Comic Book Memories

[skybolt]

Let's get a little sentimental here.

 

How many of you keep certain copies of books you purchased ages ago for sentimental reasons or to remember a single event in your life. I'll start:

 

First of all, I just wanted to mention that over the past 24 years I've owned over 4,000 comic books. Believe it or not, I still have all them except for 3 which I unloaded this year. Here are some stories.

 

Everytime I look at my Fine copies of Marvel Two-In-One #92 and Spider-Woman # 48, I remember the day (sometime in 1982) when my mom bought them for me on our way back from school when we found out that part of our elementary school had burnt down (it wasn't me).

 

I still have the Fair copies of Marvel Two-In-One #42 and the Spider-Man vs. Hulk Chicago Sun Times books that I grabbed out of a garbage can since we couldn't afford to waste money on buying comic books (they do stink a little though).

 

I've still kept the 50-60 comic books (G to VG condition) bronze age mavel books that my cousin gave me in 1980 to start my comic book collecting experience.

 

I also remember the day I cried and cried until my mom bought me a copy of Avengers #232 (picking the new team) at K-Mart (it could have been Zaire though).

 

Anyway, these books as well as others that were purchased in the 80's sometimes mean more to me than recent NM copy purchases. Since I will only receive a small return on these books, I'll probably keep them for their memories.

 

Now I feel like I need some group therapy. Maybe we can create some Comic Book Anonymous sessions here on these boards.

[deathlok]

I can remember buying Identity Crisis #5, like it was yesterday.

[howardhallis]

The first comic book I ever got was Spidey Super Stories #23 from a newsstand on Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles. I wanted a Batman, but my mom thought the "easy to read" Spidey stuff was more appropriate for a 7 year old.

 

[goldust40]

I remember the first American comic I ever bought/read....I was on holiday (can't recall where) in 1973, there were no British comics available, I picked up a copy of this gaudy looking item which had a 20 cents (8 pence at the time) price tag, and the rest is history.

 

I read the book many times (I still have it) and I'll never forget that feeling of awe and wonder as I was introduced to the U.S. version of the 4 color medium.

 

The name of the comic was Swamp Thing 10. Roast away, Capercaillie, if you're reading this (I assume you are). I mentioned it yet again!!

[Smokinghawk]

Yes, I'm currently re-buying all the old SSOC and Conan the Barbarian books I grew up on. I'm even having Rudy Nebres do a splash page recreation and I've been grabbing up old Buscema/Chan SSOC pages. Here's the page I'm getting recreated:

 

[chromium]

I remember the first American comic I ever bought/read....I was on holiday (can't recall where) in 1973, there were no British comics available, I picked up a copy of this gaudy looking item which had a 20 cents (8 pence at the time) price tag, and the rest is history.

 

I read the book many times (I still have it) and I'll never forget that feeling of awe and wonder as I was introduced to the U.S. version of the 4 color medium.

 

The name of the comic was Swamp Thing 10. Roast away, Capercaillie, if you're reading this (I assume you are). I mentioned it yet again!!

 

How strikingly similar, yet oddly different from my own experience...

I also bought my first US comic because there weren't any British comics available. The weird part was that I was in England at the time...in Southend....stranded at the airport...with the newsagents closed and the gift-shop carrying a single comic...Marvel treasury reprinting ASM 100-102.

 

And it was 50 bloody P, I used to get Roy of the Rovers, Whizzer and Chips, the Beano, The Dandy and 2000AD for 8 pence or something...I must have been really annoying in order for my mother to break down and buy it for me...

[ArnoldTBlumberg]

Some of my favorite comics I own are the early Spider-Man issues that I read to death and now look like rags with name tags - yes, name tags. I put my address labels on the bottom corner of every comic I bought at that time, but what did I know? I was still in single digits!

 

My three early Name Tag Keys are AMZ #163, #167 and Peter Parker #4. Oh and the John Byrne Marvel Team-Up that starts with Spidey sitting in the cockpit of a spaceship with hallucinations of all his friends and enemies around him, can't recall the issue number now, 50 or 60-something.

 

Arnold

[goldust40]

I remember the first American comic I ever bought/read....I was on holiday (can't recall where) in 1973, there were no British comics available, I picked up a copy of this gaudy looking item which had a 20 cents (8 pence at the time) price tag, and the rest is history.

 

I read the book many times (I still have it) and I'll never forget that feeling of awe and wonder as I was introduced to the U.S. version of the 4 color medium.

 

The name of the comic was Swamp Thing 10. Roast away, Capercaillie, if you're reading this (I assume you are). I mentioned it yet again!!

 

How strikingly similar, yet oddly different from my own experience...

