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[nick caputo]

My latest post is a trip down memory lane to "the Way it Began" for me:

http://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2014/01/in-appreciation.html

[paw broon]

What an excellent peek into a fan's earliest days.  Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. We didn't get Chiller Theater (what a strange way to spell, "theatre") here and, as I am a bit older, the s.f. I remember is Quatermass and the Pit on t.v. and Journey into Space on radio.  But those covers!  I had some of them at one time and love that short Thunderbolt series. And how good are those Tower comics? 

[nick caputo]

Thanks, Paw. There were some great comics out in that period, and the Tower line with those extraordinary Wood covers were a real treat.

Nick C.

[narfstar]

The thing that turned me off about Mighty Comics was the Reinman art. I loved the characters enough to tolerate it. Your other tastes I agree with. I grew up listening to Chiller Theater. I loved Bill Cardil's character that either always told the truth or caused others to tell the truth.

[jimmm kelly]

Many's the time I've regretted that my brother--who is nine years older than me--never showed a real interest in comic books. I remember him reading some, when I was very small, but by the time I started buying my own comics, my brother was a surly teenager more interested in combing his hair than reading funny books (which were for kids).

It was the same with my three sisters--younger than my brother but older than me--who each gradually shunned comics as they matured. I was like Lucy Pevensie, unwilling to let go of the fantasy world I'd discovered.

If my brother had bought and read more comic books, they likely would have been Dells. I can't picture him showing an interest in Marvel or Charlton--which anyway weren't easily to be found in our neighbourhood. My sisters also liked some Dells and later on Gold Key, as well as Harvey and Archie and the odd DC humour comic.

Last year, I wrote about my love for SUPER HEROES VS SUPER VILLAINS on my blog. That comic had to come from somewhere, since I never bought it. That was virtually my only exposure to Mighty Comics at the time--but I read that comic hundreds of times until it was falling apart--and it wasn't in great shape when I got it. Paul Reinman's art worked for me.

[jimmm kelly]

I should add that probably one of the things that took a major portion of my brother's allowance instead of comics were all of the 45s that he bought (seemingly every week) and even some LPs. I remember mocking his purchase of BLONDE ON BLONDE--"Who's the girl on the cover, Blondie?" But generally I approved of all the stuff he bought.

As kids we would all go down in the basement and spin those records (A sides and B sides)--including some 78s from our parents. So while I might regret my brother's lack of interest in comics, I definitely benefitted from his interest in music.

[MarkWarner]

Hmmmm Blondie
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Debbie Harry

[narfstar]

I got turned off to Debbie Harry by the movie Videodrome. One of the most depressing downers of a movie that I still do not understand.

[jimmm kelly]

Of course, I was only seven years old when I mistook the guy on the album cover of BLONDE ON BLONDE for a girl--and the Blondie I knew best was Penny Singleton.

I didn't become aware of Deborah Harry until more than ten years later, when our ship docked in Liverpool. My buds and I went into the city and the first place we hit was a pub called The American. On the TV behind the bar, I saw this blonde singing and first off I was surprised by the idea of a music video as such and second by the look of this singer--I thought she was French.

I barely remember VIDEODROME--Deborah Harry has done so many other great things, it would be petty to hold one movie against her. I don't hold A CLOCKWORK ORANGE against Malcolm McDowell--even though he ruined my favourite musical dance number.

[nick caputo]

The thing that turned me off about Mighty Comics was the Reinman art. I loved the characters enough to tolerate it. Your other tastes I agree with. I grew up listening to Chiller Theater. I loved Bill Cardil's character that either always told the truth or caused others to tell the truth.

Reinman has an interesting history, and while I realize his work on Archie's line of heroes isn't to everyone's taste, I found his quirky art fascinating. In later years I discovered that some of his best work was for Atlas, in their War titles (thank's to Michael Vasaallo0 but also the on crime and horror. Reinman was also a painter, and from what I've seen pretty good.

[nick caputo]

Last year, I wrote about my love for SUPER HEROES VS SUPER VILLAINS on my blog. That comic had to come from somewhere, since I never bought it. That was virtually my only exposure to Mighty Comics at the time--but I read that comic hundreds of times until it was falling apart--and it wasn't in great shape when I got it. Paul Reinman's art worked for me.

Funny you should mention Super Heroes Vs Super Villains. It's another one of those early comics I remember from childhood. Nice to know you're a fellow Reinman fan.

I consider myself lucky to have an older brother that enjoyed comics which we could share. Not many others were interested, although in my ten years I became good friends with someone who loved early Marvel and would discuss the work with great interest. I have quite a few comic fan/friends these days, and the wonders of the internet allow for discussions one could never have had in the 1960's (unless one made a pen pal, which I has once  from England - for a short time) but otherwise fellow comics enthsiasts were few and far between.