Signs of AGE: Comic Books on the Computer

My son (above) reading something called "manga" on something
called a "computer". Jeff (below) reads an issue of one of his hip
ARCHIE "comics" out of something called a "comic book".

Sign of my age: I caught my son reading comics off of the computer. Even worse, it was a Japanese comic called "Dragon Ball Z" which when it was explained to me sounds like the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Most likely, the fact that I think it is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of makes it that much more desirable for the young ones.

Two of my kids are now reading these things on pretty regular basis. When I explained to them that traditionally, comic books are to be "held", I was corrected and told that they were not reading comic books but "manga". I may be totally Uncool, but I am not totally oblivious to the happenings of the world, so I informed my kids that "manga" was a Japanese version of the good ol' American comic book. He merely shook his head in disgust, put his head phones back on and continued poisoning his mind with stories of Dragon Balls and battles and quests.

I certainly loved reading comic books as a kid and I still love them today. But to me, one of the cool things about comic books was that you got to keep comic books. I never liked reading comic books from the library or borrowing them from a friend. I wanted to keep them! How else could I copy the pictures when making my own comic books?

I guess I really am entering those black-socks-with-sandals years...