I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. I’ll begin with the occasionally necessary caveat that I can sometimes abuse the term “youth” in this space. I was hardly a kid when Joss Whedon made his first venture into writing comic books, a form for which he clearly had plenty of affection. Indeed, it was my relative decrepitude that originally steered me clear of Whedon’s superlative television series Buffy the Vampire, believing that surely I, a distinguished fellow in … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Fray by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read.   When I committed to superhero comics, I was all in. I was even proud to put aside the childish comics that had previously commanded my attention, believing that my newfound preference for spandex-clad do-gooders represented a version of growing up. And yet I wasn’t fully able to turn my tiny back on the sort of loose-limbed high jinks that once enthralled me so. Sometimes I wanted something a little wacky, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Fantastic Four #176 by Roy Thomas and George Perez

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. When I look back at the issues of The Avengers that were released across my first few years as a superhero comic book reader, it’s clear to me that I was a fairly fickle consumer of the adventures of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Maybe more than with any other series I read with any regularity back then, my attention was dependent on a cover that, for whatever weird reason, caught my eye. … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Avengers #221 by Jim Shooter, David Michelinie and Bob Hall

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. When I was buying comic books during my high school years, I mostly opted for the superhero offerings of the big two publishers, Marvel and DC. By that time, it wasn’t a matter of availability. Purchasing new comics from spinner racks in the grocery store or local drugstore had already shifted into a near impossibility, causing me to satisfy my need through monthly orders from a subscriptions service, getting a big … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Stig’s Inferno by Ty Templeton

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. As I’ve acknowledged previously, my youthful commitment to Marvel Comics included a zestful excitement about researching the publisher’s comics from before I became a reader, which happened nearly twenty years into their history, giving me a lot to catch up on. I wanted to know the full scope of the continuity of the fictional tales, but I was also fascinated by the bevy of behind the scenes tales. Unlike their distinguished competition, … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: Iron Man #39 by Gerry Conway and Herb Trimpe

I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. I started reading superhero comics at almost the precise time that collecting back issues evolved from something that might be done when the easy opportunity arose (like finding a stack of beat-up old issues at a garage sale) to an integral part of the pursuit, facilitated by the rise of shops specializing in the form. Madison’s Capital City Comics had first opened its door a few years earlier, and it was like … Continue reading My Misspent Youth: What If? #6 by Roy Thomas, Jim Craig, and Rick Hoberg