Four Color Comics

Hi, I’m Michael, and I’m a comic book collector.

(”Hi, Michael!”)

I bought my first comic book in 1975. In the early 80s, I figured out that that first comic book must have been Wonder Woman #220. I still have it, battered as it is. As one chapter in a much larger (but not particular deep) story, it stands out for the Dick Giordano artwork.

I grew up on DC Comics in an era when DC comics weren’t hot - or particularly good. Flash, Green Lantern, Legion of Super-Heroes and Justice League of America were my staples. But what most stands out from that era for me was the revival of All-Star Comics, which captured the generational nature of the Justice Society like no other comic has managed. My father was a comics fan when he was a kid, and he was the one who turned me on to the All-Star revival.

Growing up meant discovering Marvel, just before the peak of the Claremont/Byrne run on Uncanny X-Men, and during the Michelinie/Layton/Romita Jr run on Iron Man. But I remained a DC fanboy, and in 1985 - the year of Crisis on Infinite Earths - I was buying nearly every title DC was publishing. I think that lasted until the post-Crisis world started collapsing under its weight.

It also meant discovering independent comics, which by definition don’t fall into any convenient bucket. I started with Wally Wood’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents from Deluxe Comics, headed for things like GrimJack and Cerebus, and wound up at Thieves & Kings, Astro City, Planetary and just about anything Phil Foglio puts on the market.

I’ve also been an on-line journaller since 1997 (before the term “weblog” - never mind “blog” - had been coined). J.D. (our host here at Four Color Comics) discovered my journal about a year later, and we’ve exchanged e-mail off-and-on since then, and recently he invited me to join his little cadre of comics commenters. (No, we’ve never met!)

I look forward to comic book night every Wednesday, and I can hardly wait when I know one of my favorites is going to hit the stands (so usually I try not to look ahead of time!). I hope to share some of my enthusiasm here (and maybe gripe a little, too, since every comics fan has some gripes and I’m no exception). Comic books are my lifelong hobby - I love ‘em!

So, I’m Michael. Pleased ta meetcha!