Heroes

This essay tells the story of a young man who found joy in comic books, a way to cope with the endless fights between his parents, his mother's drinking problem, his father's unfaithfulness.

My name's Matt. I grew up in an imaginary world, full of super powers, cool people in capes, good guys and bad guys. I basically grew up in a world of super heroes. I longed to join them on their adventures, but I was always a mere civilian being saved by them. It's safe to say 'Marvel' comics had a big place in my childhood.

   Am I sane? No, probably not. Then again, is anyone sane? ...I'll stick with my first answer. I had a rough childhood. I grew up in Belleville, New Jersey, with my Mom and my Dad. Mom stayed at home to look after me. She quit her job as an air hostess when I was born, while Dad continued to work in some snazzy business to support us. How I know it was snazzy? Well, I don't, but the man drove a big shiny Merc, and our house was pretty big. Yeah, so far it sounds like a pretty nice family, doesn't it? 'Course it does. All families gotta' try and look normal on the outside if they want to hide what goes on inside the pretty garden fence.

   Things were pretty normal for my first few months; just me and Mom at home while Dad would disappear on some business trip for a few weeks. By my first birthday though, my Dad's trips had gotten extremely long, from a few weeks to a few months. I can remember one night, waking up in my little bed to the sound of raised voices downstairs. The old man had casually walked in the front door after practically disappearing off the face of the earth for five months. I can remember screaming out for my Mommy; to hold me in her arms and sway me back to sleep, but the sounds I made were drowned out by a woman crying her eyes out as her husband shouted words of abuse in her face. I was barely three when that happened, and yet I can't remember if this cup in my hand is my third or fourth coffee today! Funny, the things that stick out in your mind...

   I saw less and less of my old man as I grew up, which left me to develop an amazingly close bond with my Mother. When my Dad was around though, I always tried to spend as much time with him as possible, because at the time, he was a hero in my young, naive eyes, like Super Man; always on the go, good looking, big muscles, all that sorta' thing. Comic books hadn't entered my life at this stage, not a lot anyways. I didn't need them when I thought the only thing my Dad was missing was a cape. Looking back now, I see how oblivious I was to the obvious.

   I'd see my Dad for a month at a time before he'd be gone for nearly half the year. By my eighth birthday, I was becoming much more aware of the situation between my parents. After all, it's hard to ignore trash cans full of vodka bottles and loud sobbing coming from your Mother's room at night, no matter what age you are. I was growing apart from both my parents. I'd come home from school and find Mom sitting blankly in a chair. I'd run to sit on her knee, but she'd yell and shove me away. The same went for my Dad. He'd be back home, watching baseball in the living room. I'd sit with him, ask him how he was. Minutes later, I'd be going to my room with red eyes... and a sore face.

   After the first time that happened, nothing was ever the same. I used to hope he'd never come back from his business trips. One morning on the way to school, crying, I passed this new comic book store. I saw a card board cut out of Super Man and thought back to the yelling and fighting at home that morning... every morning. It was then that I stepped foot into the world of 'Marvel' for the rest of my life. I walked into the shop and spent my lunch money on the first comic I saw. And that was it.

   After the first comic, I got hooked. I realised I could step into a world where the good guys always won; whenever my parents fought, whenever my Mother drank herself to sleep, whenever my Father informed his wife of the numerous women he got involved with on his business trips. Comic books became my happy place. From an early age, I realised the world wasn't full of good guys, and I soon realised the heroes didn't always win when my Mother lost her fight with depression when I was fifteen. You might think it stupid for someone to get lost in an imaginary world, turn a blind eye to reality; but why put up with always seeing the good guys lose in life when there's a perfect world drawn out on a few pages?

Author's Note

All feedback is GREATLY appreciated, thank you! :D

Reviews

[Patrick Henry]

Seriously? You're 15? That had so much detail, character build with the perfect amount OF it, and this was easily enjoyed as if the beginning to a movie or flipping through some old diary pages!! I, honestly, don't like reading stories. I clicked it because I really Love your glasses!! lol Theeeeeen I liked the story. : ) Stories will NOT get favorited. lol This one does. I hope it's the first part of a series I might come across again. I liked it a lot. Nice job. Very well put together. I never had pity on the dude, and was allowed to build my own opinion of him as it was written. xoxo -Mark

[DarkRainbowPie]

Haha, yes, I am :3 Aaaww, thank you SO much! I've been waiting for someone to review this one, so, an extra thank you is needed! :') Really? Wow, I'm really happy you enjoyed it! :D And one last thank you, haha, thanks so much for all the positive feedback, put a big smile on my face :')

[Firefly]

This was very good, nicely relatable but with a respective glistening to it.

[Emrick]

So sad but very interesting. I like the message you are trying to pass.Whenever someone feels low he|she should get a book and read.That's nice.
Interesting story!.

[DarkRainbowPie]

Thank you very much! :) Yes, there's so many healthy ways to express one's feelings, I guess I'll always be out to promote them.

[Samantha Scythe]

I absolutely love this and I can relate to what is being said about the comic books and escaping! This is an amazing piece of writing, and I am definitely going to share this and read more of your writing!

Much love,
Samantha (:

[DarkRainbowPie]

Thanks so much! I'm really glad you like it ^_^