Love of Comics

I was reading something about how Ghost Rider #1 has topped $6000 in value earlier, and thinking how many times I had the chance to buy a copy of that issue for less than $100 over the years. I never did because I just don't really care for Ghost Rider. I think it a silly character, and one to which I cannot relate. I'll admit I've only read one, maybe two, issues of the newer series (the one that started in the 90s), but I've read some of the older stories and several comics in which "the spirit of vengeance" appeared, and I just don't find the character appealing.

And when that new series came out and became a big hit, pretty much every store had a copy of the earlier, 1970s', series that just set there, collecting dust. I could have had all sorts of Ghost Rider for, in most cases, under $20. And had I liked the character, I would have those right now.

But I only found out comics were worth something long after I was a comics fiend. I literally grew up on comics, reading slews of Mad magazines and things like that that I picked up at yard sales, because my grandparents loved to go "yardsaling" every weekend. I mean, they were true pros and by noon, we'd hit pretty much all of them listed in the newspaper. They rarely had anything I wanted, except for comic books -- usually in a worn, cardboard box with a transistor radio and errant baseball cards and a trophy and a baseball glove that looked like the cow had been beaten to death to make it and a twisted up Slinky and a pair of gym socks. "Everything in BOX 5-cents."

Those were good days.

But of any of those comics I still have (I have most all of the MAD mags I ever picked up -- I think one still has the cover!), none of them are worth squat as a "collectible," but there's no way to impress upon anyone their actual value. Yes, it's sentimental to the point of being downright cheeky and maudlin, but it's very true. And while I don't get like disgusted when I see something like this, I agree that there is a lot of glut in the field because of it.

And no matter what else is said, I still love superheroes. I just do.