So Many Comics, So Little Time

Wow, I knew it would take a while to catalog all of these comics, but this is actually going to be a few days of work to get it all done. It turns out that I have a lot of comics. Far more than I remember, really. In my parent's basement is an entire shelving unit devoted to my comics. It consists of 8 short boxes and 4 long boxes. There are also a number of cardboard boxes containing graphic novels and random comics and crap. Basically, there's a whole hell of a lot of comics.

We spent a couple hours going through as many boxes as we could. The goal was to get a complete listing of all of the books that I owned and their condition. This meant creating an Excel spreadsheet of every title, the issue number and their grade. We made it through 6 short boxes for a total of over 700 comics (I don't have the spreadsheet in front of me, so I don't have the exact number).

But we're probably looking at about 2000 comics when this is all said and done.

But here's the scary part. I had a nearly even mix of kinda cool comics and some really... wow. It's just... wow. There's also my strange and apparently compulsive need to buy multiples of all of the "collector's" editions of the books from the early 90's. For example, did you know that Todd McFarlane had done a Spider-Man book? I'm kinda hoping you didn't because then you might be inclined to buy all 9 versions of the first issue! Yes, because, naturally, I had to own the regular version. And I had to get the special silver ink version. Oh, and we can't forget about the bagged versions of both of them - those, of course, had to stay IN the bags, lest they lose their value. And, by value, I mean, that assuming everyone else in the world accidentally lost their copies in various basement floodings or being thrown away by nosy mothers, these are incredibly valuable!

Then there's the guilty embarrassments. Oh, sure, there are some guilty pleasures in there, but there are an incredible amount of guilty embarrassments. After all, can it even be a proper comic collection without the Amazing Slapstick? I think not.
NFL SuperPro #1-4? Check.
Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos #1? Check.
ALF? Hell, make that ALF #1-4. Check. Check. Check. Check.
All of them in mylar bags with backing boards.

Sadly, because the goal was to catalog as much as possible, I didn't really have the time to read through and reminisce about some of the fine story telling going on in my favorite superhero books. I would love to remember what the point of Foolkiller was (although I do recall enjoying the book quite a bit). And I would love to figure out why I had so many Adam Warlock books. But what I would really LOVE to know is how and why was the Punisher BLACK for 2 issues. The mind boggles at the prospect. Was it desperate pandering to an untapped market? Or was it just really bad stereotyping? I just didn't have the time to find out.


So, that's just the beginning. There are still many comics to examine. Many memories to relive. And many many holograms and foil stamps and gatefold covers to marvel over.

PS, when I have the file, I will upload the spreadsheet, so that everyone can enjoy my childhood of comic glory.