How old are you? And here is my story regarding comics.

[chrisco37]

Not cast aspersions, but isn't the OP of this thread in prison for attempted rape?

 

Yup. Not sure if "attempted" correct. But the rest of your post certainly is.

[rodan57]

Bittersweet but nice to see posts from nik.

[ChrisInBaltimore]

The details of my 34 years and comics are quite inconsequential....but, very well, where do I begin? It really started with my father and mother. My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. He first introduced me to comics at 4 years old when he would try to get me fly off the roof like Superman. Much to our both dismay, it never worked. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. She used to wrap me up in Aquaman comic books and send me off to fish school in the hope that I would grow web feet just like her. After years of trying it finally worked, but only if I ate large amounts of Munster cheese. And boy, did I eat cheese. My father would womanize, he would drink. At least, he thought he was womanizing - I would just find my Wonderwoman comics defiled in ways that still make me shudder. He would look at a comic and make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark and the word balloon. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. Sometimes he would bring home a stack of Marvel comics and make me lick the ink off the pages so I could get the powers of the heroes. MY father had the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. The rest of my childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets and wear skirts made of Action Comics. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. If I was really bad, my father would make me go to the local comic store to buy a box of 50 comics and drag them home by my testicles. Ah, the good times. You know, just standard childhood stuff. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. I had to kill him when he told me Jack Kirby was a hack. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles while I read the birthing scene in Miracle Man. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum... it's breathtaking- I highly suggest you try it

 

 

And that is my story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Dr. Evil.

 

This is a pretty epic post…

[KingOfRulers]

 

[ChrisInBaltimore]

I think I need to watch Austin Powers again…

[thehumantorch]

Wow…first post and you went straight for an almost ten year old thread!

 

WTTB!

 

I was searching for Brain Damage Comics and came across this thread. Lately I've become some what of a nostalgia junky, and Brain Damage Comics holds a lot of memories for me. I was a broke little kid in the 80's and would frequent that store, often with bags of loose change I had gathered. When I moved away, the owner gave me a bunch of free packs of cards and a wolverine tshirt as parting gifts.

 

Welcome to the boards. Interesting, old thread that you bumped.

[Garf]

That was enjoyable but I totally didn't realise I was time travelling until it was brought up.

[Tempus Fugit]

I never realized that was Carrie Fisher. That speech always cracks me up.

 

I am surprised at the amount of youth present, gives me hope for the hobby.

 

I am 51 and had a friend of my parents who collected and gave me a Swamp Thing #1 when it came out. I was hooked. I was a regular reader of FF, ASM, IH. I remember buying ASM 124, Hulk 181, and a ton of Atlas books off the stands.

 

I did local shows starting in HS using it as a way to improve my collection, which I still do. I really like doing shows.

 

My entire "keeper" collection fits in two short boxes. I am working on an finishing/improving my SA FF run, and acquiring Marvel keys. I have maybe 4-5 long boxes that is my stock to sell.

[dupont2005]

Not cast aspersions, but isn't the OP of this thread in prison for attempted rape?

[squidmo2000]

Talk about a blast from the past....I still got that Spidey!,....fun times..

 

[vader2001]

Great stories!

 

I am 54 and my Grandmother starting buying me comics when I was 8. We lived out of town (Havre Montana) and she would take me into town to the Safeway. She would tell me to go and get a few comics, and when I came back with 1 or 2, she would tell me to go and get more. So usually I left Safeway with at least 1 of every Marvel comic they had.

 

I fell in love with ASM 14 when I found out about the Green Goblin, and when I read IM 55 I was hooked on Thanos. I also love X-men 12 with Juggernaut. So I have a few of each of those comics.

 

My family moved to Minneapolis when I was in grade school, but every summer we would go back to Montana. I got a paper route when I was in 6th grade. I would walk to the Tom Thumb and buy baseball cards, my friends liked baseball cards a lot, so I would trade my cards for comics. Whenever I got a Rod Carew or a Harmon Killebrew I would get a nice lot of comics for those cards.

 

Some of my friends would sell me their comics when they where done with them. I bought a Conan #1 and 3 for a dime each. Conan #3 is one of my favorite covers along with Hero for Hire 6.

 

Well my mother wanted me to save my $$ for after I graduated high school, I did in 1978, and I started to go to school for accounting. In 1979 I bought my first ASM 1 for $365. When I got home and my mother saw my comic and how much it cost, she yelled at me for a while telling me that was stupid buying a dumb funny book for that much $$. She said that money was for school, so I quiet school and joined the Air Force in 1980.

