Joe

I became an apprentice geek through 1970s TV and Film, specifically The Six Million Dollar Man and Godzilla films. My gateway drug into comic books was Star Wars by way of the Marvel Comics adaptation. I bought all six issues of the comic, but became hooked when the series continued withstories set after the movie! Also during that time I discovered Fantastic Four and Legion of Super-Heroes. Shortly after, my best friend introduced me to the heroin of comics, The Uncanny X-Men. This was towards the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and issue #137  had a huge impact on me. It was the first comic I read where the heroes actually lost and one of the main characters died. Characters tended to stay dead for a few years back in those days, so it was a big deal when it happened.

My comic book life changed forever once I discovered Cerebus, possibly my favorite series of all time. My awe and wonder of the medium peaked during the mid-‘80s and the Crisis on Infinite Earths and was sorely tested when everything went grim and gritty shortly thereafter. I survived the speculator boomof the 1990s, even though I didn’t get a t-shirt, and have gone on to become a journeyman geek and unabashed comic book lover.

My favorite comic book genre remains super-heroes, although I think there is too much fan fiction being produced and not enough solid story telling in mainstream comics nowadays. While I’m waiting for theday that changes, I am discovering a lot of really well done self-published and small press comics thatare truly amazing. I’m glad to be able to bring my inane rantings about comic books to The Comics Archive and hope you enjoy the show!