Superheroes, Comics, and Midnight Movies

Ian,

Midnight movies - that is one of our family's longest traditions. See a "hot" movie first, before our friends, with all the pomp and circumstance possible, to talk about it first a school or work - that was awesome! It all started with Star Wars I - if I remember correctly. Danny and friends were allowed to leave school early in Vacaville and hold us a place at the cinema to get seats. You could buy the seats early, but seating was on a "first come basis." With Vacaville having the only really good theater between the Bay Area and Sacramento, Brendon Theaters was always packed for good movies. The lines would often form around the large building by the evening - so getting there early for seats, and good seats was imperative. So, making a parenting compromise - all day at school, or good seats, presented a challenge. Not really, we chose the seats.

Danny led the charge - joyfully - providing an example of holding seats, place in line - and of course no school. With the continuing release of the Star Wars pre-trilogy, the Harry Potter Series, Lord of the Rings to Star Trek, more midnight movies ensued. Folding chairs, umbrellas, large sports fold out tents - all were commonly used depending on weather - sun, rain, or chill. You were in elementary school, often early grades, staying up ridiculously late with us to catch a first glimpse of the movie de jure. Okay, the next day at school, work, etc was difficult - but the time and memories - priceless.

I remember two occasions vividly. You and Caylea joined Taylor and Danny to wait for a movie - each out of school around noon. You guys played D&D all afternoon and through the night. Mom and I would check in various times, but the smiles and giggles, were obvious. As long as you had food, soda, multi-sided dice and an imagination, time just flew by. You were such big kids! I think it got cold that evening and we all bundled up to await the time we could leave the elements and take our seats. Another midnight show, Danny was working Pizza Pucks and was busy delivering food fare to the waiting hoards. It was raining and we all had to bundle under big sports umbrellas and maybe the tent. It was windy, cold-ish (for CA) and rainy. We huddled together and made our way slowly to the front of the line and into the warmth and dry of the building. I could go on with more details, but the memories of Danny swooping in and out with pucks, the huddling, the laughing and the look on your face - you knew that we trusted you, you were a big boy, you were part of the "gang!"

You should have known that you were part of the "gang" already, Danny's friends fought over you for team play in the all night Halo extravaganzas and you played D&D with Taylor, Laine, Danny and Caylea each week. Indeed, you were always part of the gang! Cool from the start. Even when you were the only one left in High School and Danny and Caylea were out in College and working, you were integral to the gang. For example, in Austin, we waited for the last Harry Potter Movie. (Note: we could never get you to read the books - I even read most of the books. You read other books freely, but not Harry Potter. Why? So you expressed confusion, comments and critiques of the movies freely, but these were never taken seriously by our family - you did not read the books! But that did not stop the confusion, comments and critiques - they kept coming!) We waited for the movie - not outside - too many theaters in the Austin area, but inside and we played and had a great time pretending you and Danny were Voldemort and Harry - wands aloft in battle. Caylea and her friends dressed up for the event, Josh came in from CA, and there you are with the silly face in the pictures. Always silly, always making us laugh. 

Each movie series was followed by our eager attendance - but with the advent of Marvel Comics-based movies, we moved from a "series" or trilogy to a "super-series" composed of movies similarly themed, filled with all sorts of characters, but all with the same "comic" in common. These became our specialty. They started when we were in Vacaville with X-Men, Spiderman, Hulk and others. The first we saw in Austin was X-Men: Last Stand - I think. The difference again in Austin was no real lines to wait compared with CA. We could get to the theater at 9-10 PM and get a seat. Yes, Mom and I often dropped you and Caylea off to hold seats for us. We were that type of parents. Disappointingly, no more missed school!!!

The picture at the front of this letter tells our Marvel Comic movie story. Not all seen as midnight movies, but most!!! Some viewed in Austin, some in Vacaville, some via videos (old Superman and Batman for example). Nevertheless, we were seriously committed to the Marvel franchise: >30 movies watched, often owned and watched repeatedly. There we are as a family, in the middle. They certainly were not the ONLY midnight movies we saw, DVDs watched or purchased - but they were the cornerstone of our experience - awaiting the next addition to our super-series of movies.

I remember after watching the first Spiderman and again after the last one, you went on and on about the similarities and departures from the comic book series. I never saw you reading comics - basketball cards, some novels, music books, but comics? But you did have several Spiderman collections. The availability of the internet to also educate you was never lost - you always became an expert!!! The conversations, the assertions, the pontifications, the arguments, the complaints, the excitement, the laughing, the enjoyment - filled our movie times. It never helped that as you became sleepy, you became more and more talkative - was that even possible??? I guess it was to keep you awake. In our Austin house, if we saw you get a blanket and settle in front of the TV in the Pogue Common Room, we knew you were going to be out for the count quickly. Loved watching you sleep - from a wee small boy, spread out with covers barely on you, a young boy in your "big boy" bed, to a man, hairy, bristly whiskers, curled up in a blanket of quilt on the floor. Miss those days - every day.

So, the collage picture at the beginning - why? Danny and I were in NYC on this Thanksgiving weekend and saw the Marvel Superhero picture on the girder when we were near Wall Street. It was perfect. It is based on the famous "lunch on a girder" picture pasted below it. I love the creative way the artist drew similarities and differences between these iconic pictures and characters. The Hulk considers the newspaper or whatever the Flash is reading as the old picture photo, but then Spiderman and Venom are hanging below - possibly in pre-battle poise. Why sit when you can switch on a web? Classic! This Marvel Superhero scene would be a poster you would love, hang up, talk endlessly about. Danny has the poster - in his room. Fitting. Reminds us both of great memories, great times had with a great brother and a wonderful son.

While in NYC, we used and discussed a map I found online detailing the locations of famous comic places - you would love this too. Posted it on your FB. You would actually recognize its references better than me! It would be the way you would see the City.

The movies listed around the pictures of the Superheros and the men on the girder started as just a list - what did we see at the theaters, videos, DVD, midnight shows, etc. It became clear that this was one of OUR things as Pogue's - midnight movies, Marvel Comic-based movies and all the joy associated. Why was this important, special? This was our time as a family - we could be busy with activities, in different cities, states, places in our lives, moods, attitudes, relational issues, friends, etc. - but we always came together, to watch movies, midnight movies, Marvelous movies - together.

I snagged this picture at the Alamo Drafthouse after the credits. The Avengers finished their first task together as a team. It was harrowing; it was dangerous; it was exhausting and they all settled down to eat Sharma as suggested by Iron Man, Tony Stark. It had been a hard day; they were at each others throats at times, but they bonded together and won the day. Life has not always been easy for us Pogues. None of us are perfect, all have issues, but this illustrates us to me - we always come together, maybe not over Sharma - more likely over Taco More or G'Raj Mahal - but we come together, to eat, to watch, to love - to be with each other. This is why Thanksgiving is SO bloody hard now. We are not all together. Being even "half" or "all but you" together only makes the reality of your absence more profound, and hard to handle. I know this is hard on our extended family too. It is hard living without you!

Life may be full of highs and lows. We would recount each personal "high" and "low" to a person over every weekly family meal. Have not done that for over 19 months. I cannot wait to gather together as a family again - celebrate, laugh, cry, rejoice in being once again together, and thankful that God has ferried us all Home by His grace. That will be the ultimate "High!"

"Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev. 19:9

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. 

And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.  

He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies 

like His own, using the same power with which He 

will bring everything under His control. Phil. 3:20-21

Love you "E",

Dad