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Was anyone here collecting Marvel in the 70's or 80's?
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139 posts in this topic

I started collecting Marvel in 65 as a kid, had to leave all of the books behind when we moved, I restarted collecting in 79, started with new issues of the main titles and some new ones (ROM Spaceknight, She Hulk, Spider-Woman, Machine Man, etc.) and once in a while I purchased some books through mail order which was hit or miss, by time you sent your order in through "snail mail" there was only a 50/50 chance those books would still be there. Back in 80 I ordered some books from a mail order comic shop that I could have driven to in about an hour, it took 6 weeks for those books to arrive.

Then came the first LCS I ever found back in 82/83(?) and the back issue market became wide open for me, my issues of ASM 14, ASM 20, Avengers 4 came from this LCS, each was under $20.00, this is also where I started purchasing new issues.

In the mid to late 80's I found more LCS's and began making monthly trips to the 5-6 comic shops in the area, one LCS had a "search service" for books you wanted. You filled out a card with your name/address, issue title and number and approximate grade you wanted. When I heard the new Iron Man cartoon was being released in 94 I wanted a copy of TOS 50 (1st Mandarin) so I filled out a search card and about two weeks later the card came in the mail stating they found a copy, paid $45.00 for the book in VF- 7.5.

My Son started collecting with me in the early 90's and he was buying new issues, I gave him all of my books from the late 70's/80's to build his collection.

There were always small/local shows that we would attend every couple of month's and larger shows annually in Phila. Wizard World was a good con in the beginning (mid 2000's), it was about the comics, not pop culture, that changed and we stopped going.

Even though I have GAD, the thrill of the hunt, finding treasure in the wild was exciting and kept me interested, then came eBay for me in 2003, I still made trips to the LCS but eBay made it much easier to find books without leaving the house.

2008 was the last Wizard World we went to, comic book dealers were dwindling and pop culture was expanding.

I belong to 6 comic book Facebook Groups and it always makes me smile and feel good when folks show the treasures they found in the wild, especially the ones they were not even looking for.

For me, the internet is convenient but will never match the excitement/anticipation of finding books in the wild.

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My first purchased comic book was when I was with my mother in an AM/PM in Chicago and I was allowed to purchase a Marvel Premiere #30 (Publication Date: June 1976) featuring the Liberty Legion, Invaders and the Red Skull.

Before that, I had read my older brother's comics he purchased mainly from the train station (the "L") along with what are now discarded Silver Age comics he found or had been gifted.

I would not actually read Marvel Premiere #29, the first part of the story, until many years later. doh!

detail.jpg

Edited by sckao
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70’s and 80’s collecting was my jam.  It was before we really ever knew what “continuity” was… or how much we’d miss it when we realized how precious and wonderful a thing it was that we just took for granted.  😄

What kinds of things did we have to collect?  That was the era of Mego dolls and Treasury Edition books… we had the cool Power Records comics / 45 RPM record sets… Marvel mood rings… and so much other funky fun stuff. 

But in terms of how easy / hard it was to find? In a lot of ways we were really lucky.  If you checked in regularly with your favorite spinner rack you normally never missed a thing in terms of the comics. Plus, the comics themselves did an amazing job promoting upcoming special events.  The biggest single event of the 70’s. - Superman vs. Spider-Man Treasury Edition, was promoted for about one year in comics before it came out. NO ONE didn’t know to look for it.  Marvel promoted What If #1 for months in books before it came out . It did the same with most big new titles.

As for all the toys and such? They’ll be promoted with ads in comics too, and then in the mid-70’s we started to get this little piece of heaven: The Superhero Catalog. If you ever stumble across one of these, they’re worth picking up.  Just as a snapshot of what it was like for those of us who lived through those years.

5579BF58-50BE-4C0D-A2D9-785EC00B40ED.jpeg.96565db4a431d75d851ea9949035bdec.jpeg

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On 1/18/2022 at 10:14 AM, workingdog said:

I started collecting in the early 70's.  At the 7-11, local grocery store, or the local news agency.  Sometimes from the newsstands in downtown Chicago.  Strictly Marvel with one exception.  I did get Brave and the Bold because while I really wasn't into Batman at the time, I liked the fact DC showcased a new character every month (or was it bi-monthly, I can't remember) that I had never heard of. 

Does anyone remember when certain titles came out bi-monthly?  That was the case with the new X-Men when they were re-introduced.  It was such a great read and couldn't believe each issue only came out every other month.  I think it was around issue 112 when they finally made it a monthly.

MAD came out an unusual 8 times a year in the early 70's

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On 1/18/2022 at 3:05 PM, rexinnih said:

Grew up in San Diego so the con, they sold comics then xD, was the yearly comic event. Collected mostly in the 80's and was a Wolverine/X-Men fan like most others. Remember saving $20 to get Hulk 181 and that well read copy is now a CGC 6.5 sitting on my shelf. 

worth a nice used car these days !!!!!!!

