Happy Mother’s Day! How did Mom/Grandmother shape your comics life 4 4

[Remyvt]

My mom was very supportive in encouraging my various collections. She used to let me stay up late to watch QVC is they were selling sports cards. I remember one time she got me an uncut michael Jordan hologram card and got one for herself to just so we could share something. My biggest comic memory was probably around death of Superman. We didn’t have many comic stores around. We probably drove an hour and a half to a town with two shops and went to both to get two copies because she also believed in having one to read and one to collect. Then that Christmas I think I got the trade copy. I remember them just letting me go off immediately to read it. I didn’t look up for hours. Thanks for the memories. Happy Mother’s Day mom. Miss you. 

[Timely]

At age 12, My mom bought my 1st comics in 1984,  a 3-pack of GI Joe #21-23. I then convinced my mom to get me a few subscriptions, GI Joe being one of them. I went to my 1st comic store and bought all the back issues I could afford. #1 & #2 were way too expensive for me at the time, so #3 was the earliest issue I could get with my $2.00 a week allowance! lol. I saved up for 5 weeks to get that $10 back issue! In 1987 when I was just 15, I started collecting SA keys & Spider-Man, trying to get every Spider-Man appearance in a comic. I was about 95% complete when I sold the collection & started buying exclusively GA, mainly pedigrees & DC's from the Edgar Church/Mile High collection. I sold most of that from 2000-2002 & started buying Timelys. I had about 230 Timely's at my height of collecting, all were unrestored 8.0-9.8 copies. Along the way I also collected GA keys, Action #1, All Star #1, 3 & 8, Cap #1 (9.2), Marvel Comics #1, Young Allies #1... etc. I also went after buying all the San Francisco Pedigree Copies I could find, having about 100 of those a few years back. I still have my Hitler cover collection & other books, Timelys, etc... but I've really been enjoying the OA I've purchased over the past 15 years. I was lucky enough to get the cover to JLA #227, which was one of the 1st comics I ever bought off the spinner rack at my local 7-11. I'm still trying to get a few of the other OA covers to books I bought as a kid. About a year and a half ago I decided to go after Spider-Man art, as Spider-Man was my first love when I was 15 years old. I didn't want to collect the comics again, been there done that, so I decided to buy art. My favorite time period is the Ditko era. The art is so innocent, simple (yet dynamic) & refreshing to me. So that's my 36 years of collecting comics in a nutshell!

Edited May 11, 2020 by Timely

[Senormac]

Ignored until she/they realized it wasn't going to go away..... then they disparaged 

[Krismusic]

My mom bought me some of my first x men comics and the 4 packs comics. she would do what she could with what limited resources we had.. it’s awesome to remember some of the good times and really appreciate them. 

[bb8]

I actually have a pretty early memory of my mother and comics. It was 1984 or 1985. My older brother exposed himself and made a suggestive gesture to a little girl in elementary school (he was also in grade school at the time). Well, my brothers had a stash of comics tucked away, and somehow Mom discovered there were Heavy Metal mags amongst them filled with pornographic images. Well, her little angel wasn't raised improperly, nor could he be a budding little sociopath, so it had to be the comics!

What was to be done? Why, we'll burn the offending paper products! We lived in Huntington Beach, CA, and I don't remember any other time the fireplace was lit, but it was roaring that day. I remember gleefully throwing comics into the fire (could it be said? yea, for thus it was). I think I was 4 or 5 at the time. There was a sizable collection of mostly '70s Marvel that was consumed that day  consisting of every comic owned by all 4 of my brothers. Looking back, I doubt there was anything too valuable. But still. Who could say?

[JoshuaM]

I always remember how patient my grandmother was. 

