I QUIT collecting comics…and THEN…..

At about 17 years old, all my buddies ridiculed me for reading and collecting comic books- and, damnit, I gave IN to the peer pressure- GIVING all my comics away (not only old DCs- but the very first Marvel super-hero comics (the only book I never had was Amazing Fantasy 15)- all with a tiny stamp on the first page reading: “Read and approved by Mike McDonald”…

After getting married (now about 21 years old), my wifey and I were walking down a sidewalk ( people used to DO that in times past!) in an older section of Orlando, Fl, when we passed a ‘Mom- and -Pop’ Grocery Store. (Those were ancient little stores owned by a married couple- tiny little stores, where you could sit and visit with the owner, telling jokes and tales, and neighbors would also come in and join! Wonderful times!)

In the window was a small sign, reading “Books, Magazines, and Comic Books- HALF PRICE! And I almost ignored it – BUUUT THIS grabbed my attention by the throat-

I looked at my drop-dead gorgeous wife and stammered: “SURELY they don’t mean only 5 cents!!!!!!!!” Trying to walk in what would appear a calm manner, I walked up to where the comics were, and felt a EUPHORIA I had never experienced before; not only were there my very favorite of favorites “Mystery in Space” (this copy which I USED to have) but some I only DREAMED of finding- and many MORE- Marvel, DCs and others!

Gulping, I snatched them ALL up, and tried with every fiber of my being to hide my anxiety: was he going to charge collector prices?????? If so, I was prepared  to babble every excuse imaginable (including the REAL one: I didn’t HAVE it!) as to why I couldn’t buy them- but the old man rang up something like 8 dollars- for my huge stacks of priceless comics !!!!!

I was once again- and forever more a Comic Book Collector!