“Inside the convenience store, mom and dad go to pick up groceries while you go to find the greatest treasure of all – the spinner rack. ‘Hey Kids! Comics!’ it proclaims. What are your favorite memories of childhood comic book collecting? And do you still own that ‘first’ comic book you bought from the stand?”

By WALLY MONK – Paint Monk’s Library Editor

It was a late summer day in 1978 when I first discovered the joy of the comic book spinner rack. Little did I know that same rotating shelf of entertainment would be a primary source of fun for the rest of my youthful – and adult – life.

Mom was ordering meat from the deli; dad was around the corner buying charcoal to fire up the grill in preparation for a weekend cookout with our neighbors. I was looking at the magazine rack, and like most adolescent boys, trying to catch a glimpse of the Playboy magazine which was safely tucked back at the top of the shelf, away from the prying eyes (and short arms) of other neighborhood kids like me.

Then I spied the newly installed rotating comic display.

To this day, I remember the issues I saw there. Marvel’s Godzilla #14 grabbed my attention first, proclaiming the “Siege of the Super-Beasts”! On the shelf below, Devil Dinosaur #6 featured a flame-red Tyrannosaurus Rex and two fuzzy cavemen. A quick spin of the shelf revealed other treasures, like Conan the Barbarian #90 and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #22 (featuring Moon Knight!)

I carried a handful of these comics over to mom. To the best of my recollection, I had a dozen or so picked out. She told me that I could only have two – she pointed out that the two comics (still only 35 cents!) cost as much as a gallon of gas and they were expensive. Being a big dinosaur aficionado, Devil Dinosaur and Godzilla were the winners.

Sitting tucked in the branches of a tree in our front yard, I read both issues until they were threadbare, and if I still had them today, they’d probably rate a .5 or lower on the highly-vaunted CBCS and CGC grading scales. Later, I would begin adding Conan the Barbarian to my collection, although my parents thoroughly resisted all of my attempts to buy Red Sonja. At the time, I thought it was because they didn’t want me to buy so many comics – I’d later learn, of course, that they felt Frank Thorne’s compelling artwork was a little risque.

As Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin approved the Camp David accords and the headlines touted the new and revolutionary “Space Invaders” video game, I was perfectly content in my little comic book world. Many of the other boys played baseball during the summer; I spent my days trading comics with fellow “nerds” and arguing over who was the best superhero.

To this day, we haven’t decided if Conan, Ka-Zar, Kull or Wulf the Barbarian was “the toughest”, but it’s a debate we gave up a long time ago.

Ah, the memories.

What are your earliest memories of comic book collecting? Please share your story by commenting below using your Facebook, Twitter or Gmail account!