Comic Book Journalism

[MatchstickJohnny]

Hello,

This is my attempt at writing about comics from my own stone age of comics.

The very first “Planet of the Apes” film was released in 1968 it was also the year I was born. I can remember having a huge interest in Evel Knievel and the 1976 remake of King Kong. From time to time I was getting an occasional comic book from the spinner racks. I was ten years old when Star Wars was the most important thing in my life. Did I have Star Wars comic books? You bet I did. This was before I became a comic book “collector” and was more of a casual comic book reader. My dad brought me home a stack of Marvel Tales featuring Spider-Man. That set the tiny spark for my love for Spider-Man and collecting comic books.

The first time I walked into a comic book store I wasn’t even aware you could buy older comic books. I was unaware that they were called “back issues” so I was calling them older comics. What I remember most is the smell of all those comic books. Old musty comic books in these long boxes, called “long boxes”. The thing is there wasn’t just one or two long boxes jammed packed end to end with old comics. There were most likely hundreds of them in rows. Rows of comic book long boxes neatly uniform side by side. This was definitely pre-Marvel "Secret Wars" time and I had no idea what going on in the current Marvel Universe. Prior to this my only experience of buying a comic book was off the spinner rack in a couple small stores on Broadway of my home town where you could also purchase magazines. This amazing comic book store that I entered for the first time was located in the city of sin. It was located under the train tracks of the MBTA Commuter rail. I recently looked it up and its the Rockport/Newbury port line (I assume it was the same back them). My friends and I had taken a city bus roughly 2 miles from our homes to get to this most magical place on earth. A place filled with the magic and wonder that I only thought could be found in Disney World.

This is where my comics journey began.

To be continued....

[Paradox]

"Evel Knievel"

[MatchstickJohnny]

Thanks Dox! I fixed it.

[Paradox]

No prob. I'm reading, too, not just correcting, so I'll check in on the next installment. I like "beginnings" stories.

[Stony]

No prob. I'm reading, too, not just correcting, so I'll check in on the next installment. I like "beginnings" stories.

So you're the one to blame for so many origin movies!

[agent99]

Wow. I remember that I had to go to the drug store to buy comics when I was a kid (I guess the bookstore in the mall didn't consider comics 'bookish' enough at the time.). I don't remember the first actual comic store I went to- but I do know I was on vacation in Orlando, FL and I had to beg my dad to let me go in. I got maybe 5 mins. (My dad thought I was too obsessed with comics to start with..) I do remember that it was like a magic place....I was about 12 years old and thought it was just as cool as Disneyworld, tbh.