Comic Books, Super-Heroes and Me: **Phase 3 1986 - Present The Old Desire Returns

When I stopped collecting comics in 1978 my love for the art form didn't vanish. It had been painful giving up my collection and just looking at comics would remind me of my loss. I didn't have the heart to resume following the monthly exploits of these characters I had had grown so fond of. I would follow what was going on with the characters in other media formats and would discuss the topic of super-heroes with others who shared in the interest but for the the most part I tried to protect myself from the h0bby. I was very wary of picking up a comic book and getting sucked back in.

In 1984, I discovered Doctor Who when a new local TV station, WPDS, began airing the Tom Baker package here in Indianapolis. I became an instant fan. In my search to find out more about the program I visited The Comic Carnival in Broad Ripple to see if they might carry merchandise associated with this British program. (The small shop I had visited in 78 was no longer in business.) To my delight, I did find items including Doctor Who Magazine in the store. I also discovered a fan produced freebie in the store called The Gallifreyan Gazette which I picked up leading me to a new host of friends and responsibilities. (A future entry will attempt to chronicle my involvement with what was then called The Doctor Who Society of Central Indiana.) My visit to Comic Carnival stirred up many old feelings but I was able to stay true to my decision not to begin purchasing those four color marvels. The temptation was great; racks of boxes containing back issues, prized collectables on display as well as the latest issues available called out to me on every visit.

Maurice Broaddus credits me with igniting his interest in horror and comic books. I confess, I probably did have a little to do with it. Ah, the corruption of the innocent. I never put a comic book in his hands, though. We just talked about super-heroes. I blame him for putting me back in the game.

Maurice, who had taken up collecting would talk to me about what was happening in the comic book world. In 1986, Maurice was excited about what was going on with Batman. He wanted me to read a couple of comic books. I was hesitant but agreed to read Batman Annual #9 and his first issue of this all new format of a comic called Batman The Dark Knight Returns.

The Annual had a series of stories, written by Mike Barr with a variety of artists, under the umbrella title "Four Faces Of Batman" examining The Face of "The Child", "The Avenger", "The Detective" and "The Man".

And then there was The Dark Knight Returns written and drawn by Frank Miller. For those who don't know The Dark Knight is a tale that takes place in Bruce Wayne's future after he has shelved the Batman for 10 years. In this dystopian future Bruce ponders "...while in my gut the creature writhes and snarls and tells me what I need..." and the Dark Knight returns. Most Super-heroes during the time period depicted were no longer active and hints are dropped as to what had become of them. Only Superman continues to carry on fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Batman takes on the tutelege of a new Robin, Carrie Kelly, after Batman saves her from Mutant gangbangers. The 4 issue run was aimed at adults and concludes with a titanic battle between the Dark Knight and Superman.

Miller's artwork matches the character of this Batman, almost psychotic but yet powerful. Batman is now more anti-hero than hero. The series reinvigorated the super-hero genre.

An excellent review can be found at http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/117627509535816.htm

I was blown away. I could no longer fight off the need and like Bruce Wayne the creature writhed and snarled and told me what I needed-- Comic Books.

What a period to be reintroduced to the genre. Miller's other great work of 1986 was his "Born Again" story arc in Daredevil issues 227-233 The story by Miller is complemented wonderfully by David Mazzuchelli's art. Matt Murdock is betrayed by his former love interest Karen Page when she sells his secret identity to support her heroin addiction. The Kingpin uses this information to drag Matt through the gutter. At it's heart the story is a tale of personal redemption.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Again_(comics)

Miller and Mazzuchelli would later team up on Batman Year One a retelling of Batman's origins that many feel is better than Miller's Dark Knight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Year_One

Both Daredevil and The Dark Knight Returns dealt with acknowledged super-heroes. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's Watchmen was something else...something special. Beginning in 1986 and running for 12 issues Watchmen was about a group of costumed "super-heroes" loosely based on the Charlton Comics super-hero line acquired by DC. The complexity of story and characters of Watchmen cannot be adequately explained in this post.

