A trip down memory lane....

papafreebird · Post by **papafreebird** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:21 pm

I haven't bought any comics in probably 11 or 12 years. Between family, work, and other obligations I just didn't have the time and money to buy comics.

I'm 33 and have been collecting since I was around 5 or 6. I got hooked when I saw my older brother reading an issue of xmen. Man I was hooked. Any money I earned went towards buying more comics. I mainly just read DC and Marvel titles.

In the early 90's I started purchasing comics from a group in New York called UCI (Universal Collectibles Incorporated). I don't even think they are in business now. I was huge into image (wasn't everybody then). I spent quite a bit of my check with these guys purchasing image, marvel and dc comics. The great thing about them was that in every order they would give you a random independent comic for free. That's how I got introduced to valiant. It was an issue of solar. Wow. I wished I had known about valiant sooner. The characters were intriguing, the art was good, and most important to me was these had a good story.

Solar fascinated me with the fact that Phil Seleski got his powers in an accident in the nuclear power plant in Muskogee, Oklahoma. At the time I read that book I was living in Muskogee, Oklahoma. No we really don't have a nuclear plant but man that was cool that my town was mentioned in the book. I now live about 20 miles from Muskogee

It didn't take me long to start getting other valiant titles. XO, harbinger, Bloodshot, Magnus, Rai.

Well you know how life is... You get married, get a family, house, car, start a business. You know.... the american dream. I no longer had the time to purchase and read comics. Working a 60+ hour week just made that an almost impossibility.

Flash forward to about 2 months ago. So I sold my business and am now a stay at home Dad. My 8 year old son decided for his birthday that he wanted a couple of comics. He had never showed any interest in them before but he's always loved heroes like spider man and superman so I thought "sure why not! I'll just give him one of my old comics."

So I went into my storage and got out a couple of books for him. While I was looking for something special for him I found my old valiant books. I brought them out and started reading them again. It's just like reading them for the first time. So now I'm sharing them with my two boys. They are also enjoying them. My oldest likes magnus and xo. My youngest just likes looking at the pictures (he's 3).

So there you have it. I've come full circle. I'd love to fill out my collection but with money being the way it is I'm going to have to make due with what I've got for a while. But I've got plenty to keep me busy reading for now.

Take care everyone.

iggy101us · Post by **iggy101us** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:35 pm

What a great story. Welcome!

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:35 pm

iggy101us wrote:What a great story. Welcome!

Fully.

and hola compadre!

caxiotis · Post by **caxiotis** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:44 pm

Welcome

MoonChild · Post by **MoonChild** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:25 pm

caxiotis wrote:Welcome

comicsyte95 · Post by **comicsyte95** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:00 pm

Welcome!

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:06 pm

Very cool that you are sharing your interest in Valiant with your kids. Unfortunately, my kids have never shown any interest in comics.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:22 am

very good intro welcome

96Valiantfan · Post by **96Valiantfan** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 3:39 am

Welcome

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 4:02 am

-slym

Draco · Post by **Draco** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:01 am

Supercool story dude.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 3:21 pm

welcome

robb77 · Post by **robb77** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:27 pm

welcome

caniac · Post by **caniac** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:57 pm

Cool story man...welcome.

ian_house · Post by **ian_house** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:02 am

Sweet, thats pretty cool that your kids are getting into comics too!

J-Scott-R · Post by **J-Scott-R** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:24 pm

Welcome aboard

Lightning Strike · Post by **Lightning Strike** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:58 pm

Welcome

seymoregutz · Post by **seymoregutz** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:43 pm

i'm rather new here too....welcome. it's funny...i loved reading them as a kid....only to have a kid get me back into reading them again...one never forgets. my oldest doesn't read them anymore, my youngest doesn't read them at all. bravo for you though....you have the joy to pass it along!

caxiotis · Post by **caxiotis** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:44 pm

.....

geocarr · Post by **geocarr** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:55 pm

Welcome to the board and please continue indoctrinating youth into the greatness that once was and hopefully will again be Valiant.

papafreebird · Post by **papafreebird** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 8:20 pm

seymoregutz wrote:....you have the joy to pass it along!

And I do enjoy it so. It's great to see my boy's enjoying comics so much. And it's not only been fun for my older son, it's also helping him learn to read better. He's been reading comics all summer long. Last month at the parent/teacher conference his teacher said he was reading at a full grade level better than the rest of his class. He is in second grade and is reading at third grade second month level!

Here he is with his latest selection of comics that a very generous forum member here helped me get for him.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:19 am

papafreebird wrote: Last month at the parent/teacher conference his teacher said he was reading at a full grade level better than the rest of his class. He is in second grade and is reading at third grade second month level!

leonmallett · Post by **leonmallett** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:59 am

Welcome to the boards, and thanks for sharing your story.

robb77 · Post by **robb77** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:49 am

welcome

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A trip down memory lane....

A trip down memory lane....

Re: A trip down memory lane....