I have this wonderful book. My father gave it to me when I was very young. Old enough to read, but young enough to still have that childlike wonder that we sadly lose over time. It wasn't published by Marvel or DC. It didn't have glossy pages or a chromium cover. It didn't feature any overly endowed women with large guns. Not once in the entire volume does the sound effect 'snikt' appear. What it did contain was a 336 pages of adventure, comedy, courage, and tragedy. It was published by the Smithsonian and it was my introduction to comics.

According to the introduction the 'Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics' was published as a companion volume to their popular 'Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics'. Of course, what was more important to me was that it said 'Happy Birthday Jacob, Love, Dad' on the first page. I remember opening it and looking for the Uncle Scrooge story that he promised was somewhere inside.

Scrooge, Donald, and the rest were there. But to my awe and surprise so was so much more. Inside were these incredible comics by guys named Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, Bob Kane, C.C. Beck, Jack Cole, Basil Wolverton, Walt Kelly, Sheldon Meyer, Will Eisner and more. At the time the names of the guys who created these characters that now assailed my senses didn't mean a thing to me. What did mean something to my young imagination were the names Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, Powerhouse Pepper, Pogo, The Red Tornado, and the Spirit.

These are some of the greatest comic book characters of all-time and there I was sitting on my fathers lap reading their exploits. I gasped as Superman out ran a train, thrilled as Batman out smarted a criminal, marveled as Billy Batson yelled out Shazam for the first time. I laughed as a tiny Santa comes swaggering out of Uncle Scrooges fireplace. I cheered for the Spirit as he caught a crook who was trying to rob a bank.

Today the book has stood the test of time. Only now I know what a treasure trove it is. I know who Will Eisner is and all that he has accomplished and is accomplishing. I know what it is that Jerry and Joe did for me and so many others. Walt Kelly is more than just a guy with two first names. These are the guys who really started it all. If Will Eisner had become a dentist, I might be writing this article about some other hobby of mine. Or maybe I wouldn't even be writing it. Who knows? Without Will Eisner I may never have developed the love of reading that I have. I may never had decided to study English in college to become a better writer. It's never very productive to play 'What if?', but in this case I think it is important.

Comic readers today probably didn't have the same introduction to comics that I did. I don't think there are too many customers who come into my store that got there introduction to superheroes from the Spirit or Red Tornado. In this I am truly lucky. I suppose it is something like opening your eyes for the first time and seeing a Monet painting. It is hard for me to imagine a comic creator today topping what Will Eisner did 60 years ago, or coming up with a character that captures the collective imagination of people like Superman or Batman. It seems that today any attempt at telling a story of every youths dream to be big pales in comparison to what C.C. Beck did when he changed an orphan into Captain Marvel, the worlds mightiest mortal. Wouldn't it be something if someone could though?

The book is a bit worn these days. It's a bit beat up, and some of the pages are a little faded. There are tears in the dust jacket. All in all though, I wouldn't sell it for a mint copy of Detective Comics #27. How many things in our life can we pick up, decades later and still get the feelings we did the first time we held it? This book was more than a simple birthday present. This book was a key that opened up the door to a world filled with vibrant characters and wonderful stories that still possess a part of me that I never gave up when I passed from childhood. It was also the key to powerful comics that are there when I want to read something less fanciful than the Justice League. I may be reading more books like Preacher, Transmetropolitan, and Blue Monday these days, but they can't hold a candle to my beat up volume of four color, newsprint comics. For me, this book is everything comics should be. Someday when I have kids I will sit them on my lap and turn to page 200 and show them what Carl Barks was all about. People wonder why I will pass up watching TV and sit back and crack open the latest issue of Detective Comics. I'll tell you what I tell them, "Because my dad gave me a book." Thanks Dad.