A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

What is something you used to be a die hard fan of? Why are you no longer a fan, or as big of a fan?

What is something you used to be a die-hard fan of? For me, the answer is easy: I used to be a huge comic book collector.

The Blue Marker Era

When I was a little kid, I’d pick up a random comic here and there. I vividly recall having some tattered copies of Marvel Tales starring Spider-Man. I think I still have one particular issue I’m thinking of—the one where somebody (probably me) took a blue magic marker and colored in the inside of Spider-Man‘s leg on his costume.

7-Eleven Slurpees and the Spindle Rack

But it was around 1982 or 1983 when I really started “collecting.” At the time, G.I. Joe was the perfect storm of kid’s pop culture: a toy line, a comic book, and an animated TV series. I recall my dad—”The Old Man”—taking me to 7-Eleven after my softball games. I’d get a Slurpee and head straight for the spindle rack to look for the newest issue of G.I. Joe.

Diving into the Long-Boxes

At this point, my brother Guillaume had a modest comic book collection of his own, mostly issues of The Avengers and some X-Men reprints. Guillaume never got nearly as invested as I ultimately would, but he was certainly my introduction to the hobby. Eventually, I started shopping at the same comic bookstore he did, just a few miles from our childhood home. That’s where I discovered the “pro” side of things: back issues, reprints, comic boxes, and acid-free storage bags.

A Death in the Family

For a while, I exclusively collected G.I. Joe and Transformers, but I always kept my finger on the pulse of the Marvel and DC superhero titles. Then, in 1988, DC Comics launched a four-issue miniseries called “A Death in the Family,” in which the second Robin, Jason Todd, was killed by the Joker. In a revolutionary move at the time, the story ended on a cliffhanger where fans were prompted to call one of two 900-numbers to decide whether the Boy Wonder would live or die.

With the death of Jason Todd, I was hooked on mainstream Batman comics for the first time. The next year, “Bat-mania” exploded with the release of Tim Burton’s 1989 movie, and for nearly a decade, I bought every Batman title I could afford.

The Cost of Growing Up

Then college came. With it, my disposable income disappeared. Other priorities like groceries, utilities, and alcohol took precedence. It wasn’t that I didn’t like comics anymore—in fact, I still try to keep up with the major storylines in DC and Marvel to this day—but the hobby changed. Some might say I “outgrew” it, but the reality was more practical: the cost of new issues skyrocketed in the 1990s.

From Collector to Connoisseur

Today, I find it hard to rationalize dropping $5 on a single monthly issue, especially when many modern stories just don’t hold my interest. However, since we are living in the “Golden Age” of comic book movies, I’ve realized my years in the long-boxes weren’t wasted. Studios now have the luxury of mining ninety years of incredible stories, and when I sit in a theater, I have a leg up on the rest of the audience. I know the secret origins, the deep-cut cameos, and the lore that others are seeing for the first time.

I may have traded my disposable income for “adult” responsibilities, but I’m still that same kid who colored in his Spider-Man comics with a blue marker. I’ve just traded the Slurpee and the 7-Eleven rack for a bucket of popcorn and a front-row seat. My collecting days are over, but the stories? Those are mine for life.

How about you? Is there a hobby you’ve “retired” from, only to realize you still carry the best parts of it with you? Let me know in the comments

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