I also bought my first US comic because there weren't any British comics available. The weird part was that I was in England at the time...in Southend....stranded at the airport...with the newsagents closed and the gift-shop carrying a single comic...Marvel treasury reprinting ASM 100-102.

 

And it was 50 bloody P, I used to get Roy of the Rovers, Whizzer and Chips, the Beano, The Dandy and 2000AD for 8 pence or something...I must have been really annoying in order for my mother to break down and buy it for me...

 

Stranded in Southend? You poor sod.

 

Great place to ignite your interest in America's second greatest export.

 

Mind you, having thought about it, I'm sure my Damascene moment re U.S. comics happened by the seaside.....I was on holiday in Torquay.

[jbud73]

I will never sell my F- copy of NTT #12 - first comic I ever bought off a spinner rack at 7 - Eleven.

[october]

I still have the Fair copies of Marvel Two-In-One #42 and the Spider-Man vs. Hulk Chicago Sun Times books that I grabbed out of a garbage can

 

Thats funny, because my copy of the Spidey/Hulk Trib giveaway was one of the first comics I can remember having too. I think I got it at my church rummage sale, I must have been 10 or 11, but I am not sure. The first comic I can remember buying was "Donald Duck in Volcano Valley" from Tichler Finer Foods....I still have that one too even though they are both beaters. Next time I go home I will post pics.

[JoeAspirin-migration]

I think the comic that I remember was one of those AIM Toothpaste givaways.

 

My parents were so mad that I had a cavity I think they thought this would help. Oddly enough, I don't think I had many more after that, but it was one of those stupid toothpaste ones. Wish I could find it.

[Norrin_Radd]

My only comic book as a child was a Challenge of the Superfriends comic.

 

I still haven't seen it anywhere since I started collecting comics as an adult.

[Silver Surfer]

Yes, I'm currently re-buying all the old SSOC and Conan the Barbarian books I grew up on. I'm even having Rudy Nebres do a splash page recreation and I've been grabbing up old Buscema/Chan SSOC pages. Here's the page I'm getting recreated:

 

 

I must pick up some old Conan books. Great stuff by Johnny B, my favorite.

[PovertyRow]

Having started actually buying comics at age 30ish, I have no real "memories" of the ones I bought as appicable here.

 

BUT - when I was in the single digits (sorry for those who have read this before) I found my 10-year older than I brother's stash about 1954 or 1955 of EC Horror comics in the cellar in a box. I was barely able to read the rext but the pictures were sufficient! Can you say recurring nightmares?

 

I also have a distinct memory of a war book - for some reason I think Sgt Rock - that was in 3-D. Anyone know what THAT may have been? I didn't know enough to even LOOK for let alone put on 3-D glasses but I DO remember the weird pages and the 3-D on the cover (I could read THAT much anyway! )

[burntboy]

Yes, I'm currently re-buying all the old SSOC and Conan the Barbarian books I grew up on. I'm even having Rudy Nebres do a splash page recreation and I've been grabbing up old Buscema/Chan SSOC pages. Here's the page I'm getting recreated:

 

 

I must pick up some old Conan books. Great stuff by Johnny B, my favorite.

 

WOW - that is some impressive artwork. the style (and certainly the theme) remind me of Hal Foster's work on Prince Valiant.

[Zanarkand]

Uncanny X-Men #183. Story picked up right after they got back from Secret Wars via fighting a dragon in Japan, dealt a little with this newish "Rogue" person, saw Colossus' arse handed to him by Juggernaut after breaking up with Kitty Pryde, and finished up with a cameo by the mysterious Selene.

 

I had no frickin' idea who any of these people were or what was going on. I thought #184 could sort it out, then #185...

[worldsbestcomics]

My most vivid comic book memories are from the early 1970s. I remember reading the Amazing Adventures 11-17 series where the Beast turned furry and being shocked that Marvel would do this to my favorite character. (Of course now I think he's an een more interesting character because of the change.)

 

Then they killed Gwen Stacy in ASM 121 and I couldn't believe that - especially when they followed up by killing the Green Goblin in the next issue.

 

And I will never forget the Avengers/Defenders war. My younger brother and I would beg our mom every two weeks for three months to take us to the drug store on the day new comics arrived so we could read the lates chapter.

[Silver Surfer]

Well one of my first SA books was a TTA#100 that was in awful shape but the story blew me away and this has been one of my all-time favorite books ever since. This year I picked up a nice slabbed 9.4 copy so I decided to give my old rat bag copy to my friends son. Now I hope to slowly build a Sub-Mariner TTA run in 9.4 or higher. Some other highlights include being able to finally pick up my first GA books (Marvel Mystery #4 and #13) this year and some high grade beauties that I always admired from afar as a kid: Sub-Mariner #8, Silver Surfer #4, TTA#98, etc, etc.