 

While I was in the military I would buy my new comics from westfield comics in WI. I got a nice discount from them. It was like Christmas every time I got a box of comics from them. I bought a lot of comics from them. I started buying TNMT with them, it took me a while to find a TMNT 1st print 1 at a local comic store.

 

When I got out of the military I moved back to Mpls, I got a job and then I worked part time at a local store called Shinders. They dealt in comics, sports cards, mags, and a lot of other stuff. I was the comic buy for the store I worked at, they had 13 stores I believe it was. Well I could fax a list of comics from the main store that was downtown Mpls and if they had them they would send them to the store for me to put up on the wall. I would always order stuff that I was interested in. I was able to get 2 more ASM 1's for $200 each. My wife was not happy each time I brought one of those home. I was also able to pick up ASM 4,5,6. Well I was able to get a lot of great comics. The discount I got working for them was awesome! The original stores are now closed, but someone now has a few open.

 

I have always said that you can't have enough keys. So I try to pick up keys whenever I can. But I still have not paid anymore than the $365 except for once. So I have a hard time wanting to pay more for a comic. I see some awesome books I would love to own, but I just have a hard time paying the $$. I remember buying IM 55 for cover price, and since I liked Thanos I would buy the book anytime I could. I paid $10 for a couple of copies.

 

I took some time off from comics early in the past decade. My new wife and I have 2 girls. I started buying comics again during the Marvel Civil War and have not stopped.

 

I have met some great people on this board. I enjoy seeing all of the great knowledge on this board.

[shadroch]

Not cast aspersions, but isn't the OP of this thread in prison for attempted rape?

 

Yup. Not sure if "attempted" correct. But the rest of your post certainly is.

 

 

I think he is up for parole in the not too distant future.

[Remark]

Hey all

I just kinda came back to these boards over the last few days- I turned 60 this year. Even I can hardly believe it, but here I am. This is a great thread and I really love hearing everyone's story about their journey-glad it got resurrected. Here is mine:

I started reading comics as long ago as I can remember- first with Richie Rich and Hot Stuff in the early 60's and quickly graduating to DC with Superman,Batman,Adventure,Flash,etc. I also always loved to draw and recently came across a drawing I did of an early Green Lantern cover which I still had tucked away. I remember begging my mother for money for every book she would spring for. I bought a LOT of comics, and it was good. But then I hit Junior High and my whole perception changed. I discovered Marvel. Wow, what a wonderful, new world that was. First came Spider-Man (who a new found friend of mine had collected from the beginning- he had every issue, including AF15, which at the time He first showed me I remember thinking really strange to see Spidey in such an odd book. All in mint,near mint as he was the only kid I knew who actually boarded and bagged his books (what a weirdo). But off to the races I was in buying all things Marvel, from Spidey to Daredevil (another favorite) to Xmen,Fantastic Four,Avengers- and everything else I could afford (sure, a buck went a long way, but a buck was a lot of money!)I remember seeing iconic covers for the first time like Spider-Man 28 (wow- that one got me!) when I raced up to the drug store for the latest issues. I remember not being able to wait to read the Continuing Dr. Doom story arc in Fantastic Four. I remember winning a poster contest where I had used DrDoom's hands in my drawing (no one questioned the mechanical out stretched hands, for some reason.). But then by my late teens, it was over. I stopped buying comics, I even took down the six foot tall Spidey poster that had hung on my bedroom door forever fearful that some girl (yeah, like I was gonna get a girl into my room) would think it was not too cool.I ended up trading my collection with a friend "just to read" each other's books, but I never got them back (he just had mostly DC stuff-not very exciting stuff). I I eventually gave that box of books to my nephew, who years later claimed that they were lost in a tragic water bed accident (hmmm?). Well time passed as it is want to do, and I found myself turning 50. At a party hosted for me, my nephew, (the water bed accident one) presented me with a package. Upon opening it I discovered a reasonable attempt at replacing the lost books. Well, I had a collection again, so I thought what the hell, might as well improve the lot. And I started collecting again, with eBay, Craigslist, garage sales, anywhere I could find books, especially those early Silver age Marvels that I loved so much and before you knew it, I was hooked (again). So here I am. At 60, a comic book guy. I now wonder why I ever left.

