Redartz: Hi folks. This week's twin topic was partially inspired by a conversation on Facebook, one which seemed worthy of some expanded discussion at the hands of BitBA assembled. What was that question, you may ask? Well, the original topic asked if anyone wished for all the comics they had ever bought to somehow be reacquired and resting upon their shelves. To narrow that down a bit,
1. What single book /collectible do you most regret parting with, whether by choice, chance or necessity?
As for the second question, I wanted to sort of flip/flop the idea, as it seems sad to dwell on regrets. So, (and for this question we are expanding the answer field to any and all life experiences!), for your further consideration:
2. Name a single experience , looking back over your life to this point, that you are particularly pleased/proud/glad to have lived through? And yes, as likely you also would posit, parenthood /spousehood may come to mind first. So we'll assume those experiences as a given, and look for something a bit more.......unique. As an example, see my answer below.
My answers:
1. Over my collecting career, at various times I've been proud possessor of many key books. But if allowed to 'repossess' just one of them, it would be Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1. And I have it in the ASM Omnibus, so it's readable at any time, but that single giant remains the most perfect comics package ever, imho.
2. There are numerous (sixty years gives you a lot of time, if you're fortunate, to do a bunch of stuff). But to pick one, it would be my experience on the musical stage. You see, although I can be a bit talkative, in 'real life' I'm somewhat introverted. Less so now, but as a youth extremely so. In college a girlfriend was very active in the theater, and one summer she finally persuaded me to join her in performing in a local summer stock musical production of "Camelot". This was no small leap of faith for me, as I generally shunned any spotlight, and was rather shy. Looking back, perhaps that's why she hounded me into giving it a try. So, after a few weeks of awkward rehearsals and loads of practice, young Redartz could be seen in the chorus, as a knight, singing and dancing in tights and cape. And you know what? She was right, it turned out to be a lot of fun. I'm still a lousy dancer and my singing voice is atrocious, but she helped me grow a bit out of myself, and for that I'll always be grateful. Oh, and I can still recite the lyrics to "The Lusty Month of May"...
So there you are, two tiny slices of personal history. Fair is fair, now. Your turn, let's all hear what tidbits you have to share!
1. What single book /collectible do you most regret parting with, whether by choice, chance or necessity?
As for the second question, I wanted to sort of flip/flop the idea, as it seems sad to dwell on regrets. So, (and for this question we are expanding the answer field to any and all life experiences!), for your further consideration:
2. Name a single experience , looking back over your life to this point, that you are particularly pleased/proud/glad to have lived through? And yes, as likely you also would posit, parenthood /spousehood may come to mind first. So we'll assume those experiences as a given, and look for something a bit more.......unique. As an example, see my answer below.
My answers:
1. Over my collecting career, at various times I've been proud possessor of many key books. But if allowed to 'repossess' just one of them, it would be Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1. And I have it in the ASM Omnibus, so it's readable at any time, but that single giant remains the most perfect comics package ever, imho.
2. There are numerous (sixty years gives you a lot of time, if you're fortunate, to do a bunch of stuff). But to pick one, it would be my experience on the musical stage. You see, although I can be a bit talkative, in 'real life' I'm somewhat introverted. Less so now, but as a youth extremely so. In college a girlfriend was very active in the theater, and one summer she finally persuaded me to join her in performing in a local summer stock musical production of "Camelot". This was no small leap of faith for me, as I generally shunned any spotlight, and was rather shy. Looking back, perhaps that's why she hounded me into giving it a try. So, after a few weeks of awkward rehearsals and loads of practice, young Redartz could be seen in the chorus, as a knight, singing and dancing in tights and cape. And you know what? She was right, it turned out to be a lot of fun. I'm still a lousy dancer and my singing voice is atrocious, but she helped me grow a bit out of myself, and for that I'll always be grateful. Oh, and I can still recite the lyrics to "The Lusty Month of May"...
So there you are, two tiny slices of personal history. Fair is fair, now. Your turn, let's all hear what tidbits you have to share!
11 comments:
On question 2, I did "win my oar" in the Cambridge University May Bumps. I still get goose pimples just thinking about that.
I can't think of anything for Question #2 but, for Question #1, I'd nominate three issues of a comic called TV21 that I had in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
TV21 was originally created to publish strips based on the Gerry Anderson shows but eventually lost the rights to them and started sourcing strips from other places, including Marvel Comics. As a result, it took to reprinting Spider-Man and Silver Surfer stories, long before the launch of Marvel UK.
