Redartz: Collecting comics (or most anything, really) can be a laborious process for some. You have titles you favor, characters or artists you pursue. You probably have used a 'want list', you may have had a 'pull list' at a comic shop. Perhaps you hunted for years, searching for a particular issue before finally acquiring it with a well-deserved air of triumph! You gotta love filling those holes in your collection, and adding a long-sought treasure to your pile.
However, there is also a wonderful element of surprise inherent in collecting. Have you ever hit a convention, flea market, or shop, and found something unexpected? Some item you just stumbled upon, but knew you'd have to have it. Maybe it was something that reminded you of childhood. Maybe it was a colossal key issue at a bargain-basement price. Perhaps it was something you didn't even know existed until you came across it on that momentous day. These are the stories we will be sharing today: your favorite lucky finds.
To prime the pump, here's four favorite finds of mine :
Some of you may recall my fondness for Sheldon Mayer's classic kid series "Sugar and Spike". The book disappeared from the stands in 1971, and individual copies are fairly scarce, in any condition. One one fine Sunday morning several years ago, I was indulging in another favorite hobby: flea marketing. I hadn't found much this particular morning, and was heading down the back of the lot (this being an outdoor flea market). Browsing over one booth along the back row, among a myriad of miscellany, I spotted a dusty plastic bag with the telltale edges of some comic books sticking out. Inside were about a dozen old books, mostly in lower grade: an old Wonder Woman, a Patsy Walker, even a vintage Batman . But what really floored me was a pretty nice copy of Sugar and Spike 20 (all of the books dated from about 1958). Asking the proprietor of the booth for a price (no tag was visible), I was told the bag could be mine for a whopping 8 dollars! Less than a dollar each! Needless to say, that dingy bag and its contents found a home that day, and the Sugar and Spike remains a prized possession.
At another flea market, more recently, another treat awaited discovery. This particular market was quite large, and many booths offered comics (and often priced for collectors). I generally look for mixed dollar boxes and lots, rather than buying from a dealer charging Guide prices. Fortunately there were many such booths as well. One of them had an interesting box of Silver and Bronze age books for 1 or 2 dollars each. Many were in pretty rough shape, but I selected several. The favorite find in this case was a Gold Key Giant comic of Uncle Scrooge, reprinting the Barks classic "Back to the Klondike". Definitely a reader copy- there was significant spine roll and a couple bits missing from the cover, but I'd wanted to read that story for a long time. Now I had the chance.
Find number three wasn't actually a comic, but was comic-related (and forgive me if I've related this tale before). Yes, at another flea market, I found a complete (albeit unassembled) 1974 Aurora Spider-Man model kit. It even contained the Romita comic book inside accompanying the
instructions. It was a kick to put it together, and it holds an honored place on the shelf (next to my wife's Elvis figure).
My final find was found at, you guessed it, a flea market (are you starting to see why I love to go to these sales?). I do, incidentally, look for other things besides comics. Among them cd's and DVD's. At this market, one booth had a table full of DVDs, too many to really look through completely. But I pored through a few dozen, and to my amazement, found a movie I'd wanted for decades: "Murder By Death". I'd seen the film at the theater back in the 70''s and remembered it fondly. But it is somewhat obscure, and I never expected to find a copy on disc. Nevertheless, there it was, and only a dollar! And that evening, my patient wife was kind enough to sit through it with me- actually, she rather enjoyed it too: great cast and a great comedy.
Well, there you have my favorite finds- not necessarily Big Ticket Items, but treasures to me. What surprises have you encountered in your collecting pursuits? Don't keep us in suspense, give us all the details. Everyone likes a story with a happy ending...
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