PS- last weekend at a garage sale of all places, I picked up some original comic art from Savage Sword of Conan,punisher, and Batman- fun stuff to find! Happy hunting to the rest of you!

 

[Unca Ben]

This thread was a fun read-- and while it might be in the same vein as some of the current introduction threads pinned to the top of comics General, It took me a minute to figure out some of the responses didn't make any sense from a timeline perspective -- until I realized this thread was from 9 years ago (wow).

 

Anyway-- a common theme I see in this thread is the loss, sale, or giving away of the first collection.

 

I'm 48, almost 49. My start with comic collecting was spurred on at first by my next door neighbor and many other kids in our subdivision who had comic books. I got hooked pretty early-- around 1975 -- and still have those first three books I got from buying a three pack (FF #161, IH #190, and ASM #147 - Aug 1975 cover dates). Boy are those copies ragged out. I also had an older cousin who had an amazing collection of early Marvel that just blew me away. The quality of his books were amazing considering he had 3 other brothers to fend off. I haven't had a chance to talk to him about those books in quite a long time (if ever) but I always wondered if he still had them because it would be a gold mine of goodness.

 

Inspired by various checklists I would see (Marvel cups from 7-11, Robert Bell's lists etc) - I created my own inventory system by taking a page of loose leaf paper and creating a numbered entry for all known issues to date, including my own marking for things like missing covers or tears, but nothing grading wise. That got replaced (but I held on to the original list-- which has been invaluable to remembering exactly what I had back then) in the early 1990s with a software program (The Comic Collector- still have it - Batman cover version) I used while re-bagging my books for the second time-- and this time I included grades for my books (which I admit were somewhat over-graded on hindsight in many cases). And the next re-bagging included acid free boards The internet has helped immensely in understanding how to take care of books. I recently went through the process of re-inventorying my entire collection to a website and using more current grading standards as well as keeping track of things like Marvel Value Stamps (so so stupid).

 

Anyway-- back to my point-- when I started out in comic collecting- all I ever heard repeated again and again was how people had lost their collections and regretted this or that. I made a conscious effort to keep all of mine. I thought I had a lot of comics back then when I was approaching 1500 books but that was joke compared to most of you guys. And once I hit my teen years, I came to the decision to stop collecting. I bagged my books by then and learned to keep them stored standing up etc-- but I basically just stored them away other than the occasional dive to re-read something.

 

I did sell a handful of the books since then but am happy that I still have the original collection mostly intact, most of which was purchased directly off the rack of a 7-11 with 3 paper routes worth of money (about 800 books - original owner purchased - Marvel BA) - and the collection sits at 1441 to date. And while I am not actively trying to obtain more books, I still like to follow the hobby and my new goal is to slowly sell off my collection (very slowly at that). But it is so much fun to still have all these books and the best part of it is NOT having to go back and try to recreate my childhood-- I still have it (more or less). Sure-- there are books I always wanted to have. But I am also a different person now. I am trying to lessen my attachment to material items and live a more streamlined life of the bare essentials. So the books will eventually go-- but I am not just going to throw them away. They will be parsed out and find good homes in the long run. I don't think I need to buy stuff to still have fun with my collection. While 1400+ books sounds like nothing to most on here-- in reality, that is a lot of reading material. None of it is from the later than 1979. I don't want to be buried with my books but I don't want to see them end up in someones $1 bin either. Who knows-- I will probably come up with yet another way to organize them soon (like by age instead of title). You can bet they will never end up on craig's list though -- that would be a shame. I have entertained the idea of buying a couple of long boxes of what other term as 1990s drek -- because the prices look so insanely cheap -- and it would give me something new to look through. I just don't wnat to waste a bunch of money on that-- so finding the right deal is a waiting game for me.

 

Clearly I still love my books-- I've moved them from three different states and held onto them for 35 years. With any luck - I will have them (or parts of the collection) for another 35.

 

You're a man after my own heart.

[Brian48]

I don’t recall if I ever posted to this thread, but since I hit the big FIVE-O tomorrow on 6 Sep, what the heck.

 

I grew up in the '70s and early'80s buying comics because back then, that was the only form of entertainment for us outside of a small black and white TV (you kids have no idea how good you have it these days). My start began in Kindergarten with DC before "maturing" to Marvel later on. As a coincidence, this was also the start of the O'Neil/Adams run with Batman and I became a big fan having grown up with the TV show as well. Talia Al Ghul gave me my first boner.

