Crass Merchandising and Wish Fulfillment

A big drive behind my comic collecting is nostalgia. Buying, reading and collecting comics being a regular part of childhood was coming to an end when I was growing up. The fond memories I have of comics as a kid is something that my sons and their generation can't relate to. I thought I would start this journal as a way to document the comic acquisitions I make as well as scrap-book the memories I have associated those comics.

As such, my collecting doesn't have a clear focus or theme, thus making it difficult to arrive at a title for this journal. Therefore, I thought I would use the first entry to explain the title I have chosen.

Crass Merchandising:

Growing up in the 70's and 80's, the comic racks were filled with movie and T.V. adaptations and spin-offs. While these have always been a staple of comic publishers, during my childhood there was a definite shift. Beginning with Star Wars, comics based on licensed media properties became part of the release hype for these films and shows, which added to the perceived excitement for their related comic titles. Also during this period, the "big two" publishers, particularly Marvel, became much more heavily invested in these types of titles as well as venturing into using comics as a way to promote toy lines.

What's more, these media-related titles would often influence my purchase of non-licensed comic titles. If a super-hero character didn't have a T.V. show, cartoon or toy, it's highly unlikely I would have picked up his title.

Today, the majority of these licensed titles are dismissed by many collectors as being devoid of any creative or monetary value. But as a child I was an absolute sucker for all of these types of comics. Though it doesn't make for an impressive collection, I actively seek out high-grade copies of these issues. And because of the lack of perceived value, finding dealers who'll invest the time to stock high-grade copies of these titles can be a real challenge.

Wish fulfillment:

I grew up on a farm about 2 ½ miles outside of a small farming town in the central valley of California. The majority of my access to comics was on the trips my mom would make into town to the grocery and drug stores in Kingsburg and Selma. However, not every store my mom went to carried comics. So getting to the comic rack on a regular basis wasn't an option. Plus, my mom would limit me to one comic per visit. Thus, reading and collecting a consecutive run of any particular title was nearly impossible.

Later, as a teenager when I began visiting a local comic shop in the "big" town of Fresno/Clovis (about a 40 minute drive from home) I was introduced to buying "expensive" comics - older comics displayed on the wall. However, I never attended conventions nor branched out into mail order. So my acquisition of older comics was limited to what the shop happened to have on the wall at the time of my monthly visit. Therefore, there were many older comics I desired for my collection that I would never have an opportunity to purchase.

I believe these two factors greatly influence my comic collecting today and I think it will borne out in my future journal entries.

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