A nice detailed article can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen

It didn't take long for me to want to find out what was happening with other super-heroes I had been intersted in. I tried Superman but was unimpressed and wouldn't jump on board those titles until later in 86 just before John Byrne put out his new take on the character in Superman The Man Of Steel.

Just prior to John Bryne's take on Superman, Alan Moore wrote what may be my favorite Superman story of all-time "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" which was presented in Superman #423 and part 2 in Action Comics 583
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman:_Whatever_Happened_to_the_Man_of_Tomorrow%3F

I was soon reading Amazing Spider-Man again though I was dissapointed the quality wasn't up to the standards of the aformentioned titles. It would be the following year before I got excited about Spider-Man. "Kraven's Last Hunt" was spread over three Spiderman titles Amazing 293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man 131-132 and Web of Spiderman 31-32.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraven In addition to reading these new stories, I wanted to relive some of the good old days and went searching for a couple of books I knew had at one time been published. Superman: From the 30s to the 70s and Batman: From the 30's to the 70s seemed like a good way to acquire and relive some of the stories from days gone by. After searching all over town in book stores and comic shops I was able to find copies. It didn't quench my thirst for back issues, however.



It wasn't my intention to start buying alot of back issues when I resumed purchasing some of these outstanding books. I'll give some of the blame for it to The Comic Carnival. On my birthday they were kind enough to send me a birthday greetings with a coupon for $5 worth of free back issues. I promptly took them up on it and took forever trying to decide what I would take home. I finally decided upon picking up a run of Tomb of Dracula. I believe I laid down quite a few of my own dollars also. Buying back issues had begun.

I hadn't gotten on board when Crisis on Infinite Earths made its debute in 1985. But it wasn't hard finding all the issues in the back issue bins. Crisis weaves its way throughout DC History and produces a new continuity by the conclusion leaving a wave of death and destruction in its cosmic wake.

http://www.io.com/~woodward/chroma/crisis.html

Another Prestigious title I began to buy and also hunt down back issues of was Alan Moore's run on Saga of The Swamp Thing. I was familiar with the original run of Swamp Thing by Len Wein with fabulous art from Bernie Wrightson, but this new take was something far more literary. Moore began his run in 1984 with issue 21 "The Anatomy Lesson" and turned the tale of Alec Holland on its head turning him into a plant elemental and presenting a literary horror tale month after month in a graphic format. It was held in high esteem and was the precursor to what is now the Vertigo Line of Comics in the DC stable. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_Thing

Sandman by Neil Gaiman won the World Fantasy Award title. His stories about Morphius, The Lord of Dreams, and the Endless family like Alan Moore's work were critically acclaimed and eventually merged into the Vertigo line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(Vertigo)

I am a big fan of another writer from the UK, Grant Morrison, who is currently writng many of the Batman titles. His work on Doom Patrol and particularly Animal Man are some of my favorites. His story "The Coyote Gospel" in Animal Man #5 is a brilliant piece which plays off the old Road Runner cartoons with a Coyote named Crafty.


Another Alan Moore project he did in The UK Marvel Man was reprinted here in the US under the title Miracle Man. This run of comics turned the original Captain Marvel on its head. This title was put out by a new publisher called Eclipse. The title was intense and controversial.

I didn't jump on the X-Men bandwagon in the mid 70s when Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum reintroduced the team in Giant Sized X-Men #1 and Uncanny X-Men 94. By this time the X-men were all the rage. Maurice would implore me to check it out. But it wouldn't be until the "Fall of The Mutants" storyline beginning in Uncanny X-Men 225 that I would become interested. I had to admit there was something about these X-Men and I was curious to find out more.

Later I would go back and find issues of the Claremont/ John Byrne run of Uncanny X-Men that featured the stories introducing Phoenix and the classic Dark Phoenix. I also would find pleasure reading John Bryne's run on The Fantastic Four.