The three issues I had of it featured the Surfer's battle with the Abomination. This means it was my first-ever exposure to a Marvel strip.
To this date, I've never been able to discover just which issues they were, and have, thus, never been able to repurchase them.
1. Fantastic Four #11. I got it from a friend's father in the late seventies, who had it when he was a kid (along with some other oldies he gave me). I think of it often, Impossible Man's first appearance.
2."Pleased to live thru". Some 25 years ago or so about 18 guys would get together annually, for about 4 years, and do a white water rafting trip. The camaraderie, pure fun, some perilousness all combined for experiences that would make life long friends and memories.
#1- Remember those early Marvel Sweatshirts? The two-sided "Here Comes the Incredible Hulk"/"There Goes the Incredible Hulk"-- where you see he's dragging a bunny pull-toy? The PERFECT sweatshirt. An older collector pal GAVE me one in the mid-70's (meaning it was already kind of a collector's item). . . and for some idiotic reason, I decided to use it as my practice jersey for weekday football practices in either. . 8th or 10th grade. Cut the sleeves off to make it fit over the pads. And it got savaged, and ultimately lost in the locker room for good. What in god's great garbanzo bean could I POSSIBLY have been thinking of. . .???
#2- For myself, I'm gonna build up suspense and come back to my own answer later on. But Red, I want to say that I absolutely LOVE your response to this! Your experience is EXACTLY why folks should NEVER get ALL snobbish about community theater, and you express the unexpectedly transformational experience of performance very clearly and wonderfully well. And even having done it the one time, you now have an experience in common with every single actor you've ever seen (or heard about) onstage. Rehearsals, memorization, performance anxiety, and PUTTING YOURSELF IN FRONT OF A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE (something that statistically, IIRC, like 98% of humans are just terrified of doing--!). . . it levels the playing field across the spectrum of the art form. Forget a lyric? So has Leslie Uggams! Dropped a line? I SAW Ian McKellen go up in the middle of a monologue in his one-man show, and snap his fingers until the right word came. (And lordy, I've done all this and more my ownself--!) You are forever part of the League of Theatrical Performing Artists!
HB (waxing sentimental in these Dark Ages for Live Theater)
Dangermash- afraid I don't quite know the "May bumps". A rowing competition, perhaps? At any rate, it sounds like quite an accomplishment!
Steve DC- those books are intriguing. I trust you've checked the Grand Comic Database? A challenge, and I loved those Gerry Anderson shows as a kid.
Killraven- FF 11 was a gem! "A Visit With the Fantastic Four " plus Impy? One of the greatest issues ever.
And your rafting must have been a blast. Fun, danger and friends all rolled up together!
HB- yes, that Hulk shirt was a hoot. Seems I saw someone wearing one at a convention not long ago. Wonder if they have been 'remade'?
And glad you liked my 'theater tale'. It was one of those experiences that grow in meaning over time. I've since done some teaching, public speaking, and even church choir singing; all of which was made easier by that initial ' jump into the pool '. And the cast party made it all worthwhile anyway!
Yes Red, a rowing competition on a ladder system. Loads of boats end to end but with gaps in between. When the gun goes, you need to catch up with the boat in front without being caught from behind. When there's a bump, the two boats involved pull in to the side of the river and the race carries on. The next day, those two boats swap places in the starting order. There is a finish line and a boat crossing that without being involved in a bump stays in the same position the next day. It lasts four days and we won our oars by going up four places in four days. Which in reality means everybody having to buy an old, out of use, oar from the boat club and paying someone to paint it up nicely with the names of the crew boats bumped, etc on the blade.
In races like this you have to sprint off at the start. No saving yourself for the long haul because you know the boat in front will tire - if you do that the boat behind will catch you. And if after a minute or two of sprinting you're still rowing, then you somehow have to keep going. As you can imagine, the raw animal thrill of hitting the boat in front and the relief of being able to rest is amazing. And when you do that on day four in front of big crowds, many of whom who know you already have three bumps under your belt and what this fourth one will mean, that's just off the scale.
