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If you had told me in 1983, when I was 10 years old, that in 25 years I’d still be reading comics, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here I am, 35 years old, still enjoying comics, and like the kid I was then, I eagerly await new comics that come out every week.

My introduction to the world of comics was probably like many others. Wandering aimlessly in the local corner store with pop and candy in hand, I ventured over to the magazine shelf. Normally I’d flip through a magazine or two and be on my way. This time, however, the comics carousel caught my eye. Standing before the rack of Batman, Spider-Man, and Archie comics, one comic stood out to me. That was Marvel Comics Uncanny X-Men #173. I had a little money left over, so I decided to buy the issue and take home my very first comic.

Little did I know how enamored of the characters I would become, and how I would find such a connection with this book. The X-Men didn’t get their powers from radioactive spiders or doses of gamma radiation; they were mutants – individuals who possess a special gene that allows them to naturally develop super powers. This book wasn’t just one guy with his unique abilities, there was a whole host of characters with diverse backgrounds and an array of powers. A woman who could control the weather, a man who turned into steel, and another character who shot beams of light from his eyes were just a few people that were on the team. How cool is that? Although gifted, in the Marvel world, mutants aren’t liked by society and are typically shunned as freaks, just because they’re different. The X-Men, however, have sworn to protect the very same people that fear and hate them.

Only later did I realize that I identified with the mutants. As a black kid in a predominately white area, I knew what it was like to be treated differently just because I didn’t look like everyone else. With each issue, I could temporarily escape with the X-Men and not worry about fitting in. Every month brought with it a new adventure and an understanding about why people react to those that are different from them.

As my interest in comics grew, I sought out comic book stores to buy my comics instead of the local corner store. So many more titles were available to me: quirky titles like Badger (an animal-loving superhero with split personalities), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (in black & white and before there were cartoons or movies), and Hamster Vice (think Miami Vice meets hamsters). Other Marvel titles like Daredevil, The Punisher and, of course, the Wolverine solo title became instant favorites.

During college, I sold my comic collection, and for several years I stopped reading them altogether. I guess I felt it was time to move on to other things. I would occasionally sift through an issue or two at bookstores to see how things had changed. It wasn’t until the first trailer for the X-Men movie aired that I decided to start reading again.

Over the past few years, I’ve been venturing out and reading more than just superhero titles. At the recommendation of a fellow comic book reader, I picked up The Walking Dead, a zombie comic which focuses on survival in a world overridden by zombies, and I still enjoy it. Y: The Last Man, a story in which the lead character quickly learns that he is the last man on earth, was also a great series.

Over the last 25 years, I’ve found that my interest in certain titles have come and gone, but the X-Men have always remained constant for me. Until the day comes when I stop reading comics (that is, if it does), I will always have a place for the X-Men. To all of the artists and writers that have played a role in shaping the X-Men and especially creator Stan Lee, I want to say ‘Thanks’.