Comic bookery is as American as boredom in Idaho. It's a tradition that dates back to the 1980s and possibly even earlier; I can't say, I wasn't alive then. But I can say that people love comics, and the fact that The Avengers has officially made more money than actually exists is proof of that. Everyone has a little comics nerd in them.

I collected comics for a long time until I went terribly broke one day and never returned. Since you can't barter sexual favors for comic books in most circles, especially when most of your bartering energy is spent on obtaining Slurpees and canned corn, I had to let that hobby go. But I remember it fondly, and a recent look at a list of terrible art by the comic world's answer to a chimp with a paintbrush in its ass, Rob Liefeld, reminded me of some of my favorite art cliches. Artists just eat this shit up, I can't say why.