Peebs--you reminded me of how sales tax is one of the great, unfair enemies of kids!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
To some degree, I inherited my love of comics from my dad. When I was really, really little, I remember him buying some for himself and letting me read them, then later buying some that I picked out off the spinner rack.
I think he read some a good bit when he was a boy and did so sporadically when he was in the Navy, at least in his first dozen or so years. He didn't have a collection. Most either got thrown away or ended up in some pack rat hole or another. But after he stopped buying for himself, he was still always interested in superhero movies (like the Christopher Reeve Superman) and live-action TV shows (like the Incredible Hulk and the short-lived Spider-man show). I'm sure his fond memories of old comics enhanced his enjoyment of them.
Anyhow, over time my allowance notoriously became devoured by my growing comics habit (to both of my parents' derision), and dad never seemed interested in what I'd purchased. But there was one rare exception:
After a period of buying Marvel exclusively (caught the X-bug ), Crisis drew me back to the DCU with its promise of untold carnage! But issue 7 was the most absolutely SHOCKING (and sad) book I'd ever read. Never had 15 year-old Lardy been witness to the death of what he considered a major character! I definitely shed some tears reading that one.
After reading it, I took the book and found my dad in his familiar place on the recliner. "Dad!" I said. "You've got to read this--Supergirl DIES!"
He had a look on his face that seemed puzzled, but he took the offered comic and proceeded to read it, folded-to-the-back style. A while later, he gave it back to me, looking a little sad. He said, "makes me wish I still read comics."
He read. he appreciated it. He was touched by it.
I'll never forget that.
I sure miss him.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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Really great story, Lardy! I never knew you pcked up your comic book habit from your Dad! I can totally understand how great it felt then (and still does when you think of the memory) to have your Dad read and be moved by a comic you bought.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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I'm at the shop and I must have had a little extra cash, because I picked up this new comic completely on a whim:
I don't think I'd heard of it prior to then. I vaguely remember seeing the issue on shelf, but I'm not sure exactly what caught my eye...sometimes you get drawn in by a really great cover but this one is just okay to me. Maybe it was the They Might Be Giants pin. Maybe I just wanted to buy another comic and it was right there. ANYWAY...I read it and I didn't care for it. Win some, lose some, right?
Registered: Jul 2003
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A comic I only bought one issue of, AKA the power of covers:
Now, I was a huuuUUUU-UUUUUGE JLI by Giffen/DeMatteis fan... it may be my favorite run of any title ever.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl had appeared in several issues but disappeared.
HAWKWORLD came out, but I had never read any Hawk-books and didn't read this one. Still, I had an interest in Hawkgirl dating back to the Dick Dillin satellite era, and was so glad when they FINALLY let her join! Still, I wasn't what you might call a big fan of them.
However, THIS cover caught my eye-- MY Hawkgirl... what happened to her? What's Martian Manhunter and Max Lord (EDIT: Or is that Amanda Waller?) doing?? Could this be a flashback to JLI? I had to know... and I'm not a flip-through guy usually... I buy it and take my chances for the most part. And I did so with this issue, even though I had read (probably in WIzard) that HAWKWORLD had made Hawk-continuity a total mess for DC (of course, I knew it was CRISIS that had done THAT little crime, and for more than just the Hawks).
So I bought it, and was inconsolable when I learned MY Hawkgirl had perished during the INVASION, with no fanfare whatsoever. It seemed rather hateful to me and made me sad, and I never got into this version of the Hawks because of it.
Armageddon 2001 was my introduction to the DCU, so I'll always have a sentimental spot for it. But, sentiment aside, some of those annuals were damn good alternate-future stories!
This was one of them. In it, Lois Lane dies from trying to bear Superman's child, and he leaves Earth. Enter Maxima. I won't spoil the rest.
This comic made me a Maxima fan for life. Imagine how disgusted I was when I returned to comics after being (mostly) away from '97 to '04 to discover that she had died in Our Worlds at War.
Maybe she'll come back in the DCnU? I'm not holding my breath, but we'll see.
posted
Maxima's tenure in the Justice League was great. She grew from a somewhat selfish super-powered foe into a stronger, more selfless heroine who had a strong sense of warrior's honor and a lot of class.
I was sad to hear about her death, too. She deserved more.
I've already told my story about this (came from dentist, teeth hurting, and found solace in this gem from the back issue bins).
Now THIS gem was one of the comics that got me into the Legion. I got it at the same time I bought my first comic of another team - the Justice League.
I was bored, hanging out at the mall with my mom. I chanced upon a shop selling back issues - I was familiar with them, because my aunt had a massive comics collection.
I quickly pawed through the issues, and found one that excited me -
I'd read a few issues of the Giffen era before, and loved all the cool powers, colorful costumes, and the fact that there were so gosh-darned many heroes all in one book. This was MY Justice League growing up, so I didn't appreciate the likes of Black Canary or Firestorm or Hawkman until later on.
As I was hungrily looking through the bins for more Justice League goodness (and found quite a few), I chanced upon LSH 62.
I'm not really sure why I grabbed it. Maybe because the heroes on the cover looked younger than the average hero (I hadn't been exposed to the Teen Titans yet). Maybe it was the gross giant spider threatening them - it looked scary enough, and I was intrigued at the giant hand grabbing it and at the girl who was fighting back. A girl who wasn't screaming or freaking out at that... thing? Whoa!
Whatever it was, I decided to throw it in with my Justice League purchases, and there you have it. I was blown away by the idea that teenagers (just a few years older than myself, even) could be entrusted with something so important - the safety of the galaxy, and acting like a beacon of hope and a symbol of tolerance for the universe. Whoa. How the heck could they manage that, when kids my age kept going around in their cliques and bullying one another?
I wanted more, and I got more, slowly building my collection of Post-Zero Hour Legion issues (and even many of the SW6 ones). The SW6 ones especially made me realize that there was a whole wide universe out there that I hadn't discovered yet. I mean, the Earth is gone? What?
Luckily, the Internet would come in a few years, and I was finally able to understand the different versions of the Legion.
Now I'm really glad my mom dragged me along that day.
posted
I kinda have a LSH 62 story too... in those days, spinner racks were long gone, but bookstores and grocery stores still reserved some space for comics with the other magazines (I think bookstores still do but I no longer see them at grocery stores).
Anyhoo, after not seeing a LSH comic book anywhere but in a comic shop since the BAXTER launch, I saw LSH 62 in a grocery alongside the usual suspects like Spider-Man! I remember being slightly thrilled by this.
I can't remember if I bought it off the rack there though... probably not, as I'd been CBS-exclusive for a long, LONG time...
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
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), Crisis drew me back to the DCU with its promise of untold carnage! But issue 7 was the most absolutely SHOCKING (and sad) book I'd ever read. Never had 15 year-old Lardy been witness to the death of what he considered a major character! I definitely shed some tears reading that one.
![[Bodger]](graemlins/Bodger.gif)
![[Bonce]](graemlins/Bonce.gif)
