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What were the big deals when you were a kid comic wise?
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91 posts in this topic

On 1/18/2022 at 12:00 PM, speedcake said:

Batman. 1989. Ten years old, standing in line for hours with my parents at the mall to get into a showing. I couldn’t get enough. I bought so many Batman trading cards!

but not a single Batman comic book. To this day I’ve only owned a handful of Batman comics. 
 

because not long after I saw Batman, i discovered the X-Men and my first issue was Gambit’s second appearance #267. The cover gave me strange feels. The story was WEIRD. I was hooked.

 

That’s like me… only I went all-in on the comics. 

When I was really little, my old man would occasionally pick me up a Phantom comic… or if we were going camping or something, I’d always be able to find Phantom comics at the local stores etc… Although I still have a massive stack of Phantoms sitting in the cupboard to give to my son in a couple of years, after 1989 I started hitting the newsagent with my own pocket money and it was all Batman and Wolverine from then on. 

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On 1/18/2022 at 8:00 AM, Randall Dowling said:

This thread makes me feel old.  I don't like it.

I know what you mean.

I’m at a very reflective stage in my life, thinking about the things I would’ve done differently with my comic collecting.

Edited by Ken Aldred
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Ok, from the bronze generation here. But, I'll point out that for me what started the desire was Richie Rich. Yep, Richie Rich. As a very young 'kid' there was something so appealing about those covers and stories. And when I opened an issue (I didn't get to hoard, it was a random one or two every few weeks), I was exposed to a ton of other ads for more Richie Rich! The colors, the uniqueness, the variety, all appealed to me and I had to have them all! Archie never did that for me, but I didn't mind reading them every now and then. 

Later, there was the more mature comic stuff (like heroes) that I would get a taste of and get that same desire to want them all. Going to 7-ll or Lucky's I'd drool over the covers and want to read them over and over. But, alas, I didn't have much to spend. I was the kid that would sit in a Walgreen's or Thrifty's for an hour and just read (they weren't that mean those days). One time when I was very young, my parents said I got lost in the mall -- I took an escalator up to the second floor, where there was a B Dalton bookseller, with Marvel "Origins of Marvel Comics" and "Son of Origins," They found me sitting there reading.  I think that lack of being able to have things, made the desire to recollect those poverty based years, all the more desirable as I got older. 

I had close to zero desire around high school, it was the post college working years, where the desire came back. And I'm sure it was for the same reasons.

In this generation, everyone has a buffet of choice at their fingertips. I just don't think this generation has the same desire and wonder that we did.

2c

Edited by bronze_rules
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On 1/18/2022 at 8:38 AM, bronze_rules said:

I think that lack of being able to have things, made the desire to recollect those poverty based years, all the more desirable as I got older. 

Same for me. The struggle made the memories of that time in the mid 70s very intense. Not just monetary, but, here in England, the hunt for those elusive and incredibly fascinating American comics: sometimes distributed over here, sometimes not.

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Anything related to outer space: space exploration, space critters, alien invaders, and assorted nuclear mutants.  :luhv:  On a related front, there will never, ever, be a team of men more bad-aŝŝ than the Project Mercury pilots.  :headbang:

PM.thumb.jpg.f2a3f50d595d5504989584dc6b219f05.jpg

Edited by zzutak
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On 1/18/2022 at 10:49 PM, 1950's war comics said:

Howard the Duck was the first big deal that made national news, i bought a couple of them for a quarter each and sold them the next year for $20 each !!

and $20 back then was a fortune as it would pay the phone bill for almost two months

No offence but I thought you were way older than that. 

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On 1/18/2022 at 3:38 AM, bronze_rules said:

Ok, from the bronze generation here. But, I'll point out that for me what started the desire was Richie Rich. Yep, Richie Rich. As a very young 'kid' there was something so appealing about those covers and stories. And when I opened an issue (I didn't get to hoard, it was a random one or two every few weeks), I was exposed to a ton of other ads for more Richie Rich! The colors, the uniqueness, the variety, all appealed to me and I had to have them all! Archie never did that for me, but I didn't mind reading them every now and then. 

Later, there was the more mature comic stuff (like heroes) that I would get a taste of and get that same desire to want them all. Going to 7-ll or Lucky's I'd drool over the covers and want to read them over and over. But, alas, I didn't have much to spend. I was the kid that would sit in a Walgreen's or Thrifty's for an hour and just read (they weren't that mean those days). One time when I was very young, my parents said I got lost in the mall -- I took an escalator up to the second floor, where there was a B Dalton bookseller, with Marvel "Origins of Marvel Comics" and "Son of Origins," They found me sitting there reading.  I think that lack of being able to have things, made the desire to recollect those poverty based years, all the more desirable as I got older. 

