All time greatest SA comic book which influenced your life as a true comic book collector. 1 1

[Mmehdy]

I know you have heard it many times before...you just had be there at the time...to live as it was a unique and somewhat naive period in mid to late 1960. I myself remember the time when I was 5/6  we left the house and my mon said we had to go back we left the front door unlocked and my dad looked at her like she was crazy and said nobody is gonna in our house!...Nobody did. As a early comic book collector, all male and even some female kids collected at that time, my biggest impression is when I first meet a older collector say 15 and he showed him neatly stacked comic book collection and taught me to keep them in the best condition possible, He showed me what he had just bought off the newsstand, FF6...two copies..I could not believe it..one for his collection and one to read. Well those were the days. It is a tough choice to price the one comic book that influenced me for life as a SA collector and reader. I am basing my decision on "newsstand impact"...that is the book that said "Wow" to me and I knew at that point I was a comic book collector, not just a reader. The runner's up are FF1 which created quite a stir among us kids when it was released, and FF Ann #1...which everybody had to have...the book to this day is one the greatest comic books ever created.

 So here I am looking at the newsstand and there it was FF5...Who is this guy....after reading it 20 times...you knew this was special, this issue elevated FF to in my opinion...the greatest comic magazine status. From then on, it was go deeper and deeper as a collector, the EC pocket books especially tales from the crypt and tales of the incredible got me on to ec...where did those come from....Superman and Cap were my to favs from the golden age along with the early solo Batman issues.

 I wish every could experience buying a comic book from the drug store or grocery store back then.....I can remember thinking...what are they gonna do next....the wait was unbearable...and then the classic  FF6...the most read comic book by me as kid was bought...the rest is history

 

  How about you?

Edited March 6, 2021 by Mmehdy

[thehumantorch]

Fantastic Four 50.  Found it in a second hand bookstore, all trashed to hell, but it looked so cool.  Plunked down 6 cents and took it home.  The only comics I'd seen in the past were Archies and Richie Rick and the like and FF50 blew me away.  That started my quest to find the rest of the FFs and then on to other titles.

[porcupine48]

Tales to Astonish #93.

Growing up,my folks had me at 17-mom-and 18 papa,I remember comics always being around the house.My dad was a big DC war fan-Jeb Stuart was his favourite but I think around that time,I was a 77 kid so,early eighties would be the start of memories,there was only Sgt Rock for him on the newstand.He was a big Conan fan too,and Weird War.

Most of my toys and clothes came from garage sales and papa would pick up comics there too.For some reason it was always Dell/Gold Key and Charlton around, so I had an early exposure to horror and Ghosts,I still have his old Ghosts #30 it miraculously survived my ma's many purges.

Aaaaanyways,moving on,it seemed natural for me to love comics too and I heard of this great old place downtown called Arthurs,known all over to ne THE place to get old comics.At the tender age of twelve-different times,right?-I took the bus down from our place at the city limits three transfers and was amazed!I got to digging right away,don't know what I was looking for,really.

I knew it when I found it-the Silver Surfer pulling,or being pulled down?I didn't know!Into the flames!12¢! The name!Tales to Astonish! Cooooool!(I had a ten cent Billy the Kid at that point,but it was ragged,and westerns were,well,not for me then)There must have been a dozen of them,new old stock.Wish I bought them all!

I think it was either two dollars or three,I can't remember that,all I know is I plunked down my money and  there was some Marvel Collectors Items Classics squarebounds.Bit that TTA-I was hooked.In such noce shape,amazing cover-and I of course had to go back the next week to try to find #94.I came home with tta #60 that next week too.I was fully hooked.

I still have the comic.Had to tell papa not to read it folded over like he liked to.It was a new rule.Read my comics,but be carefull! I think it'd grade at a 7.5-8.0 today,well,those numbers old label.I can still see him reading my Tales to Astonish #48 years later,on the bed,laid out carefully,dogs and cats locked downstairs.❤❤The first hundred dollar purchase(that and a Spidey #34 from Harley Yee at Maple Con)

But yah  Tales to Astonish #93-I can still smell the old comic smell and see the quality of light.I know I've posted this before but it always makes me really miss my dad,bittersweet.Thanks @Mmehdy for the trip down memory lane,always happy to revisit that day.One day I'll get an image for the files,but it's stashed away.My most valuable comic.

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by porcupine48

[nmtg9]

This is my Dad's story. He has advanced dementia now so his story is lost to him. 

