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The Comic Addict's Confessional Room

Started by djpinkpanther67,

361 posts in this topic

thehumantorch

thehumantorch

Posted
Posted
I loved reading that Thomas, it gave me the courage to try and write down my own childhood comic stories...

 

Growing up in a non-English speaking country where everyone loves Franco-Belgo comics, being a US comic (superhero) comic book fan wasn't easy and it was a very lonely existence.

 

But through the years I did manage to find two friends that shared the hobby.

Jacques was my best friend from the age of 12 through the age of 18, he was the golden boy, bright, athletic, son of a successful surgeon and when we were 13, 15-year old girls were already noticing him (not that both of us knew what the hell that was all about). We both loved America, American shows, American music and of course American comics. For us it was the promised land...somewhere where everything seemed cooler and more fun than the place we lived in.

 

I already had a few US comics (bought in the UK) and he liked them as well, his parents went to the US for a month each Summer and the year we turned 14 he brought back music tapes and..comic books. I was very jealous as he now had more of them than me...but he would let me read all of them and eventually most of them would end up in my house after we traded stuff.

 

 

This went on for a few years, in the week his parents sent him away to a very strict and elitist (Jesuit) boarding school and I remember how on Sundays when it came close to 5 PM his mood changed as he hated that place and he knew it was almost time for him to go back. But the weekends were ours, reading comic books, listening to Van Halen, Neil Young and what is now known as 'classic rock" We went to the arcades to play games and then back to his house to play more games on his Atari VCS (he was the first and only kid I knew who had one)

And every Summer he would come back with stacks of comics.

 

The Summer we turned 17 he also came back with a pot habit , and from then on a lot of time was spent with him trying to score pot and him getting high in his room, while I still listened to music and read comic books, not really knowing what to make of my friend's new lifestyle.

 

The Summer we turned 18 he left to go to the US for 9 months. His parents had decided a US college would be ideal for him. He called me once and sent two letters, all of them during the first month. After that I didn't hear from him anymore for over 6 months....I guess he made new friends and was making a new life for himself.

And then , months later, a friend told me he had seen Jacques in town. I went to his house and there he was...kicked out of school for drug-abuse.

 

He was planning to try another school in the Fall and I was busy now with my life at university and we really lost touch.

About 3 years later (when I was in my 5th year of university) his mother called me and asked me to come over.

That weekend I drove back to my home town and looked up my old friend. He was now a 250 lbs shell of a man, a recovering heroin addict and "confused".

He was mixing up past and present all the time, had a lot of irrational fears and just "zoned" out for minutes on end. His mother told me that he had been "away" for two years and now was coming back to live with them and that she was told it would do him the world of good if he saw some friends from happier times.

 

We did talk about comic books that day, he had none left and I told him mine were still at my mom's house and we could go get them. But he was scared of leaving the house so we just sat there and tried to talk about old times.

After a while I understood my friend was gone for good and all that was left of him was this shadow...

 

I had to go back to uni, but tried to see him again the next month, but the next few months when I called his mother told me it wasn't a good time and that she would call me when he was ready. She never did call me again and I never saw my friend again.

It's been almost 20 years now since I've seen him and I still think about him a lot. How it all could go so wrong for the one among us that shined the brightest and had the golden future.

I still have some of the comics he gave me, among them Iron Man #150 ...the great Iron Man - Dr Doom cover. I remember that being his favorite as well and I had to give up a lot to get him to trade it for me. I love that book and maybe, just maybe that book and this back-story made me into the Dr Doom fan I am today.

