I'm curious as to when you stopped reading comics and chucking them away, and actually started saving them up.
Most, if not all grown-up comic readers on here, would have been reading comics as a kid. We all went from the Beano/Dandy to Krazy/Whizzer & chips, through to 2000AD and Marvel comics. But all those Beanos got read and chucked, at least in my house.
For me it was 20000ad that made me incapable of just throwing the thing away after I'd read it - I kinda snuck it past my folks - They were always generous with allowing us comics and magazines on the weekly newsagent's bill. I was allowed 3 comics , and I remember ditching Whizzer & Chips n in favour of 2000ad.
I'm not sure what it was that made me hang on to these comics (which in those days were considered as disposable as newspapers), but 20 years later, My mum was nagging me to move all the hundreds of progs in her loft!
I was always an avid Beano reader, 2000ad a little, my older brother used to give me money to buy it, he felt too grown up to get it.
An extended stay in hospital when I turned 11 really got me into all comics, relations asked what I liked, so I was brought comics by the armful, everything from Weeklies, Monthlies, Libraries, Funnies and Action, but no one brought any Superhero stuff, no idea why, there was plenty of Marvel UK around.
My late uncle really got me into collecting though, american comics or back issues of British comic were just not available here, he bought me a big bunch of american comis and more importantly the address of the mail order company, Conquistador! ,part of The book Palace eventually (I think). He then got me the original Eagles, which were incredible to see for the first time in the mid eighties, compared to the poor quality newsprint from IPC, the were fantastic, and importantly the name Norman Shaw, who supplied me with a lot of comics in the late eighties.
I have kept most of what I have bought, and they have been read through by many kids over the last few years, my seven years olds favourite read at the min is Whoopee Monthly!
The 2000ADs were all kept, Dan. Yes, loved the Whoopees and Whizzer & Chips and more interestingly, Krazys and Cheekys, et al. Read and binned them.
Things changed at 2000AD. After about... 9 months I would buy 2 copies a week. Don't know where the feck that idea came from. So my collection is split between read and bagged/unread. As you all know the bog paper progs were perforated and literally the pages remain stuck together until read. I find this pleasing. I am sure that in the 80's my thought process was that I would keep a 'good' unread collection. Even when shit, the prog is a hard habit to ditch and (as mentioned before) it turns out I bought 2 copies for about 4 years after the reading stopped. Reading them now, Grud help me.
I have pristine earlyish progs and I guess what you're wondering is, who kept the early progs, and in good nick. I'll confess I keep an eBay to see just what the going rate is.
I used to keep all my Whizzer and Chips, but cut out my favourite stories and Blu tac'd them to my bedroom wall above my bed. My mum stopped me when they ended up covering one complete wall and I wanted to start on another.
This is the oldest thing i kept, and still re-read to this day:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Mangamax/0po_zpsxpdesu7u.jpg)
It all gets a bit hazy as to what happened when but suspect my brother was keeping Battle before he started to keep 2000ad. As said Whizzer and Chips, Cheeky etc (was Cheeky before 2000ad?) were all read and binned, though I have a feeling the odd Summer Special survived (I have visions of a Monster Fun one getting mixed in with piles of comics, though how accurate this is?).
Certainly from 2000ad, Doctor Who Weekly amd Star Wars Weekly onwards they were all stashed. Everything alas feel fowl of the Mum Monster at various stages. The only exception being Doctor Who Weekly and Monthly that seemed to survive these periodic purges, until I got rid of them (to someone here as I recall?) a few years back.
The oldest comic (to me - as in I bought new off the shelf and still have) I own is as late as Prog 431 from 1985 I think. Not that many comics I have in my extensive collection still exist from that period even, both American and UK as I've purged a couple of times. Numerous 2000ad had to be replaced as well as they had been read to death and or posters cut out etc.
I always kept my 2000 AD's and Dracula Lives from childhood although many times I had to rescue them from my Mother's cleaning purges.
My collection of 2000 AD's went to a friend when I moved out of my parent's home on the understanding that I would get them back when I wanted them.
They stayed with him for about 5 years from 1989 until I started get the Prog again in 1994.
I still have tonnes of stuff from when I was a child.
Started really keeping them from 87 onwards. Have a lot from before.then from late 70's particularity Annuals. Z
I'd always seen tooth as a little disposable to be honest. Part of that might have been the peripatetic air force lifestyle of my old man which meant that space was always at a premium. I was banned from reading tooth in the early eighties after my mam glanced at Nemesis and decided it was 'not appropriate' but this was fortunately short lived.
