Childhood Obsessions Or "How comics and cartoons inspired me to be a writer."

Transformers The Movie. Not the live-action Michael Bay version with seizure-inducing special effects, but the 1986 classic. I was too young to realize it was a disasterpiece that only grossed $6 million. I didn’t appreciate the voice talents of Leonard Nimoy, or Orson Welles. My 5 year-old mind was too enthralled by the storyline that carried over from the cartoon I watched daily. The death of Optimus Prime, and the rise of Rodimus Prime, were moments that left my

Over time my investment in Transformers, He-Man, She-Ra, Silverhawks, Vultron, and even um… Jem, had matured into a love of character development and continuity. It inspired me create my own superheroes, with elaborate back-stories full of plot holes. Little did I realize at the time, I was writing.

This continued as I began collecting comics. Soon I became a fan of not only the characters, but the writers of the characters as well. Funny book writers don’t get a lot of shine, but you try writing a good story about a man who runs around in tights and isn’t gay. I even adopted their styles in my English assignments. Who knew copying the language style used on X-Men would get me a few A’s?

I tried my hand at some fan-fiction, coming up with more science fiction type concepts, superheroes, etc., but I came to a different realization. It didn’t matter the context or situation, the only thing I cared about were the characters, their development, or what their story said about life, politics, the world, or the people around me. Someone’s ability to fly, destroy New York with a careless thought, or a leap a tall building in a single bound wasn’t as spectacular or relatable (since at this point I’d given up my dream of being a superhero). Actually, the emotions and changes the character experience due to these abilities were infinitely more interesting. Sure Doc Octopus is holding up a bank, but will our hero make it back to his date before she walks out of his life forever? I guess it’s called growing up. I guess that’s why Heroes is so enjoyable when you barely see them use their abilities.

This might also explain why I fell in love with the human characters this time around while watching Transformers. After the shock opener of the US military being utterly demolished by the might of a near-invulnerable shape-shifting alien, if you peel back the enormous, engulfing storyline of intergalactic conflict, government conspiracy, and human evolution, you there is the heart and meat of the story. It is nothing more than the story of a boy and his first car; something everyone can relate to.