itonarely

Good afternoon, all. I accidentally came across this thread and thought I would go ahead and join the club. This book was one of the first four I submitted to CGC for grading (and it happens to be the only one of the four with which I was truly disappointed with the grade the book received). I have another CGC book graded at 5.0 and it doesn't compare in quality to my X-Men #1). I know that there are many factors which lead to a book's grade but I just don't see it on this one. Oh, well.....

Anyways, here is my pic....

I started reading comics on a monthly basis in 1972 (Fantastic Four #126) and stopped buying books (on a regular basis, any way) in 2004. As you can imagine, in that time I have ready many a great story. Yes, some of those stories were great to a ten or twelve year-old boy but they were great nonetheless. Here are a few of my favorites (for those who care - and in no particular order, except I saved my favorite for last).

Fantastic Four #126 - It retold their origin and started the magic for me.

Fantastic Four #149 - Back in the early 70's Reed and Sue Richards were heading for a divorce which was eventually derailed by the selfless actions of a very sly Namor (with an assist from Triton of the Inhumans). Really amazing stuff for me at that time.

Spider-Man #121 - The death of Gwen Stacy. I had never seen a death like this in comics.

Uncanny X-Men - The whole Dark Phoenix Saga was amazing as was the build-up to it. Jean's death at the end blew me away.

Dark Knight Returns - I don't think I need to add anything here.

Frank Miller's original Daredevil run. Wonderful storytelling throughout (by the way, whatever happened to the Gladiator?).

The Watchmen. I read it after the buzz started building and it didn't disappoint.

And, while I am sure I am surely forgetting a great many tales, arguably my favorite story is Amazing Spider-Man #248's "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man". A simple tale of what truly makes one a hero. I never saw it coming and I never forgot it.