Camille’s potty training has had its ups and downs. One of the high points has involved the fantastic world of ’80s pop.

The walls of our downstairs bathroom are covered with album covers. Hey Jude, Love Gun, Whipped Cream and Other Delights are at eye level. Underneath the window is the trio of Tales of the Justice League of America, Strange Days and The Talking Heads’ Little Creatures.

When Camille is going potty, she loves to talk about these images (or as she calls them, Daddy’s pictures). The JLA album was an early favorite with an illustration of Flash, Wonder Woman, Metamorpho and Plastic Man. She’d repeatedly ask about the last two (they’re not in her Tiny Titans book) and wonder where Batman was. Eventually, she moved her attention to Little Creatures.

The album cover is a painting by the late Georgia Folk Artist Howard Finster. After weeks of questions and answers about the intricate, vibrant artwork, Camille is happy to tell you the following information while going potty:

1. The names of each member of the band (David, Tina, Jerry and Chris)
2. David is holding a globe
3. There are leopards in the picture
4. There are mountains
5. David is wearing big boy underwear

Camille had her two-year checkup and passed with flying colors – our perfect 50th percentile in just about everything. She’s already meeting 3 year old milestones and the doctor was very impressed with her vocabulary and physical development. While that was good news, it was all things that we knew. It was after the doctor’s appointment where the surprise came in.

I dropped Ginger off at a meeting and took Cami to a post-checkup treat: Her first trip to a comic book store. We stood in the parking lot and she looked up at the building, filled with colorful posters and neon and she said “What’s this?” She repeated after me: “Comic book store.” We went inside, the bell rang and for the next 15 minutes it was a steady stream of head-turnings and “oohs” and “whoas.”

She was transfixed. The comics ran from floor to 7 feet high, neatly arranged in stacks just waiting to be ruffled by two-year-old fingers. Above the comics were shelves of toys, sculptures and cardboard cutouts. She ran from shelf to shelf, naming the heroes she plays with every day: Bat-man, Super-man, Spiya-man, Aqua-man (hey, the kid loves Aquaman, alright?). When she found a character she didn’t recognize, she said “Who’s that?” and I’d tell her the names and she’d quickly repeat. Starman, Supergirl, Captain America… I couldn’t get the names out fast enough.

After some searching, we found the small section of “for kids” comics. For an unknSuper Friends #3own reason, they were nestled right next to a very adult display of statues and DVDs. It was hard to keep her away from the not-toddler appropriate shelving, and harder to explain when she pointed to them and asked “What’s this?” to which I replied “For grown-ups.” She pointed again and said “Grown ups.”

We sorted through the kids books and settled on two cute issues: DC Comics Super Friends #3 and Tiny Titans #6. The Super Friends book is based on the line of action figures which she currently plays with, so she recognized the familiar faces. The Titans book is a very fun, very kid friendly title with even younger versions of the Teen Titans (Robin, Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, etc) and an expanded youth DC stable (Batgirl, a young Blue Beetle and other surprises). We also may have picked up two books for dad.

While we waited for Ginger’s meeting to end, I put Camille in my lap and read her two comics, back to back and she was riveted. Even though these were kiddie books, they were dialog heavy for a two year old. She loved them, and as I finished Tiny Titans, she asked for more. I was amazed.

I don’t expect Camille to be a comic book geek. It’s probably not the best label to slap on such a cute little girl. But I hope every now and then she’ll continue to indulge me – and we can bond over funny books for a long time to come.