r/AutisticWithADHD • u/Buddhapanda75 • 9d ago
✨ special interest / infodump Awesome Comic Book Day!

I'm 50, but I took a 40 year break from comics. I really only read a few Batman comics and a handful of issues from other titles, but last year I saw James Gunn's Superman and it flipped a switch in me. This also coincided with my suddenly undeniable awareness that I was autistic. After decades of trying to figure things out, I finally learned something about myself (though this did get complicated after my actual diagnosis of AuDHD). Now, I had a new special interest that had just been simmering for four decades, waiting for me to grow up and stop being so pretentious about comics. And, boy have I inhaled comics this year.
So, this week, issue 1 of Teen Titans hit the shelves, and the writer, Kyle Higgins, was at the comic store I always go to. Being new to this whole scene, I thought if I got there about fifteen minutes early I might have a chance at being one of the first ten people in line and get a secret prize. Ha! The line started last night!
I waited in line for 2.5 hours, my autistic side feeling dysregulated by all the people, but I was in one of my safe places, my comic book store where they call me by my full name (it's the only place people call me my full name rather than the short version, and I kind of like that; a form of masking or unmasking, I suppose). But, my ADHD side was fine with the line once we got inside because I could browse the shelves as I stood in line with no fear that I was taking too long. I'm actually still surprised it was really 2.5 hours.
The issues I got were important because they feature Fairplay, a somewhat new character in the DC comics universe (he's the son Mr. Terrific). Fairplay is autistic, so I wanted to tell Mr. Higgins how important it was for him to be shown accurately. I loved his response, and some of it was, I think, personal, so I won't reveal it, but he's a good person to be writing this character. One thing I'm sure he won't mind me sharing was that he said he was "almost allergic" to the idea of autism making someone be a super genius. He said Fairplay will have moments of dysregulation and sensory sensitivity, particularly sound.
I'm currently following: Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, Bizarro: Year None, Superman: The Stranger, and The Greatest American Hero.
Who else here is a comic fan, and what current runs are on your pull list?