Secret Origins of a Comic Book Junkie
Oct. 4th, 2009 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrierMike's Amazing World of DC Comics and Mike's Amazing World of Marvel Comics have a "Time Machine" feature that allows you to see at a glance what books were on sale in any given month. I spent some time going through and looking for the earliest books I could remember buying:
September 1969
Justice League of America #76
- The first comic I can remember owning. I was only 4 years old, so I couldn't really "read" it, but the pictures really stuck with me, and when I saw the issue again years later, I recognized it immediately.
May 1972
Teen Titans #40
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #1
Superboy #188
- It was several years later when I started buying comics regularly. I was watching re-runs of the Batman and Superman tv shows, and the first books I bought featured those characters.
June 1972
Batman #243
July 1972
Teen Titans #41
Superboy #190
August 1972
Batman #245
World's Finest Comics #214
Justice League of America #102
September 1972
Avengers #103
Captain America #153
- And I finally start branching out into Marvel. I'm sure I picked these up because I'd seen the Cap cartoons on tv.
Captain Marvel #22
- I think I bought this because my Mom used to talk about how much she'd liked Captain Marvel as a kid. Of course, it turned out she meant the other one...
October 1972
Justice League of America #103
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #4
- Reprints of the golden age Green Lantern vs. Solomon Grundy, and Kid Eternity vs. Master Man. Both stories were very dark and creepy, and I think they freaked me out a little.
Captain America #154
November 1972
Avengers #105
Cat #1
Marvel Super-Heroes #33
December 1972
Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #129
- No idea why I picked this up, other than the fact that Superman was in it. It is a really dramatic cover.
Metal Men #42
Detective Comics #432
Avengers #106
Captain America #156
- I don't think I paid much attention to the credits at the time, but I was definitely becoming a Steve Englehart fan. Cap especially was just really exciting and suspenseful.
January 1973
Mister Miracle #13
- Kirby's art was a little weird and scary-looking to me at the time, so I don't know why I picked this up. Probably just a case of none of my usual favorites being on the rack, so I tried something new at random. I ended up really liking it.
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #7
- I was really digging the artwork on these golden age reprints. I probably didn't know they were from the 1940s, but I could tell there was something different about them.
Strange Adventures #241
- Adam Strange reprints.
Action Comics #422
Cat #2
- I liked this series a lot, and was very sad when it was cancelled.
Incredible Hulk #159
- I remember thinking that the Abomination was just the coolest-looking monster ever.
Marvel Feature #7
- Starring Ant-Man, with early Craig Russell art.
Marvel Super-Heroes #34
- Hulk and Sub-Mariner reprints. I'm sure I didn't know the difference at the time.
Fantastic Four Annual #10
- Reprint of Reed & Sue's wedding. In retrospect, it was a nice introduction to the whole concept of the "Marvel Universe", with all the guest-stars. Apparently, I didn't warm up to the FF themselves right away, though...it was years before I picked them up again.
February 1973
Legion of Super-Heroes #3
Secret Origins #2
Action Comics #423
Metal Men #43
- Lots of reprints here. Even before I knew what the "Silver Age" was, I was gravitating towards it! ;-)
March 1973
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #8
Doom Patrol #124
Action Comics #424
Captain America #159
Marvel Feature #8
- My first encounter with the "Dreaded Deadline Doom", and an unscheduled reprint. I probably wouldn't have minded, since it was still new to me, but it showed up right in the middle of a continued story. Oh, was I mad!
Marvel Team-Up #7
- I seem to recall that I didn't choose this one myself...I think my parents got it for me when I was bedridden with the flu or something. Good issue, though.
April 1973
Shazam #4
- Finally got to see the Captain Marvel my Mom was talking about!
Superboy #196
Action Comics #425
Metal Men #44
Captain America #160
Defenders #5
Marvel Team-Up #8
- Picked this up more for The Cat than Spidey, I think.
Nick Fury and His Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2
- Kirby reprints. I remember thinking that Jasper Sitwell was hilarious.
X-Men #81
May 1973
Mister Miracle #15
Strange Adventures #243
Action Comics #426
- Funny that I was picking up Action regularly, but not Superman. I may have preferred Action because of the back-up stories: Atom, Green Arrow, et. al.
Avengers #111
Captain America #161
Daredevil #99
- Bought this because it crossed over with Avengers
Marvel Feature #9
So there you go, my first year or so as a comics reader. While you can definitely see some favorites emerging (Captain America and Avengers especially), my buying patterns overall were pretty erratic. In the days before comic book stores, distribution could be spotty -- comics were widely available in drugstores, convenience stores, etc., but you never knew what titles were going to show up, and there were no pull lists or back issues. I was further limited by the fact that I didn't have an allowance yet at that age. Whenever I was out somewhere with my parents, I could usually nag them into buying me a comic book -- but only one. I'd agonize over which one to pick, knowing that there was a good chance that whichever issues I didn't choose would be gone the next time I was able to get to the store. (Grumpy old man voice: "You kids don't know how easy you have it...!")
