My grandfather bought me my first comic book in late 1964 when I was six years old. I remember it well. It was Justice League of America number 34, "The Deadly Dreams of Doctor Destiny!"
The Silver Age of Comics was in full swing then, but I was too young to know about any of that. Actually, I don't think anyone was calling it the Silver Age at that point in time. That came later. All I knew was comics were fun and colorful and cool and I wanted all that I could get my little hands on. True story: That issue of JLA featured Doctor Destiny and introduced the Materioptikon, later called the Dreamstone. Destiny and the Dreamstone would figure prominently decades later in Neil Gaiman's brilliant and lyrical Sandman series for Vertigo Comics.
There was no Direct Sales Market in those days of the early 1960's but fortunately in my little Indiana town you could buy comics at news stands, drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations, dime stores and anywhere books and magazines were sold. DC's, Archie's, Gold Key's, Dell's and Harvey's were plentiful, but I rarely saw Marvel's. This is something else I didn't find out about until later: Marvel's publisher, Martin Goodman, had entered into a crappy distribution deal. They were hardly available in the mid-west which was a bummer. That ended in 1968 when Marvel found a new distributor and got better terms. I was pretty content and happy with the Silver Age, especially after you could find Marvel's.
Then the 1970's rolled around and the Bronze Age began. Again, I don't recall anyone calling it the Bronze Age back then.. I knew something really cool was happening though. Jack Kirby's Fourth World, Wein and Wrightson's Swamp Thing, Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel, Thomas and Smith's Conan the Barbarian, O'Neil and Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrow, the debut of Wolverine, Punisher, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Giant-Size X-Men number 1, Man-Thing, Wolfman and Colan's Tomb of Dracula, Howard the Duck, the Defenders, Son of Satan and Oh My God comics were so damn amazing. I bought an Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide at a bookstore in 1974 and that was illuminating. I learned that the 1940's, which was the time period my parents read comics in, was called the Golden Age. I also learned the 1960's was called the Silver Age. I thought it was amazing that comics had historians that gave each important point in the history of the medium a name. I was hooked on this hobby. I knew then that comics were no longer a childhood fancy for me. I was in this for life. I remember my high school girl friend asking me if I could picture myself doing this when I was 50. I'm 66 and now so the answer would be yes. I'll keep doing this until the day I die.
In 1979 I joined the Navy and moved to California. Then came the 1980's and the Direct Sales Market. I quickly discovered Comic Book Stores and Comic Book Conventions. I went to my first San Diego Comic Con in 1982 and I've been to every one since then. I attended panels and listened to people who there at the beginning talk with reverence about the Golden and Silver Ages. And yes, that's when I learned that the 1970's were called the Bronze Age. Later on in this thread I'll talk about the different ages, how they were named and why they're important when discussing the history of the medium.
The 80's were amazing. The direct sales market completely changed the way comics were packaged and distributed and it was like a god send for fans. Comic shops were so cool. Back issues galore and you were guaranteed never to miss an issue of your favorite title. And the most amazing thing of all: Comic stores gave rise to the Alternative Press and new publishers whose titles were sold exclusively in comic shops. Eclipse, First, Capital, Pacific, Dark Horse and Comico were some of the more prominent ones. And then you had self publishers. Wendy and Richard Pini wrote and drew a beautiful fantasy book called Elfquest that they published on their own, for example. It wasn't all superheroes and that was actually fine with me. Comics needed something different and the direct market gave us that. I was a twenty something in those days and I loved it. I loved all kinds of comics. Alternatives, Undergrounds, Newspaper Strips, Mainstream, European Graphic Novels, you name it, I loved it.
Now here I am in my 60's and my love of comics is mostly fueled by nostalgia. I have a great fondness for the comics my grandparents and parents bought me when I was a little boy. The Metal Men, the Doom Patrol, the Legion of Super-Heroes, World's Finest, Brave and the Bold, Sgt Rock, Adam Strange, JLA ... I look at those old comics and I it warms my heart. It doesn't mean I don't care about modern books, though. A beautifully written and drawn comic will always be a beautifully written and drawn comic regardless of when it came out. At Comic Con this year I bought a graphic novel called The Mushroom Knight. What an amazing revelation that book was. It was a beautifully written and drawn story that won the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the 2024 Eisners. Later on in this thread I'll tell you more about it. I'm waiting for volume 2 to be delivered on Saturday.
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thank you,
@akajomiha, for starting this thread. I hope other folks share their stories.
