deezpwr

On August 6th, I'm holding a bash to celebrate a special and unusual birthday.

It will mark the 35th anniversary of the first comic book I owned.

At an early age, Mondays were regularly signified by the clatter of the letterbox as THE EAGLE plopped onto the front doormat, something my Dad ordered me from the newsagent.

I was so used to this weekly event but never really read it; After all, it was Dad who sat reading each weekly issue, digesting and redigesting every page, rarely requesting my attention. Nearly five decades on, I realize that, like a lot of Dads, it wasn't exactly ordered for me....

I was merely the facilitator for his forays into the retro-future worlds of Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy's immortal DAN DARE, the one fixture that I really remember from it. By the age of about five, I knew and feared the Mekon...

What a privilege! To be aware of one of literature's great nemeses in my infancy, the cold-blooded overlord of the Treen; a character as iconic to the 50s  as Moriarty was to the Victorians, Ming to the 30s or Victor Von Doom to the 60s was also to begin the foundations of my conscience, placing a point on my moral compass.

The Mekon taught me what evil was, in much the same way as the Daleks did (Yes, I was one of those poor, unfortunate brats forever psychologically scarred by Terry Nations semi-robotic fascists, becoming as familiar with the back of the sofa as I was with the eerie music that warned me that it was nearly time to seek it out, to black out the sight of the victims slaughtered by Davros' unthinking minions, to mute their terrifying electronic  screams).

And I also learned that, for every threat against my life and limb or my freewill, there were those prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect people like me; Dan, or the DOCTOR; Man of Steel,Caped Crusader, Princess of The Amazons,the webslinger, shellhead, lettuce-lips, the star-spangled avenger; THE HEROES....

In 1976, at fifteen years old,an old friend, Geoff, was also a comic freak, and it was his gift of IRON MAN 47 that began my lifelong passion for comic books (or, if you prefer, panelology, or sequential arts, or graphic literature), a passion spanning over three decades of the genre's history.

As fate would have it, that very story was an origin of Iron Man, an ideal jumping on point.

This led to a love of the Avengers, then Thor, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, the FF, X-Men.....

In 1978, I was fortunate enough to be passing a market stall dealing in secondhand books and lucked upon a small heap of battered comics.

These included my first DC comic, Batman 251, a now-classic Joker story crafted by Denny o'Neil, Neal Adams and the late, revered Dick Giordano; You know the one: The one with the iconic panel of Bats sleekly dashing across the sands?

It cost me 20p.

Then Superman (My first issue was the outsized Superman vs. Muhammed Ali, recently reissued), the JLA (183, the first George Perez issue, a slightly moving comic considering that it was the first issue in perhaps a decade not drawn by the late Dick Dillin, who just passed on. Oo! And a lovelyJim Starlin cover featuring the New Gods). Then, joy of joys, the donation by a friend of ALL the Walt Simonson issues of the Metal Men, written by Marty Pasko.

Then the Legion, a title which constitutes an entire comic long box and with an 19 year run unparalelled within the context of my own 3,500-strong collection and featuring the legendary era made possible by the titanic partnership that was (And was a couple of weeks ago for a memorable annual) Paul Levitz and Kieth Giffen.

The great eras.

Like Roy Thomas and John Buscema's AVENGERS. Frank Miller and Klaus Janson's DAREDEVIL.Denny O'Niel and Mike Kaluta's SHADOW. Steve Englehart and Gene Colan's HOWARD THE DUCK. Jack Kirby's NEW GODS. Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema's DEFENDERS. Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's MANHUNTER.Marv Wolfman and George Perez' NEW TEEN TITANS. Jim Starlin's CAPTAIN MARVEL and WARLOCK. Alan Moore and Steve Bissette's SWAMP THING. James Robinson and Tony Harris' STARMAN.

The great moments.

Gwen Stacy dies. Sue Storm miscarries. Matt Murdock plays Russian roulette with a paralyzed Bullseye. Terra betrays the Titans. Selina Kyle gives birth. Oliver Queen catches Speedy shooting up. Howard sleeps with Beverly Switzler. Adam Warlock kills his future self. Swamp thing and Abigail Cable embrace in the bayou. The Fury queries: "What if there were no reality to alter?" The Doom Patrol are trapped in The Painting That Ate Paris. The Vision marries Wanda Maximov and Mantis marries a tree. Kal-El breathes his last for now. Barry Allen dies. Barry Allen never died. Dr. Light rapes Sue Dibny. John Constantine looks like Sting. My own face looks back at me from an array of tv screens in a shop window on the first page of Swamp Thing 53. Adrian replies, "Why do you ask?" Even an android can cry. Booster finds the blackboard.

The great covers.

The Joker with a camera. The Avengers face to face with the Squadron Supreme. The Dark Knight lies dead against the backdrop of a giant playing card. Superman wails uncontrollably as he cradles the corpse of his cousin, a plethora of cross-time heroes paying solemn tribute in the background. Barry and Jay run side by side but seperated by a wall. The JLA dance on strings. The Legion kneel before Almighty Darkseid. Reed Richards, shackled. Matt embraces the gravestone, sobbing. The  lightning strikes in the sky behind a cloaked silhouette. The Stars and Stripes bleed onto the floor. Buddy lies crucified on tyre tracks. Thanos looms over a heap of unconscious antagonists. Not a dream! Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! Tony Stark, Chivas Regal in hand, stares horrified into the mirror.

The words.

"Maybe clothes do make the man!"   

"You! But it can't be...! YOU'RE DEAD!"

"SHAZAM!"

"Nobody move in a mysterious way."

"My life has been a failure. I welcome it's end."

"In brightest day, in  blackest night...."

"Avengers assemble!"

"Neez."

The places.

Titans Tower. Gotham City. Happy Harbour. Blue Valley. Graymalkin Lane. Kree-Lar. The Baxter Building. Star labs. Belle Reve Prison. Oolong Island. Mount Olympus. Underspace. The Bleed. Opal. Central. Fawcett. Keystone. Millenium. The Immateria.

35 years of shock and awe, and social comment, selfless sacrifice, tears, hope, astonishment, anticipation; The odd disappointment. Many victories, "I KNEW IT"s, "Just a minute..."s, "Aaaaah"s, "Eeeeeeep"s, "Oooooooo"s, and "Yipes"s.

Many thousands of pounds! Many more if not for that eating thing. Less calories than a pizza, less harmful than smoking, more addictive than heroin. Far more engrossing than sport, cooler than trainspotting, more satisfying than sex. More versatile than film.

For Odin. For Asgard. For life.

To be continued.....