My origin story, how I started collecting comic books
I think growing up in the 90's was the best time to be a kid, especially if you liked superheroes. I grew up watching Batman the Animated series, the Batman movies, power Rangers, Superfriends and other great cartoons. It was definitely a fun time to be a kid. Batman has always been my favorite superhero and I can remember having almost all the animated series figures and watching that show over and over again. Batman and Power Rangers had the biggest impact on me as a young kid. I can remember how blown away I was with the Batman movies like Batman and Robin and Batman Forever, of course seeing them now they don't hold up at all, but as a kid you didn't care about the story, you just wanted to see Batman on the big screen.
I had read some comics when I was young at school but it wasn't until I saw the first Spiderman movie where I can actually remember buying any comics. I didn't really have any comic shops around where I lived growing up. I would probably have to go at least a half hour away to hit the closest shop. I remember begging my mom to bring me to a comic book store after we went to see the first Spiderman film. I think I was 10 years old at that time. And this would be the first time I would buy a comic book. My mom took me to a shop in Waltham Massachusetts called the Outer Limits, I haven't been there in years but I believe they are still in business. I went into the store with just a couple dollars in my pocket and I was looking for Spiderman comics. I ended up buying a Marvel Tales 199 and Amazing Spiderman 177, both books I still have to this day. I can remember reading them over and over again, especially the Marvel Tales. I was so happy to finally own some comics and was proud of myself as now I was starting my collection.
Every once in a while I would convince my parents to drive me to a comic shop so I could pick up a few comics. I was still a kid so I didn't have much money. Like I said before, I loved Batman the Animated series and I also like the Superman one. Then I watched the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series. I have always preferred DC over Marvel, even though the first comics I ever owned were marvel books.
I think I was 12 or 13 years old the first time I went to a convention. One of my local shops, Larry Comics, used to run a show in Chelmsford and Worburn Massachusetts. I think the show used to be at a Radisson or Best Western hotel ballroom. It was a very small show. It was like $2 to get in and there were maybe 20 comic dealers packed into a small ballroom. No celebrities, no artists, just tables with long boxes on them. I would get maybe $20-40 from my parents to go the the con. And the shows were held maybe 4 times a years. This is when I started to collect Justice League of America books. I was a huge Batman fan, I also like Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman etc. So since I didn't have much money to spend I decided to buy JLA books so I could see all my favorite heroes in 1 book instead of having to buy individual books for each character. I would mostly buy books out of dollars bins, at the most maybe spend $5 or $10 on a single book. I went to these shows for years and always enjoyed them and they really helped me get started in the hobby.
I slowed down somewhat in High school. I just had different priorities and comics weren't at the top of my list. I continued to see the movies and the interest in the hobby was still there. Then in 2008 I went to my first big convention, New York Comic Con. It wasn't nearly as big as it is now, there was about 30,000 attendees that year. But that was massive compared to the small local shows I had gone too that drew maybe a couple hundred people. It was complete sensory overload for me. It was the first time I stayed at a hotel to go to a con and was at a con for multiple days. It took me a little while to get my barrings but eventually I was able to accommodate to it and really started to have some fun. At that time I was working so I had actually saved some money for the show. It was the first time I really ever bought any "big books" I can remember buying an Iron Man 1 and Batman 232, both were pretty cheap compared to what they sell for now. It was an amazing experience and also the first time I was able to meet some comic creators and get some signatures. I think the most memorable for me that year was meeting Neal Adams.
I attending NYCC from 2008-2012. The show had grown drastically from the first year I went where there was about 30,000 attendees to over 120,000 the last year I was there. It had gotten too crazy and too expensive for me with all the travel expenses. 2013 was the first year I went to Boston Comic Con and it was also the first time I had ever set up at a con as a vendor. It was a wonderful experience for me and I have done that show ever since.
Also up until 2012 I had never sold any book in my collection. But after going to NYCC all those years and seeing what the books were selling for I decided to start buying doubles of books I knew I could sell and began to speculate on books. I did pretty well selling books over the years but looking back I think it hurt my personal collection as I spent most of my time hunting for books to flip that I couldn't care less about rather than actually buying books that I wanted. Now I'm pretty burnt out on the speculating and I'm finally focusing on my own collection again, after years of neglecting it. I pretty much only collect JLA, Golden Age Batman and Pre Code Horror books. I'm also collecting original comic art as well now, which is very expensive so I am buying way less books than I used too.
