Doug: Some of the comments in our recent discussions, notably
the post last Friday on periphery products (Karen's tale of a father not happy due to the redecorative properties of the Marvel wall stickers was a hoot) alongside our comics buying, has us thinking about the role our parents and other significant adults played in our buying as children and teens. Today we'd like to talk about allowances, parental support or disdain (and we hope to not open any wounds for our readers -- forgive us in advance, as that is certainly not the intent of this conversation), and maybe even specific comics you recall a significant adult in your life purchasing for you.
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| Image courtesy of the Mego Museum |
Doug: My mom was just a saint when it came to supplying this pup with comics and comic-related goodness. I wish I could remember if I was a royal pain-in-the-butt at the store; I don't think I was, but hey -- I have a hard time remembering what I ate for breakfast yesterday. I can recall several trips home from Target or Venture with a Mego in hand, and I have vivid memories of riding my bike -- at the ripe old age of 7 (something I never would have let my own kids do) -- to the local drugstore to buy 25c comics. I really don't have any memories of getting an allowance, although I think I did. Back in the early 1970's, it probably would have been a dollar per week. But shoot -- that was four comics! My dad wasn't around much when I was little, but I remember that he wasn't the least bit excited about my interest in comics. I don't know that he talked down to me about it, but there were just enough comments made that it was clear where he stood. Incidentally, I do think he was more in favor of my G.I. Joes, having served in the U.S. Army in the early '60's; Planet of the Apes was stupid, however. Funny thing is, one of the last comic-related comments he made before the divorce was while looking at the Thor vs. Loki image in Marvel's 1977 calendar and saying of the John Buscema/Joe Sinnott image, "Man, those guys sure can draw muscles!"
Karen: For me too, my mom was always very supportive of my interests, particularly my more creative ones. Heck, she introduced me to the Universal monster films, Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes, the Twilight Zone, and innumerable 50s sci fi films. My older brother brought comics into the house, but I was the one who really went bananas for them, and mom always encouraged my reading of them. She not only bought me comics, she took me to my very first comic book convention -the San Diego Comic Con in 1975. Mom enjoyed anything imaginative and over the top. I recall as a teen taking her to see Star Trek:The Wrath of Khan and The Empire Strikes Back at the theater. She had not been out to a movie theater in many years (she had been bedridden for several years when I was in my tweens) and the powerful, immersive sound system got her as pumped up as any 12 year old kid! At the time, I was annoyed but now I look back and smile. Dad has always been a much more practical guy. While he has never really understood my love of all this stuff, he's never put it down. I recall trips to the drugstore with him and he would pick up a comic or two for me.
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| Image found at Steve Does Comics |
Doug: As to comics I can recall relatives buying for me, there are a few. I mentioned in the comments of last Friday's post that my sister and I spent a week in the western suburbs of Chicago with my uncle and aunt. In 1975 I vividly recall a trip to an indoor amusement park called Old Chicago. After going on some rides, we went out into the concourse to an ice cream shop. There must have been some sort of gift shop adjacent to it, as I bird-dogged a spinner rack and instantly wrapped my 9-year eyeballs around it. I am pretty sure I begged and pestered my aunt into buying me copies of
Daredevil #'s 126-127 (October-November 1975) with the Torpedo, and
Amazing Spider-Man #150 (November 1975), the epilogue to the "clone saga". It was 75c well spent, I'm sure, as it probably kept me busy the rest of the day -- after I read them, I'm sure I would have asked for typing paper or tracing paper and done some of my own artwork. As to specific books from my parents, we've discussed the Fireside books before, and I can recall each Christmas that I got one of the first five volumes, from
Origins of Marvel Comics through
Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles.
Karen: For many years, Christmas at our household also meant Marvel goodies, including the "Origins" books as well as calendars. For specific comics, I can recall only a few. But one that stands out is X-Men #114.
When that issue came out, I had been laid up at home for some time with an illness, and there was little that brightened my mood. But when mom came home one day with that comic for me, it really picked me up. To this day I can see that cover in my head effortlessly. That one book lifted me out of a bad time and to this day is one of my favorite issues of the title, probably just for that reason alone. And also, I'll always connect it to my mom, and all her efforts to help me feel better when I was having a rough go of it.
Doug: Well, the ball is in your court now. Do you have some remembrances to share, of good deeds and kind relatives?