Popular Post G.A.tor Posted January 28, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted January 28, 2018 Ok. Here’s my story. For those of you that wonder why whiz 22 is my favorite comic, sit back and I will tell you a tale of an 8 year old Shazam fan in 1975. Each summer my parents would drop me and my sister off at my grandmothers house for a little vacation. 1975 the Shazam tv show was my favorite. I wanted so badly to be captain marvel. I yelled “Shazam!” About a million Times that summer , hoping I would be transformed....naturally, never happened. But my “mimi” offered to make me a Shazam costume. Problem was, no vcr or digital cell phones or internet to capture an image of the costume from which she could sew me a costume. So we head down to the local used book store hoping to find a comic from which she could design one for me. And as fate has it, whiz 22 was available , purchased and costume made! Fast forward some 20+ years to the late 1990s and my “mimi “ was in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s. One visit my wife and I sat with her (always just a blank stare and no acknowledgement of who we were ) and in a surprising moment of lucidity, my grandmother asked me if I still had the comic and costume she bought/made for me all those years ago. And as I answered , the blank stare covered her face again. That was the last time I saw my mimi Alive. And so I’ve bought every copy I’ve ever seen since. BCarter27, batman_fan, lbcolefan and 36 others 38 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman_fan Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 3 minutes ago, G.A.tor said: Ok. Here’s my story. For those of you that wonder why whiz 22 is my favorite comic, sit back and I will tell you a tale of an 8 year old Shazam fan in 1975. Each summer my parents would drop me and my sister off at my grandmothers house for a little vacation. 1975 the Shazam tv show was my favorite. I wanted so badly to be captain marvel. I yelled “Shazam!” About a million Times that summer , hoping I would be transformed....naturally, never happened. But my “mimi” offered to make me a Shazam costume. Problem was, no vcr or digital cell phones or internet to capture an image of the costume from which she could sew me a costume. So we head down to the local used book store hoping to find a comic from which she could design one for me. And as fate has it, whiz 22 was available , purchased and costume made! Fast forward some 20+ years to the late 1990s and my “mimi “ was in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s. One visit my wife and I sat with her (always just a blank stare and no acknowledgement of who we were ) and in a surprising moment of lucidity, my grandmother asked me if I still had the comic and costume she bought/made for me all those years ago. And as I answered , the blank stare covered her face again. That was the last time I saw my mimi Alive. And so I’ve bought every copy I’ve ever seen since. Great story Rick! G.A.tor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 (edited) Neat story if not a bit sad too. I would have thought before you liked it because is was one of those “impossible” covers (both Billy and Cap together). You should look into obtaining this.... Went for for a measly $400.00 15 years ago. Edited January 28, 2018 by N e r V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telerites Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Thanks Rick for sharing the story. Always nice to see a connection between a comic and a loved one. I have two books that are special to me - Defenders #2 and Marvel Mystery Comics #65. The Defenders was the first book I read - read to my mom who bought the book for me and the MMC 65 was the first GA book (again purchased by my mom). The Defenders was bought off the rack in 72 and the MMC bought in the late 70s. I still own both books and would never part with them. Thanks again. Cool story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eccomic Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 (edited) My Canadian version..... Only known copy in existence. Canadian "White" with black and white interior Edited January 28, 2018 by eccomic Pickie and aardvark88 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post G.A.tor Posted January 28, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 28, 2018 2 hours ago, N e r V said: Neat story if not a bit sad too. I would have thought before you liked it because is was one of those “impossible” covers (both Billy and Cap together). You should look into obtaining this.... Went for for a measly $400.00 15 years ago. I do own it STORMSHADOW_80, Hutch88, fat11381 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 1 hour ago, eccomic said: My Canadian version..... Only known copy in existence. Canadian "White" with black and white interior Neat. Never seen eccomic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 2 hours ago, telerites said: Thanks Rick for sharing the story. Always nice to see a connection between a comic and a loved one. I have two books that are special to me - Defenders #2 and Marvel Mystery Comics #65. The Defenders was the first book I read - read to my mom who bought the book for me and the MMC 65 was the first GA book (again purchased by my mom). The Defenders was bought off the rack in 72 and the MMC bought in the late 70s. I still own both books and would never part with them. Thanks again. Cool story. Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gino2paulus2 Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 great to hear the history Rick. Mimi sounds like she was a fun babysitter and you a great grandson for continuing to visit her. Cool books as a nice reminder of a great and lasting memory made!! Larryw7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Very nice and elegantly written and sort of sums up why people collect. I really don't need 1500 different Batman stories, but many of these books I can tell you where I bought them or who bought them for me. What was going on in my life at the time. They are important because they connect us to people and places and events. And they are pretty cool by themselves too! STORMSHADOW_80 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Glad you put this up publicly to share Rick. Nice story. I think you mentioned to me before, but do you still have the original 22 that she bought at the store? And what about the costume -- is that in your possession still? Do you have any pics of you in 1975 with you in the costume you can post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entalmighty1 Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Very touching story! My grandparents have known about me collecting comics for at least 20 years now, but somehow failed to mention (probably forgotten) the giant stack of beater silver age DC/Marvel tucked away in a spare bedroom. After sorting through the pile, I found a few that had my dad's name written on the cover and keep them in a separate place from the rest of my books. He was killed when I was just a few months old, so I was ecstatic to find a little piece of him as a child. Knightsofold, BCarter27 and ender 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950's war comics Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 nice!! FoggyNelson and Lucky Baru 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 My dad struggled with cognition before he passed, but he had a God-given hour or so of clarity we made the most of. It felt like a gift. I love your story! G.A.tor and 1950's war comics 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 2 hours ago, Primetime said: Glad you put this up publicly to share Rick. Nice story. I think you mentioned to me before, but do you still have the original 22 that she bought at the store? And what about the costume -- is that in your possession still? Do you have any pics of you in 1975 with you in the costume you can post? There are pics in a photo album somewhere but alas the only childhood comic that survived with me to today is my first (silver surfer 1) i believe both were left in Atlanta with mimi and revisited over the years but time got them best of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path4play Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, G.A.tor said: Ok. Here’s my story. For those of you that wonder why whiz 22 is my favorite comic, sit back and I will tell you a tale of an 8 year old Shazam fan in 1975. Each summer my parents would drop me and my sister off at my grandmothers house for a little vacation. 1975 the Shazam tv show was my favorite. I wanted so badly to be captain marvel. I yelled “Shazam!” About a million Times that summer , hoping I would be transformed....naturally, never happened. But my “mimi” offered to make me a Shazam costume. Problem was, no vcr or digital cell phones or internet to capture an image of the costume from which she could sew me a costume. So we head down to the local used book store hoping to find a comic from which she could design one for me. And as fate has it, whiz 22 was available , purchased and costume made! Fast forward some 20+ years to the late 1990s and my “mimi “ was in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s. One visit my wife and I sat with her (always just a blank stare and no acknowledgement of who we were ) and in a surprising moment of lucidity, my grandmother asked me if I still had the comic and costume she bought/made for me all those years ago. And as I answered , the blank stare covered her face again. That was the last time I saw my mimi Alive. And so I’ve bought every copy I’ve ever seen since. Very moving, shared with the wife and teared up a bit frankly. My connection to golden age comics involved weekly visits to my grandma's house and rifling through my dad's stash in his old room, after which would be a few competitive games of Yatzy and lots of laughs. I certainly wouldn't be collecting now without those visits. Edited January 29, 2018 by path4play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straw-Man Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 wow, buddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicdonna Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Cool story, Rick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 30 minutes ago, G.A.tor said: There are pics in a photo album somewhere but alas the only childhood comic that survived with me to today is my first (silver surfer 1) i believe both were left in Atlanta with mimi and revisited over the years but time got them best of them Post the one of you eating the big donut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
