Hello everyone. I’ve been lurking on the boards for a while and have enjoyed every minute of it, so I’m now posting my inaugural message here to this thread. I’m originally from Syracuse, NY and started collecting comics as a preteen in the early 1980s. I would bug my older brother for a ride to the only comic shop in town, Dream Days. I owe my early love of comics to Dream Days proprietor Mike Sagert, who was truly an amazing guy and always had the time to engage customers and spend time with them – even kids like me who many times didn’t have a dime to spend (or 60 cents, which was the cover price of most books at the time, lol). Even though I had not had any contact with Mike since the early 1990s I was saddened to learn that he passed away earlier this year:
https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/04/17/mike-sagert-syracuses-first-comics-retailer-has-passed-away/
https://www.syracusenewtimes.com/mike-sagert-dream-days-syracuse-first-comic-shop/
Ad Astra, Mike!
In my early teens, after a few years of collecting contemporary books, I wanted to connect with the beginnings of my favorite superheros so I acquired some key books via lay-away at Dream Days. As I mowed lawns in summer or shoveled driveways in winter I would pay them down (the more expensive books $5 or $10 at a time). I acquired the heart of my collection in this way, including X-men #1, #2; Daredevil #2 – 5; Avengers #2, and #11; Fantastic Four #4; and Hulk #1 (some were co-purchased with my brother). Alas, in my later teens even though I got a wage-earning job at the local grocery store I also discovered cars, girls, etc. so put comics aside. Thank heavens my mom never threw them out and my brother, who still lives in the Syracuse area, had grabbed the collection for safe keeping some time ago. Several years ago I brought the Silver Age books to Florida (where I’ve lived since 1999). In 2017 I had all the above Silver Age books slabbed via CGC. In one of the toughest comics decisions I’ve made I ended up having the aforementioned X-men, Avengers, and FF books signed by Stan Lee at his final Megacon appearance that year so those five books are CGC Signature Series. This was a very personal decision for me, and looking back now I know I made the right choice…and either way I don’t plan on selling those books (Unfortunately I had sold my Hulk in 1989 to get a new alternator for my 1977 Chevelle...had got that Hulk from Mike for $100 and sold it for $150…I sure wish I had that Hulk now as that Chevy is long gone!).
I’ve since gotten back into collecting, focusing mostly on Golden and Silver age books. In my heart I’m a hobbyist but I also have a keen mind for value – so the continual war between maximizing one or the other of those two oft competing objectives continues. In either instance, I find the world of comics to be wonderful and I truly hope they bring as much joy and happiness to everyone as they do to me. If you're still reading this post I truly thank you for bearing with the long intro...
DaysDreamin' reacted to a post in a topic:
Bad week in terms of comic collecting
Hello everyone. I’ve been lurking on the boards for a while and have enjoyed every minute of it, so I’m now posting my inaugural message here to this thread. I’m originally from Syracuse, NY and started collecting comics as a preteen in the early 1980s. I would bug my older brother for a ride to the only comic shop in town, Dream Days. I owe my early love of comics to Dream Days proprietor Mike Sagert, who was truly an amazing guy and always had the time to engage customers and spend time with them – even kids like me who many times didn’t have a dime to spend (or 60 cents, which was the cover price of most books at the time, lol). Even though I had not had any contact with Mike since the early 1990s I was saddened to learn that he passed away earlier this year: https://comicbook.com/comics/2019/04/17/mike-sagert-syracuses-first-comics-retailer-has-passed-away/ https://www.syracusenewtimes.com/mike-sagert-dream-days-syracuse-first-comic-shop/ Ad Astra, Mike! In my early teens, after a few years of collecting contemporary books, I wanted to connect with the beginnings of my favorite superheros so I acquired some key books via lay-away at Dream Days. As I mowed lawns in summer or shoveled driveways in winter I would pay them down (the more expensive books $5 or $10 at a time). I acquired the heart of my collection in this way, including X-men #1, #2; Daredevil #2 – 5; Avengers #2, and #11; Fantastic Four #4; and Hulk #1 (some were co-purchased with my brother). Alas, in my later teens even though I got a wage-earning job at the local grocery store I also discovered cars, girls, etc. so put comics aside. Thank heavens my mom never threw them out and my brother, who still lives in the Syracuse area, had grabbed the collection for safe keeping some time ago. Several years ago I brought the Silver Age books to Florida (where I’ve lived since 1999). In 2017 I had all the above Silver Age books slabbed via CGC. In one of the toughest comics decisions I’ve made I ended up having the aforementioned X-men, Avengers, and FF books signed by Stan Lee at his final Megacon appearance that year so those five books are CGC Signature Series. This was a very personal decision for me, and looking back now I know I made the right choice…and either way I don’t plan on selling those books (Unfortunately I had sold my Hulk in 1989 to get a new alternator for my 1977 Chevelle...had got that Hulk from Mike for $100 and sold it for $150…I sure wish I had that Hulk now as that Chevy is long gone!). I’ve since gotten back into collecting, focusing mostly on Golden and Silver age books. In my heart I’m a hobbyist but I also have a keen mind for value – so the continual war between maximizing one or the other of those two oft competing objectives continues. In either instance, I find the world of comics to be wonderful and I truly hope they bring as much joy and happiness to everyone as they do to me. If you're still reading this post I truly thank you for bearing with the long intro...