 

Wow

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mikenyc

mikenyc

Posted
Posted

I'm new to these or any boards. I started collecting again about four months ago. I collected comics for much of my childhood which culminated with my older brother "buying" my collection from me for 100 bucks when my collecting fell out favor. I haven't spoken with my brother for over seven years now and my initial book purchase was meant to be cathartic; a recreation of that which I lost and to fill a void thats existed for many years. What I realized though, through that initial purchase, was the end result was not anywhere near as important as the process. When I walk into a new store, which apps. like comic shop locator make a dream, I revert back to my childhood. Not in the Peter pan never grow up sense, but in the feeling of excitement and unknown sense. I'm only thirty but it seems that as you grow older stability, monotony in disguise, is what you're taught to crave. In a silly microcosm way each new book represents a change in the monotony. Don't get me wrong I still have to go make a living and I have a daughter and a wife that takes precedent over everything else in my world.......but...I started my first order in July of thirty something books and now, four months later I'm on my fifth long box. Sorry I'm not smart enough to add paragraphs or proper punctuation but, my name is Mike and I'm officially a comic addict. Thanks Chris, I hate you for starting my addiction!!!!

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Batty Scrooge

Batty Scrooge

Posted
Posted

What a great thread! I'm an addict and this is my story of how I went from "Do they still make comic books? Haven't seen one in a store in forever" to

Ended (last 60 days)

Won 133

Amount $5,921.79 :o

 

When I as a kid my town had the best newsstand store, tons of comics and tons of porn mags I would dream about being able to buy. I didn't have a very big allowance, all my friends got alot more so I had to be picky. The 60's Batman show was re-running on TV and I loved it, so naturally I got into Batman and TEC, they were all I could afford. I read my friends comics and traded with them, but none of them drew me in like Batman. I did love Groo the Wanderer and Ducktales, but they still weren't bats! I got my grail book as a kid at that store, a double cover TEC #604, the first part of the Mudpack storyline! I still love and cherish that book even tho its not worth anything.

 

In the summer my family would go camping on vacation and I got extra allowance because I had more time to do more chores! Down the road from the campground was this awesome comics place in a BARN! I loved going there and would save forever when I knew we were going on vacation just to buy some old comics. I didn't buy them to collect per say, I loved reading them so I went for the 80 and 100 page giants! Batman, Worlds Finest, all bats. But my favorite books I got from there I haven't seen since and thats my Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew complete run! I was so proud of having the full run and it was such a good comic!

 

Just when I turned 17 my family moved and there wasn't a comic shop or news stand around to buy comics from. We also stopped going camping and my comic collecting and reading just died. I kept all my comics and just kept lugging them around as I moved and got older. I never read them anymore, just kept thinking of how I was going to be rich when I sold them!

 

Flash forward 16 years to this past summer - My wife and I went to Salem, Mass for vacation, and for a town known to be spooky there wasn't much open the first night we got there. Then we turned a corner and there was this big bright store, windows from end to end filled with comics and collectibles. We were drawn in like moths to a flame and this store had everything! Comics, TPBs, posters, action figures, you name it!! My childhood love just exploded, and I had a total geek-gasm! The problem was there were so many comics, I didn't know where to start, then I found Uncle Scrooge was doing a run of new Ducktales stories so I picked up the available books and was hooked!

 

When we got home from vacation I used the comic shop locator and checked out a bunch of stores all over the area before I stumbled into Zapp Comics. Great store! I also opened an E-Bay account and started dabbling buying comics with an eye for investing. At first I was like I was when I was a kid and went for all the .99 cent books until I realized a $1 dollar book wasn't an investment in anything but the post office with $4 shipping! Then I started going for pricer and pricer books, and well, you see what my addiction has done to me!!

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jimjum12

jimjum12

Posted
Posted
Dear CAA

I have always been a SA/BA collector. I stopped collecting the first time, when the CA was just beginning...

 

I just read Ultimate Spider Man TPB that contained issue #'s 1-13. I am not a modern comic book reader, but wow.

 

Pretty good stuff. It has me interested in reading some more of them and considering Ultimate FF as well. Thinking about reading TWD as well.

 

Lord help me, I hope I don't start actually wanting to start BUYING modern krap doh!

 

My name is Thomas and I'm addicted to comics :blush:

 

I really liked the Ultimate FF.....you might be able to find some of the trades at your library. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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Rudolph-migration

Rudolph-migration

Posted
Posted
I loved reading that Thomas, it gave me the courage to try and write down my own childhood comic stories...

