Ken Aldred

I remember how common that was in the early 90s. In general - no great loss, now.

So much variety.

The DC 100 pagers from 73 to 75 were the first American comics that I got really thrilled about as a kid, looking forward to the new arrivals each month. The first time I had an opportunity to read Golden Age material. I was terribly disappointed when the format was discontinued.

I was very disruptive.

I had to check up on stick ball. It sounded to me a bit like our game, piggy, which uses just two pieces of wood, but it turns out that you were lucky enough back then to have an actual ball to play with.

Too early for the New X-Men, I would've thought. The Spider-Man cartoon was late 60s, not mid-to-late 70s.

The first super-hero cartoon I recall watching is The Impossibles, when I was around 3 years old. I still remember all the shape changing and how interesting this super-hero stuff looked. Definitely something that set me on the path.

I still have fond memories of reading the issues featuring Stegron; 165 and 166. Strange ones to be that way about, but I suspect it's also because they're the first issues I ever saw over here as imported American cent copies, shortly afterwards. I did enjoy them, though.

The Brits had similar restrictions on horror comics. It didn't stop Youngblood 1 entering the country and was clearly never rigorously enforced.

That was a pretty exceptional six-month period. Or year. Nice. You'd never get that these days.

Just something that I enjoyed reading and took to naturally. First comic I recall collecting - Conan First run that got me hooked, which I really looked forward to reading each month - Claremont / Byrne X-Men.

+1 I really lost interest in Marvel's product in the mid-to-late 90s, which to me just seemed generally mediocre, dull and uninspired, although it was also possibly burnout and disillusionment from the immediately-preceding speculator period and glut, as well. I did regain some sense of connection during the 2000s, but never close to the intense level I had from the early 1970s until 1990 or so. There did seem to be more quality titles, good reads, month in and month out for me, up until then.

Despite copious drug use, some writers, such as Englehart and Starlin, still managed to function and write some great stories. This process can't be advocated, though.

It's one of those cautionary tales, like the speculators who invested in multiple copies of Peter Porker.

Detective Comics 27. The two nicest copies I could find on the newsstand, which I immediately placed in Mylars with acid-free backing boards and have kept in a climate-controlled room ever since.

It reminds me of my first Harbinger 1 9.6, which was destroyed in transit. The interior pages were shaken loose from the staples and cover. I hope yours is a production issue, though.

That's all I'm going in today expecting it to be. So, I should be easily pleased.

DeMatteis was one of my favourite writers at that time, and some of Zeck's best-ever work there.

I have two high grade raw copies hiding away somewhere in my long boxes.

Yup. Since 2012 and so much more manic film speculation, and the shift of focus of many onto keys rather than runs, and the resultant huge price increases, this has become much, much more imperative.

I'm going to keep it in a Mylar.

I'd put the Bronze Age cut-off point at 1981, but others place it later on, so there are a number of boardies who have argued that a 1983 comic is in that transition period and would still be eligible for inclusion there. Personally, I'm in not too critical a mood and just going with the flow, here or there.

Here's my very nice raw copy... And an equally nice, matching raw copy of 239 ...

I enjoyed Man of Steel at the cinema and the Batman Vs Superman Ultimate Edition Blu-ray, and so this is encouraging for me. Should be seeing it Monday afternoon.

Very, very friendly, warm individual. And talented. Always liked his work.