Ken Aldred

That said, Avengers 4 is a brilliant Silver Age comic.

Reminds me of that appalling condition early Golden Age issue of Detective Comics with the huge hole eaten out in the middle of it.

I preferred this band..

Vinyl’s had a comeback in recent years, so there’s likely quite a number of turntable-owning millennials now.

This is more about the present than direct nostalgia, but I think what I’m trying to get at here is that circumstances change and often it’s simply not possible to continue with the same approach, but all that matters is perhaps finding some alternative which allows you to continue your deep, lifelong connection to these wonderful, imaginative stories. The complications associated with being autistic have become progressively worse with age, especially severe burnout, which is a common symptom, and I’ve narrowed my range more and more over the last couple of decades, cutting out conventions, local comic shops, until eventually I had to give up the hunt altogether. Thankfully, the world has progressed and I can read comics digitally, if anything, getting deeper into the storylines than I used to do, not worrying about condition or damage or any of the OCD aspects of the physical comic world. Pure appreciation; what the thread’s about. Through Humble Bundle I’ve already got years and years’ worth of material from Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, Image, Rebellion / 2000 AD and Kodansha Manga to read, to name a few, at bargain prices. I look back fondly on the start, of course, when I’d excitedly await the next month’s DC 100 pagers or Byrne X-Men comic back in the 70s as a bright-eyed kid, or, later on, going farther and farther afield to pick up some nice, old, raw comics and slabs at a convention. So, one looks back on many happy memories, but change and conclusion are both natural and unavoidable, and I’m content at this stage in my life with what’s still available to me.

That’s an easy one, though. I narrowly escaped having to understand the more complex old currency as I was in the first year at primary school when we converted over to decimal. My understanding was that it was a little bit extra, a shilling, in order to create a separate unit for the poshers to distinguish themselves from working class proles like me. Always seemed that way on TV and in films, anyway.

Great choice. One of Byrne's best and most powerful stories. And, very sad.

Great story, and proof that not all modern comics are bad. To me it reads like a contemporary take on the classic ‘The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man’. Taylor’s a very good writer.

Yup. That one’s quite infamous in the gaming world.

Likewise. The first GOTG is my favourite Marvel Studios film, but even with that in mind I’m struggling to motivate myself for the conclusion.

You were lucky. As a kid I didn’t have a newsagent nearby selling older comics, just the new distributed issues. I always looked forward to going on holiday to Blackpool or the Isle of Man where you could find late 60s Marvels and DCs. The comparative lack of availability made those finds seem very special.

Great story. Thanks for sharing. My interest in comics really kicked into high gear in summer of 1977, and like you I was blown away by the first Star Wars film back then. I bought a UHG raw copy of Star Wars 1 a few years ago for similarly nostalgic reasons, and I feel it's unlikely I'll part with it either. The first issue wasn't distributed to the UK at the time, so I couldn't have picked one up easily on the newsstands, unlike issue 2 onwards.

Given to me by my parents when I was 3 years old. I no longer have it. Sadly, it was quite some time after this when I first became aware of the existence of Mylar sleeves and acid-free backing boards, and before I developed significant obsessive-compulsive disorder and started treating comics as sacred pamphlets. It's also possible that the dog destroyed it. Sorry, can't remember its fate exactly, as I've slept since then.

Yup. I got dragged down thinking about the standout, most influential creator from each decade. Especially difficult at the beginning and end; 40s, 50s and moderns.

Difficult to choose. For example, in one sense Milton Caniff would work for Golden Age / 1940s, as his style was extremely influential on many artists during that period, such as Toth, Kubert, Infantino, Elias, Robbins.

I’m quite happy to be a total comic book appreciation nerd here, joining in with discussions about the artists, writers, characters and stories, and trying my best not to get too irreverent, but often failing miserably to contain that habit.

Yup. Cineworld UK has just gone bankrupt. Not surprising you'll see changes to a struggling model.

One of Britain's best ever comic artists. You should also have a look at Justice League : The Nail, and Superboy's Legion. Both great reads. He's a very good writer as well.

This version?

It was commonly used by soldiers on both sides to stay awake and alert for very prolonged periods. Saw a documentary about it once.

That’d work too, but I was thinking about something more historically accurate.

Only way up would be if a Finnish bear were to eat a large pack of Nazi amphetamine, go mental, and add to the carnage.