 

Growing up in a non-English speaking country where everyone loves Franco-Belgo comics, being a US comic (superhero) comic book fan wasn't easy and it was a very lonely existence.

 

But through the years I did manage to find two friends that shared the hobby.

Jacques was my best friend from the age of 12 through the age of 18, he was the golden boy, bright, athletic, son of a successful surgeon and when we were 13, 15-year old girls were already noticing him (not that both of us knew what the hell that was all about). We both loved America, American shows, American music and of course American comics. For us it was the promised land...somewhere where everything seemed cooler and more fun than the place we lived in.

 

I already had a few US comics (bought in the UK) and he liked them as well, his parents went to the US for a month each Summer and the year we turned 14 he brought back music tapes and..comic books. I was very jealous as he now had more of them than me...but he would let me read all of them and eventually most of them would end up in my house after we traded stuff.

 

 

This went on for a few years, in the week his parents sent him away to a very strict and elitist (Jesuit) boarding school and I remember how on Sundays when it came close to 5 PM his mood changed as he hated that place and he knew it was almost time for him to go back. But the weekends were ours, reading comic books, listening to Van Halen, Neil Young and what is now known as 'classic rock" We went to the arcades to play games and then back to his house to play more games on his Atari VCS (he was the first and only kid I knew who had one)

And every Summer he would come back with stacks of comics.

 

The Summer we turned 17 he also came back with a pot habit , and from then on a lot of time was spent with him trying to score pot and him getting high in his room, while I still listened to music and read comic books, not really knowing what to make of my friend's new lifestyle.

 

The Summer we turned 18 he left to go to the US for 9 months. His parents had decided a US college would be ideal for him. He called me once and sent two letters, all of them during the first month. After that I didn't hear from him anymore for over 6 months....I guess he made new friends and was making a new life for himself.

And then , months later, a friend told me he had seen Jacques in town. I went to his house and there he was...kicked out of school for drug-abuse.

 

He was planning to try another school in the Fall and I was busy now with my life at university and we really lost touch.

About 3 years later (when I was in my 5th year of university) his mother called me and asked me to come over.

That weekend I drove back to my home town and looked up my old friend. He was now a 250 lbs shell of a man, a recovering heroin addict and "confused".

He was mixing up past and present all the time, had a lot of irrational fears and just "zoned" out for minutes on end. His mother told me that he had been "away" for two years and now was coming back to live with them and that she was told it would do him the world of good if he saw some friends from happier times.

 

We did talk about comic books that day, he had none left and I told him mine were still at my mom's house and we could go get them. But he was scared of leaving the house so we just sat there and tried to talk about old times.

After a while I understood my friend was gone for good and all that was left of him was this shadow...

 

I had to go back to uni, but tried to see him again the next month, but the next few months when I called his mother told me it wasn't a good time and that she would call me when he was ready. She never did call me again and I never saw my friend again.

It's been almost 20 years now since I've seen him and I still think about him a lot. How it all could go so wrong for the one among us that shined the brightest and had the golden future.

I still have some of the comics he gave me, among them Iron Man #150 ...the great Iron Man - Dr Doom cover. I remember that being his favorite as well and I had to give up a lot to get him to trade it for me. I love that book and maybe, just maybe that book and this back-story made me into the Dr Doom fan I am today.

Story made my day in a sad way... Thanks chromium.

You're a great writer by the way, really sucked me in. (worship)(worship)

 

 

 

O right... My name is Mason and I'm a WD/comic addict.

No awesome story to go with it as I'm young, Don't have any real bills and just landed my dream job that pays great so I'm in DEEP!!

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djpinkpanther67

djpinkpanther67

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Dear CAA,

I wanted to give some end of year kudos and take the time out to say a few things.

I never did get to formally apologize to Burntboy (Harry) and Dale Roberts back in 2009 when everything in m,y life went to hell. I was buying FF #1 from Harry and had commited to a very nice FF#5 from Dale. To you both I sincerely apologize for having to back out of the deals, and failing to keep you informed of what was happening..

I would also like to show thanks and appreciation to some of the Boardees around here who still make this a great place to be.