I have seen the Super-heroes go through many changes over the years. Superman revealed his identity to Lois Lane and then married her. Later he wouild die at the hands of Doomsday and be restored. The second Robin died at the hands of the Joker. Jason Todd's Fate was voted for by the readers. Batman would have his back broken and Gotham would be nearly destroyed by earthquakes. He was suspected dead at the conclusion of the most recent crisis but in reality was just thrown back through history. Hal Jordan would go crazy and become Parralax, die, become the Spectre, and be resurrected with sanity restored. Supergirl and The Flash would die during the Crisis and both have been restored. Over at Marvel, Peter Parker would eventually tie the knot with Mary Jane only to have their marriage erased from history. Recently Captain America was apparently killed on a court house steps by his lover and S.H.I.E.L.D agent Sharon Carter and Bucky Barnes becomes the New Cap in what may be the best Marvel storyline over the last 5 years. The Super-heroes at Marvel would wage a Civil War and Norman Osborn would eventually reign.

The desire to collect didn't take long to emerge after my interest in comics was revived. I developed a strategy for purchasing back issues. The first books I would go after were those that either had top talent or were acclaimed story arcs within titles. An example being Frank Miller's earliest art and writing on Daredevil when he introduced Elektra.

Around town there were three Comic book stores I divided my allegiances over. Range Line Comics in Carmel, Comics Unlimited downtown and later in Speedway and of course Comic Carnival. I found many of the back issues I searched for at these locations but I also went to comic book shows to find difficult to find comics.

The two characters I was most interested in were Batman and Spiderman. I knew immediately what I wanted to pursue with Spiderman. I wanted to replenish all the comics I had previously sold, but this time I wanted the original issues, not reprints from Marvel Tales. It took a long time but I eventually not only recovered those issues but I also was able to obtain the earliest issues from the early to mid 60s written by Stan Lee with art by Steve Ditko.

Batman and Detective Comics were also on my radar. I set my sights on and obtained runs like the Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers run in Detective which has been often referred to as the definitive Batman. I found issues of Batman by Dennis Oneil and Neal Adams in a variety of places but I had the hardest time finding an issue of Batman 251 a classic Joker tale. I finally found it at a comic book show in Cincinnati.

At the same show, I also bought a Swamp Thing #1 and my first Golden Age comic during this phase of collecting. The first detailed origin of Batman was published in Batman #47. I had been looking for a reasonably priced golden age comic to add to my collection. This comic was a key issue in good to very good condition and I only had to shell out $45 for it.

Today Super-Heroes can be found in all sorts of media. The biggest hits at the movies every Summer are the Super-Hero Movies. The X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, The Punisher, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk and soon to be released Thor and Captain America have all been hits or will be. DC has put out Superman movies and has found its best sucess with the Batman franchise, both in the late 80s and early 90s movies first strarring Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight and most recently with Christopher Nolan's vision of Batman in 2005's Batman Begins and 2008's The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale as Batman. These latter two movies have set the bar high for super-hero movies as they were something more, movies that required serious consideration by critics as well as fandom. Both companies have had their characters involved in animated productions that are of high quality also.

When one speaks of super-heroes he doesn't say BIF, BAM, POW anymore. Super-heroes and Comic Books are taken seriously, and I am glad for it in spite of my nostalgia for the old Batman TV show.

I continue to buy my weekly new comics and rarely buy back issues since I have found the majority of the comics I wanted for my collection. When we bought our home about 15 years ago or so, we had to consider where to store my comics. Afterall they need to be stored in a cool dry environment. And they take up too much space. We passed on many houses we liked before settling on our current residence, all because of the comic book collection.

So, why do I do this? I must be a bit nuts. After all most are safely locked away, and difficult to get to. But it has been part of who I am since I was young and many memories come flowing back when I do decide to open one of those older treasures and the smell of the aging paper brings back wonderful memories of days gone by.

Comic Books, Super-Heroes and Me: **Phase 2 MARVELous Days 1973 -1978

About the same time I started college, I picked up a copy of Dracula Lives #2 at Toler Pharmacy. Dracula Lives was a Black and White anthology of sequential art stories based on Count Dracula. It also had some nonfiction Dracula related material presented also. It was published by Marvel Comics. I didn't know it, but Marvel had been presenting Dracula in comic book form since early 1972 in Tomb of Dracula. This second issue of Dracula Lives presented an origin story for Dracula written by Marv Wolfman and the art was supplied by Neal Adams.

