Marvel Team-Up #18

My brothers and I used to go in the late 70s and early 80s to Supersnipe! We loved the store. I was 8 years old when I first started going and can still remember how the store smells. The most beautiful aroma of a mixture of old and new comic books. We would go just about every other Saturday morning, journeying down from Riverdale in The Bronx either by express bus (which left you 2 blocks away on 86 street) or, if one of our parents would drive us down, in our Buick Regal. We lined up in front of the store as the store could only hold about 8 people (can't remember) at a time. The anticipation can be compared to waiting on line for a ride at the amusement park! There wasn't always a line, but even if there was you would gaze through the window and marvel (pun intended) at the different comics and pictures on display which he would change every so often. I have 3 brothers, so we would wait for all of us to go in together. When you got in, that wonderful aroma would hit your nose, and your eyes would scan the walls for newly placed comics for sale. The new releases were in arack by the small counter and Ed. When the store was crowded,he could be a little short on patience with 8 and 9 year old kids, but my brothers and I knew our stuff and he recognized us as repeat customers. Ed would have the boxes of cheap comic books out to peruse, knowing that hands would rifle through them and possibly damage the comics. He would have "grab bags." These were about 5 or so comics in a sealed manila envelope and you could get that for about 50 cents or a buck. The real magic was at the counter with Ed. At home we had the Supersnipe Comic Book Guide, which had pictures of old issues of Iron Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Journey Into Mystery, Fantastic Four etc. We would comprise a list of comics we wanted. At the counter, that magic counter for an 8 year old, you gave Ed the list, comprising of about 10 comics, which was his limit I think. Then he would disappear behind the little wall adjacent to the counter (I vaguely remember him having a teenager assistant that would play security while he was behind the counter). He would return with the issues in his stock, which seemed inexhaustible! Marvel Team-Up # 5 with the Vision and Spidey!! WOW! Fantastic Four #63 with Blastaar!!! Who seemed to always be on the TV cartoon in '79. Iron Man 6 with Crusher! Yup, pure magic. Now, you couldn't waste Ed's time by having him go back and not purchase items. I had an allowance of $2.50 a week, which was pretty good for a kid in 79. I would save up for certain issues. I remember paying $4 for the Iron Man #6. And Amazing Spider-Man #102 with Morbius (a giant sizedd issue) was a cool $3. Ed would place the comics down on the counter and he would do all the handling. He would open them up from their bag and flip through them, allowing for you to see if pages are clean and spine is tight. If he did not have a specific issue at the store, he would take our phone number and give a call during the week if he had that issue. I collected Marvel Team-Up religiously and remember waiting about 8 months for him to dig up #22 with Hawkeye, which would complete my run from #1-25, Supersnipe was a part of our childhood and that little store was a gem! We still bring up Ed and the store during a barbecue or at a Christmas. This was the era before the internet and eBay and comic book collecting was like archaeology and you were looking for historical treasure!