'The past is a foreign country...' 4 4

[MrBedrock]

On 2/11/2022 at 9:41 PM, adamstrange said:

What a nostalgic and touching story. 

I had no idea how really, really old you are.

That's a pretty good one. I'll try to remember that.

[MrBedrock]

On 2/11/2022 at 6:44 PM, Straw-Man said:

that was good of ol' straw; now he'd REALLY be a pal if he sent it back at the same price as the original 90's deal...

He is REALLY a pal!

[Robot Man]

On 2/11/2022 at 11:16 PM, Cat-Man_America said:

When I was a kid every couple weeks my dad would take me to a local barber shop.  The barber kept a stack of comics on all sorts in back for kids to read while waiting their turn in the chair.  

One of these comics intrigued me enough that I made a point of seeking out a copy long after I'd given up collecting most SA comics in preference of GA.  

This book was and is special, for the cover and a clever twist-ending story about a planetary invasion where proportions had an impact on the outcome...

The image below was taken with my old pre-document scanner well over a decade ago...

  Reveal hidden contents

...I haven't seen a barber chair in even more decades. 

Ha! First thing I thought of was some barber must have scared the heck outta you as a child.

My excuse was when I got drafted. Basic training was hell but nothing like the horror of sitting in that barber chair getting my long hair shaved down to the scalp while my DI smiled and laughed…

Back to topic. I also remember going to the barber shop as a kid and reading comics. He had old ones.10 centers! The barber was cool and let me trade a couple of my new ones for some of his old tattered Fiction House and DCs. Of course, I had to blow out the hair out of them when I got home…

[Robot Man]

On 2/11/2022 at 12:48 PM, MrBedrock said:

I bought this book from Tanner Miles at a Houston Con in the early 70's when I was 9 or 10 years old. Later I entrusted it to Straw-Man when #72 was one of the last issues he needed to complete the run. A few years ago he returned it...

Printed 75 years ago. In the family for almost 50 years...

Great story

Tanner Miles is a name I haven’t heard in a million years. I think I bought from him through the mail and The Buyer’s Guide back in the day.

Bought this when you were 9 or 10? A big time player even then? 

[Flex Mentallo]

On 2/12/2022 at 3:54 PM, MrBedrock said:

That's a pretty good one. I'll try to remember that.

Must be quite challenging to, you know, remember.

[Flex Mentallo]

On 2/12/2022 at 4:37 PM, Robot Man said:

 

Bought this when you were 9 or 10? A big time player even then? 

..which is what makes the story so remarkable.

[Robot Man]

On 2/12/2022 at 6:42 AM, Chief1332 said:

A big part of the reason that I returned to comics, is that I found a few of my father's books.  Nothing spectacular, rare, or expensive, but it did get my juices flowing once again.  He lost all of his childhood comics in a house fire, and he must have seen something that got his comic book desires going again too, many years later.  Like father like son, I suppose.

My dad was just a little to old to have many comics. He grew up in Bute MT and they didn’t have much money.

When I was young boy he took us back to visit his mother. Since she knew I was into comics, she pulled out several of his Big Little Books and a heavy steel Buck Rogers pistol that was his and gave them to me. Still have them and will never be for sale.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 2/11/2022 at 9:53 PM, adamstrange said:

My grandmother gave me five dollars for Christmas when I was nine, which led to the first great crisis of my childhood.  My mother convinced me to save the money for when we would visit Disney World, where I could buy something special.  Despite my hitherto complete lack of self-control in all things monetary, with the arrival of Spring I ended up in the promised land with a pocketful of cash.

With the light gently fading at the close of a marvelous day, I wandered through the Main Street shopping district, darting in and out of stores, looking for the perfect memento, when I spied a set of four special Disney comic albums.  Donald Duck.  Mickey Mouse.  Scrooge McDuck!!!  Bliss  

As tired as I was, I could still do the math to see that it was impossible to stretch a $5 bill to buy them all.  Pleadings to the parental units were of no use; I had to leave one behind.  Since there were two Donald Ducks, it was clear that I could only own one, and I reluctantly turned my back on "Frozen Gold". 

The trio that accompanied me home were read again and again and again, but I never forgot the one that got away.  Advertisements on the back of the other issues continually reminded me of that agonizing decision.  Twenty years went by before I finally found a nice copy of the entire set, allowing me to pass along my childhood treasures to my nieces and nephews.  They love Carl Barks.  I love Carl Barks.  And I can read the story of "Frozen Gold" any time I want to. 

Talk about the Sophie’s choice of reprints! I was working as a high school kid when these arrived and bought them all. I don’t know which I would have let go if given your dilemma but probably the Mickey.

[adamstrange]

On 2/12/2022 at 10:54 AM, MrBedrock said:

That's a pretty good one. I'll try to remember that.

I think it would be safer for me if you don't ...

[MrBedrock]

On 2/12/2022 at 11:20 AM, adamstrange said:

I think it would be safer for me if you don't ...

[adamstrange]

On 2/12/2022 at 12:09 PM, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

Talk about the Sophie’s choice of reprints! I was working as a high school kid when these arrived and bought them all. I don’t know which I would have let go if given your dilemma but probably the Mickey.

You think they would let me out the gate without the Mickey?

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 2/12/2022 at 11:36 AM, adamstrange said:

You think they would let me out the gate without the Mickey?

No and Uncle Scrooge is around the corner counting the money you spent!

 

[Cat-Man_America]

On 2/12/2022 at 5:44 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

Alanna has always done it for me too.

I have collected comics I read as a kid, of course. But when I was 14 or 15 my mom dragged me into an antique store that had a box of golden age comics. As soon as I realized this was the same Batman I read as an 8 year old(that took me a minute!), it blew my mind. So whenever I see a book I remember from this golden age box, I pick those up too. 
 

nostalgia in as pure a form as is possible?  I agree totally!

I have a fair number of never slabbed Mystery In Space with Adam Strange adventures on Rann.  I was a huge fan of these growing up; love Carmine Infantino's style during this period.