Here's one crew's race, start to finish https://youtu.be/8n910nD4r_M
I have had probably more than a lifetime's worth of "I can't believe I got myself through that-" experiences. Nothing particularly adventurous or societally impactful or anything like that, mind you-- more like jobs or projects or pastimes or performance thingies/shows, where I may have taken it up on an impulse (or because someone asked) (or because I thought "why not?"), and even at the outset was seriously questioning whether I should have done it or not. Hell-- Covid19-willing, I'm in the midst of a HUGE (like, historically relevant) Shakespeare project being done by a tiny, TINY semi-professional theater company even now, which may already be in my top 3 for the subject at hand.
BUT-- like many of us, I suspect, the impetus to take on such things can be traced back to a specific choice in high school. When in the first week of Junior year I decided to join the Cross Country team. . . because my best childhood pal had done it the year before, and he himself wasn't the most athletic of beings. We grew up as prototypical comic book doofusses. And I had spent most of my elementary years being generally among the last 4 kids picked for ANY recess or PE game. I did play JV football and baseball in 10th grade-- but really had no physical aptitude for either-- classic spirited bench warmer (Best Singer On The Team award at the sports award assembly that year). So in 11th grade I thought, "If Bryan can run cross-country, I bet I can too"-- and ran the easy 2.5 mile circuit on the first day. . . and couldn't believe it. And the 5.5 on the second day. . . and REALLY couldn't believe it. I am COMICALLY flat-footed. . . my arches pancake OUT at the bottom; my toes turn outward with zero efficiency. . . and I am slow and awkward of gait. And oh my GOD I hated what running felt like--- I never, ever experienced that mythical Runner's High. . . all I ever got, like clockwork, was a Five-Mile Cramp near my kidneys. . .
The biggest challenge was always forcing myself to NOT STOP. . . just KEEP GOING.
But. . . I did it. I was never, ever good. Not ever. I can't even say I always gave it my best shot, really. But I was steady, and never skipped practices. And I could endure long circuits (9 to 13 miles)-- and the knowledge that you CAN physically achieve something that you would never have dreamed possible- even at this level- can have a profound effect on how you navigate through life. I ran track that year as well-- 880, mile, and 2-mile races. And again, almost hilariously unsuccessful as far as competitions went-- at the Conference Meet I was DEAD-last in the 2-mile event, and we're talkin' by, like, a half-lap-- OTHER teams' fans were sincerely cheering me on to just make it. . . oof! (It was my best time. . . which was a tiny consolation, at least. . . ).
And so-- I did X-Country and Track again my senior year. And it was enough to get me that Varsity Athletics letter for my good ol' varsity bomber jacket-- which carried at least a smidge of teenage cred for awhile.
The greatest lesson from it all was that, "Level of Success" is not the stick by which we should measure any of our experiences in the long run, but rather if we are able to grow ourselves THROUGH those experiences. AND are we able to improve shared experiences for our teammates, friends, colleagues, co-workers, peers, etc. AND, if absolutely nothing else, remember Woody Allen's surprisingly accurate maxim that 80% of success is just showing up. . .
*It's pretty late-- haven't proof-read, so please forgive typos are the probable missed-word hear and there-!*
HB
Dangermash- thanks for filling in the blanks on the 'bumps'. Most informative; and sounds like a lot of kicks...
HB- great descriptive tale of your trac-and-field days. Kudos, you went much farther than I ever did athletically (like, I never proceeded beyond a bit of tennis, and that pretty infrequently). And your summation paragraph is a terrific boildown of our topic. And, Woody Allen was right too. Sometimes just getting up off the couch and Doing Something is a big step. So now I gotta get up off this couch and........
Man, I’m having a hard time coming up with decent answers to either question...
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to find replacement copies of just about every comic I’ve ever owned and lost, with just a few exceptions.
There was a Gold Key BEWITCHED comic that one of our babysitters left behind. I don’t remember anything about it,
Two Archie comics that a previous guest had left behind at a rental cabin, that somehow ended up coming home with us. One of them was a PEP. The other one, no clue. Again, I can’t recall any story details from either of em, or significant images — you could put both of ‘em right in front of me and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t ring any bells. So they’ll just have to remain as big gaping holes in my childhood.
Then there was this issue of ACTION or SUPERMAN that I probably could track down if I really wanted to. Had a Clark Kent back-up story. Clark was doing a story on some drag racers playing chicken — one dude ALWAYS won, turns out it was because he had a swiveling silver skull hood ornament on his dragster that would temporarily blind his opponents. That one I’m a TINY bit curious about.
-b.t.
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