[WillieEarl]

Howdy and merry Christmas (and happy birthday to me, the big 63)! I've read books on this site in the past but just joined. Why not before? Beats me, but I figured it was for the best. I grew up in a small town and my mother was a secretary at an insurance/real estate company that was next door to a drug store. Remember, this was quite a few years ago so the drug store was the kind that had a soda fountain/restaurant and all the local hung out there in the mornings and the kids hung out there in the afternoon. The owner was a really nice guy and a rather shrewd businessman. He realized he made his money at the soda fountain and the deal with the magazine/comic book section was everything that didn't sell when the new issue came out had a portion of the cover cut off and sent back, the books thrown away (too expensive to ship the combined weight of all of them), and just the part of the cover returned for full credit. Since he didn't eat the cost, he had no problem with kids drinking cokes, eating a burger or ice cream, and just hanging around and reading comics and magazines and putting them back on the rack. Since my mom was a good friend of his, every month she would bring a big box of comics home with part of the cover missing. Even though the damage would kill the monetary value, I'd love to have all of those comics from the very early 1960s now for the historical value (one of my degrees is a BA in history). Alas, they long ago hit the landfill. That's actually how I ended up on this site, doing a roundabout search for my favorite from back in the day, Herbie Popnecker (evidently I was one weird kid). Well, that's it and here I am. I wish I had stuff to upload, but you know the story, plus when it comes to computers I'm somewhat of a Luddite. I've enjoyed the heck out of I've read so far and figure that will continue. Peace.

[The Australian Panther]

Welcome, WillieEarl. I'm in Australia on the other side of the world but my story is roughly similar, same time frame, same landfill. Sending back the covers for credit still happens here. With music magazines, one shop sells me the cover-mount CD's for about a dollar when they send them back, but comics are now mainly on-line or distributed through comic shops.
I remember Herbie but was never a huge fan. I was a 'Fatman the human flying saucer' fan tho. He's on here too.
With your degrees. I'm hoping you will have some good perspectives to contribute to the discussions.
And happy birthday, but trust me, you are still a youngster! 

Welcome, enjoy and a cool yule to you!     

[paw broon]

Hi WillieEarl and welcome to CB+.  Thanks for the background.  Just how many of us had the comics back then and one day they disappeared, chucked out, given away?  In my case my mother thought I was getting too old for kids comics and , as I had just started secondary school (11 or 12 years old in Scotland) I should grow up and get down to studying.  Fortunately, I have been able to get some of them back and a whole lot more in digital form.
I'm a good bit older than you and in Scotland, so my main comics references from my childhood are British comics from the '50's, some Australian comics that turned up here as ballast or were distributed under licence, and funnies sections that were sent here by relatives in USA and Canada.
Herbie!!!!! Well, well.  He's great and what can anyone say about The Fat Fury?  Lovely stuff. 
You say you're somewhat of a luddite, so are you reading using our on-screen reader? Or are you downloading the books to read off-line? If you're having any problems, please post a note and someone will try to help you out.

[Andrew999]

Hi WillieEarl and welcome. I'm in England but my story's much the same - my 60s comic collection (mostly British) disappeared in my teens (first strike), my 2000AD collection when I got married (second strike) and my 80s graphic novels collection (mostly American - but often with British writers) when we moved house turn of the century (third strike - but not yet out!) I've since rediscovered access to a lot of the stuff I lost online - thanks mainly to CBR but also other sites.

[WillieEarl]

Thanks for the welcomes folks! Another collection story: During the 1972 US election I was too young to vote, but the draft was still in effect so I was acutely aware of the Vietnam War. I was also, much to my father's chagrin, turning into one of those left wing long haired hippie types (I even had, and still do, Abbie Hoffman's record album). Being in a small town in Georgia we had no McGovern headquarters, but did have one manned by CREEP (Committee for the Re-Election of the President) for Nixon a few doors down from mom's office. Even though I was a kid, I used to go there and debate them. On election day I asked what they were going to do with all of the stuff, and they said, "Throw it away.". Naturally I asked if I could have it, no problem. Mom nagged me about them for years until I finally drove to the landfill and tossed them in (this from a lady who probably had 100 pairs of shoes. I've seen the buttons go from $7.00 to $17.95. I had OVER 2,000 Nixon buttons, plus posters, bumper stickers, and more! I could have made a lot more from those than her shoes since we gave them to charity when she passed away.

[narfstar]

Well Willie I am in the US and two months younger than you. I got rid of my comics when I went in the Army, when I got out of the Army and when I had the engine blow on my car. I have most back but in far lesser condition.

[Gold Key Geezer]

Welcome to CB+ and enjoy!