Is Your Comfort Zone Clouding Your Vision

We are creatures of habit. From the moment we wake up and start our morning routines, we go through certain paces that are programmed into our brains. In fact, if you stopped basketball think about what you're doing, you might throw everything out of whack. What if you reversed the order or your morning hygiene or put on a sock and a shoe, one at a time, instead of both socks and then both shoes - or vice versa? What if you took an alternate route to work? Would life as you know it be completely changed? Probably not. In fact, you might enjoy shaking things up here and there.

So here's a suggestion. Step outside your comfort zone and read something other than the regular type of comic book you are accustomed to buying. Pick up something that you would never have considered before. A friend of mine told me that, a few years ago, he bought a copy of "The Walking Dead". This is definitely unusual for Nathan, who swears (and I believe him) that he is not a zombie-loving kind of guy or even a horror fan. So why would he invest his precious time in something so far out of his regular genre? Well, Robert Kirkman, one of Nathan's favorite writers, and Tony Moore, a great illustrator, was the team for the series, which was launched in 2003 (Image Comics). So he grabbed "The Walking Dead #1". And he has been hooked ever since.

In the case of "The Walking Dead", you really can't judge the book by its cover, or, well, its title. While many of you might assume that the title refers to zombies, Kirkman says he was actually referring to the living people who are always on the move from one destroyed city to another, trying to find more of their own and escape the zombies who are also roaming the post-apocalyptic planet. You can actually read a couple of issues without ever stumbling across one of the living dead creatures. It's about survival in the darkest of circumstances, when the people who have been part of your life become a mortal enemy and you don't know whom to trust.

Nathan discovered that this series was more about people, relationships, and adventures than about any superhero or flesh-eating creature. He trusted the skills of Kirkman as a writer. And he was rewarded with a gripping read and a set of characters (living and dead) that he could really enjoy.

What do you automatically reach for on the shelf? Do you pay attention to the authors and artists behind the stories? Would you be willing to make a commitment to a 22-page test drive with the possibility of uncovering some new story line that pulls you in like a super-magnet? Maybe you should start thinking like a comic book character and do something unexpected. Let's face it. Comfort zones rarely basketball in these books we love, right?

The author is the Admin of Herobits.com at http://www.herobits.com, where you can read about super heroes and check out the latest hero based card game and accessories. Enjoy the fantastic art of Herobit super heroes.