The origin was an excellent plausible explanation for Vlad Tepes introduction to vampirism and the art by Adams was fantastic. I wanted more. I soon discovered Tomb of Dracula also written by Wolfman and illustrated by Gene Colan. The cast of characters in conflict with the count and the stories made for fun reading. There was something about this comic book line that kept you wanting to come back for more. Marvel interjected a soap opera element that would carry over from issue to issue.

My trips to Haag drugstore and Toler subjected me to many other four color treasures on display. My curiosity of what was offered in the super-hero books I'd loved when I was younger got the better of me. Besides, it was chic to read comics if you were a college kid. At least that was what people like Stan Lee were saying. I quickly came to understand the Marvel Comic line treated its readership more like adults. They had also found the way to hook the readership to come back each month. It was the soap opera element.

Chief among the comics I was most interested in was the Spider-Man line. I started with Amazing Spider-Man but I also found Marvel Tales which was a reprint comic of earlier Amazing Spider-Man issues. It took awhile to figure out how the continuity linked but I managed. Marvel soon introduced a new Spider-Man title, Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man. I started picking up Amazing shortly after Gwen Stacy's death, probably around issue 128. I can't recall where I began Marvel Tales but it was in those comics I learned all the necessary history of Spider-man's life including his love for Gwen Stacy, his friendships with Mary Jane and Harry not to mention his battles with Norman Osborn the Green Goblin and the likes of the Kingpin. It was in these stories I was treated to the amazing run Stan Lee and John Romita produced. The ongoing storyline was engaging and the art by Romita is classic. His depiction of Gwen and Mary Jane made it hard for any real life girl to measure up to a Spiderman reader's desires. Marvel Tales helped make since of what was going on in the 2 ongoing titles.

I became reacquainted with most of the other Marvel Super-heroes via Spiderman's exploits in Marvel Team Up, an ongoing series of self contained stories usually involving Spiderman. Soon, I found myself buying Daredevil, Captain America as well as team books like The Avengers and The Fantastic Four.

I can't remember the first issue I bought of Conan The Barbarian by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. I had been interested in Conan since reading some of Robert E Howards works reprinted in paperback. I couldn't stop reading Conan after Roy Thomas introduced Belit into the storyline. I still consider this ongoing saga one of the best extended runs in comic book history.

It could be my first Conan wasn't the comic book but another of Marvel's Black & White Magazines The Savage Sword of Conan. Like Dracula Lives, I was attracted to these productions and bought other Marvel Black and Whites like The Rampaging Hulk and Vampire Tales.

In 1976 the first oversized comic book was introduced- Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man. This "treasury sized" edition was the first cross-over put out between competing companies DC and Marvel. The cover claimed .

"THE GREATEST HERO TEAM-UP OF ALL TIME"

"THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY"

It was written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Ross Andru. Both had worked on each character previously.

A fairly good plot summary can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_vs._the_Amazing_Spider-Man

DC and Marvel would follow up with Batman vs The Incredible Hulk in the same format. The format would soon be used to reprint Golden Age Comics by DC but otherwise didn't catch on.

I found a copy of Jim Steranko's The Steranko History of the Comics vol 1 which detailed comic book origins from the newstrips to the pulp magazines and wonderfully discussed the Golden Age of Comics. The pages were filled with photos of covers from the 30s and 40s. Though I figured it would be impossible to buy golden age comics, the book inspired me to search out older back issues of comics.

(The front and back cover art for Steranko's Book)

It was also during this period comic book shops began to appear. I began frequenting a small shop on West Washington Street. It was there I found a copy of the magazine sized The Spectacular Spiderman which had come out in 1968. It had a wonderful painted cover with color interior pages and the story "The Goblin Lives" became a favorite of mine.

http://www.samruby.com/Series/Magazine/specmag02.htm

I went to my first comic book convention in 1977. It was held in Indianapolis and Stan Lee was the guest. I purchased a copy of Daredevil #2 at the convention. It cost me $10.00 and I had Stan Lee sign it. At another Comic show I splurged. I had become fascinated with Golden Age comics. I found a mint copy of Captain America #50. It cost me $50. I was becoming a proud collector.

