That Sense of Wonder

Remember that sense of wonder you had when you read comics as a youngster. I can remember going to the spinner rack at the newsstand, being presented with so many choices and having to narrow it down to just one or two comics. Then getting home, cracking it open, and reading it cover-to-cover--the story, the letters pages, even the ads--over and over; pouring over it like a Talmudic scholar.

Where is that sense of wonder now? What made it leave? Is it age and experience? Have I just read too many comics?

Were the comics of my youth better in some way? By most objective measures today's comics are overall better--better writing, better art, better production values. And there are certainly many more choices in both types of material and in sheer number of comics being published. But is that 'wow' still there for a new comics reader?

Forgive me, I'm just feeling a bit melancholy today.

Does today's eleven-year-old kid who cracks open a new volume of Naruto have the same feeling of excitement, wonder and possibility that I did when reading an issue of DC Comics Presents?

I certainly hope so.