Do You Take A Chance On Comics You Buy?

It was an early 1950s British comic annual and I had no idea whether I owned a copy. I convinced myself that I did but then said "Sod it. Buy it!"  It was cheap so I bought it.

It arrived and I was sure I owned it so started browsing through it. Then I saw the strip I never expected to. It was the actual origin of a British character and it was a shock. Really I never thought I would see the origin story because the annuals are rare and finding them is nice but you just expect the standard reprints from weekly comics and not the "I want to read that one" strips.

 It was a bit weird as this was the second time that I had found a gem. I had previously purchased a Girls annual and it was pretty standard stuff until I found the strip featuring a female super hero I had never heard of before. I checked around and the character was not even referenced by the late comic historian Denis Gifford!

I have a habit of finding old or Independent comics that I just purchased out of curiosity and found real gems. People buying comics today just want Marvel, DC, Image and the other comic companies and any company not DC or Marvel they call "Independents" but they are not -they sell and earn far more money than a true Independent. You see a comic and think "Nice cover -is it worth buying though?" -buy it! Don't deprive yourself of finding a real treat (yes, it might be awful but let's be positive).

I know a few words in Chinese, French, German and Dutch but do I ignore and not pick up comics because they are in a foreign language? Hell no: A comic put together well you should still be able to follow a story even if you cannot read the text.

I have been criticised because I like Salvador Dali paintings -do I give a crap? No. I gave up trying to analyse why I like something a very long time ago. Sadly, I see little Small Press or Indie comics these days  but if you see any give them a try.

Oh...yeah, I also publish comics!