Adventures in Comics: Crowning Achievements in Comic Collecting...

Redartz:  Good day, everyone, and thanks for joining us for another Adventure in Comics. Most of us have, or had, goals in the course of our comic collecting careers. Some folks desire to complete a series from beginning to end. Some wish to acquire all the works from a favorite artist or writer. Others have one particular book, a 'holy grail' if you will, the possession of which would serve as the pinnacle of their collection. 

Today, we will talk about those goals, whether or not we achieved them, and how it felt to do so. As is the custom, I will go first, detailing for you my collecting aspirations.

Most of you know by now that my favorite character is Spider-Man. From the beginning of my

My unfulfilled goal.

serious collecting days, at the tender age of 13, I wanted to complete the entire run of Amazing Spider-Man. My collection grew steadily over the years, up to my apex about 1983. At that point I started unloading a few, but kept up Amazing Spider-Man. I bought that title religiously until finally giving it up about issue 275. By that time, I'd come tantalizingly close to succeeding in my quest: I had every issue from number 3 to the most recent, including complete runs of the Annuals, Giant size issues and Spectacular Spider-Man. By the time I quit the title, I'd given up the likelihood of getting my hands on those pricey first two issues. So most of that collection went with the rest, unloaded in the early 90's to help pay bills. It was a bit disappointing not to complete the set, but in the big scheme of things, not that big a deal. It had been a fun ride, after all. 

Of course, some years later the comic bug infected me again, and I started buying new issues and back issues once again. Which brings us to the present: what is my current goal? No longer a completist, I basically buy things that look interesting to me. One goal I do have, though: to re-acquire most of the original comics I had as a young child first discovering the wonders of comics. That period, from 1967 to about 1971, was years before I formally collected comics. Back then I just got cool books off the drug store spinner racks (as long as my parents approved of the contents). This goal is much more realistic, and cheaper, than shooting for ASM #1. Indeed, I've picked up quite a few of those old books already, many pretty cheap. Yes, there were many Marvels, which I have  most of, but also many DC's (especially Superman, whose back issues remain to be fairly inexpensive). Also Gold Key, Archie and digests, which can often be had dirt cheap. The biggest challenge is actually remembering all the specific issues: easy for Marvel and DC, not so simple for the others. But, it's fun. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Here are a few of those early books I've regained. Each has a special place in my memory...

So that's my story. One goal unfulfilled, but a new goal ongoing and achievable. How about you? Did you succeed in getting your comic heart's desire? If not, how close did you get? Do you have new, different goals as an 'adult'? Give us all the details of your Adventures in Comics...