| | Something I've Never Forgotten... |
Every Comic Book Can Be Someone's FIRST Comic! Earlier this morning I posted a blog on the fact that today would have been Chic Stone's 86th birthday... and I published a photo of the cover of Journey Into Mystery #105 which was inked by Chic Stone.
Shortly after that I had a FaceBook Friend comment on my post as follows:
Dave Simons said "I think that issue of JIM was the first Marvel comic I ever read. Bought it coverless at the local store when I was about 7 years old."
This only goes to show that no matter how much continuity or issues a comic book title has, it can still be someone's FIRST comic book, which may or may not lead them to pick up another, and maybe another after that!
Comics are not readily available in many places today. This was brought to my attention again when we vacationed in Northwestern Arizona during the Christmas Week Vacation.
Even Flagstaff doesn't have a comic book store anymore, and this with many University students living in the town! Matter of fact, shortly before we left for our trip, we shipped a run of Green Lanterns to a student in that area. Bookman's Exchange is the closest store to where you can pick up back issues, and Tina and I wiped them out of collectible comics/mags this past trip!
So why this blog post today? Well, Dave's comment reminded me of the first comic book that made me a 'collector' of comics, instead of just a 'reader' of comics. That comic led to the comic industry's getting multiple thousands of dollars from me over the ensuing decades!
I blogged about it before, but it's been a while... Here is the archived blog post reprinted here, because of the many new readers to our Blog:
This Is The Publication That Got Me Collecting Comic Books!
The publication was 'Journey Into Mystery' #72 from Atlas Comics, (Atlas evolved into what we know as Marvel Comics today).
Before I was given this comic book, all I had been reading were 'funnybooks' with an occasional National (Superman) comic book thrown in.
Journey Into Mystery #72 was cover dated September 1961, which would have made me nine years old. The title had started with issue #1 in June of 1952, which would have been a month older than I was.
What made this one issue stand out enough to make me start collecting comic books???
It was the artwork that did it for me. It was when I first truly realized that it was real people that drew these comics, in this case they were Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers, who signed their work 'Kirby/Ayers'.
Before this comic, all that I was aware of were the 'cookie cutter' artwork in funnybooks of Chilly Willy, Woody Woodpecker, Mickey Mouse, etc. The art from one artist to another was almost indistinguishable, and no one signed their names to the artwork...
However the artwork of this Journey Into Mystery was so far different from what I was used to, that I immediately looked for more by the Kirby/Ayers team and kept the book in better shape!
I didn't have too long to wait... as Kirby drew Fantastic Four #1 for the November 1961 cover date, which I picked up after seeing Fantastic Four #3 from March 1962 where the FF wore costumes for the first time!
It was unusual that this comic was given to me as it was a 'monster' comic, which probably would have been thought to give me 'nightmares', but I am glad that it was given to me and that it started my lifelong collecting bug of collecting comics!!!
I was fortunate to meet Jack Kirby at the SDCC before he passed away, and to have met Dick Ayers at Wonder-Con and the SDCC a few times through the years. They were definitely the great guys I thought them to be when I was a kid!! Thanks Jack and Dick for the memories !!
For those interested in seeing more Jack Kirby comics, we have several in our eBay Featured Store! Thanks for reading !!
So the above blog post shows that in my individual case, the comics industry had a few times to make me more than a casual reader.
However with the cover price of comics today, and the current competition by video games, card games, wii, ipod music, DVDs etc., the chances of someone getting 'hooked' into comics is slimmer than years ago.
Some of the comics I pick up now don't help a new reader get involved with the character, as that issue is part of a 'story arc' that is meant to be compiled in a trade paperback as a complete story. A brand new reader is going to look at that issue and wonder if it is worth the price to continue the story. And brand new regular sized comics are hitting the stands at $3.99 this year from some companies!
I am looking forward to attending several cons this year, and will be blogging about what we see and hear at them. Tina and I usually meet many new comic con attendees standing in the lines for programs and thus keep 'current' with what attendees are looking for and talking about!
For those of you that are new to our blog today, we also have an ongoing 'Comic Con and Pop Culture Convention' here at "Make It So Marketing Inc.", what with our daily blog posts, and new listings of items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store!
Thanks for reading this blog post today, and please join us again for more! BTW, besides blogging, we have over 472 Reviews that Tina and I have placed in our eBay Reviews Section. Just click here to see our latest reviews!
~ Michael and Tina
 | | Note From Make It So Marketing: To the left is a photo of Michael and Tina at the 2007 SDCC - San Diego Comic Convention International. Click that photo to see 'Our World'! Each comic / comics book. Graphic Novels or magazine in our eBay Featured Store is individually graded by Michael, inventoried, priced, bagged and boarded, before being listed for sale! We attend several Pop Culture Conventions and Comic Cons during the year to replenish our comic books and other pop culture inventory for resale! If you don't see what you are looking for, feel free to email us a 'want list' and if in stock, we'll place it in our eBay Featured Store 'Just for You' to purchase! |
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Note: If you work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for review, send to: Make It So Marketing Inc
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