cousin is not actually headless. I had to pull some technical gymnastics to frame this picture right. Regardless, onto The Secret Origin of The Panel Biter.
The man you see being lifted is my father, Big Raf (yeah, I got his name), and the guy lifting him is me minus a few years (I didn't get his skin tone). See, I grew up with divorced parents, but it wasn't as awful as other people's childhoods might of been. Both my father and my mother are amazing people and having two families was never really a burden on me, I enjoyed both of them equally. But this isn't a psychosis, it's a comic book-related post on a comic book-related blog. As a child whenever I'd spend time with my father I'd usually be surrounded with the kind of things kids liked. Video games, toys, movies, and superhero memorabilia. I remember my father had collected Batman toys, Batman movies, I'm pretty sure I had a child-sized Batmobile. Yeah, I was spoiled. But having all that Batman stuff and being around my father, as a kid I couldn't help but imagine things were different. As a kid I imagined my father was Batman and I was his sidekick Robin.
Picturing yourself as a child superhero seems like something that would wear off, but the thing about the first Robin-Dick Grayson-is that he actually grew up. By the time he was young adult he had ditched the Robin gig and became his own solo superhero, Nightwing. So even as a teenager I could see myself as an independent young man and still see my father as my mentor. I know it sounds silly, but this comparison became even more clear throughout the years. After Dick Grayson, three more young men would take the mantle of Robin, and after myself, my father would receive three step-sons who I treated as brothers. Many of the Robins were quite different from each other, and I still hold that true for myself and my brothers. Dick Grayson would eventually be given the mantle of Batman by his mentor and he'd even team up with a new Robin. Come next October I'll be twenty-one years old, a legal adult. I would assume in the years to come I'd feel the same responsibility my father felt around this age, even now I have a ten year old brother who feels like my sidekick (or archenemy at times). Despite how old I get or how things change, I can never shake the feeling my father and I were meant to follow this path and grow into who we are today.
For the credit I give him, my father is only half the reason I am who I am today. I still hold my mother Jessica on the same pedestal and owe her just as much as I owe my father for all the work she did raising me. Long time fans of The Panel Biter might remember the first post I ever did was about the Halloween I dressed as Cyclops. You know who put me in that costume? Dear Mum. Comic Books aren't important to me because they're rising in popularity or because they provide escape from this cruel world, comic books are important to me because they all carry a purpose. The Batman and Robin stories were conceived to connect adults and children, and to this day comic books have done the same. Anytime a superhero movie comes out, I see it with my Dad. Anytime a superhero TV show is on, I watch it with my brother. Comic Books are an important part of my life because beyond all the characters and stories, they remind me of how lucky I am to have an amazing family. Thank you all for reading The Panel Biter, I hope to bring this blog further up the ladder in the future! Have a great day!
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