It's not about Star Wars, it's not.

Star Wars was a HUGE part of my life. I didn't have lots of toys or comic books like some of my friends or neighbors when I was growing up. Many parents thought this was depicting their love for their children, which possibly means I was not as loved. The few select figures and toy sets I had, I cherished and enjoyed, but it was the numerous times that I went to my "Neverland" thinking I was Luke Skywalker each and every bedtime that I enjoyed most.

Star Wars might very well have been my gateway drug which eventually led me to collecting comic books. A treasury sized edition of Star Wars littered the bottom of my Pop-pop's care in leu of a floor mat or maybe along with one. Star Wars arrived on the scene in 1977, a mere month after my fifth birthday. For thirteen weeks I sat quietly in the front row immersed in every single scene in front of me. Yes thirteen weeks in a row, it was the only time I would shut up. I would watch the movie, my sister would watch me, and my father would nap.

In 1980 The Empire Strikes Back was released. In 1983 it was Return of the Jedi. I was 8 and 11 subsequently. 1983 was the same year Marvel published its fourth graphic novel. My comic books consisted of well read copies of Star Wars 11 and 13, Batman 313, Crazy 3, Fear 8, and Sub-Mariner 38. There are a few more but I digress, in fact this whole journal is nothing about what I wanted to write about, the title though grabbed me, much like my imagination as a young child, how could I not collect the dots.

The comic books I had were staples in my life, much like the furniture in my room. I didn't know how they got there, they just always were. After winning the Copper Age award for best set, I was given a coupon for four free coupons as part of a membership upgrade. I sent four of my childhood comic books in, including one that had my name written on the back.

The New Mutants was the same title that roped me in, once again not being the first I ever had, but the first I collected. This time it was issue one and not fifteen, that one took a long time to find graded in a 9.8. I joined the registry before purchasing my first graded comic book, it was free. I didn't yet add or contribute in any way until a few years after that.

The journals section didn't have many at the time and would linger on the left for days, sometimes dare I say, weeks. I wrote for the first time, "My First Journal" and on that same day this was entered.

http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=6441

It was the seventh written by Bagofleas. There were others I read like Ipersky, Best2u, and a few others. As people started to follow me, I followed a few of them, Bagofleas among them. Over time I decided to follow anyone that followed me. This opened my eyes to a larger collection of not only what I collect but what others collect. I interacted, made friends, and increased my knowledge.

I thought it was cool when I took first place on the New Mutants set, especially when I was so far behind. I thought it was cool when my first journal hit a 100 views. I thought it was cool when I wrote a 100 journals. Then I was able to lay claim of owning 100 CGC graded comic books, 200...300 and climbing. Currently I'm somewhere around 460, not all of them are registered.

And the reason why I began to ramble, and the Star Wars reference of a title, I have reached 66 followers. When I learned about the registry I looked at the NGC side too. People followed each other, a lot more there then over on the comic side. We were the under dog. They had more journals per a day as well as a better catalog of registry perks. They still have one that bothers be that we don't have. Over time I wrote and wrote.

I appreciate the things I do have and I appreciate the 66 followers that had me decide to write a journal like this. I originally was going to write about getting fifty followers. I was at 48, then 51. So I decided to pass. I do watch my numbers, whether it's my place lingering at or around 430, the amount of journals I've written, the amount of graded comic books I have, or even how many followers I have, not to mention I follow the same amount.

Will I get to a hundred? Will I surpass the 400 threshold? Will five hundred slabs eventually take up place on my shelves? I think so, and I hope you'll join me in my journey, I'm looking forward to joining you on yours.

Thank you all

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.