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Thursday, April 06, 2006

FOR COMIC BOOK GEEKS ONLY

Here's a story that only a comic book geek could appreciate. All others read at your own risk.

Back in the early '90s, my neighborhood comic shop was having a 50-percent-off-back-issues sale. This shop had a beat-up copy of the coveted 1960 book "The Brave and the Bold" #28, which presented the first-ever appearance of the superteam known as the Justice League of America (which counts in its membership Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash -- all the big guns). The book wasn't in great condition, but it still had its cover. The 50-percent-off sale brought the price down to a relatively affordable (by "The Brave and the Bold" #28 standards) 80 bucks.

Man, did I go through some excruciating, soul-searching internal debate on whether or not I should buy that book. I'd never spent that kind of money on a single book before. I was afraid I might be crossing a line, addiction-wise. Kathy and I had a lot of bills, like any couple. But life is short, and you should treat yourself once in a while. What to do? I ultimately decided, with a heavy heart, NOT to buy it.

The day after the sale, I attended a comic-book-and-trading-card show at a nearby mall. I ran into an acquaintance who was there with his teenage son and his teenage son's friend. I mentioned that I came "this close" to buying "The Brave and the Bold" #28 for a lousy 80 bucks. The teenage son's friend said, "I DID buy it. I've got it right here." He pulled that same copy of "The Brave and the Bold" #28 out of his bag! There it was -- a book that every '60s comic book collector considers a Holy Grail!

I said: "Oh, man, I'm so STUPID! Why didn't I buy this book?"

The little punk said: "You want it? It's yours for 200 bucks."

1 Comments:

Blogger Larry Grogan said...

Don't feel so bad. Hardcore record geeks (like myself) make those same kinds of "life or death" decisions all the time. Many is the time I've passed on a slightly expensive 45 only to regret it later.

2:30 PM, April 09, 2006  

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