Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Besides music, the other big catalyst for Eleanor and Park's relationship is comic books. Eleanor can't help reading Park's comic books over his shoulder, and Park notices. Then, because Park is awesome, he silently leaves her more comic reading material, and the two of them have entire comic-book exchanges without even speaking a word.
But comic books don't just give us a reason to swoon over the cuteness of Eleanor and Park (although, seriously, how cute are they about the comics?). Comic books in the '80s were another non-mainstream obsession, and the misfit characters in Eleanor and Park's favorite comics are understandably appealing to our misfit protagonists.
Before Eleanor, Park has only fantasized about comic book characters: "Maybe I'm not attracted to real girls,"he thinks. "Maybe I'm some sort of perverted cartoon-sexual"(15.41). When Eleanor enters the picture, though, Park replaces She-Hulk and Storm with… the real thing. Like, no problem.
Before Hugh Jackman, There Was Wolverine
See, back in 1986, we didn't have big blockbuster franchises for every Marvel comic—the only people who knew about the X-Men read the comic books. The X-Men comic is about outcasts, characters called "mutants" whose incredible abilities cause them social exile. "They're a metaphor for acceptance; they're sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them" (14.49), Park explains.
The X-Men is the first comic Eleanor and Park read together, and also the last one we see crumpled up on Eleanor's bed when Richie discovers Eleanor's secret. In a way, the story of Marvel's mutant superheroes seems to symbolize the love story of our very real teenage heroes—at the heart of both are outsiders trying to make their way through the world together.