Growing up he didn't have a great home life so I think he escaped into comics,cowboy books of the 50s and so forth. In 1962 he was 17. There was a young girl he quite liked who worked in a newsagents where he would buy his comics, so he would go in there quite often. There was one comic in there he said that looked different to all those he'd seen before. 

It was hung on a peg and piece of string above the counter. Eventually he bought it. AF15 was the start of his collection and a fascination with comics that continues through me to this day. 

That copy was sold in 1980 when my parents split. I was 8 and didn't get to see or hold it. I sold the collection in the nineties when I was a poor student but started collecting again about 14 years ago. So thankfully he got to see my collection before the dementia took hold, no AF15 but a great collection still. 

He won't have long left to be honest and my wife thinks it would be fitting to buy an AF15 with the inheritance, kinda bring it full circle. Either way, that comic started something that is still going strong nearly 60 years later. 

Neil

[porcupine48]

18 minutes ago, nmtg9 said:

This is my Dad's story. He has advanced dementia now so his story is lost to him. 

Growing up he didn't have a great home life so I think he escaped into comics,cowboy books of the 50s and so forth. In 1962 he was 17. There was a young girl he quite liked who worked in a newsagents where he would buy his comics, so he would go in there quite often. There was one comic in there he said that looked different to all those he'd seen before. 

It was hung on a peg and piece of string above the counter. Eventually he bought it. AF15 was the start of his collection and a fascination with comics that continues through me to this day. 

That copy was sold in 1980 when my parents split. I was 8 and didn't get to see or hold it. I sold the collection in the nineties when I was a poor student but started collecting again about 14 years ago. So thankfully he got to see my collection before the dementia took hold, no AF15 but a great collection still. 

He won't have long left to be honest and my wife thinks it would be fitting to buy an AF15 with the inheritance, kinda bring it full circle. Either way, that comic started something that is still going strong nearly 60 years later. 

Neil

Aye,that brought a tear.

[KirbyJack]

Giant-Size Fantastic Four 6, a reprint of FF annual 6, was the comic that made permanent my fascination with comics. Two neighbor kids (Doug and Andy) and I all bought copies. We liked it so much, we read it aloud together, like a -script! I read my first copy to shreds, and bought Doug's copy. Read that to pieces, then stole Andy's. 

Before FF annual 6 got expensive, I used to hoard it and give them away to deserving nerds. Then I switched to the giant-size, but that priced itself out pretty quickly.  

Edited March 7, 2021 by KirbyJack

[KirbyJack]

But seriously, how could a kid resist?

[KCOComics]

I was born in 1982. I missed the SA entirely and don't ever remember seeing a comic book in a drug store. 

But the two silver age books that shaped my collecting future were FF48 and ASM6. 

FF48 was because my father use to tell my brother and I that story as kids. "The Coming of Galactus".  So when I started collecting SA at 15 or 16, that's the book I saved for. I paid $60 for mine and still have it 20+ years later. Took allot of hours at Kmart making $5.65 per hour. 

ASM 6 was because when I first started collecting, I would go to allot of local shows. These were small shows all over Connecticut, so you didn't see allot of big key books. One of the sellers had an ASM6 on the wall and I fell in love with that cover. I annoyed the heck out of him asking questions. I probably saw him and that book at 3 or 4 different shows and every time, I would ask you hold it, ask questions... but I could never afford the whopping $25 price tag. And in all these years, I've actually never owned a copy. But I still love that cover. 

[Rip]

Star Wars 4 I think was the first comic I got. My parents bought it for me shortly after the movie. 

A bit later I would also collect comics like Firestorm, Swamp Thing, Teen Titans, X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But it was Crisis on the Infinite Earths that sparked my obsession with comics and learning about the history.

I was out of money and my grandfather bought it for me at Comix and Comix in Citrus Heights.

[WolverineX]

2 hours ago, KirbyJack said:

But seriously, how could a kid resist?

Epic cover

[porcupine48]

58 minutes ago, Rip said:

Star Wars 4 I think was the first comic I got. My parents bought it for me shortly after the movie. 

A bit later I would also collect comics like Firestorm, Swamp Thing, Teen Titans, X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But it was Crisis on the Infinite Earths that sparked my obsession with comics and learning about the history.

I was out of money and my grandfather bought it for me at Comix and Comix in Citrus Heights.

I can clearly remember as a seven or eight year old staring wide eyed at the cover to the Crisis #7 issue.I knew for sure there was no way my grandparents were going to buy me that one from the 7-11.

[KCOComics]

11 hours ago, nmtg9 said:

This is my Dad's story. He has advanced dementia now so his story is lost to him. 