I had close to zero desire around high school, it was the post college working years, where the desire came back. And I'm sure it was for the same reasons.

In this generation, everyone has a buffet of choice at their fingertips. I just don't think this generation has the same desire and wonder that we did.

2c

i still have a soft spot for Richie Rich ,, Duck comics and of course Little Lulu !!

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The wolvy mini was a big deal to me 

And Secret Wars was awesome.  I still remember how stoked I was when 4 hit the stands. That cover :cloud9:

I rarely bought multiples, but I did that day. Still have them...

DF95E3E9-71F7-465B-B817-3B55839900A4.thumb.jpeg.526211014d3f2a8c2d1f7ed153a7c34e.jpeg

 

Edited by THE_BEYONDER
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On 1/19/2022 at 12:19 AM, djpinkpanther67 said:

I remember when GS X-men 1 & X94 started heating up around ‘78. 
FF1 was the most valuable SA Marvel key at the time, eclipsing AF15. 

I want to live in that timeline, where FF is still Marvel's biggest property. 

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On 1/18/2022 at 9:19 AM, djpinkpanther67 said:

I remember when GS X-men 1 & X94 started heating up around ‘78. 
 

I remember in the 90's GS X-Men was hot but not that hot. I think I remember them around $500. Good condition ones too. I was a kid so my amount I could spend was limited to what my dad thought we should spend and for him around $200 was the max. So GS X-Men was always right there just out of reach. Man do I wish I had a crystal ball for us back then... 

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Like Steve / Marwood I started out with the Marvel UK reprints such as Mighty World of Marvel and Spider-Man Comics Weekly in 1973.  That led me to buying new, original American pence copy comics from the newsagent, my first big obsession being DC 100 pagers.  I’d continued getting the Marvel U.K. reprints as well, and noticed an ad for a mail order company in there, Fantasy Unlimited, and bought some really nice books from them, circa 77 to 78. I was a bit of a Conan obsessive at the time and I recall them sending me Savage Sword 1 to 10 in absolutely beautiful condition.  I started going into Manchester looking for comics around 79, initially finding a few scraps here and there in the book exchanges, but the first shop I went to that was specifically dedicated to comic books was Forbidden Planet in London, where I got my first GSXM 1 (£5), and a couple of EC science-fiction comics, with ECs in general being very hot at the time. I would take at least one ‘day off’ from school each term to travel down on a cheap Intercity ticket and get a stack of brand new US cent copy imports, up until around 1980, and which accounted for most of my Claremont / Byrne X-Men collection.  That was curtailed when, while walking around Manchester, I was handed a flyer in the street from a guy who turned out to be one of the organisers of the local comic mart. I then started going to those events regularly and less travelling was required.

Edited by Ken Aldred
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On 1/18/2022 at 2:57 PM, Ken Aldred said:

Like Steve / Marwood I started out with the Marvel UK reprints such as Mighty World of Marvel and Spider-Man Comics Weekly in 1973.  That led me to buying new, original American pence copy comics from the newsagent, my first big obsession being DC 100 pagers.  I’d continued getting the Marvel U.K. reprints as well, and noticed an ad for a mail order company in there, Fantasy Unlimited, and bought some really nice books from them, circa 77 to 78.  I started going into Manchester looking for comics around 79, initially finding a few scraps here and there in the book exchanges, but the first shop I went to that was specifically dedicated to comic books was Forbidden Planet in London. I would take at least one ‘day off’ from school each term to travel down on a cheap Intercity ticket and get a stack of brand new US cent copy imports, up until around 1980.  That was curtailed when, while walking around Manchester, I was handed a flyer in the street from a guy who turned out to be one of the organisers of the local comic mart. I then started going to those events regularly and less travelling was required.

I still remember the first day I saw an American Spidey original in 'Rodneys' in Barking. It was, I think, Amazing Spidey #180 - definitely one of the Andru Gobby books (hence my later affinity) - and I was mesmerised. He had it hanging by a peg on a string with a few other issues.

As for comic fairs, well, I've followed the current one all over London at its various locations for 30+ years. I never tire of it. Same buzz, every time, even when I come away with nothing. Just being among the comics is enough to bring a wonderful peace over me. Our spiritual home where, just for those few hours, I forget everything else. 

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