Middle aged comic book fans

[The I.A.D.C.]

I was six months old when the first Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie came out.

My introduction to the DCU came from watching reruns of the '60s "Batman" and '70s "Wonder Woman" TV shows in the early '80s. The first two "Superman" movies were also in heavy rotation on HBO at the time. "Super Friends" was also big at the time and I had most of the Kenner Super Power figures to go with that. Wish I had held on to them! When those stations stopped airing the shows I went into such a deep funk (at six!) that my dad bought me my first comic book - "Justice League of America" #182 and that was it. I found a little local book store that had long boxes of back issues and immersed myself in '70s and '80s Pre-Crisis/Bronze Age goodness. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" began shortly thereafter, but my small, seven year-old brain didn't really understand all the stuff that was going on with that, so it took me a while to go back and re-visit that and appreciate it for what it was. I do remember that it took me a long time to adjust and accept the new "Post-Crisis" status quo. I'm sure if the internet had existed back then I would have been a little eight year-old troll! To be honest, to this day, I'm still "stuck" in a Pre-Crisis/Bronze Age world. That will always be the "definitive" era and versions of all the characters for me.

[DCStu]

I'm still "stuck" in a Pre-Crisis/Bronze Age world. That will always be the "definitive" era and versions of all the characters for me.

The classic age for me will always be post crisis. All that lovely Batman and Superman stuff. That's what I have the fondest memories of.

[SJNeal]

I'm 36, but feel 76 most days. Does that count?

Been reading comics since '87-'88, when I started with Archie, but quickly converted to DC/Marvel within a year or two. Even though I buy more comics today than ever (the pull list gets longer every year!), I have to say my favorite era is still 1986-1995 or so.

[Scott Taylor]

Will be 47 in May. Started looking at the funny books in 1977, back when Jimmy Carter was US President.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Nice to hear someone else call them "funny books." My aunt, who bought me my very first comic book subscription, called them that.

[Anodyne]

I'll be 76 next week, and I have a huge backlog of unopened boxes of comics because I want to read them in order. I'm trying to figure out which issues I'm missing.

[CaptCleghorn]

Nice to hear someone else call them "funny books." My aunt, who bought me my very first comic book subscription, called them that.

It's comforting to realize that there are still many of us who realize it's a fun hobby and not to take it seriously.

[Devaishwarya]

I'm 48 and have been reading/buying (my own) comics since I was 13 but I was actually 7 when I first started reading my uncles' Creepy and Eerie Mags.

[caj]

Been reading comics since '87-'88, when I started with Archie, but quickly converted to DC/Marvel within a year or two.

I also started reading comics with Archie. Read them for years. My sister would buy Supergirl and Lois Lane comics, but it was only when a boy on the school bus had a Justice League of America comic that he let me read that I became hooked on DC Comics.

[DavidRA]

I'm in my 50's. Comics are a shadow of what they were when I was a lad.

[Gurz]

I'm 35 and what i get is mostly Omnibus and Absolutes anymore except Batman Deluxes.

[BatmanJones]

I'll be 50 at the end of the month. When I was maybe 3 or 4 I watched Superfriends for the first time and became interested in Batman in particular because he scared me (the Superfriends version!). That led me to almost immediately becoming obsessive about the Adam West Batman show which I watched in reruns. By the time I was 5 I was buying comics off spinner racks with my small allowance. By 6 or 7 I made weekly trips to my LCS and comic conventions were the places I most wanted to go. I gobbled up so many back issues and reprints.

As a kid I was very into DC and Marvel though DC always had my heart.

For a few years in the 90s, when I was about 24, just out of college, I was distracted by beginning my career as a playwright/theatre director and living in/booking/bartending at a punk club and I just sort of forgot to buy comics for the first time in my life. I was vaguely aware of things like Death of Superman and Bane breaking Batman's back, I wasn't all that interested in comics for the first and only time in my life. Grant Morrison's JLA brought me back and I remember buying the first issue the day it came out and bringing it to rehearsal that night and suggesting all the actors read it. I remember that that copy got passed around to about everyone eventually and it was pretty beat up by the end of the run of the play when I finally brought it home.

From then on "new comic day" has been the only ritual I've observed religiously. I've gotten into some non-DC stuff (particularly Black Hammer which hooked me with Dr. Star being such a love letter to the JSA) but mostly I just buy DC stuff. I buy and read about 5-8 DC comics a week.

I feel lucky to be the age I am as a comic book fanatic because comics were still very much for kids when I was a kid and they first became for adults when I was a teenager and was buying DKR, Watchmen, and lots of Vertigo stuff the day those books came out.

Though I don't think it's so great for the industry in terms of new readers, I love that comics have become more sophisticated as I've gotten older. I feel like they've grown up on the same sort of timeline that I have.

Nothing can match the enthusiasm I had for comics as a kid but, as an adult, I'm enjoying DC stuff more than ever before. That's not a critical commentary on how good DC's been lately; it's more to do with loving the things I love, even when they're not necessarily at their best.

[DevilBat66]

So....pretty much a bunch of old farts.

[The Darknight Detective]

So....pretty much a bunch of old farts.

When you call me that, SMILE!

[philosopop]

I was just wondering if there were any posters in here of a similar age to me. I'm 41. I loved comics as a kid... but unlike many of my peers I never grew out of them. My youngest kid thinks it's cool that her Dad is still an avid DC fan and my wife supports my hobby - let me cover the bedroom wall in superhero posters and stuff.

Anyone else? Please don't tell me I'm the oldest one here...

I'm 48, brazilian, living in Brazil ....
love comics, especially DC ..... did my master's on continuity

It's great to meet other readers of around my age. <3

[Brad]

I'm 41, too. Have to be honest and say my buying habits have slowed down considerably in the last 10 years. My completionist days ended around 15 years ago. Quickly found out the world doesn't end when you stop a long run on a title. Now I'm more discriminating with my money, avoid huge company cross overs, and prefer self-contained titles/properties. Last year I started trying out Alterna books. They have some interesting stuff on newsprint, usually only $1.50. Yes, $1.50!

Oops, today at work I realized I'm 42, not 41. It's just not something I think about.