Friday, February 26, 2016

Sorting Out Comics and Life

     Hello everyone, hope all is well.  Well, just a few days after the passing of my Dad (as well as the passing of my Uncle today) I'm trying to keep real busy. 

     So I'm sorting out all of my comics.  Boy do I have a lot of loose comics that need to be placed back in the correct box.  This may be fine, because I'll say aloud to myself as I sort... "Hmm, Dad bought me this one, Dad was with me when I bought this one."  You get the drift.

     I'm just suggesting that next time you go through your box of comics, bring a parent with you, the experience could be a bonding one, and who knows...they may like it!

     Take care and adopt a comic book (and then store it correctly) today!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Family and Comics

     Hello everyone, hope all is well.  I love the Fantastic Four comic book, they are fun, tough, they fight great villains and are among other things...family.

     Now in my family, my brother was a huge collector as was I.  My sister really didn't seem to care and my Mom hated them.  Luckily, my Dad absolutely LOVED comics and passed that passion along to me and many years down the road I've written millions of words about comics and still have a fair collection of them.

     But my Dad passed away a few days ago and I thank God that the passion was instilled in me over 50 years ago so that I might carry on the mission...of writing, talking about and enjoying comics.  Thanks Dad, I miss you and love what you did for me all those years ago.

     Take care and adopt a comic (with families in them) book today!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

My Dad's Gone, Pain & Comics Here

     Hello everyone, hope all is well.  This is a blog that I never wished to write, but you see, my Dad and greatest friend died a few days ago.  We were so close that I often said that we were really just the same person with two different birthdays.  His connection to this blog you might ask?  He taught me to read on comics, I inherited his creative spark and without him, this blog and my writing career and love of comics and pop culture would have never taken off.

     I love him so much that I wish that I were with him right now, wherever that might be instead of here.  I know that sounds harsh and that these words puts me in a position of breaking both man and spiritual laws, but I'm so crushed I can feel nothing else right now.

     But the one thing that keeps me from doing something drastic is this...my Dad had some lifelong friends that he introduced me to when I was young.  These friends of his feel just as helpless as I do right now and they need more help than I do.  So I can't join Dad currently.  Instead, I've got to stay behind as much as I loathe to, to care for his helpless friends, orphaned children really, and help them in any way I can.

     These friends, these surrogate children, are named Batman, Blackhawk, Daredevil, Black Hood and Captain America.  He left them in my care, these old, four-color brothers of mine, to take up his task of reading them, turning their pages, keeping them dry and so on, the same way he cared for them throughout his long life.

     So even though I want to, I won't be following Dad along his path anytime soon, instead, I'll stay behind to care for his old friends, wiping tears while keeping them safe and letting them know they are loved...the way he loved them, the way he loved me, the way I still and will always love him.

     Take care, please, and adopt a comic (any comic, I beg you) book today...and hug your parents!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Cold Comics

     Hi everyone, hope all is well.  With winter finally hitting us, I thought I'd talk about the cold and how it affects comics.  When I was very young, my Mother would not let me keep a lot of comics in the house, so out to the garage they went.  Now during the summer, I hid my books throughout the house and basement, but during the winter, I happily complied.  Why would I do that you might ask?  Because the cold kept them in beautiful shape.  Many of my better copies of comics are still in great shape due to the normally frigid Cleveland weather.


     I might have mentioned this tip before, but attics and damp basements are a danger to your precious paper darlings.  Of course they didn't have special acid-free bags and boards.  No, if it was up to me, I'd keep my comics in a slightly cooled fridge year round.  More on conditions of comics and weather, coming soon


     Take care and adopt a (cool) comic today!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Pain, Pain Pain

     Hi everyone, hope all is well.  With me it's been comics and pain.  At Christmas I had my 3rd heart operation, then came pneumonia, then I broke my pointing finger in two places.  Hard to type.  Hard to turn the page on a COMIC BOOK!


     Take care and adopt a comic book (that does not hurt you) today!