Do you still read or did you once read comic books...which titles?

I'm a fifty-two year old man who is not ashamed to admit that I once read comic books -- a lot. Of course, that was years ago. Now, I only read the occasional book but I am interested in knowing what the comic book experience is or was for others.

From personal experience, I have come to believe that those people who began reading comics at an early age also go on to read science-fiction, fantasy as well as books about science in general. I'd like to see whether this belief is true. I have also come to believe that reading comic books develops an appreciation for art. Has your own comic book experience been a catalyst towards art appreciation as well as creating art of your own?

I started reading comic books when I was about 7. I was really interested in Spider-Man thanks to that 60's cartoon so I would always ask my parents for a Spider-Man comic when ever we were at the news stand. I was introduced to the X-Men by a friend who was a couple years older than me. I really liked the characters and wanted to read more of it. The local news stand didn't carry Uncanny X-Men so I used my allowance to buy Excalibur instead.
When I was 12 my family moved to a bigger city and there was comic book shop close to my new house. He I s able to pick up all the book I ever wanted to including the back issues of Uncanny X-men that my friend showed me the year before that.
When I got my first pat time job I was able to spend way more money on comics. I had a weekly pull list from my local comic retailer. I was getting all the X-men titles, and that was a lot at that time. Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor, Wolverine, Cable... ect. I was buying at least 20 books every month. Some of them I didn't even like . That continued until the year 2000 when my Daughter was born. At that time I had completely dropped buying comics. I just didn't have the time or money to do it anymore. That continued until a couple years ago when I picked up an issue of "New X-Men" and I was sucked right back in . I'll never go back to buying comics like I did as a teenager though. Today I'll go to the comic shop about once a month. I've only been picking up Astonishing X-Men every month and the odd mini series. I pick up the odd issue here and there just to see what is going on in other books. If I like the single issue I will pick up the trade paperback.

I never did get into novels though. It has just never been a medium I've been interested in.

Growing up I wanted to pencil comic books. When I was 16 I used to make up my own books and show them to my friends. The idea of drawing comics fizzled after becoming a father though. I rarely today pick up a pencil and draw anymore. I do however spend a lot of time "doodling" on the computer.

I used to read 2000AD. Great comic it is too. I'm not really into sci-fi anymore like that, however, the fantastic artwork did indeed inspire me. The results of this inspiration however, were nothing to write home about.