The "hot" comic book during the summer of 77 was the first issue of Star Wars. it came out about the same time as the movie and like the movie was a big hit. I never bought a copy and I didn't see the movie until late in its run. All the talk was Star Wars and I felt a little left out.

There were some live action super-heroics displayed on our TV sets during this period. The pilot of "The Hulk" TV series was shown in 1977. Lou Feringo played the Hulk and Bill Bixby played his alter ego, Dr. David (instead of Bruce)Banner. The show was popular and it seemed alot like the old program The Fugitive but this time with the twist that the hunted could turn green and mean. Spider-man got his Live Action show starring Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker/ Spider-man. It would only last 13 episodes. Wonder Woman starring Linda Carter lasted 3 seasons, but I wasn't interested. How could I not have been interested? I don't know.

Judy and I had only been married a year and a half when the year 1978 rolled around. She had been supportive of, though not really interested in, my comic book collecting. I finished doing our taxes for the year and was shocked to find out we owed the government nearly a thousand dollars. We didn't have that much money. I looked at my comic book collection and resigned myself to the need to put them up for sale. I wasn't as devastated as I could have been. A year earlier I had become a Christian, and I was able to be thankful for a way to come up with the money we needed. I also had been spending more time reading doctrinal books and Bible study material reducing the amount of time I had for reading comics. I was disheartened, however.
Again, I swore off buying comics. The sale of my collection destroyed my desire to stay in touch on a monthly basis with the characters I enjoyed so much. I did see the Superman movie that summer, but beyond that it would be nearly be a decade before my interest in Super-heroes would be reignited.

Comic Books, Super-Heroes and Me: **Phase 1: The Early Years

Sometimes after making my Wednesday purchase of new comic books, I wonder what I'm doing.

Most comics now cost $2.99 -$3.99 each. It doesn't take long to run up quite a bill. And what do I do with these illustrated marvels? After reading them, they get bagged up, placed in an acid free box and stored away in a temperature controlled dry room. Any particular comic may never be looked at again. Ah, the joys of collecting.

I will pause on this and think back to what comic books have meant to me over my life and then realize they have been an integral part providing many memories and much enjoyment.

My earliest comic book memories date back to the the early 60s. I was a young boy of 7 or 8 years old when our family would visit my grandparents every Sunday in Plainfield, Indiana. My Grandmother would fix up a big fried chicken dinner for everyone and she would give my sister and I a quarter each along with a box of Cracker Jack or a small bag of potato chips. I would promptly run down to the corner Rexall Drug Store and buy a couple of comic books or if I wanted to splurge and had a few more cents available, I'd pick up the latest Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine.

I can't remember the first comic book I purchased but I do remember buying

Amazing Fantasy 15 off the newstand. I debated whether to buy it because the price was 12 cents rather than the 10 cents I was used to spending. But that cover introducing Spider-Man sold me.

I can conjure up memories of reading Amazing Spider-Man 4 with Sandman while I was sitting on the stairway leading up to my grandmother's apartment. Elektro became a favorite villain when I read through the 9th issue of Amazing Spiderman. It would take awhile before he was replaced by The Green Goblin.

Spider-Man was definitely a favorite. A teen-age hero who wasn't a side kick but the main guy was exciting. He struggled with all the problems other kids had and he was easy to relate to. To this day, my since of responsibility continues to be the virtue that drives me most. I learned it in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. "With great power, there must also come great responsibility"-- Uncle Ben Parker Amazing Fantasy 15

As much as I enjoyed Spider-Man and the other early Marvel Comics with the dose of realism they provided, my favorite comics were put out by DC. These were the icons. I had been buying Superman, Batman and The Justice League before I bought Marvel and they are still my favorites. When Superman and Batman teamed up in World's Finest Comics, I thought I was getting something special. It was like getting double the value for my 12 cents. World's Finest 139 "The Ghost of Batman" and Worlds Finest 142 featuring the first Composite Superman story stand out vividly. The Composite Superman was especially cool as he was a caretaker of the Superman Museum when a Lightning Bolt struck the statuettes of the Legion of Super-heroes releasing their energy into his body. He uses the power of Chamelion Boy to alter his appearance into the Composite Superman and forces Superman, Batman & Robin into a partnership and then seeks to end their careers as heroes.

