The origins, plot twists, secrets, discovery, and even revelations with past/future predictions of my life in the "comic fast lane"!

Hiyo!

Now I bet your wondering... "Whats with the title?" You usually have your JOURNAL ENTRY tell about your exploits/journey to your "local comic book shop" and what been installed into your ever growing comic collection of mainly "DC titles".

I have been doing alot of thinking and reading (Whether it be in the community forums of "Collectors Society" or that of "DC Comics") about... "How to improve on my comic collection (Meaning: Get back issues with all varients of old series I dont have) and how to properly archive (Whether with "Mylars" and/or sepcial furniture) my comics safely?"..., but I keep coming back to the question of... "Why and how did I get to this point in this HOBBY of mines?"

So I thought why not start my JOURNAL ENTRY with my...

"Origins":

When I was starting out in "pre-school" in elementary school(I lived in Detroit, Michigan)... I didnt actually read comics back then. Even though my dad was the first collector of comics in my family and my mom was just a avid reader when she worked as a nurse at a hospital. They bought and read comics. My mom was into Superman and my dad was into Conan the Barbarian, Spiderman, Superman, and X-Men. My brother's crowd was Amazing Spiderman, Batman, DareDevil, Punisher, and X-Men and other "X"-titles. While my sister was into Stephen King books, but I on the otherhand was a avid cartoon watcher.

It didnt matter if it was the "cutsey" "Disney" cartoons/movies or the old and/or new "Warner Bros." cartoons. Man I could recite any cartoon episode if you asked me. I could even remember their first appearances and what the cartoon was about.

But it wasnt til about 1994 (Still in elementary school in 3rd or 4th grade) when my dad died that I started to read/collect comics... my first was "Batman: The Legends of the Dark Knight- Halloween Special: Madness (1994)" by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale. But when I mean collect... I stole/kept it from my brother when I saw the cover.

Now to the...

Plot Twists:

That "Batman" issue was the only comic I ever had until around 1996 (Middle School now) when I actually started my first collection of a comic series. It was a new independent upstart company when I starting my collection with... "Top Cow"'s, "The Darkness".

Me and my sister started collecting comics about the same time, but her collection was Aria, Books of Magic, Buffy, Fathom, Sam & Twitch, Spawn, and WitchBlade. I on the otherhand collected all things "the Darkness" until the first run of the series ended and the first issue of the second run on the started, but due to the long wait for the new series and couldnt find anything else worth reading... I was left with nothing to collect. So I stuck with my Pokemon, DBZ trading card game, and game magazines.

Secrets:

When 2004 rolled around in November... My mom, sister, and me had to move out my grandfathers/mothers' house (My dad's side of the family), because my aunt (my dad's only sister out of 5 children) has issues with my mom (Due to my mom marrying my dad)and charged us rent (after my dad died) to the point when we had to leave when she wanted to raise the rent because of her expensive bills at her own house. Even though it was the second house I ever lived in Detroit, Michigan (From age 7-18), but in the moving process... was when I discovered the vast quantities of of my dad's Conan & Superman comics (other comics were reduced to pulp from water damage) and my comic love was rekindled after reading them.

Discovery:

I didnt buy any comics afterwards, but just read the ones my dad had (After my mom laid the story on me about their "comic collecting days" and even a story about my dad skipping out on paying the mortgage to buy comics)... besides his PLAYBOY collection. But after my mom died in 2006, losing my job in April of 2007 and along with my house and everything that was ever apart of my family, but save some of my furniture, a TV, clothes, my video game systems... I lost everything. I was only able to to save my dad's "Conan the Barbarian", a comic magazine of "The Death of Superman" by NEWSTIME, and trade paperback of the "events taking after the Death of Superman", because I gave the comics and stuff to my sister to hold on to after my mom died.

Revelations:

To me... my life ended after April 3, 2007 when I lost my job and house with everything dear to me. Even though, my lifeless body afterwards wanted to wander the streets of Detroit, Michigan until my body finally died. I somehow agreed to move in with my sister in Cleveland, Ohio.

Since getting a job at FedEx in August of 2007 and also trying to adjusting to life in Cleveland, Ohio... I found myself need something to rekindle myself and I think I found it with my... ever growing collection of comics since February of 2008.

Refection:

Since February of 2008 when I found a local comic book store and started back my collection with... Black Adam: The Dark Age (DC 2007-2008) and Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag (DC 2007-2008)... I havent look back!

NOWADAYS, everything is a little too expensive for me to DWEVLVE INTO right now. Especially... sinces seeing the prices for submission to "CGC" (I wanted to show off some of my comic mini-series in my collection under the REGISTRY on the "Collector Society") whether through mail or going to a convention... is a little too pricey for my blood. I was even thinking of "EBay" in terms of... a) acquiring the older series in a inexpensive way, but it seems too "suspect" when just looking at scans and trusting people not to "jip" you. Plus, I doubt I ever go on a "online auctions house site" (Unless I find a really high paying second job), because it seems that it can be too costly/expensive and doubt I even win/out-bid anyone.

Too bad "Collectors Society" does not have a way to show NON-CGC/REGISTER COMIC COLLECTIONS of its members. Well here's my way updated you on my comic collection. Check out my $33.33 HAUL-IN from 07/30 and $148.31 HAUL-IN from 08/06: (Still made my budget! ) )

Action Comics

(DC) (Issue #866 of On-going series)

Batman

(DC) (Issue #677 (Varient) of On-going series)

Batman: Death Mask

(DC/CMX 2008) (Issue #1-4 of 4 Issue Mini-series)

Catwoman

(DC 2002-2008) (Issue #78-81 of On-going series)

Countdown Special: New Gods

(DC 2008) (Issue #1 of 1 Issue One-shot)

DC Special: Cyborg

(DC 2008) (Issue #3 of 6 Issue On-going Mini-series)

Detective Comics

(DC) (Issue #847 of On-going series)

DC Universe Special: Superman/Mongul

(DC 2008) (Issue #1 of 1 Issue One-shot)

Final Crisis

(DC 2008) (Issue #3 (+ Varient) of 7 Issue On-going Mini-series)

Final Crisis: Director's Cut

(DC 2008) (Director's Cut of "Final Crisis" Mini-series issue #1)

Green Lantern Corps

(DC 2006-2008) (Issue #24-26, #30-33 of On-going series)

Infinity Inc.

(DC 2007-2008) (Issue #12 of (Now) 12 Issue Mini-series)

Joker's Asylum: Two-Face

(DC 2008) (Issue #1 of 1 One-shot Mini-series of 5)

Justice Society of America

(DC 2006-2008) (Issue #1 (Annual) of On-going "Justice Society of America" series)

ManHunter

(DC 2004-2008) (Issue #31-33 of On-going series)

NightWing

(DC) (Issue #147 of On-going