There they sat, gathering cobwebs in a dusty corner of the attic in the old house in Lafayette Square. There were probably four or five hundred of them total when we moved. Some of the comic books were in pristine condition, other were torn and frayed with the front covers missing. The old ones were bought used from friends or from the two resale shops a few blocks away. The newer ones were bought new at the corner Rexall drugstore for twenty-five cents apiece, fifty cents for a double edition. Every four weeks I waited anxiously for the next edition to arrive, kid-sized soap opera action fantasy. There was Spiderman, Green Lantern, and the Fantastic Four. And Iron Man was there along with the Incredible Hulk. I would hurry home in the summertime, pour a big tall glass of lemonade or Kool Aid and settle in on the back porch in the shade and read the book all the way through. There never seemed to be enough of it. Then I would put the comics in the attic box and start saving up my allowance for the next month’s stories to arrive. Scattered around on top of the collection in the old cardboard box were a couple of posters and a few action figures.
We moved out from the old house when I turned sixteen and my interest in comic books seemed to wane, replaced by other interests, girls among them. They just didn’t seem interested in a guy with a fake cape and a secret identity. I left my collection in the attic for the next preteen to enjoy. But now that I’m way past my teens, I must confess that I still go and see all of the superhero and fantasy movies that come out, the latest being Iron Man, and I still occasionally peek inside the latest edition of my favorites when I’m browsing through my neighborhood Barnes and Noble.
A friend of mine, who is in his forties, is a serious collector of comic books. The reason I know this is a fact is that most of his are in plastic covers. I’m not sure if I can even distinguish between geekdom and being a nerd nowadays, but I can probably say that he leans towards being a geek, at least he doesn’t seem to fit the description of nerd. And now hearing him talk about his collectables, I wish I had kept the box full of comics as there were definitely some first editions in there that would have probably been worth a lot of money by now.
So, aside from Barnes and Noble and Borders, where do you go in St. Louis if that itch to relive your childhood gets a little too serious?
Lately we’ve been seeing a rebirth of comic books and Star Clipper, (www.starclipper.com) is right at the cutting edge. Voted as Best Comic Book Store by the Riverfront Times, (www.riverfronttimes.com) Star Clipper’s store is clean, bright and well organized. And they offer a huge selection of comics including some outside the usual Marvel and DC lineup. They also carry toys, books, graphic novels, posters, games, and manga books, as well as well as music CD’s and Japanese anime. They are located at 6392 Delmar in the Loop in University City.
All American Collectables, formerly Mo’s Comics, carries a large selection of Comic Books, Collectable Card Games, Sports and non-sports cards, and toys. They are on the south side at 6510 Chippewa. 314-352-7700.
So go ahead and indulge, you might just find out why the Hulk is red now.