If having Superman and Batman teamed up in the same comic wasn't good enough, I could always turn to the Justice League of America. The combination of Super-heroes interacting with one another was always a book I looked forward to. One particular issue, number 30, introduced a team of Super Villains who were alternates of the heroes I was familiar with. These characters from Earth 3 provided an interesting twist to the ongoing teamups with super-heroes from the golden age with the current incarnations. Ultraman countered Superman, Owlman was Batman's doppleganger. Power Ring and Superwoman were Green Lantern and Wonder Woman's counterparts. These matchups have continued into the modern day most recently in an animated movie released on DVD entitled "Crisis On Two Earths".

During those days Superman remained my favorite character. I loved the imaginary stories like "The Sons of Superman" featured in Superman 166. This story took place in the future telling the tale of Superman's sons Jor-El II and Kal-El II. Superman's wife is never identified. She is only visualized in silhouette. Jor-El II had super powers like his father and Kal-El II did not. Superman tried various methods to enable him with powers also. Both boys were later taken to the bottle city of Kandor to receive a Kryptonian education. Of course, there neither boy had super-powers, and while there they learned of the exploits of Nightwing and Flamebird- crime fighters of Krypton. Superman and Jimmy Olsen had taken on these identities in earlier adventures. The boys have an adventure of their own disguised as the new Nightwing and Flamebird. The villain they battle frees himself from the bottled city and the boys must follow. Monsters are unleashed and Superman and young Jor-El use their powers to fight the threat and young Kal-El is unable to assist due to his lack of powers but later Kal has to find a way to save Superman and Jor-El who are dying in a kryptonite trap. Kal recues them and no longer feels inferior to them because of his lack of super powers.

The following issue #167 features one of my favorite Curt Swan Superman covers of all time. Lex Luther and Brainiac have Superman shrunk down, trapped in a canary cage.

Superman never seemed to disappoint me. In addition to the comics was The Adventures of Superman TV show. I remember rushing home after school to watch it, along with Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and The Lone Ranger. It was Superman I wanted to see the most. I would recite along with the introduction as the music played and a streak of light surged across a body of planets exploding into the Title:

"Faster than A Speeding Bullit

More Powerful Than Locomotive

Able to Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound

Look Up In The Sky!

It's a Bird!

It's a Plane!

It's Superman!"

Yes, It's Superman Strange visitor From Another Planet Who Came to Earth With Powers and Abilities Far Beyond Those of Mortal Man

Superman, Who Can Change the Course of Mighty Rivers

Bend Steel In His Bare Hands

And Who Disguised as Clark Kent, Mild Mannered Reporter For A Great Metropolitan Newspaper

Fights the Never Ending Battle For Truth, Justice And The American Way!

These adventures remain for me the best non animated depiction of the Man of Steel (with only Smallville rivaling but because Superman hasn't been introduced, only Clark Kent, I don't really count it) and George Reeve's portrayal of Clark Kent is much better than any of the movie versions.

Interest in girls didn't fully blossom until many years later, but I do remember some form of infatuation with the opposite sex beginning around kindergarten. I contribute this to the girls of the Legion of Super-Heroes. There was just something about these beautiful girls in costume displaying super powers. I'll let someone else try and analyse a first grader's interest in Triplicate Girl.