My grandfather would give me some money for any local comic shows, usually at a hotel in town. My grandma would drive me there, and walk me to the door to whatever room it took place in. She'd turn me loose, and go sit and read one of her novels in the lobby. She never rushed me. If I was gone a while she'd wander in and check on me, and I'd of course say I was "almost ready" , just needed to look at a few more boxes of comics. (I carried around a piece of worn notebook paper with all the issues I needed in various titles...Rom, Thor, Avengers, G.I. Joe, Power Man and Iron Fist...).

When we left she'd always ask if I got some good stuff, though she didn't know anything about comics. We'd get back to my grandparents and I'd spend the rest of the day with my new comics spread out over her bed.

 

Funny enough, my mom told me years later that my grandma originally didn't like the idea of me reading comics - she thought they'd be bad for me (as that was a thing, I guess, for a time...).

Glad she changed her mind

[topofthetotem]

My mom bought me savage sword of Conan magazines.

I miss that woman with all my soul, the day she passed is as vivid as yesterday don’t take them for granted because one day they’ll be gone. 

[mec3437]

She didn't like the clutter once I got past a five long boxes, but she never discouraged it.  I think she was happy I was reading.

[Robot Man]

11 hours ago, bb8 said:

I actually have a pretty early memory of my mother and comics. It was 1984 or 1985. My older brother exposed himself and made a suggestive gesture to a little girl in elementary school (he was also in grade school at the time). Well, my brothers had a stash of comics tucked away, and somehow Mom discovered there were Heavy Metal mags amongst them filled with pornographic images. Well, her little angel wasn't raised improperly, nor could he be a budding little sociopath, so it had to be the comics!

What was to be done? Why, we'll burn the offending paper products! We lived in Huntington Beach, CA, and I don't remember any other time the fireplace was lit, but it was roaring that day. I remember gleefully throwing comics into the fire (could it be said? yea, for thus it was). I think I was 4 or 5 at the time. There was a sizable collection of mostly '70s Marvel that was consumed that day  consisting of every comic owned by all 4 of my brothers. Looking back, I doubt there was anything too valuable. But still. Who could say?

My mom didn’t care about comics either way just as long as I didn’t leave them all over the place. 

I could read anything I wanted even Playboy! She didn’t like MAD magazine though, she thought it was subversive. And one time she saw me reading an EC that my uncle gave me. She took a look and tore it up. Shock Suspenstories #9. 

Me and my little brother just stored them in a wooden box up in our treehouse. There is always a way...

[Robot Man]

11 hours ago, bb8 said:

I actually have a pretty early memory of my mother and comics. It was 1984 or 1985. My older brother exposed himself and made a suggestive gesture to a little girl in elementary school (he was also in grade school at the time). Well, my brothers had a stash of comics tucked away, and somehow Mom discovered there were Heavy Metal mags amongst them filled with pornographic images. Well, her little angel wasn't raised improperly, nor could he be a budding little sociopath, so it had to be the comics!

What was to be done? Why, we'll burn the offending paper products! We lived in Huntington Beach, CA, and I don't remember any other time the fireplace was lit, but it was roaring that day. I remember gleefully throwing comics into the fire (could it be said? yea, for thus it was). I think I was 4 or 5 at the time. There was a sizable collection of mostly '70s Marvel that was consumed that day  consisting of every comic owned by all 4 of my brothers. Looking back, I doubt there was anything too valuable. But still. Who could say?

I guess Dr. Wertham might have had a point...

[Fan Boy]

Had a good Mother’s Day with my mom and family as we had BBQ steak dinner all around in keeping social distancing with each other.

It started with my mom when I was around age 4 when she took me for shopping in one of the old drug stores in 1973. I saw some comics on the spinner rack. Asked mom if I could have one? She said take 2 or 3 if I wanted. Gleefully I picked one Disney, one Richie Rich and one Bugs Bunny books. Mom and I went home and I read them as I was learning the words said in comics. Mom saw that, and see that I was interested to understand the meaning of sentences. I asked her few times what one word means? In no time I quickly pick up increasingly to understand English language.

