posted
When Sandman came out in Junior High, I was hooked on Gaiman. I went right out and purchased Black Orchid #1, which my Mom found and promptly disapproved of ("She's not really naked, Mom, honest").
It wasn't until a few years later when I was in High School that I decided I was buying the other two myself. We only had one Comic Shop in town and it was a dingy little place which was almost hilariously a dead-on Sterotype of what comic shops should be. Diving through the back issue bins, I found a decent copy of #2, but there was only one copy of #3 and it was marked up to a ridiculous (for the time) $15.00. Admittedly, Gaiman's star was on the rise, but this was far above any guide price and was blatant gouging. 15 year-old me stared and stared at it. I needed this book, but I wasn't going to pay that price. With a lump in my throat and my heart beating fast, I took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, and quickly ....
pulled the price sticker off the plastic back, crumpled it up and put it in my pocket.
I went to the front desk and as calmly as I could said, "this one had no price". The owner looked the book over, puzzled, then looked at the copy of #2 I had ($7.00), shrugged and charged me the same for both.
It took all my might not to run from the store with my ill-gotten gains. I was wracked with guilt for months later and brought the incident up the next three times I went to Confession (I still believed in God back then), but at the same time, I never did take the book back or admit my "crime".
Of course, looking back, I laugh as it was clearly a rip-off move on the stores part and I'm sure an $8.00 "discount" won't go down in the halls of the Juvenille Delinquency hall of fame, but at the time I would probably actually tremble while reading the book, my "half-stolen" comic.
From: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by He Who LSHes: Cobie's Ghost Rider crossover story reminded me of my own similar experience, although mine turned out differently.
When the first Ghost Rider series began, circa 1973, I avoided it. Motorcycles and flaming skulls were the things young boys were *supposed* to like and, even at that age, I hated being pandered to. But when GR # 7 hit the stands, pitting GR against a "One-Man Zodiac," I had to check it out.
The Zodiac story line had run in Avengers # 120-122 a few months earlier, with one member of the crime cartel (Libra - my sign!) continuing to appear for a few months after as Mantis's father. I liked Zodiac as villains. In Avengers # 120, they literally burst onto the scene by ambushing the heroes in their own mansion and defeating them in a blitzkrieg assault. They seemed incredibly powerful and ruthless, and (like the Legion) there were a lot of them (12 to be exact), each easily identifiable via costume and powers.
When the cartel was defeated in Avengers # 122, I thought that was the end of them, so I was pleasantly surprised to see their story continued in Ghost Rider # 6-7. (Fortunately, # 6 was still on the stands, and I was able to pick it up, too.)
As it turned out, the cover blurb lived up to its promise: Only one member of Zodiac appears -- Aquarius. Dying from cancer, he's made a deal with the devil (never a smart thing to do) in exchange for possessing all of the powers and identities of his former teammates. In the end, Satan tricks him, of course, and claims his soul.
However, the story stood out because it made me care about Aquarius, a very minor character in the Avengers issues. I truly felt sorry for him, caught between a deadly illness and the devil with no way out. The story made me realize that people who are desperate will do desperate (and sometimes foolish) things.
It also made me realize that there was no such thing as a minor character in the Marvel Universe. Even obscure villains had their own stories to tell.
More, I liked Ghost Rider as a character (which I attribute to the writing of Tony Isabella) and continued to follow his first series until it was canceled after 81 issues.
Great story! I know exactly what you mean. Although not a comic I purchased (and therefore, slightly off-topic), Amazing Spider-Man #38, "Just a Guy Named Joe" got across this feeling really well, and that was a story I reread dozens of times as a kid. This concept is something that also made the Claremont X-Men run feel so special--"walk on characters" like Col. Michael Rossi and Lee Forrester were fully rounded individuals that would have complex back stories and emotions even though they were supporting characters in an already crowded comic.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Dave Hackett: When Sandman came out in Junior High, I was hooked on Gaiman. I went right out and purchased Black Orchid #1, which my Mom found and promptly disapproved of ("She's not really naked, Mom, honest").
It wasn't until a few years later when I was in High School that I decided I was buying the other two myself. We only had one Comic Shop in town and it was a dingy little place which was almost hilariously a dead-on Sterotype of what comic shops should be. Diving through the back issue bins, I found a decent copy of #2, but there was only one copy of #3 and it was marked up to a ridiculous (for the time) $15.00. Admittedly, Gaiman's star was on the rise, but this was far above any guide price and was blatant gouging. 15 year-old me stared and stared at it. I needed this book, but I wasn't going to pay that price. With a lump in my throat and my heart beating fast, I took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, and quickly ....
pulled the price sticker off the plastic back, crumpled it up and put it in my pocket.
I went to the front desk and as calmly as I could said, "this one had no price". The owner looked the book over, puzzled, then looked at the copy of #2 I had ($7.00), shrugged and charged me the same for both.
It took all my might not to run from the store with my ill-gotten gains. I was wracked with guilt for months later and brought the incident up the next three times I went to Confession (I still believed in God back then), but at the same time, I never did take the book back or admit my "crime".
Of course, looking back, I laugh as it was clearly a rip-off move on the stores part and I'm sure an $8.00 "discount" won't go down in the halls of the Juvenille Delinquency hall of fame, but at the time I would probably actually tremble while reading the book, my "half-stolen" comic.
This story just made my day!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Bah! I'm led to believe all of Eryk's comics are stolen since he hasn't posted a story yet!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
A few years back my interest in zombies became full-blown zombie fandom... and with that came finding out about zombie comics like The Walking Dead and... MARVEL ZOMBIES.
Those twisted covers that were spins on classic Marvel covers just utterly fasciniated me when I saw them online!
Online, yes... because I missed the first series completely!
So I was tres' excited when I saw this issue at my CBS:
Turns out it was a "pre-quel" to the actual first miniseries... and it was utterly gross and fascinating!
After this, I *had* to read the MZ series, so I bought it as a hardback (the only way I could FIND it!!), which is a fairly rare thing for me to do.
And it turned out perfectly, because I got to read the story in chronological order this way.
Mom gave my little 12 year old self my allowance and set me free in a grocery store. I grabbed up my very first DC Dollar Comic - Superman Family #183. It was perched on the top of the spinner rack. Gorgeous Neal Adams cover. All those pages of brand new stories. Nightwing and Flamebird! It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
I rushed to the check out stand. The girl at the register wrinkled up her nose and said, "Oh my God. Who would pay a dollar for a comic book?" My feelings were hurt. I was too shy and embarrassed to say anything. I felt like I had done something wrong. I awkwardly payed for it, picked it up, and rushed out of the store, taking with me a lifelong pet peeve. If I'm buying something, sales clerks need to keep their opinions to themselves.
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