"I Hope You Have A 9.8 Day!"
In May of 1980, I was 10 years old, my buddy had a copy of Uncanny X-men #133. Every time I was at his house I HAD to read that issue. That particular issue is probably long since been destroyed but that’s the spark that started it all.
Now, fast forward 9 years. I finally have a job and steady enough income, for 19 year old, and my first purchase was Spectacular Spider man #156 from a 7 '11 near that jobsite.
As fate would have it, that job had me bring inventory to another store which was in Olney, Maryland. It was there that I spotted the “Zenith Comics” shop.
It quickly became my LCS and I learned A LOT from them.
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Pull lists
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Bagging/boarding and storage in cardboard boxes
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Key issues/2nd prints
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Variants
At one point I think I was at 40 titles a month, that I was actively collecting. Every payday, I was in the shop getting my haul. When I pick up really old back issues, the scent of them brings me back to those early days of collecting. I can't resist a "gimmick" book, whether it's a foil, die-cut cover or sealed in a polybag.
Then one fateful day, I discovered “SLABS”, but that’s a story for another time.