By fifth grade the campy Batman TV show was all the rage. I didn't want to miss an episode. My friends and I would dress up as super-heroes. Mark Kasting always wanted to be Batman. I didn't mind being Robin. I could relate to him better and I thought Robin was cooler. We had to watch Batman on my parents old Black & White TV and I was always jealous of those with color sets. One Wednesday evening, my folks were invited over to some friends of the family for dinner. I reluctantly had to go along fearful I would miss my favorite show. To my great joy we were able to watch Batman in color over at their house. Ah, the memories.

I sent away for autographed photos of Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo and other memorabila, but the coolest 1966 item I collected was a set of Topps Batman cards illustrated by Norm Saunders. When I had collected all but one of the cards in the set, I found another guy who had the card I needed. He told me I would have to walk to school on my knees in order for him to give me the card. I swallowed my pride and payed the price. He got his amusement, I completed the set

To my regret, I didn't consider collecting comics back in those days. I would read them a time or two, put them into a pile until it built up and then with a friend, Paul Stergar, we would lug them around the neighborhood selling them for a nickel apiece. What we collected was baseball cards and we used our nickels to buy packs of ball cards with a stick of gum. By the end of grade school, I had tired of comics and before I started high school I had also given my entire collection of baseball cards to Paul. (The collection of cards included multiple Mickey Mantle cards from nearly every year and many many more.) Paul probably got rich from the cards we collected.

My interest in Comic books would revive about the time I started college. More later.

Getting a Feel for This Thing Called Blogging

I'm not sure why I started this. My opinion of most bloggers is they are doing this blogging thing to bolster their self esteem. Face Book, My Space and blogging all appear to be ways of expressing "Hey, look at me!" I know for some it is a way to express themselves and for others a way to network.
Many are want-to-be writers. I'm not sure where I fit in.


Last week I was on vacation and Judy, Jason and I made a few short trips. First up was a trip to Cincinnati where we visited the zoo and went to a Reds game. It was my first Major League Baseball game. The next day Jason and I went to the southern part of the state and went canoeing on the Blue River. We entered the water about 11:00 am. Our canoe was approximately in the middle of our group and we didn't waste time paddling into the lead position. Everyone else was making a leisurly time of it. Jason and I on the other hand opted to press forward. Not only did we complete the 7 mile trip first in our group but we also finished ahead of everyone in the group who entered the water 45 minutes ahead of us.


















Judy and I capped off last week with a celebration of our 34th wedding anniversay. We spent a night in the Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park. It rained the entire time we were there but we still found the time together without interruptions enjoyable.




June 12 1976 Walking down the aisle


These past 2 weeks have been one expense after another. First our refrigerator hasn't been working correctly for the past 2 months and the repair company has made numerous trips to fix the problems. Now the dryer's heating element broke. Last week I had to replace the exhaust on our Cutlass and Jason replaced the brakes and rotors on the Cavalier. Then the cavalier began overheating and it's going to cost over a thousand dollars in repair. In addition, Judy had to purchase new glasses costing a little over $300. Capping it all off, Jason goes to orientation at Lincoln Tech tomorrow and the first installment on his tuition will be due.

Initially I was upset by all the unexpected expenses but after giving it some thought and praying about it, I realized how much God has blessed us and how He has provided. True, the expenses will cause us to be a little thiftier but we do have the money to pay what we owe without going into debt. With so many people out of work or hampered with health concerns, it seems ridiculous to get upset about the loss of a couple thousand bucks. Thankfully, the car problems all occurred close to home and not in a compromised position. Even though the refrigerator hasn't worked for over a month, we at least had the old refrigerator in the garage to fall back on. God truly has been good to us and doesn't heap on more than we can handle.


I loved Russell Davies run on Doctor Who and felt both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant were remarkable as the Doctor, but I'm finding Steven Moffat's take on the show to be superior. Maffat was responsible for writing what I consider the best of the Davies run starting with my personal favorite The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances which he later followed with the exquisite The Girl in The Fireplace and what many believe ishe best Doctor Who episode ever- Blink. During Tennant's final season he wrote the two parter Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead.
