Growing up he didn't have a great home life so I think he escaped into comics,cowboy books of the 50s and so forth. In 1962 he was 17. There was a young girl he quite liked who worked in a newsagents where he would buy his comics, so he would go in there quite often. There was one comic in there he said that looked different to all those he'd seen before. 

It was hung on a peg and piece of string above the counter. Eventually he bought it. AF15 was the start of his collection and a fascination with comics that continues through me to this day. 

That copy was sold in 1980 when my parents split. I was 8 and didn't get to see or hold it. I sold the collection in the nineties when I was a poor student but started collecting again about 14 years ago. So thankfully he got to see my collection before the dementia took hold, no AF15 but a great collection still. 

He won't have long left to be honest and my wife thinks it would be fitting to buy an AF15 with the inheritance, kinda bring it full circle. Either way, that comic started something that is still going strong nearly 60 years later. 

Neil

GL Neil!  I can relate to your father escaping into comics. They were often my outlet growing up.  I hope you find that AF15. 

[themagicrobot]

In my case it was the third FF annual that did it for me. Every week we went to my Grandparents. Every week I could barely wait. There was a shop further down the street with a spinner rack full of the most colourful comics I'd ever seen. Far more interesting than the weekly UK comics I was used to. My Grandmother would give me Half a Crown (If I was lucky my Grandfather would give me Half a Crown too) and I would be off. It usually took me ages to spin the spinner and decide what to buy. Up until that day the spinner had only contained DCs. This particular week there were Marvel comics too and I was hooked for life... 

In 1965 the world was a great place and no one I knew had died. I've still got that comic (complete with the odd UK 1/6 price) and it transports me back to a world long-gone.

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by themagicrobot
spelloing mistak

[thehumantorch]

12 hours ago, nmtg9 said:

This is my Dad's story. He has advanced dementia now so his story is lost to him. 

Growing up he didn't have a great home life so I think he escaped into comics,cowboy books of the 50s and so forth. In 1962 he was 17. There was a young girl he quite liked who worked in a newsagents where he would buy his comics, so he would go in there quite often. There was one comic in there he said that looked different to all those he'd seen before. 

It was hung on a peg and piece of string above the counter. Eventually he bought it. AF15 was the start of his collection and a fascination with comics that continues through me to this day. 

That copy was sold in 1980 when my parents split. I was 8 and didn't get to see or hold it. I sold the collection in the nineties when I was a poor student but started collecting again about 14 years ago. So thankfully he got to see my collection before the dementia took hold, no AF15 but a great collection still. 

He won't have long left to be honest and my wife thinks it would be fitting to buy an AF15 with the inheritance, kinda bring it full circle. Either way, that comic started something that is still going strong nearly 60 years later. 

Neil

Been there Neil.  Mother died after 10 painful years of dementia.  It's a soul rendering time but hang in there.  Buying an AF15 to bring it full circle sounds perfect.

[porcupine48]

8 minutes ago, thehumantorch said:

Been there Neil.  Mother died after 10 painful years of dementia.  It's a soul rendering time but hang in there.  Buying an AF15 to bring it full circle sounds perfect.

Aw Dave,I didn't know,sorry to hear that and sorry for your loss.I remember talking about your mom with you in years passed .That brought a tear too.

[thehumantorch]

Just now, porcupine48 said:

Aw Dave,I didn't know,sorry to hear that and sorry for your loss.I remember talking about your mom with you in years passed .That brought a tear too.

It was a blessing when she went but it was still tough.

[Tri-Color Brian]

Up until mid-1965 I only bought humor comics and Mad magazine.  This was the first Mad I ever bought at the store.  It shaped my view of the world and helped shape my sense of humor (much to the dismay of my relatives ).  It started me on a quest for back issues that lasted several years until current. 

In mid-1965 I picked up this Superman comic at the drugstore, #178, which I did not take very good care of (see spine stress).  But, that issue caused me to buy and read all the Supes/Batman titles for several years, eventually leading me to seek golden-age issues, which is a quest that never ends. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Tri-ColorBrian

[porcupine48]

Brians drug store collection is very sweet

[Tri-Color Brian]

4 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Brians drug store collection is very sweet

Thanks, but I wish I'd taken better care of a lot of them.  It seems my Actions survived the best...like these three...I don't know why they still look like new. 

[porcupine48]

2 minutes ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Thanks, but I wish I'd taken better care of a lot of them.  It seems my Actions survived the best...like these three...I don't know why they still look like new. 

 

 

I was going to,say maybe you didn't read as often but this cover makes me think I'd have read the heck out of it.

That era Supes was never great reading for me.