Oh, that trip back in memory lane.

I haven't written a journal in over two years. It isn't that I died or had no desire, I just had other things going on. I went back to grad school to finish work on my Doctorate in Education, so I was studying a lot and my money was going toward tuition and books as opposed to collectibles. So, I finished up in late July (well, except for the dissertation) and now I can sort of get back to my life.

I found myself reading a lot of comic books from the early to mid seventies recently. Specifically, I've been looking at 1973-1978 mostly. Nothing in particular. I bought some Marvel Team Up, Kamandi, Mister Miracle, Thor, Captain America, Shazam, Fantastic Four, and a wide variety of other things. I've actually been kind of cheap, since I didn't want to spend money on the expensive stuff. The whole time that I was reading these books I was thinking "Man, comics were so great! I wish they were like this again!"

So, I wonder, were they really that great? I mean, were they better than the 60's or the 80's? Or now? I really don't know. What I do know is this: I was 8 years old in 1973, and a more fervent comic book reader did not exist. In mid 1974, my dad took a job in a very small town (pop 202) and I knew nobody and when I got to school right away I was the new guy and I spent fourth grade pretty much alone. But, every Saturday we drove to the nearest town and I'd go grocery shopping with my mom and I'd hit the comics rack and talk mom into 3-5 comics. So, I can safely say that comics from this time period were my best friends. I must have read the Spectre Adventure Comics at least 100 times each. The same goes for the Thors of the mid 230's. I didn't remember the covers, because those got ripped off after the 8th or 9th reading. After a year, we moved out of the small town and I could resume life, but comics were still a big part of it.

So now, I find myself reading these same old books (and a few that I didn't own back then) and I wonder if I am reading them with the eyes of a 51 year old. Or, am I reading them as an 8-12 year old read them back in the 70's? And are my rose colored glasses affecting my vision? I wonder if today's kids will think back upon their comics (or video games or whatever it is that makes them happy) and remember how great things were back in the day.

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