 

To those who have shown patience with me and sold me some great books that I otherwise could never have gotten - Nick (Flaming Telepath), George (JiveTurkeyMoFo), Bob (namisgr) and also Cristian (CdaBruce), and everyone else who accepted my ridiculously pathetic time payment arrangements.

 

To Kenny (Ze-Man) for letting me share in signing nik's cel. Thanks bro.

 

To those when I came back who gave me advice, constructive criticism and words of encouragement - Greggy, Bob (bomber-bob), Barton (GhostTown), David Miller, Tom Moore, Fay, Steve (rube11), Marc (Skynwalker), (Dave) thehumantorch, Christian (Darth Corgi), Steve (DiceX) and everyone else I may have forgotten :sorry:

 

To Richard Evans (MrBedrock) - To everyone who doesnt know, he is a great dealer and a great person to hang out with in person. Every year that I have participated in Secret Santa, he has always been there to help out. If anyone ever gets stumped on what to get someone, be sure to hit him up.

 

I would also like to give a special thanks to Dan Drummond (drummy) who is a good friend and is the epitomy of what makes these Boards a great place.

 

To the grumpy naysayers who say the Boards are doomed every couple of years, lighten up.

 

My name is Thomas and I'm addicted to comics.

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djpinkpanther67

djpinkpanther67

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Hey All,

I know it’s been awhile since I have been active on the Boards but rest assured though I have been absent, my passion for the hobby& admiration and fellowship with those I have known over the 5 years I have been here have not diminished. The hobby has surpassed my financial reality, but as long as there are still time payments, you never know :wink:

Though my health has been giving me a wet willy the past 9 or so months I’m still hanging in here. I refuse to start a bucket list, though of course everyone knows obtaining a certain silver age key would be in there somewhere, heh heh.

I hope everyone has been doing well. I know I haven’t been as endeared as others here, but I have always tried to get along with most everyone, and only flame when provoked (cough goonchild cough).

For those who are going to SDCC, I have sent invites for dinner and have room for a few more so PM me if interested. The evening of the dinner will be majority rules for those who are committed to coming over.

And yes I still wish Redhook was reinstated. Sue me.

My name is Thomas and I am and always will be a breadstick armed comic geek.

 

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djpinkpanther67

djpinkpanther67

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Welcome back Thomas,been trying to do you justice on the birthday threads.Good to have you back. (thumbs u

CAPS on HAPPY BIRTHDAY and THREE EXCLAMATION POINTS after the username!!! Also a pic relating to the Boardee is always helpful, Please refer to the http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4922078&fpart=1 LINKY for proper guidance on the DJ way of a proper HBD Post :thumbsup:

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oakman29

oakman29

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Posted
Welcome back Thomas,been trying to do you justice on the birthday threads.Good to have you back. (thumbs u

CAPS on HAPPY BIRTHDAY and THREE EXCLAMATION POINTS after the username!!! Also a pic relating to the Boardee is always helpful, Please refer to the http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4922078&fpart=1 LINKY for proper guidance on the DJ way of a proper HBD Post :thumbsup:

Now you can take over. :wishluck:

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djpinkpanther67

djpinkpanther67

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Dear CAA,

 

Well, my California fiasco is finally drawing to a close. In approximately 66 days I will be loading up the truck and heading back to Texas. I'm moving because I miss seeing my kids on a regular basis, and the cost of living here is ridiculous. I have to work just to maintain broke status! Of course that put me in a higher tax bracket, and the Federal and State taxes are killing me! :sick:

 

Though my health is improving, it's still hard for me to go to work and be productive, so once I'm in Texas I will be retired for good (hopefully :wishluck: )

Thanks to the greggy, Darth Corgi, and the other Boardies who have kept in touch, and for the kind words. Also big thanks to Steve (rube11), you will be helping me get back on the collecting path....

 

Once settled in Texas I will start posting :takeit: again :devil:

Try as I might, I can't walk away from the hobby :cry:

 

My name is Thomas and I'm addicted to Comics.

 

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