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Blog Entry 19 of 44 Welcome to The Retroplex
I'm usually in full-blown reminisce mode anyway, so why not make the rest of you poor saps suffer along with me, right?

Here, you'll find no shortage (well...unless I can't think of any new material) of meaningless but ultimately harmless bits of ephemera covering the past 20 or so years of pop culture, and my occasional interactions with it. Whether you're into the iconic or the ironic, sooner or later, I'll probably get around to it.
Watch, as the hilarity ensues! Or, if you prefer, gawk like a shocked passerby witnessing a horrible accident!

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~TheRetroplex

"I must return to my comic book store..."

Contributed by: Jared Keller   on 1/8/2007

I hide it well, my geekdom. By day, I'm a mild-mannered Research Analyst for a major private university, suburban husband and dad, and minivan-owner. Well, I'm that stuff by night, too, so let's skip this line of thought.

I'm also an inveterate nostalgist, obsessed (well...almost) with the stuff of my youth, roughly defined as that period from around 1982 (when I was seven) to, well, whatever arbitrary date that I happen to assign to its end. After all, if one were to ask my longsuffering bride, those days have yet to come to a close.

As you might expect, I don't ask her opinion on the robots, GI Joes, and comic books in my office very often.

The issue currently at-hand? My pursuit of three of my favorite comic books from the very peak of my collecting days - that period from around 1986 to 1989. I bought a bunch of 'em, which I foolishly sold off for a pittance when I started college and decided that I no longer wanted them. How very short-sighted I was.

Unfortunately, I find myself victimized by the laws of supply and demand, but, as economic constructs are rather hard to shake one's fist toward, I prefer to blame the Comic Store Guys. Anyone familiar with both The Simpsons and the world of the comic book store knows the score; Matt Groening has managed to crystallize the most unfortunate tendencies of the clerks who often inhabit these retailers into a single wholly-accurate representation of the breed.

I seek to buy once more that which I at one time owned. Sort of a lazy, pathetic version of The Odyssey, wouldn't you agree?

I'm after Amazing Spider-Man issues #298, #299, and #300. Why, you ask? Pshaw, silly person. It's quite obvious, isn't it? Issue #298 marked the first appearance of Todd McFarlane as an artist, and #299 continued the storyline. Issue #300 was a special anniversary issue, and saw the debut of a new supervillan, called Venom. Everyone knows this, right? Right?

ANYWAY...these things don't come cheap, I'm discovering. I'm triply disadvantaged by the facts that these books have risen in value appreciably, that the plotline of the next Spiderman film is basically that of issue #300 (so interest is high), and that I'm cheap.

My quest continues, and I proceed in my combat against the sinister forces of Comic Book Guys everywhere...because I can, and because I must.

Oh, man...my wife is gonna kill me if she reads this. Sorry, hon.


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Showing 1-8 of 8 comments
Submitted By: John Zwick
posted on 1/20/2007 @ 1:15:18 PM
(Not Rated)
I somehow ducked the "mom threw them away" bullet, but I didn't have any comics of real value anyway. There was an interesting series that introduced me to the oh-so-sci-fi "grey goo" though. Of course, what my mom DID throw away were baseball cards. It's not like the Ken Griffey Jr rookie card was going to put me through college or anything, but still...
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Submitted By: Ryan Hatch
posted on 1/17/2007 @ 3:32:09 PM
Rated Blog Entry
While I follow maybe one or two comics, my real vice is for Star Wars collectables. In fact, I have a whole room dedicated to my childhood love, and my guilty adult pleasure. Like you Jared, I have a very understanding wife. There is something a little off about having more toys at 31 than my son has at 2.
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Submitted By: Ann Himel
posted on 1/15/2007 @ 2:00:30 PM
Rated Blog Entry
There's a chat room? Why am I always the last one to know? I really should lift up my rock now and again. Jared - I actually saved my comics and although have bequeathed them to the young boy, I still hold executive power over their distribution. I will peruse my/his collection and see if I/he has any of these. I was a DC girl, so no guarantees. Your wife will never understand. There are collectors and there are non-collectors. I, a huge collector, married a non-collector. This was neer a problem until a recent garage sale . . . I'll have to save that story for another blog. I've got about 10 years on you - perhaps I have other comics you'd like? I'll check.
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Submitted By: William Boucher
posted on 1/11/2007 @ 6:04:48 PM
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I also really went for Mad and Cracked.
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Submitted By: Jared Keller
posted on 1/11/2007 @ 11:32:47 AM
(Not Rated)
See, overall, I was Marvel, all the way. I made exceptions for Batman (big time), and Superman (occasionally), however. For the most part, I was all about Spidey, X-Men, Captain America, and others o' that ilk. Make mine Marvel.
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Submitted By: Travis Henry
posted on 1/11/2007 @ 10:28:03 AM
Rated Blog Entry
So are you a Marvel guy? I swore my allegiance to D.C. early on and it stuck. Crisis on Infinite Earths and Sword of the Atom were my favorite series. I realize now that I missed out on Spidey at a young age.
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Submitted By: William Boucher
posted on 1/9/2007 @ 5:55:11 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Spidey was always my favorite.
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Submitted By: Tabitha Dial
posted on 1/8/2007 @ 8:34:17 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Good luck with this, Jared. Though I don't obsess over comics, I am a big fan of the X-Men and can easily see where someone can develop and obsession. This is also nostalgic for you and if your wife gets upset, maybe you can remind her that there are worst things you could spend your time doing? ... Thanks for stopping by the YourHub.com chat room when I was hosting it the other day. It was cool to see you there.
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Showing 1-8 of 8 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Jared Keller

Littleton

Jared Keller has posted 44 blog entries and 57 comments since joining on 12/1/2005. Jared Keller 's average blog rating is 5.
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