1K Worth of Bronze Age Babies Posts -- Today!

Karen: 1000 posts -it's hard to believe! I guess we've had a lot to say about comics, movies, music, TV, all the stuff that we love. Our reviews of comics, particularly ones we read when we were kids, have been especially enlightening to me. Sometimes my opinion has stayed the same, some 30-plus years later. At other times, it's been a surprise to discover that my youthful enthusiasm for a book let me overlook obvious flaws. But regardless, revisiting those old comics has been fun.  Reading a comic from the 70s always takes me back to those days. I recall Saturdays spent on my bike, first collecting empty bottles to supplement my allowance, then riding around to a variety of markets and liquor stores to hunt down my favorite titles. This was before comic shops, back in the days when there was no centralized location to get all your books. One store might have the latest Avengers, but not the new Spider-Man. It was truly a labor of love to get a hold of all the books I wanted.  Once I'd made all my rounds, I might head to the new Taco Bell that had opened near our home and grab a taco for lunch. Then, depending on the weather, I'd either go to the local park or home to read my books. Those days were so care-free, and the books were so entertaining. It was a great time in my life, a great time to be a kid. I can't help but experience a bit of that feeling when I read these comics again. Based on your comments, many of you have a similar reaction reading the reviews. That's the really rewarding part of putting the blog together -knowing that we're not just cranking out a review, but giving everyone a chance to experience that pleasant nostalgia.

Doug:  It certainly is hard to believe -- no way did I ever even imagine those (now) several years ago when we first started blogging that we'd reach a milestone in the four-figures.  But, since we're here, why stop now?  Like Karen, I've really, really enjoyed the discovery and re-discovery of comics from my childhood.  Born in 1966, the Bronze Age was fully blossoming as I came to comics reading near the end of my 6th year.  And, like I've said many times around here, the other treasures of my kidhood were Megos, Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies, the Planet of the Apes franchise airing on network television, AM radio, and Slurpees at the 7-11 store.

Doug:  It's not only a comic mag, but a song that can immediately take me back to those wonderful times.  Elton John's Rocket Man instantly places me in the basement of my buddy Jeff K., using all of the boxes and an old full-size hairdryer chair as landscapes for our seemingly-endless Mego adventures.  Reading the destruction/salvation of Reed and Sue's marriage in the Fantastic Four #140's, the clone saga in Amazing Spider-Man #'s 130's-140's, and the "Celestial Madonna" wrapping up in Avengers and all of those Giant-Size issues was a blast.  Sometimes I even think I get smells as part of those memories.  Give me Paper Lace's The Night Chicago Died or McCartney's Live and Let Die and I'm back in the early/mid-'70's.

Doug:  However, Karen and I wanted to take today to not only say we're still pumped about the Bronze Age, but that in an effort to sustain our quality and even recharge a bit, we're going to take what we feel is a well-deserved vacation.  So here's the deal -- once 2012 turns to 2013, you folks -- our ever-faithful readers -- will be in charge around these spaces.  On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we're going to run a sort of "BAB Classic" where you'll find reruns of some of our earliest or favorite comic book reviews.  For many of you, you'll be seeing them for the first time; for those of you who've been with us during most of the past three years, we're going to copy-paste the comments that ran back in the day to the bottom of the post.  This way those whose voices were heard on the original publication will receive their due as conversation starters for what we hope will be continued discourse on those stories.  Do not hesitate to jump right in and carry forward any issues raised, or praises or pans as well.

Karen: I'm really curious what you'll have to say -and what conversations might get started, now that we have a more robust community!

Doug:  On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and on the weekends in January, we're going to take some of our famous discussion starters and turn you loose on them.  We'll rotate the following five departments:  The Open Forum, Discuss, Face-Off, Spotlight On... and Who's the Best...?  If you've never noticed, we set our posts to go live each day at 6:00 am Central Time here in the States.  If you're an early riser, or happen to be the first one in on any given day, then you'll have the opportunity to set the topic of conversation for that day's post.  We'll be sure to have instructions at the top of the post, so even if you're new you'll know what sort of topic is fair game for a particular department.  It's easy, really.

Doug:  So we're not going anywhere -- I'm sure on most days we'll jump right in with you and join the fun.  But we wanted to get some time to recover from the holidays and get ahead on some of our comics reviews.  All is golden in BAB land -- you can count on that!  And come February 1st we'll be right back at it with the regular content you've come to expect -- we'll lead off the month with a series of reviews of the "Under Siege" storyline from the Avengers!  Personally, I can't wait to revisit that tale.

Karen: What he said!