Book 676: Sense of Wonder – Bill Schelley

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I said I’d take a look at this after the publisher reached out to me about a review copy.* As much as I love the MCU and the various graphic novels I read (especially LGBTQ+ ones), I haven’t read comics since the early 1990s when I read a ton of Star Wars comics at the local Borders, I was going into this blind when it came to comic fandom.

Sense of Wonder is a deep dive into comic fandom from its earliest moments to the colossal behemoth it has become today all through the lens of Schelly’s life and experiences. I had no idea that fanzines were a thing back in the 1960s (oh hey, internet generation) and thanks in part to Schelly’s wonderful writing style and the methodical yet meandering journey he takes you on in this work, I now long for the days of pre-internet community building via snail mail, rides from parents to other parts of town, and collect phone calls.

Schelly boiled down the crux of this book and his life’s pursuit (later in life at least) of remembering and honoring the early days of comics and comic fandom to this:

“What’s the difference between one person who can casually enjoy reading science fiction books and another who makes science fiction the center of his or her universe? Where does hobbyism leave off and fanaticism begin?” (100)

I’m not sure he answered this question for everyone, but he definitely answered it for himself in this beautifully and thoughtfully written work. I’m sure he goes more in depth into the broader world of comics and fandom in his other published works (Wikipedia), but experiencing the world through Schelly’s story was incredible. The people he met, the experiences he had, the sheer joy he experienced, lost, and found again was moving and touching on so many levels. It was great to connect dots on some things I didn’t even realize I knew, like Maggie Thompson pictured and mentioned multiple times is someone I’ve heard speak about comics because not only is she an expert, but she’s also the mother of Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Stephen Thompson. Funny how things connect.

The publisher having done a great job of reading my blog and knowing I blogged about LGBTQ works mentioned Schelly was gay and I was glad to read this line,

“When I decided to write this expanded version of Sense of Wonder, I realized it was impossible to tell my complete story without being frank about my sexuality. (Of course, my friends and family have known about it for decades.) Who you are as a person goes deeper than your sexual orientation or gender identity, but there’s no denying the life-shaping force of one’s sexuality.” (2)

I wasn’t sure how much it would play into his story, but for Schelly to acknowledge it so early on and then again when he talked about a friend pushing back on its omission from his original draft back in the early 2000s.

It made the work that much stronger. Because not only did it tie into how he read comics while coming to terms with his sexuality as a young man,

“For gay comics fans, virtually all superhero comics feature ‘good guy art.’ Obviously straight guys notice the prominence of the male physique in comics; they just don’t experience it as anything sexual. For gay comic book readers, superhero comics had always presented that extra frisson of the male body drawn as if covered but delineated in ways to reveal the hero’s every rippling muscle.” (209)

but he was also able to then provide his first person remembrance of the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and details on his love life and his starting a thoroughly modern family that clearly impacted his life in comic fandom, was incredible to read in something not specifically geared toward or marketed to the LGBTQ+ community. It was quite refreshing because he found balance between his identity and his fanaticism to become the successful writer he became and it really moved me. And y’all, I can’t reiterate this enough, let’s just say I was once again on a cruise ship laying at the pool trying not to bawl at one point and definitely burst out laughing on a few occasions. Why do I do this to myself? I did it last year too!

The other thing I took away that stands out to me (there were a ton), was that I should really look into some of the awards for graphic novels. I do love them as a medium and have never really researched any of those award winners, I’ve just sort of blindly stumbled across them. Schelly mentioned a few of the Eisner award winners (Wikipedia) and I definitely need to make time to look into them.

My Recommendation: 100% worth the read. Whether you’re a comics aficionado, have only a passing interest in comics/graphic novels, or are somewhere in between, Schelly has crafted an amazing memoir that encompasses so much more than his life and opened up a whole new world to me. I was sad to read that he died in 2019 because the way he writes made it feel like he’s an old friend you’ve known forever and I was looking forward to discovering so much more of his work (thankfully he has a pretty decent sized bibliography).

*I received a copy of Sense of Wonder from the publisher in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Why was it that no matter how early we got up on the first day of a Schelly family vacation trip, we were always behind schedule?”

Closing Line: “But he looked into my eyes, saw how much I wanted it, and plunked down a quarter. Thanks, Dad.” (Not whited out as this is a work of nonfiction.)