My first nature language is American Sign Language, so that was why my mom allowed me to buy more comics to build up on that learning. As long I love read comics and to learn words is a win-win. I ended up as the top student in English course in high school.

My grandma (long gone - bless her) saw that also and come up to me with a stack of old comics for me to read in summertime. She took me to flea markets and swap meets.  There where I first met the original Comicshop owners in the Burnaby big swap meet where the drive-in theatre used to stand. They had a huge stack of comic books spread over the ground. I picked up a few Marvels and DCs. That was my first learning of older comics before my time! I found a 1966 Donald Duck comic for 10 cents. I returned back to my mom with pile of comics held in my arms all grinned up big. Mom looked at grandma ... it was a mom and mom moment I’ll not forget, lol.

so, here I am ... still enjoying my comics and I love my mom a lot. ❤️

[justin]

In the late 1960's my uncle amassed a large Silver Age collection of all the major Marvel and DC comics at the time. He even had a Hulk 1 and Fantastic Four 1. Well, when he went off to college, he left them behind in his closet. His mom (my grandma), thinking they wee junk, took them outside and burned them all. Except one survived, which he gave to me and I had it graded. Though this event was sad, she did have an impact on my collecting goals (not to get them burned) lol. I love my Grandma!

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by justin

[Ken Aldred]

On 5/10/2020 at 10:37 PM, NP_Gresham said:

I am of an older vintage, there were no comic book conventions or LCS.

Everything was newsstand.

Yup. As a kid all I had available was the British newsstand.

I always wished I had wider access to these wonderful books from a distant country, which had fascinated me so much from an early age; 3 or 4, as I mentioned in my previous post. Started reading in 1973, a good 5 years before I went to my first comic shop and comic mart.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[serling1978]

My mom took my brother and I to a couple shows as teens but it was our aunt who really supported us and helped us to get into going to small hotel ballroom conventions back in the early 90s. I wish I could remember the asking prices for books back then.  I do remember I got a mid grade ASM13 for around $20. The good "old" (relatively speaking) days. 

[James J Johnson]

23 hours ago, Timely said:

At age 12, My mom bought my 1st comics in 1984,  a 3-pack of GI Joe #21-23. I then convinced my mom to get me a few subscriptions, GI Joe being one of them. I went to my 1st comic store and bought all the back issues I could afford. #1 & #2 were way too expensive for me at the time, so #3 was the earliest issue I could get with my $2.00 a week allowance! lol. I saved up for 5 weeks to get that $10 back issue! In 1987 when I was just 15, I started collecting SA keys & Spider-Man, trying to get every Spider-Man appearance in a comic. I was about 95% complete when I sold the collection & started buying exclusively GA, mainly pedigrees & DC's from the Edgar Church/Mile High collection. I sold most of that from 2000-2002 & started buying Timelys. I had about 230 Timely's at my height of collecting, all were unrestored 8.0-9.8 copies. Along the way I also collected GA keys, Action #1, All Star #1, 3 & 8, Cap #1 (9.2), Marvel Comics #1, Young Allies #1... etc. I also went after buying all the San Francisco Pedigree Copies I could find, having about 100 of those a few years back. I still have my Hitler cover collection & other books, Timelys, etc... but I've really been enjoying the OA I've purchased over the past 15 years. I was lucky enough to get the cover to JLA #227, which was one of the 1st comics I ever bought off the spinner rack at my local 7-11. I'm still trying to get a few of the other OA covers to books I bought as a kid. About a year and a half ago I decided to go after Spider-Man art, as Spider-Man was my first love when I was 15 years old. I didn't want to collect the comics again, been there done that, so I decided to buy art. My favorite time period is the Ditko era. The art is so innocent, simple (yet dynamic) & refreshing to me. So that's my 36 years of collecting comics in a nutshell!

Sure. 36 years in the making! That's quite a huge nut!!    

Edited May 12, 2020 by James J Johnson