September 1969
Justice League of America #76
- The first comic I can remember owning. I was only 4 years old, so I couldn't really "read" it, but the pictures really stuck with me, and when I saw the issue again years later, I recognized it immediately.
May 1972
Teen Titans #40
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #1
Superboy #188
- It was several years later when I started buying comics regularly. I was watching re-runs of the Batman and Superman tv shows, and the first books I bought featured those characters.
June 1972
Batman #243
July 1972
Teen Titans #41
Superboy #190
August 1972
Batman #245
World's Finest Comics #214
Justice League of America #102
September 1972
Avengers #103
Captain America #153
- And I finally start branching out into Marvel. I'm sure I picked these up because I'd seen the Cap cartoons on tv.
Captain Marvel #22
- I think I bought this because my Mom used to talk about how much she'd liked Captain Marvel as a kid. Of course, it turned out she meant the other one...
October 1972
Justice League of America #103
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #4
- Reprints of the golden age Green Lantern vs. Solomon Grundy, and Kid Eternity vs. Master Man. Both stories were very dark and creepy, and I think they freaked me out a little.
Captain America #154
November 1972
Avengers #105
Cat #1
Marvel Super-Heroes #33
December 1972
Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #129
- No idea why I picked this up, other than the fact that Superman was in it. It is a really dramatic cover.
Metal Men #42
Detective Comics #432
Avengers #106
Captain America #156
- I don't think I paid much attention to the credits at the time, but I was definitely becoming a Steve Englehart fan. Cap especially was just really exciting and suspenseful.
January 1973
Mister Miracle #13
- Kirby's art was a little weird and scary-looking to me at the time, so I don't know why I picked this up. Probably just a case of none of my usual favorites being on the rack, so I tried something new at random. I ended up really liking it.
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #7
- I was really digging the artwork on these golden age reprints. I probably didn't know they were from the 1940s, but I could tell there was something different about them.
Strange Adventures #241
- Adam Strange reprints.
Action Comics #422
Cat #2
- I liked this series a lot, and was very sad when it was cancelled.
Incredible Hulk #159
- I remember thinking that the Abomination was just the coolest-looking monster ever.
Marvel Feature #7
- Starring Ant-Man, with early Craig Russell art.
Marvel Super-Heroes #34
- Hulk and Sub-Mariner reprints. I'm sure I didn't know the difference at the time.
Fantastic Four Annual #10
- Reprint of Reed & Sue's wedding. In retrospect, it was a nice introduction to the whole concept of the "Marvel Universe", with all the guest-stars. Apparently, I didn't warm up to the FF themselves right away, though...it was years before I picked them up again.
February 1973
Legion of Super-Heroes #3
Secret Origins #2
Action Comics #423
Metal Men #43
- Lots of reprints here. Even before I knew what the "Silver Age" was, I was gravitating towards it! ;-)
March 1973
Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #8
Doom Patrol #124
Action Comics #424
Captain America #159
Marvel Feature #8
- My first encounter with the "Dreaded Deadline Doom", and an unscheduled reprint. I probably wouldn't have minded, since it was still new to me, but it showed up right in the middle of a continued story. Oh, was I mad!
Marvel Team-Up #7
- I seem to recall that I didn't choose this one myself...I think my parents got it for me when I was bedridden with the flu or something. Good issue, though.
April 1973
Shazam #4
- Finally got to see the Captain Marvel my Mom was talking about!
Superboy #196
Action Comics #425
Metal Men #44
Captain America #160
Defenders #5
Marvel Team-Up #8
- Picked this up more for The Cat than Spidey, I think.
Nick Fury and His Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2
- Kirby reprints. I remember thinking that Jasper Sitwell was hilarious.
X-Men #81
May 1973
Mister Miracle #15
Strange Adventures #243
Action Comics #426
- Funny that I was picking up Action regularly, but not Superman. I may have preferred Action because of the back-up stories: Atom, Green Arrow, et. al.
Avengers #111
Captain America #161
Daredevil #99
- Bought this because it crossed over with Avengers
Marvel Feature #9
So there you go, my first year or so as a comics reader. While you can definitely see some favorites emerging (Captain America and Avengers especially), my buying patterns overall were pretty erratic. In the days before comic book stores, distribution could be spotty -- comics were widely available in drugstores, convenience stores, etc., but you never knew what titles were going to show up, and there were no pull lists or back issues. I was further limited by the fact that I didn't have an allowance yet at that age. Whenever I was out somewhere with my parents, I could usually nag them into buying me a comic book -- but only one. I'd agonize over which one to pick, knowing that there was a good chance that whichever issues I didn't choose would be gone the next time I was able to get to the store. (Grumpy old man voice: "You kids don't know how easy you have it...!")
