| Everyone has their particular horror-story about | | | | in any of them.After Mickey Mouse, the ones I liked |
| something they owned as a child that got thrown | | | | the most were Scrooge McDuck and his square vault. |
| away and is now worth a small fortune. It's usually | | | | I had every one, including the jumbo issues. I'm not |
| some trivial thing that was worthless at the time and | | | | sure why, but unca Scrooge seemed to hit a |
| became a collector's item and very valuable later. The | | | | responsive chord. Maybe that's why I'm now a very |
| only thing valuable that I saved from my youth was | | | | frugal traveler. I also liked Batman, Superman, Spidey |
| a windup GI Joe in a jeep. It's still in mint condition, | | | | and once in a while I'd buy a Tales from the Crypt. |
| although the box disappeared many years ago. But I | | | | The horror books scared me, so I didn't buy many of |
| had tons of things that I kept for years and then | | | | them. At any rate, I had more than three hundred by |
| threw out. Usually at the prompting of my mother. | | | | the time I quit buying them at around age fifteen in |
| Collectibles dealers know that boys usually threw | | | | 1954. Probably about the same time I stopped |
| their stuff away. Girls still have their Barbies. That's | | | | watching Howdy Doody. In 1961 I went into the |
| why there's so many of them still around.When I was | | | | army. When I came back, I lived at home until I got |
| very young I had all the Wheaties premiums that | | | | married. Every once in a while I would visit that |
| came out, starting with the clear-plastic goggles and | | | | treasured stack of newsprint over the years. I'd take |
| the WWII patches that came in the boxes just after | | | | a look at them every time I visited the |
| WWII ended. Every time the Lone Ranger | | | | folks.Sometime in the '80s I happened across a store |
| announced a new gizmo, I'd send off a box-top and | | | | that only sold comic books. Intrigued, I went inside |
| a dime. It really hurt when they raised the ante to a | | | | and started to go through the thousands of book in |
| quarter. My favorites were a six-shooter ring and the | | | | their plastic jackets. Holy ****. A hundred dollars for |
| one with the miniature atomic-bomb that you could | | | | a Walt Disney Book?I told the owner about my |
| see sparkles in the dark if you looked into it in a dark | | | | collection. He gave me a dubious look. I expect he |
| closet. I had a great assortment of magnifiers and | | | | had heard the same story from quite a few people. |
| whistles, but my favorite was a complete set of the | | | | When I told him about the Disney books and the |
| Lone Ranger western town. It was a Cheerios | | | | Uncle Scrooges, his eyebrows shot up. "You really |
| premium. I didn't like Cheerios that much but I ate | | | | have them all?"Everyone, I told him. No lie.He reached |
| many boxes just to get the buildings that came on | | | | under the counter and showed me a book he had |
| the back of the box. They only put some of them | | | | with prices. Scrooge number one catlogued nearly |
| there, like the barber shop. The rest, like the grain | | | | $2000 in mint condition. The others in the hundreds |
| elevator and the map for the town, you had to buy | | | | of dollars each. One of the jumbos was worth nearly |
| from General Mills by mail. Whatever I got, I kept in | | | | a thousand. My Barker Ducks, which I also had a |
| immaculate condition. My buddies really hated me for | | | | complete run, were all worth at least a hundred |
| not letting them play with my things. I suppose that's | | | | dollars each. The owner said he would have been |
| where the collector in me started.Needless to say, all | | | | happy to take any or all of my comics on |
| the things I've mentioned are very collectible now. | | | | consignment and sell them for a 20% commission, |
| The complete frontier town sold for nearly $1,500 in | | | | but he would have to sell them at about half the |
| an on-line auction. But the one sold was never cut | | | | book price. He wished I had put them into bags, but |
| out from the cereal boxes or removed from the | | | | seemed reassured when I told him that the |
| cardboard frames. I played with my town. Plastic | | | | basement had a dehumidifier and they were still in |
| soldiers regularly fought pitched battles in the streets | | | | mint condition.As you can imagine, I rushed to my |
| there until the Lone Ranger would show up to put an | | | | parent's house and headed straight for the basement. |
| end to hostilities. Today, the six-shooter ring regularly | | | | To my horror, the comics were gone and my baby |
| sells for up to $200, the atomic bomb ring for slightly | | | | picture was sitting where I kept them."What did you |
| less. Somewhere in some land-fill there's a box with all | | | | do with my comics?" I shouted."I didn't think you |
| my box-top premiums. Worse, I expect there's | | | | wanted them anymore so I threw them away."Do |
| another one there, too. The one with my comic-book | | | | you know how to say matricide? She felt terrible |
| collection.I loved the Sunday funnies and liked the | | | | when I told her what she had done. She said that |
| pictures, even if I couldn't read them. Oddly enough, | | | | she had wanted to do something with the basement |
| my favorite was a little green man called Peter Pain in | | | | for years and finally got around to it. Couldn't she |
| the Ben-Gay ads. Others were Dick Tracy, Winnie | | | | have waited just a bit longer?What's the point of the |
| Winkle, Li'l Abner and Terry and the Pirates. Mom or | | | | story? I'm not sure, except that I am convinced that |
| Dad would read me the captions. When I could read | | | | what your heart treasures the most must have |
| myself, I spent all my allowance (and then some), on | | | | some value beyond it physical manifestation. I visited |
| comic books. The one's I liked the best were the | | | | my comics for years before I found out how much |
| Disney comics. I could talk Donald Duck talk so I | | | | value they had as a collectible. I imagine I would have |
| really liked Donald. But I had a special soft spot for | | | | kept on, even if they hadn't become so valuable. |
| Mickey Mouse. At one time the publisher used to run | | | | Follow your heart. It may not be worth as much in |
| serials with Mickey and PegLeg Pete and I could | | | | dollars as my comic collection, but it will give you |
| hardly wait for the next episode. This was during the | | | | pleasure all your life.Oh yeah. GI Joe? He's got a |
| period that comic-book experts call the Barker Duck | | | | special place in a showcase in our living room. The last |
| era, and I had complete runs for several years from | | | | time I had him appraised he was worth about $200, |
| the late 40s into the mid-50s. (I used to watch | | | | but I would never sell him.Cheers from John.John |
| Howdy Doody until I was fifteen, I'm ashamed to | | | | Anderson is now a full-time writer. He has also been a |
| say.) As I mentioned, I didn't let any of my friends | | | | Teaching Assistant at the University of Minnesota, a |
| read my comics. I knew they would damage them, | | | | noise- pollution consultant, a census enumerator, |
| somehow. They retaliated by not letting me read | | | | computer operator, stock clerk, Army and Navy |
| their's, but I didn't care. Over the years they | | | | Reservist, and a dealer in collectibles. His first novel, |
| remained in just-printed mint condition. The last time I | | | | The Cellini Masterpiece, was published under the pen |
| looked at them, when I was in my forties, the paper | | | | name of Raymond John. |
| had yellowed a bit, but there wasn't a tear or crease | | | | |