I know this is a pretty brief synopsis on how I started my collecting career but I thought I'd share it with you guys. Let me know what you think and let me know what got you into comic book collecting.
I had read some comics when I was young at school but it wasn't until I saw the first Spiderman movie where I can actually remember buying any comics. I didn't really have any comic shops around where I lived growing up. I would probably have to go at least a half hour away to hit the closest shop. I remember begging my mom to bring me to a comic book store after we went to see the first Spiderman film. I think I was 10 years old at that time. And this would be the first time I would buy a comic book. My mom took me to a shop in Waltham Massachusetts called the Outer Limits, I haven't been there in years but I believe they are still in business. I went into the store with just a couple dollars in my pocket and I was looking for Spiderman comics. I ended up buying a Marvel Tales 199 and Amazing Spiderman 177, both books I still have to this day. I can remember reading them over and over again, especially the Marvel Tales. I was so happy to finally own some comics and was proud of myself as now I was starting my collection.
Every once in a while I would convince my parents to drive me to a comic shop so I could pick up a few comics. I was still a kid so I didn't have much money. Like I said before, I loved Batman the Animated series and I also like the Superman one. Then I watched the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series. I have always preferred DC over Marvel, even though the first comics I ever owned were marvel books.
I think I was 12 or 13 years old the first time I went to a convention. One of my local shops, Larry Comics, used to run a show in Chelmsford and Worburn Massachusetts. I think the show used to be at a Radisson or Best Western hotel ballroom. It was a very small show. It was like $2 to get in and there were maybe 20 comic dealers packed into a small ballroom. No celebrities, no artists, just tables with long boxes on them. I would get maybe $20-40 from my parents to go the the con. And the shows were held maybe 4 times a years. This is when I started to collect Justice League of America books. I was a huge Batman fan, I also like Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman etc. So since I didn't have much money to spend I decided to buy JLA books so I could see all my favorite heroes in 1 book instead of having to buy individual books for each character. I would mostly buy books out of dollars bins, at the most maybe spend $5 or $10 on a single book. I went to these shows for years and always enjoyed them and they really helped me get started in the hobby.
I slowed down somewhat in High school. I just had different priorities and comics weren't at the top of my list. I continued to see the movies and the interest in the hobby was still there. Then in 2008 I went to my first big convention, New York Comic Con. It wasn't nearly as big as it is now, there was about 30,000 attendees that year. But that was massive compared to the small local shows I had gone too that drew maybe a couple hundred people. It was complete sensory overload for me. It was the first time I stayed at a hotel to go to a con and was at a con for multiple days. It took me a little while to get my barrings but eventually I was able to accommodate to it and really started to have some fun. At that time I was working so I had actually saved some money for the show. It was the first time I really ever bought any "big books" I can remember buying an Iron Man 1 and Batman 232, both were pretty cheap compared to what they sell for now. It was an amazing experience and also the first time I was able to meet some comic creators and get some signatures. I think the most memorable for me that year was meeting Neal Adams.
I attending NYCC from 2008-2012. The show had grown drastically from the first year I went where there was about 30,000 attendees to over 120,000 the last year I was there. It had gotten too crazy and too expensive for me with all the travel expenses. 2013 was the first year I went to Boston Comic Con and it was also the first time I had ever set up at a con as a vendor. It was a wonderful experience for me and I have done that show ever since.
Also up until 2012 I had never sold any book in my collection. But after going to NYCC all those years and seeing what the books were selling for I decided to start buying doubles of books I knew I could sell and began to speculate on books. I did pretty well selling books over the years but looking back I think it hurt my personal collection as I spent most of my time hunting for books to flip that I couldn't care less about rather than actually buying books that I wanted. Now I'm pretty burnt out on the speculating and I'm finally focusing on my own collection again, after years of neglecting it. I pretty much only collect JLA, Golden Age Batman and Pre Code Horror books. I'm also collecting original comic art as well now, which is very expensive so I am buying way less books than I used too.
I know this is a pretty brief synopsis on how I started my collecting career but I thought I'd share it with you guys. Let me know what you think and let me know what got you into comic book collecting.
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