 

Up until '75 or so, I bought comics purely for entertainment, but started "collecting" seriously in '76 and continued doing so in my teens until about '81-82. By the time I graduated HS in '83, I'd lost interest and left the hobby entirely. Had almost all the BA keys and gems too, but sold everything off. Ironically, I wounded up working for the LCS I sold my collection too. I stayed there for over a year before shipping off to the USMC for the next 9 years. Comics were completely behind me at this point.

 

Fast forward several years to 2010. I had already graduated college, got married, had kids, etc., basically moving forward in life. Computers were my past time now and I decided to pick up Batman Arkham Asylum for the PC after hearing all sorts of great things about it. Being a gamer and a real fan of first person shooters, this was a bit of a departure for me. I played through it and it literally blew me away (Who the heck was this Paul Dini guy? Wow!). It did something else as well. Except for the Joker and maybe passing knowledge of Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow, I had no idea who the hell these other bad guys were. I realized then how much I’ve missed over the years.

 

Started buying the trades like DKR, Year One, Hush, Long Halloween, etc., and was blown away even more. Since I couldn't afford a new Harley Davidson to ease my mid-life crisis, I decided to buy at least *one* high grade book from my younger collecting years to reminisce over. That was a CGC 9.4 Batman #232. I had a beaut of a copy back in the day and have always regretted selling it. Even more so than my VF/NM copy of Hulk 181.

 

Anyway, I started out with the intent of buying just this one book, but it didn't work out that way. I wounded up buying more and more and now I have the entire Adams Bats run. I also wounded up picking up the entire Barry Smith run of Conan since I was a big fan of the sword and sorcery genre as a teen (remember, I was also an '80s child). Now, I feel I’ve come to a full circle, at least when it comes to comic collecting anyway. My recent buying activity these days have died down considerably. I still buy the Bat and Conan trades, but as far as back issues are concerned, not really looking for anything particular. If I happen to stumble across something that tickles my fancy, whether Bats/Conan or something else, I'll pick it up if it’s not too expensive. My goal is keep my relatively small collection stable in size and relevancy. Comics are only one of several interests I have these days, but one I'm still enjoying immensely right now.

 

Damn, that was wordy. I guess I really am officially old now.

[Gatchaman]

I'm 13 and have been collecting My Little Ponies and Build-A-Bears since I was 8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thehumantorch]

I'm 13 and have been collecting My Little Ponies and Build-A-Bears since I was 8.

 

 

Dude, My Little Ponies killed the thread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChrisInBaltimore]

 

sample page of my first comic book inventory system. I was about 13 when I made this.

 

and here is my simplistic coding system

 

like most-- the early phase seems to focus on accumulating as many copies as possible…. then you start to care about condition and taking care of the books.

 

That is better than my current system

 

I force my 10 year old daughter to be my scribe as I yell out issues I don't have. She actually really enjoys reorganizing my comic collection with me. She wouldn't have it when I asked her to go to cons and dig through long boxes or leave the house at 4:30 to hit up an estate sale though. Little steps I guess…

[Phantalien]

I am 32 years old. I started with comic books when I was 5 with The LAst Starfighter #1. From there I got hooked on Image and Valiant which was super popular at the time. I always enjoyed older comics and marveled at the artwork and how it has changed. Some time when I was a teen I went straight for MAd MAgazine and that was my collecting habit. I was an early user of ebay, which got me some cool stuff as well as the old yahoo marketplace. I still like to read comics but collecting them isn't for me anymore as I don't have room at my place. I do pick up the occasional issue that I figure is an "investment". I miss swap meets and yard sales, they are not around as much anymore.

[SquareChaos]

I am 32 years old. I started with comic books when I was 5 with The LAst Starfighter #1. From there I got hooked on Image and Valiant which was super popular at the time. I always enjoyed older comics and marveled at the artwork and how it has changed. Some time when I was a teen I went straight for MAd MAgazine and that was my collecting habit. I was an early user of ebay, which got me some cool stuff as well as the old yahoo marketplace. I still like to read comics but collecting them isn't for me anymore as I don't have room at my place. I do pick up the occasional issue that I figure is an "investment". I miss swap meets and yard sales, they are not around as much anymore.

 

A warning to everyone full of nostalgia - I picked up the blu-ray release of The Last Starfighter a while ago and barely managed to get through a viewing. Keep your memories as memories, it'll be better that way! ::

 

phantalien - thanks for sharing and reminding me of my this.