England 1966
Mention 1966 to any English person and it means just one thing – winning the World Cup. As a 12 year old schoolboy I was on holiday in a Welsh caravan park, excitedly watching each qualifying match on the TV. In-between football matches there was not a lot to do, but staving off boredom introduced me to a lifetime of pleasure, and the best investment I ever made;- It was here I first discovered Marvel Comics.
I had already bought and read my usual weekly comics, the Victor, Beano and Hotspur. Searching through the caravan park shop I then discovered some exotic American comics that I had never seen before. They were smaller but with more pages and in full colour, they were also stapled together with a smart glossy cover so they were more like magazines than a comic. My dad had just given me some money to keep me entertained and I eagerly bought every Marvel comic I could find.
Back in the caravan I was introduced to Strange Tales, with Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and Dr. Strange Master of the Mystic Arts. Tales of Suspense with Iron Man and Captain America. Journey Into Mystery with the Mighty Thor. The Amazing Spiderman. X-Men (which quickly became one of my favourites), and the Fantastic Four – “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine”. Marvel’s Stan Lee never knowingly undersold his comics!
I soon devoured each enthralling adventure, and I couldn’t wait until the following week when I could buy the next issues. Unfortunately I was to be disappointed, I hadn’t realised that another difference to these American comics was that they were monthly! – I had to wait a whole 4 weeks for another dose. Never mind, I was hooked and an after-effect still permeates my writing – an overuse of the exclamation mark !!
John McNally
Brilliant, John! Me too!! Never one for the girly comics I always read all those you mention, my favourite was actually not a Marvel comic, it was a little know one called ‘Cor!’ (With an exclamation mark too!)
Enjoy the journey.
mandy
Thanks Mandy,I wish I had met you when I was a lad - a girl who likes Marvel Comics!...You'll be telling me you're a football fan next :O)
.....I remember COR!, it was a British comic, but I wasn't a regular reader.
It's nice to get confirmation that the blog is being read.
Best Wishes
John
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Hi John, It was a pleasure to reminisce along with you about those comic book days of old. I enjoyed all of the series you mentioned. Spiderman was my favourite of the time. I’ve a nice mint condition collection of Marvel and DC comic books from the mid 90’s that I’m planning to offer on eBay as soon as I’m able to find the time outside of our product creation phase of JT’s class.
Steve,JohnI enjoyed Spiderman, especially the early Steve Ditko versions. I think President Obama is a fan as well!
Good luck with ebay. I also plan to sell the rest of my collection there.
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