I started in the 70s in New Jersey and it was mostly Richie Rich and Dennis the Menace with some occasional Marvels and DCs thrown in. I remember buying like 5 for a dollar. There was a guy who rented part of the basement of a hardware store in Ridgewood, NJ that we nicknamed the "guy in Ridgewood" and my parents would drive my brother and I to see him about one time every couple of months. He had old books and I still remember buying a Silver Surfer 1 from him for probably about $15 back then. I also remember seeing a stack of Star Wars #1, must have been 2 feet high for $2 each. One book, I specifically remember that I read in the late 70s was Marvel Team-Up 61 when Spiderman fights the Super Skrull. A great story that got me much more interested in superhero comics. The Thing and the Hulk were my favorites. There was a comic book kiosk in one of the malls in the late 70s, I think it was the Willowbrook Mall in NJ and I fondly remember buying a Howard the Duck 1 that was marked $17.50 for $15. My father was with me and he helped me negotiate the price. It was a hot book and I still own it today and will never part with it. It is probably worth what I paid for it over 40 years ago but that doesn't matter, my father was there with me. I have sold many books over the years but that one still remains. I so wish I could show it to my dad now but he is no longer here. I still have that wonderful memory though.
In 1980, we moved from New Jersey to Florida. I was off and on with comics during that time in the early 80s. Starting around late 1984 when I was in college through 2015, I went to comic shops for my weekly books. I was hooked. I doubt I missed more than 10 times during those 30-years of going in once a week. I would use previews magazine on a monthly basis and always had pull lists but always went in on new comic book day. I read every book I bought which was probably 15 to 20 books a week. I would say my purchases were 75 percent Marvel and 25 percent DC. I remember the black and white boom of the mid 80s and the Death of Superman was huge with lines wrapped around comic stores. As of around 2015, I switched to trades as it seemed like most stories were now 4 or 6 issues in length and I preferred to read an entire story arc at once especially as I did not like the opening page summary of what was going on in previous issues. I much preferred when the story itself would have a flashback to the prior issue to catch you up. A few years ago, I quit buying new books and reading trades and went to the Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe apps. I have found myself reading old storylines on them more often than reading new books. I love comics but don't read near as many as I used to. I collect old books now and read on the DC and Marvel apps. Comics will always be a part of my life. This truly is an amazing and rewarding hobby.