Steven Moffat has a knack for using the concept of time in his stories better than any previous Doctor Who writers. This continues during this season as the umbrella story certainly revolves around time and leaves us anxiously awaiting every new episode. The feel of this season hearkens back to classic Doctor Who but with better production values and tighter stories. Matt Smith has made the role of the Doctor his own and Karen Gillian as Amy Pond may be the best companion yet.

If it weren't for our recent financial squeeze I'd be purchasing the recent Captain America Omnibus editions featuring the Ed Brubaker/ Steve Epting run on Captain America. This included the death of Steve Rogers as Cap and told the story of Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier and his eventual taking on the mantel of Captain America. These stories are more influenced by international espionage than super heroics and the characterizations are well developed. The storyline over the past four years is,in my opinion,the best comic book story over the time period. That is saying alot for me as I'm first a DC guy.



Sadly, I wasn't in tune with Captain America until very late in the run and didn't purchase these comics as they came out. Though not in my collection, I did get a chance to read them consecutively and the omnibus editions should be a good way to add the stories to my collection.


I haven't seen too many new movies this year. Very little has interested me. I did see Iron Man 2 and enjoyed it. Not quite as good as the original but a worthy sequel



Just as Sam Raimi understood what Peter Parker / Spider-man was all about and captured the soul of the character, Jon Favreau knows what makes Tony Stark tick. ( I'm not referring to his damaged heart) Robert Downey's performance in both the original and the sequel displays Tony's narcissism and his charm.

Most super-hero stories have to deal with dualism in some way, but the Iron Man/ Stark character doesn't pursue this as Tony Stark is a man comfortable in his own skin or suit whether it is an Armani or made of iron.


I was originally concerned with the path Iron Man 2 was going to take. I thought the inclusion of War Machine would be unnecessary and I couldn't imagine Whiplash being a suitable foe for Iron Man. Though War Machine/ Rhodey was adequately pulled off by Don Cheadle, I still didn't see the point for the inclusion. I was impressed by Mickey Rourke as Whiplash though. His characterization of Ivan Vanko was superb. He is menacing and a little sympathetic at the same time.

Again, Gweneth Paltrow is perfect as Tony's compass, Pepper Potts.

Scarlett Johansen as the Black Widow gets in one excellent fight sequence but pretty much adds to the Avengers Initiative storyline being set up for the eventual Avengers movie. She looks great in her Black Widow garb. The Black Widow made her first appearance way back in the Iron Man story in Tales of Suspense 52, so it was fitting she appear first in an Iron Man Movie.

Interestingly it took private enterprise to achieve peace through strength and then the government steps in and takes over Stark's technology and everything falls apart. Maybe President Obama could learn from the film.


Whether it's Health Care, Financial Institutions or Car Companies, President Obama seems to think there is nothing the federal government shouldn't be running. I truly believe he is a socialist at heart.
One area the Fedral Government should be taking the lead in is the Oil Leak in the Gulf. Admittedly, Obama and the government don't have the knowhow to stop the leak but he could have been more responsive to the situation. When Governor Jindel of Louisiana requested booms and islands to prevent the oil reaching shore, the government said studies would have to be done to gauge the environmental impact. What were they thinking? As they were studying the Gulf shore was being coated in oil and pelicans were being painted with black death. The people who depend on the environment for their livlihoods have been decimated. The feds response to Governor Jindel's requests was too little too late. Help (skimmers and supertankers) were offered early in the days after the disaster from other countries with experience in dealing with oil spill disasters. The Obama administration turned down the help sighting the Jones Act which restricts foreign ships between U.S. ports. The Jones Act was developed in 1920 to protect the interests of unions and it has been waived temporarily in the past during times of crisis. President Bush waived the act after hurricane Katrina to allow foreign vessels the chance to bring aid to the region. But the Obama administration has failed to act. Throughout the crisis Obama has appeared disinterested and only after it has taken a political toll has he become engaged all the while claiming he has been in charge since the beginning. This has been a fiasco and points directly to Obama's lack of leadership and abilities as an administrator. Now Obama is giving speeches stumping for Cap & Tax and threatening British Petroleum and trying to appear active. I am not fooled. As the late John Wooden stated "Never mistake activity for achievement".