cgfcollector's Comic Book Blogs

It has been many months. Those months have come and gone without much notice in My world of comic collecting save one, who gets my money. Yes it’s April, and no this is not a lame attempt to create more lame tax jokes. There is, my friends, a joke and I have found myself at the of it seams.

For the past 2 years I have patronized a LCS loyally. Every two weeks or so I enter My LCS as if I was a returning king, ready to claim the spoils of my pull list. This service is one of many that I enjoy especially the 10% discount that I received for being on the pull service and the quarterly closed door back issue sales through the year.  No mind you over such little tenure of 2 years I have come to know my LCS pretty well, and easily can carry on any number of comic related conversations to nausium.  AS much as I enjoy being pelted by the smell of fresh comics as I enter the store, I find myself asking why I even come. 

Now for the diehard story collector in geek tom that relishes the conversations of Batman Inc, the Emerald Warrior looming wars, or the newly revealed tales of Darth Vader I can see the appeal. As for the diehard collector of the book itself that represents more than a mere story, but possibly a work of art carefully collected in 20-32 pages of ink impregnated virgin paper, not so much eagerness. Least I digress, allow me to quickly get to the point.

As I sit here logging, boarding, bagging my recent collects, it dawned on me. What you may ask that dawned or you might not even care but do you?  Have you ever wondered, and asked, why ?

Like most collections and collectors there are things that we do before and after the "deed" is done. Allow me to expound. When I read a regular book i just open it, sit down anywhere, bend the spine, sit it down and sometimes eat cheetos while I read. Unlike when I work on my collection. So it made me think and ask, what quirks, rituals, compulsions or habits do other collectors have.

As for me...

In my early years as a collector I started out with one title, and one title only.  That title was Elf Quest Vol1, and I cant really say I was a collector then. At that time I found the series in my grandmothers upstairs room where my brother stored his things before he went off to the military. Now mind you this was some 25 years ago.

Like a kid in a candy store , I poured over the comics for hours. I eagerly lept from one book to another. Actually I dont even remember if I ate or slept that day. All i can remember is the way the pages crinkeld as I turned them, the feel of the rough paper on my finger tips, and the smell of baseball cards of the paper. At th end of the summer vacation at my grandmothers I collected up the comics carefully and stowed them away for safe keeping. I felt a bit of guilt taking the comics since I didnt ask so I convinced myself that I would keep them safe for my brother. That I did for 20 years before I told him I had them :)

So this was the start of my comic collecting. At first it started out as just finding the comics that were missing. The shear frustration of reading the series out of order was like missing chapters out of a good book.  My neighbor and then friend actually collected comics. So one day he and I went down to the local comic store and my eyes were overwhelmed. At that moment I picked up 3 back issues for 1.25 which almost ruined me, and started on Batman, Dective Comics, X force and ironman. That total was 7.34. I about cried. Thats a bit of money back "in the day." No deterent there. I quickly graduated from mowing yards to working at a fast food restaraunt for my money.