"The Golden Age is 8," someone once said. Comics at the age of 8 are bold, dynamic, and incredible no matter how silly they might be when looked at from an older perspective.

My first comics were bought for me at age 6 in 1979. I had a handful of well-read comics including Looney Tunes, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Junior Woodchucks, Little Lulu, and more. My brother, who was three years older, had the comics I soon craved featuring super-heroes. After a bit of convincing I was finally able to get my own super-hero comics. I'm not exactly sure what it was about the super-heroes that grabbed my interest, perhaps the bright colors, maybe the action or more realistic artwork than the cartoony ones, but they were far more appealing to me.

Comics were 40 cents at the time, but I convinced my mother to buy me a few of my desired super-hero comics at a discount store at 3 for a dollar. She would not permit me to buy DC for some reason that I have never been able to figure out, so my first super-hero comics were Captain America, Fantastic Four, Avengers, and Spider-Man.

My super-hero appetite was not filled by this handful of comics though. For some reason, the Marvel's just didn't fulfill my craving. Looking back I think it was the fact that nearly every Marvel title at the time was an ongoing soap opera with continuing stories. When I bought my first issues, I was unfamiliar with what was happening in the story, and didn't get to read the earlier stories, or see the outcome from the continued stories. I caught one break though because my 1 issue of Fantastic Four (#218) actually continued into Peter Parker #44 which I also had. This story was my favorite because I got to read the beginning and end of it.

What I really wanted though was single issue stories or storylines that I got into from the start. I coveted my brother's DC titles such as Brave and the Bold and DC Comics Presents. Justice League of America #181

My first taste of the forbidden DC fruit came via a trade with one of my brother's friends, Dirk. It was JLA #181 for which I traded a Little Lulu and an Avengers issue. Though I didn't understand the entire context of the story. It was a stand-alone issue, and of course it was DC.

My appetite had been whetted, but I coveted more.

Around this same time I discovered a shop that actually sold old comic books. They had a small box with about 50 of them in the back of the store. Some of them were three or four years old. "This is a gold mine," I thought. Still I was forbidden from purchasing DC comics, so I settled for some more Marvel's. I found some Invaders, Fun and Games, and even a Machine Man #1.

I remember a particular fascination with Machine Man. I think I liked him because he was purple, and I really liked purple thanks to my childhood idol Donny Osmond. I had purple socks and shirts, so I guess I needed a purple super-hero too.

I don't remember what happened to the store that sold old comics. I seem recall that they didn't have the box again after my first couple of visits, either that or my mother just stopped going there. In any case, I soon forgot about my back issue treat, at least for a few years.

By late 1980, at age 7, I was finally allowed to go to the corner drug store by myself while my mother shopped for groceries. This was where I was able to purchase my first DC, New Teen Titans #1. I could finally read a story from the beginning.

My brother had purchased DC Comics Presents #26 a month earlier, and I remember reading his copy that contained the preview story. Though I didn't pay attention to credits at the time, I believe it was George Perez's artwork that attracted me to the Titans. Many of the comics I purchased at random, over the next year seemed to have Perez covers or stories, but I followed Titans religously, though I pronounced it "Ti" (as is tit) "Tans". It took more than a year before other people convinced me of the correct pronounciation.

Over the next year, I added 2 more titles to my must have list, All-Star Squadron and Captain Carrot. I think I liked All-Star Squadron because it featured so many colorful heroes. Even at age 8 I had no trouble figuring out that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were not the same ones in Justice League, but rather Earth-2 counterparts. Therefore I've never understood the view that multiple Earths were confusing. I find them infinitely more simple than the current continuity landscape.

While my comic collecting habits continued to grow rapidly, another collection of mine soon dwarfed it, action figures. I started collecting Star Wars toys from the very beginning. In fact my earliest memory in life that I recall is seeing Star Wars at age 4. Buying all the toys became a huge priority for me. By 1983, when the third movie came out I must have had 100 figures, plus 30 or so vehicles.

In 1982, another toy line caught my interest and even surpassed my Star Wars addiction, G.I. Joe. The line started small with only 9 figures, but soon grew to enormous size. Something had to go as my 10 year old budget was stretched to the limit. So I abandoned comics.

Thus my "Golden Age" ended at age 10.

After taking a year off from collecting comics, I received a G.I. Joe comic (#24) for my 11th birthday. While I enjoyed the comic, I did not intend to pursue collecting again. Fate stepped in and made other arrangements. I happened across #25 while taking a drum lesson, and I when I saw the cover of #26 featuring the origin of Snake-Eyes, I was once again hooked.

After a few months, a friend mentioned a store in another town that had some older issues. I searched for and eventually found this store. I assumed it would be like the store I found years earlier, containing a small amount of 50 or so comics. What I found was different. This was a Comics Store! Thousands upon thousands of comics, some were decades old. The store, Lady Jayne's, was heaven.

NEXT WEEK: My return to DC Comics.