"Super hero. Marvel universe. Only the difference is, he kills bad guys." He what? The older student explained. The Punisher was an ex-military vet named Frank Castle; a trained killer, specializing in all manner of covert warfare.

A while ago, my local comics dealer said to me that he never went out to hunt down comics because &they would eventually come through the doors. I laughed at him and reeled off a list of comics I would never see in his shop at a price I could afford.

Just say his name, and you're apt to provoke a hushed respect, even a few sidelong stares and some fumbling for the exits: John Constantine, a moniker in the pages of DC's Vertigo comics that's synonymous with cool - as in James Dean-type cool and the coolness of the grave.

Though few can tell you his origin, just about any fan can tell you who The Shadow is. This is only partially because of the 1994 film starring Alec Baldwin, and the 1986 comic book series by Howard Chaykin (and subsequent books by Denny O'Neil).

Heroic literature exhibits no shortage of strong men, but in all the annals of comics, no strong man has a stronger heart than The Fantastic Four's Ben Grimm aka The Thing.

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking home from work and I was flicking through a comic on the way. I passed a small kid  couldnt have been any older than 10 or 12 - and got the usual mouthful of abuse.