It was exactly fifty years ago today that fellow SuperStuff scribe Nigel Brown and I (along with Nigel's younger brother) attended our first Comic Con on 25th May 1974, organized by local fan Paul Rose. Fifty years has slipped by in the blink of an eye. It was a lovely day, and the mart was held at the Boy's Club, Emsworth, a small town to the east of Portsmouth. The Boy's Club was built on Coldharbour Farm, but a quick look at Google Street View shows that the venue has long gone, to be replaced by modern housing.
The story of the con has been related elsewhere in this blog, but thinking of it today brings back memories of a sunny spring day, and the excitement of a short train journey taking us away from our parents to a place with boxes and boxes of comics.
I asked Nigel what he remembered buying:
"So it was 50 years ago today I bought Action 212 cover dated Jan 56 off a well known dealer. Pretty much mint for £2 (can't remember what I sold it for, or when!)"
©DC Action Comics #212
As for myself, the two back issues that I definitely bought were Secret Origins #2 and Brave & Bold #86, along with 20 or 30 back issues of Batman, Detective and World's Finest. My focus in those days was on building out my collection of Batman titles back to 1959, the year of my birth and the year that T&P started importing DC comics into the UK. What a coincidence!
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| ©DC. Brave & Bold #86 |
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| ©DC. Secret Origins #2 |
It was a great start to a Bank Holiday weekend fifty years ago. I think I'll track down those comics and re-read them. Happy Days!
I've got all 7 issues of that Secret Origins series and a reprint of the B&B tale in a comic as well as (I think) a book. 50 years ago, eh? Only seems like last week to me when I was a youth with a seeming eternity before me, now my life is almost behind me. Happy memories though.
ReplyDeleteI only have issues 6 and 7 of Secret Origins these days, Kid. I sold my original run back in August1984. Still have the B&B 86, though. Brave & Bold was such an innovative comic back in the early 70s.
ReplyDeleteWell, we're all of an age here. Since the actuaries are now saying we should be planning to live to 93, I'm working on the assumption that I have almost 30 years left in the tank, so still lots to do. And if I happen to kick the bucket unexpectedly, I'll be the last to know.
I think my first comic con was around 1986 at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. Secret Origins was a great comic and the issue with the Spectre being one of my all time favourites .
ReplyDeleteYes, I was a great fan of Secret Origins, too. Looking at my collection list from the 1970s, I have all issues 1-7. It is an eclectic list of characters - from the hugely popular (Superman, etc) to the obscure (Vigilante, Kid Eternity).
DeleteI loved them all.
This week I picked up a copy of the second Secret Origins run from January 1987 - issue #10 - which is a brand-new origin of The Phantom Stranger, drawn by Jim Aparo. Had never read it until now.