I think the eye opener was when the Eagle reprints started and an introduction to certain Marvel stuff through a friend with the UK reprints. Becoming aware of the fact that you could get back issues and that they could be expensive! Like maryanddavid I remember Conquistador as well as Justin Ebbs' Just Comics. Getting his back issue catalogue was a real eye opener. Back in the mid eighties it seemed that there were so many places to go. I still remember my first comic mart in Birmingham then dragging my dad around town to find all of the comic shops I'd seen listed in the back of Star Wars weekly. Nostalgia and Comics was incredible back then and no way could my meagre pocket money stretch to any where near what was on offer.
I've regrettably had to downsize a number of times over the years. I think I've put together a tooth collection about three times now. That said, I think half the pleasure is in the chase. There's nothing like stumbling across that elusive issue in a poky old comic shop! There have been some cracking ones over the years, Hobbit Hole in Gloucester, Planet x in Worcester ( I think), the one in Lincoln in the mini arcade near the castle, the one in Ipswich with the odd little stairs inside the main entrance, Comic Showcase in Oxford by the river ... so many happy memories.
As far as I remember I always kept them, from Beano/Dandy/Buster/Oink to Ghostbusters/Jurassic Park/Sonic the Hedgehog and, much later, 2K. We didn't have much money to spare as a household (when my mum took the four of us to McDonalds, for instance, she could only afford to buy a single happy meal, then cut the burger into quarters and share the fries between us!) So a comic was an occassional treat rather than a weekly or fortnightly thing - when you got one you held onto it so you could re-read the thing until it fell to bits, as you didn't know when the next one was coming.
That's probably why I don't have any of them left, to be honest. Well-read, well-loved. The exceptions were my cherished Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park collections, which got binned without my knowledge one sad, sad day.
By the time I was getting pocket money (from the grandparents, for the same reasons as above) I was drifting away from comics a bit, and the money was just as likely to go on toys or sweets. I didn't properly discover Tooth until I was 16 and ready to decide that comics weren't just for kids and it was still okay for me to buy them. Kept all of those, of course.
I never threw mine away. They were read and re-read. I car-booted a load (basically all my humour comics—piles of W&C, Nutty, Whoopee, etc.) when I was about 14, which I now regret, though.
I always kept my comics - however, my mother was of a different mindset, and unceremoniously binned my original run of Scream and all my Battles and Eagles when I was at school one day. For some reason, 2000AD never suffered the same fate - fear of Rigellian Hotshots, I expect. My Starblazers also survived the great purge, probably because they were smaller.
Quote from: Tjm86 on 11 April, 2015, 10:37:23 AM
There have been some cracking ones over the years, Hobbit Hole in Gloucester, Planet x in Worcester ( I think), the one in Lincoln in the mini arcade near the castle, the one in Ipswich with the odd little stairs inside the main entrance, Comic Showcase in Oxford by the river ... so many happy memories.
The one in Ipswich was Globe Fantasy Books. It moved and changed names in August 1989. From Facebook:
"Central City Comics began as Globe Fantasy Books back in June 1979."
The first comics I thought about keeping were my Transformers comics (Marvel UK). I still have them and quite a few are in mint condition. 2000AD came later but I was unable to inherit my elder brothers collection because my mum (in her infinite wisdom) threw them out.
Although technically not a comic I still have some issues of Storyteller, tapes an' all.
Cheers
If the house was on fire the 2000ad collection is what I'd save.Sure you could probably rebuy most issues but it wouldn't be my collection anymore most of mine I can remember were I was on holiday or working or if I'd been to England for a match or a gig.too many memories 2000ad been a constant in my life since I eight years old and as soon as I'd discovered it the beanos and eagles all went out the door(mother brought them to the hospital next door we are not monsters)because i was in love with Antihero's now 2000ad had stone cold killers and I couldn't get enough.Tjm86 my dad also banned me after seeming those two lawyers explode in Finn but I kept buying it anyway.I've really got to get around to building drawers for them.
I have a complete collection of House of Hammer magazine from the 70s (includiing the ridiculously rare 2-6) and all of Dez Skinn's Warrior along with a yellow raggidy pile of Tornado but anything else would be from late 80s onwards.
My brother and myself used to get the odd Disney or Laurel & Hardy comic when very young.
But my interest in collecting comics started with Marvel UK's Spider-Man Comics Weekly. There was a tv advert for SMCW which fascinated me. Whenever it would come on tv I would run out of the living room to call my dad to show him the comic I wanted. I missed issue one but collected it from issue 2. I was so proud of that comic I carefully took the first four or so issues I owned to infants school in a brown paper bag to show my teacher. She was impressed and said that we (the class) could chop them up to make a collage! Sacrilege I thought. My reaction and look of horror amused her.
I still love that cover.
