In my case, my earliest versions are not always my favorite versions. My favorite Wonder Woman is George Perez's, but I was reading Wonder Woman long before that. And I much prefer Alan Moore's post-The Anatomy Lesson Swamp Thing (technically not a new character, but certainly a different version) to what came before, even though I read Swamp Thing from its introduction.
I'll admit to a nostalgic feeling of warm familiarity for the earliest versions I saw, or in general things I read when I was quite young. (For example, I see Wonder Tot and Mister Genie, and I smile.) But that doesn't always make them my favorite versions.