I know it's strange, but I've always like comic book characters and stories, but I have never enjoyed reading comic books. In high school, I began watching the animated Spiderman series on Fox, which seemed to be the gateway to X-Men and Batman. I eagerly anticipated the comic movies which experienced a resurgence of popularity over the last decade. But I never got over the stigma related to the act of reading comic books. I commonly heard comic readers being referred to as "comic book geeks," and considering that I was not exactly high on the social ladder in high school, I avoided stepping down another rung or two by reading comic books. As an avid reader, I also felt that I was above reading material with a primary focus on the illustrations, rather than on the story. I know that some of the comic fans reading this are probably cringing right now at my former prejudice, but please bear with me. In late college, I was shown the error of my ways.

I had dated a guy throughout most of college who helped me to broaden my horizons. He still jokes today that he was devastated when the high school guidance counselor told him that "Spiderman" was not a valid career choice. Sometimes I wonder if he was actually serious. Josh knew my interest in a good story. He appealed to my love of fantasy and fairy tales. I was studying to be an English teacher, and showed me how similar traditional comic book characters are to epic heroes of canonized literature- Beowulf, Odysseus, etc... And most importantly, Josh introduced me to the work of Neil Gaiman.
He started by showing me short stories from Smoke and Mirrors, such as "Snow, Glass, and Apples," a disturbing tale of the other side of Snow White. Josh had caught my interest. Then, he pulled some copies of Gaiman's graphic novels from the plastic crate of books which he kept under the bed, due to lack of space in his dorm room. He told me that they were actually pretty intellectual. I had my doubts, but later found myself intrigued by the dark, brooding character, Dream, who ruled the realm of dreaming. I enjoyed the symbolism throughout the novels- what dream is without a bit of symbolism? I loved the references to literature and myth, ranging from the Greek muses to A Midsummer Night's Dream. I liked the portrayal of Death, one of Dream's sisters, as a spunky, personable, and surprisingly caring goth girl (I later learned that, though they don't even realize it, many goth girls model their style

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