Thursday, July 31, 2008

The First Comic I Ever Bought

My Comic Autobiography Part I

Weird War Tales 78

I got this somewhere in Oregon, when I was out camping with my grandparents. I have very little memory of it other than the cover. This is no surprise as I would have been four when I got it. It was not the first comic I ever read, that likely goes to Star Wars number one, which I believe I just looked at more than read at the time, what with me being three when I got it. While I still have the Star Wars comic (it quite possibly was the first thing I ever stole, as it was my older brother's, but quickly made it's home in my room), the Weird War book was left at my grandparents house and I reread it many times in the years to come (just not enough to remember about the stories inside). But, it eventually it disappeared from the upstairs room that my brother and I shared while visiting.

I only remember two other things about that year's visit (we spent time every summer that I can remember In Oregon till I was at least 11). I really remember losing my first tooth (on the plane ride out there) and was given this book. Like the comic, that book is just a faint pleasurable memory now. My other grandfather taking me and my brother to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the only other thing I can recall about that year. And lets be honest, it was a bit above my 4 year old mind, too 2001 and not enough Star Wars. But I claimed I loved it nonetheless. It had to do with space and I was beyond fascinated with flying through the cosmos at that point.

I seem to think there might have been another comic or two that I bought that day, but nothing was as striking as the image of Native Americans skeletons flying through space. I know it had not launched yet, but the build up of the space shuttle program and my love for Star Wars made me want to be nothing other than an astronaut. DC Comics likely knew others were in love with space as much as I and thus the cover.

I was so enthralled by space that year, and really many years to follow that I drove my brother crazy as we fell asleep in the same room. See, the room had that kind of white flocked ceiling, the kind that looked like a well burred sweater, but it also had silver glitter flecked throughout that would shimmer like stars and galaxies far away when hit by the street lights out the window. I of course pretended that once the lights went out I was flying through space, making all kinds of laser noises (thewwww, theww) and hungering for warp drive (Verrrggggggggssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!). I am pretty sure I was told to shut up quite often and even had to start going to bed an hour before my brother so I would not bother him. I was a bit obsessed. And this comic really spoke to that obsession.

I am not sure when I left my space obsession behind, sometime after 1983, you know, after Return of the Jedi made space feel a bit too safe. The villains had been vanquished and even as a nine year old, I knew the world of melancholy too well to see a need to rush out and jump into a world filled with impossible optimism. The talk of me being an astronaut slowly disappeared. Though at the same time the world of comic books never escaped me. The villains, they always came back. The false optimism never completely took over. My love of Luke Skywalker soon eroded away and Peter Parker began to be emulated more and more.

To Be Continued....

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