I stopped collecting comics in 1979 and after selling a little over 300 in 2008, I still have a modest collection of 700 or so ranging from obscure 1940s superheroes to mainstream Marvel ones, as well as miscellaneous other titles.
Two years ago, I discovered a not-close-by comic book store in an industrial area that only sold back issues. As I had to be in that area with some time to kill, I decided to check it out. It was awesome, bringing back for me the enthusiasm I once had for collecting that I had long ago left behind. They had a huge back room full of boxes where comics were organized by publisher and cost fifty cents a pop. Separately – and of greater interest to me - was a long box full of horror, mystery and monster titles, some of them decidedly not cheap. Altogether, I was in there for about 1.5 hours before just starting to feel the effects of oversaturation. I bought 8 comics for $15, including one random issue of Tragg and the Sky Gods (#6, girl fight cover), a comic I had never heard of, but which proved surprisingly engaging, if not particularly well-drawn.
A year later, I was once more compelled to be in that same area. This time, I went to the trouble of going through my collection to weed out about 30 older, but generally shitty comics I would happily part with in exchange for a smaller number of (hopefully) less shitty comics. Alas, the pandemic struck…and then on top of that, the comic book store lost their lease. It looked like there would be no return visit….
Months later, the pandemic having temporarily receded, I ventured forth to the store’s new location, my 30 shitty comics in hand. The new store was nicer, but smaller; the long box of horror, mystery and monster comics I had so looked forward to going through was not to be found; it had somehow not made the transition to the new store. Still, I managed to find 9 comics – including Tragg and the Sky Gods #1! – for $10, which the owner threw in along with $30 in cash in exchange for my shitty comics. I was satisfied by the deal, but disappointed in the experience.
About a month later, still feeling letdown, I ordered 10 comics online, most of them reprints, none of them with Tragg or the Sky Gods. With shipping, it came to just over $50. Although most of them were good, afterwards, I felt like I never wanted to buy another comic again. Perhaps it was just that I got too immersed in a comic book mindset and my (more or less) adult brain rebelled by not letting me enjoy it as much as I did in my misspent youth.