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unfortunately at my LCS as a kid i always bought the Marvel Tales and Marvels Greatest comics because i could not afford the originals , still have most of them but they aren't worth squat

back then you could get Iron Man #1, and Subby #1 for $5 each

 

Edited by 1950's war comics
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there was hardly any such thing as first appearances back then , only issue #1 was the most valuable , then issue#2 and so on and so on 

regardless if it was a first appearance or not ,,, Spiderman #129 was worth no more than #128

Edited by 1950's war comics
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Was collecting GI Joe and Transformers by Marvel in the 80's.  I would be taken to Toys R Us where I would be able to select a Transformer or a GI Joe toy and then next thing I know, one day, I noticed GI Joe comic books.  GI Joe comic books ruined the cartoon for me.  I read the comics before I ever saw a single episode of the TV series and instantly realized that the TV series was hokey in comparison to the comic.

Then one day, I realized that people were paying big money for certain issues of GI Joe.  Anyone else remember when Joe #2 was the toughie? 

Next thing I know, I wanted to move on to other adventures and after reading Web of Spider-man 26 in 1987 (according to MCS) I picked up my first three issues of ASM.  After reading 290, 291 and 292 and then the wedding annual, I knew I wanted them all.

So... around 1987-1988 I started buying every back issue that I could get my hands on and buying everything moving forward.

Eventually I got em all... 

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My comic collecting started in the 70s when my dad plopped an Invaders 22 on my bed. I was instantly hooked.

Growing up in Panama City, Florida, at that time, I'd go to Money Haven every Saturday to look for new and back issues. I also ordered Howard Rogofsky's catalogue and ordered a number of back issues from him.

I started with Invaders and Captain America but eventually expanded to Peter Parker, Uncanny X-Men, and Daredevil. Sold my collection in 1985 to pay for college, but I've re-collected most of what I had back in the day.

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On 1/18/2022 at 1:57 PM, sckao said:

My first purchased comic book was when I was with my mother in an AM/PM in Chicago and I was allowed to purchase a Marvel Premiere #30 (Publication Date: June 1976) featuring the Liberty Legion, Invaders and the Red Skull.

Before that, I had read my older brother's comics he purchased mainly from the train station (the "L") along with what are now discarded Silver Age comics he found or had been gifted.

I would not actually read Marvel Premiere #29, the first part of the story, until many years later. doh!

detail.jpg

And both of those issues crossed over with Invaders 5 and 6 or was it 6 and 7?

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On 1/18/2022 at 7:55 PM, Ijiwaru Sensei said:

And both of those issues crossed over with Invaders 5 and 6 or was it 6 and 7?

The Sequence was Invaders 5 —> Marvel Premiere 29 —> Invaders 6 —> Marvel Premiere 30

Good memory (thumbsu

 

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On 1/18/2022 at 7:50 AM, EastEnd1 said:

My mom bought me my first comic book around 1972... it was an issue of Superman and I remember she bought it for me to get me to behave while she was shopping at Woolworth! (tsk)  I also remember choosing the Superman because I was really into the George Reeves Superman TV series that ran on syndication back then.  My mom would drag me to Woolworth quite a bit and that's where my earliest comics came from.  They're beat up now but are probably also my most treasured as they remind me of my mom.  Later on in the mid-1970s, my closest friend and I went through a period of buying comics at the local stationary store... we would hang out at one of our houses, read them and then tried to write and draw our own.  My character was named Astroman and his was Captain Dynamic!  They were pretty bad but a fun way to pass the time.  Btw, he and I wound up being Best Men at each other's weddings and we're still the closest of friends today.  Finally in 1978 I stumbled across my first two comic book stores... Mike's Comic Hut in Flushing NY and Richie's Comic Den in Bayside, NY... they were both a short bike ride away.  I started hanging out at Richie's on the days that new comics came out.  The famous Howard Rogofsky (yes, he of the old Marvel ads!) used to hang out there a lot too.  It was there that I learned that old comics had value and that I should take care of them because the better the shape they were in, the more money they were worth.  But my first big "expensive" back issue purchase came at Mike's Comic Hut... a VG/FN Iron Man #1 for $8.00!!  I remember being so nervous parting with that much money for a comic book... and I also worried that if my mom found out she would kill me!!  Anyway, I still have that issue and it is also one of my most treasured.  Oh and I just looked it up on GPA and looks like it's worth $500-600 today!  Turned out to be a wise investment!! (thumbsu            

My character was Nebulan.  I was abt 11.  I wasnt good at drawin and I drew the guy too big so I made the title change:

nebulan2 1.jpg

nebulan2 2.jpg

nebulan2 3.jpg

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On 1/19/2022 at 3:10 PM, kav said:

My character was Nebulan.  I was abt 11.  I wasnt good at drawin and I drew the guy too big so I made the title change:

nebulan2 1.jpg

nebulan2 2.jpg

nebulan2 3.jpg

Your artwork hasn't changed at all! 

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On 1/19/2022 at 3:50 PM, kav said:

maybe ease up a bit-

You know I love your work, baby. :foryou:

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