A Long Long Time Ago....

Like a lot of people I used to have a comic collection.  Boxes and boxes of comics, a few from the 60s, some from the 70s, and a whole lot of comics from the 80s.  Then disaster struck many of my boxes were lost and as the 90s began I liquidated the rest.  But the love for comics never really went away. I would buy an issue here or there, read it, and then donate it or toss it.  But I wasn't a regular buyer or a collector.

Then a few days ago something happened.  While cleaning I found a box full of loose comics.  Some good ones, some crap, but it reminded me of how much I enjoyed the form.  Instead of donating or tossing these I put them in the closet and thought, I'll read through these again soon.  That might have been the end of it but a strange coincidence made me think about them again.  While I was visiting my daughter in Arizona she took me to her neighborhood comic shop, Gotham City Comics and Coffee in Mesa.  There she generously offered to buy me a comic for the long flight home.  Not wanting to make her spend to much, I headed straight for the quarter box.  And that's where I found it.

The New Teen Titans #13.

I recognized it immediately.  I had bought this book when it was new in 1981 and just a few days ago in an old box I had found this.

The New Teen Titans #14

I had read comics all of my life but these were among the first that I bought with the intention of collecting.  And looking back on it why wouldn't I collect these stories.  In the early 80s the New Teen Titans were incredible.  They and the X-Men were some of my first must buys and in the years before I knew there was such a thing as a comics store I would eagerly check the neighborhood 7/11 for new comics.

But that was a long time ago.  Looking at these two issues I remember why I loved comics so much.  So this blog was born.  I'm going to recreate my long lost comic collection but I'm going to do it the hard way.  I'm going to recreate my comic collection mainly out of the quarter box.  These comics cost .60 in 1981, that's about $1.46 today so my self-imposed price limit is $1.50 per comic.  Now there are some comics I will simply never be able to replace at this price.  The X-Men #14 even in just good condition is worth $48.00.  Even the famous but quite common X-Men 137, 141, and 142 are worth about $5.00 each.  My Hulk #180 and 181, worth probably about two grand, yeah that one hurts.  My Dark Knight Returns, my original run of the Watchmen, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Who's Who, and Crisis, I won't get those again but that's not important.

What's important is rediscovering what I loved about comics of this era.  So as I collect, I'll review.  I'll look to see what's good, what's bad, and how the stories have held up over time.  Pull up a chair, grab a comic, and feel free to share your own memories of the great comics of yesteryear.  Tomorrow we start with the New Titans #13 & 14.