I Gotta Have It! But, How'd You Get It?

Doug: Last weekend we had several long-timers as well as a nice representation of new/recent commenters join the fray in discussing their peak buying years. The conversation veered to when and why that first wave waned, books that got us back into collecting, etc. Toward the end of that weekend, one of our Twitter followers (@conrad_eric) asked us if we'd ever run a post where we asked our readers just how they got their comics. To the best of my recollection those sorts of stories have been told through the years, but I don't believe ever in one place. Well... that's today, and the rest of the weekend.

We'd love it if you'd get specific with certain vendors' spinner racks and magazine shelves, locations of drug stores or groceries, mail order companies, and maybe even trading partners. I know I'd love to hear memories of how our readers acquired certain books, what age they were then, and if they still have the book or not. Talk about our community finding some common ground for nostalgia!

I can start this off today, and will most likely chime in again with a comment at some point: As a child, I can recall magazine racks at a drug store at the corner of S. 76th St. and Howard Ave. in Milwaukee. I can see Fantastic Four #161 in front of my hands in May, 1975. I later bought FF #163 at the same store. Those might be the earliest memories I have of buying my own comics, which is puzzling since I'd have been 9 years old. I know I had several comics by that time. Anyway, other regular venues through the years included Osco Drugs in Kankakee, IL, where I purchased Peter Parker #1, Belscot in Kankakee (a poor man's Wal-Mart), where Marvel Treasury Edition #s 19 (Conan the Barbarian) and 21 (Fantastic Four) left in my possession, the Weiner's mini-market on River Street in Kankakee, IL where I purchased an issue of Super-Team Family, the Convenient Food Mart in Bourbonnais, IL where I bought many an issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains, and of course my most famous one-time purchase of Avengers #161 at Mickey's Books and Novelties (you know...). In college, the Rexall Drugs in Eureka, IL got me my fix of Crisis On Infinite Earths and volume two of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Shortly thereafter, I started buying comics from mail order businesses such as Westfield Comics, Mile High Comics, and M&M Comic Service. All are still in business.

So thank you to Eric for the suggestion/request. I hope our conversation this weekend is as rich as last weekend's was.

Contemporary Comics Consumerism

Doug: DATELINE - Lima, Ohio. Hand-written on a tag on a rack of comics and trade paperbacks was this sign:

"Looking for an entry point to the Marvel Universe? Try Civil War!"

UPDATE: So I whipped this post up in about two minutes right before my wife and I headed out the door. Just wanted to get some conversation going this Sunday. When I got back home, Osvaldo had left the first comment. I'll give my further explanation, which I intended to do anyway once I got home (which I now am). Got that? Anyway, he said:

Dr. Oyola said...Not sure what your point here is. . . that this is a bad point of entry? (I'd agree).

Anyway, it made me think of this article about how much it'd cost to get all the issues of the current Secret Wars series and related title tie-ins.

Short answer? Over a thousand bucks.

September 27, 2015 at 1:14 PM

Doug: Friday my wife and I took 1/2 personal days so that we could make the trek out of Illinois, across Indiana and into western Ohio to watch our son play soccer. We spent the night in Lima, Ohio (home of Ben Roethlisberger and Phyllis Diller -- how's that for a combination?). On Saturday we decided just to explore the town for a few hours before heading for home. I noticed that they had what appeared to be a nice looking LCS in the downtown area, so we went. Alter Ego Comics was indeed a great little full-service store. They had a little bit of everything, and their displays were very attractive. Nice staff on site for assistance, and they didn't seem to be hurting for customers. So if you're in the area, they have my recommendation.

Doug: To the question at hand... I at first had a wry smile cross my lips when I read the sign and was tempted to scoff aloud. And then I stopped myself. Looking around, it hit me that comic book consumerism in 2015 really isn't geared toward me. While they had a fair back issue section, it didn't seem like they had an abundance of Silver or Bronze Age back issues. They had no, to my recollection, back issues on the walls as shops often do. So I said to myself that today's comic fan probably is up on current events at the Big Two, and is probably fully-immersed in the lore of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And, given that Captain America: Winter Soldier was one of Marvel's biggest pictures and that next spring's Captain America: Civil War promises to be huge, maybe -- just maybe -- Civil War is a good entry point to the Marvel Universe.

Doug: Because as we've said, this really isn't my Marvel Universe, not any more. So that's where I was going with this. 

The Spinner Rack - a Variation on a Theme

Doug: No month and year for you today, kids. Nope -- I have something else in mind. Today's a tell-all from you to the rest of the BAB community. Our fun this time around is going to be in telling of those books that you recall obtaining at a specific time and place. I'm sure many of us know that we used to get a stack of comics in a cardboard box shipped from a place like Westfield Comics and brought to us by the UPS man. Others among us (looking at you, HB) used to subscribe to a few titles and eagerly awaited the mailman's arrival after a certain amount of time had passed. And that's cool - we've all been there. Let me show you what I'm after --

Purchased for me by my Aunt Mary while at the Old Chicago indoor amusement park.

Purchased by my summer sitter, my mom's cousin, at Southside Drugs in Kankakee, IL

Purchased by me after my mom drove me all over town looking for it. Bought it at Mickey's Books and Novelties (yup - those kinds of "books and novelties". Hey, I was 11; I didn't see anything other than the spinner rack! I swear...)