(http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120718063120/marveldatabase/images/f/f8/Spider-Man_Comics_Weekly_Vol_1_2.jpg)
Never tossed any comics ever. The concept is foreign to me. My parents bought me Beano and Wizzer & Chips and later started with 2000AD. Round 9 or so I got into Mad Magazine and started collecting Marvel and DC titles. I bought a shed load of plastic sleeves and kept them all in old brandy boxes. Then around 2006 our house got burgled and the whole lot stolen.
Every single issue and graphic novel I owned. A good 7000 plus issues gone.
Now I just buy trades and read digital comics.
I never really read the Beano or the Dandy, apart from maybe one or two issues. I have a very vague memory of some Disney comic in the 1970s but the first comics I remember reading were Victor and Warlord. My parents used to buy a copy of each for me and my brother on our summer holidays. And I literally mean one copy of each per year, so it never occurred to us to keep them - they were just something to read for the holidays. I do though still have the Victor Book for Boys 1978 and have reread it many times (but not recently).
The first comics I started keeping were the first comics I started getting every week. This started with Star Wars Weekly and soon after that Starlord.
I can't remember the exact reason why I started getting them every week, but I would imagine there were two factors with Star Wars Weekly. First of all was that the story of the film was told over 10 or 12 weeks so to read all of that meant getting it every week. Secondly the first issue said "valuable first issue" on the cover, effectively telling you this was worth collecting - and I guess it worked :).
With Starlord, I think I was just so blown away with the content that I could n't not get it every week.
It did though take several months to start getting 2000AD every week after it Starlord merged into it. I think I was pretty upset that my favourite comic no longer existed and didn't like being told "hey read this instead".
I have never ever thrown out a copy of Star Wars Weekly, Starlord, 2000AD, the Megazine, the new Eagle (but I did give up getting it) or any other 2000AD related comics such as the DC Dredds, the IDW Dredds, Anderson and Rogue Trooper - with the possible exception of Lawman of the Future (of which I only bought a few). I have though thrown out all my copies of Red Dwarf Magazine, most of my SFXs and Q magazines due to space issues (and ok the last two aren't comics :lol:).
Quote from: Karl Stephan on 11 April, 2015, 05:46:41 PMThen around 2006 our house got burgled and the whole lot stolen.
Urgh. That's horrible. Also, it must have taken bloody ages to shift 7000+ magazines. Someone was an organised arsehole that day.
I only started keeping my comics when I got 7000 comics in one go off a guy on ebay.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 12 April, 2015, 03:46:33 PM
Quote from: Karl Stephan on 11 April, 2015, 05:46:41 PMThen around 2006 our house got burgled and the whole lot stolen.
Urgh. That's horrible. Also, it must have taken bloody ages to shift 7000+ magazines. Someone was an organised arsehole that day.
That's South Africa for you. The house was standing empty for a week and someone picked up on it. Of course, the comics went along with the other contents of the house. I lost my CD collection, computer, electric guitar... even a whole bunch of my clothes :o
That is grim. I hope you were insured? Doesn't take away from how harsh that is but still.
Anyway that got me thinking about the numbers. I currently log my comics (for just this reason so I can claim on the insurance if anything happens) using an online cataloguing tool. I also track the comics I've parted with, as well as I've been able to remember. I have 14232 comics, trades etc logged. I reckon you could add at least a thousand to that is account for the various collections I've had as a child (with my brother to be honest that aren't included for one reason or another, e.g. I have no precise memory of what Eagle issues I had, or what issues of Battle we had etc etc.
Of those I have 7631 currently in my collection - and another 161 in my new digital format stuff. So I reckon over the years I've got rid of roughy half the comics I've owned.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 12 April, 2015, 08:14:48 PM
That is grim. I hope you were insured? Doesn't take away from how harsh that is but still.
Nope. My parents' home contents insurance didn't cover my stuff unfortunately, so I got royally shanked.
Served me right for still living with my parents though :lol:
In 1989/90 I was lucky in that a friend and avid collector gave me his doubles which I'm glad to say were 2000AD' dating from 86 to 87. He taught me not only how to look after them but even more importantly how to enjoy them. Especially the smell which I love to this day. But I didn't start collecting earnestly until around 1992/93. My collection is not big around 900 and it has a lot of broken and uncompleted series. But I have read them all, several times each I'm sure. My children will get them one-day. My daughter has already started claiming various pieces. She has a good eye I'll give her that. But they know not to touch they are only 12yrs and 13yrs. Maybe when they reach around 30 or so, then I might let them touch a few of the cheaper ones. I would love to see pictures of other peoples collections and show some pics of mine. But I don't know how or what site to go to. Some assistance in this area would be greatly appreciated. It's nice being in contact with people who appreciate not just comics but collecting in general. Oh by the way my favorite character is SLAINE.