How my first comic book wasn't a comic book...
May 27, 2023 14:30:19 GMT -5
MWGallaher, Roquefort Raider, and 8 more like this
Post by shaxper on May 27, 2023 14:30:19 GMT -5
One of the more common questions that seems to come up around here is "What was your first comic book?" I've always marvelled at others' highly romanticized stories, brimming with nostalgia, and I've always been disappointed that I didn't have one of my own. I could easily tell you the first comics I remembered reading, but not where it all began.
Recently, I was re-reading an archived blog entry (remember blogs?) I'd made over twenty years ago and was surprised to discover that it held the answer for me. Back then, I couldn't grasp the importance of a memory in which my mother had sat down to color a Batman and Robin coloring book with me. I was too young to read, and this was my first memory of having any kind of attachment to Batman and Robin. So...a story about Batman and Robin, told with pictures and word baloons...this was my first comic book!
Suddenly, I could remember the book reasonably well: Batman and Robin on a trapeze in a circus tent, no recognizable villains, and lots and lots of orange on the front and back covers. I didn't think I'd have a prayer of finding this thing again, but (sure enough) ebay came to my rescue, and I now get to experience my very first comic book for the first time since I was probably four years old:
I'm surprised by how clearly I can remember certain pages within that I must have colored, including the image that I had in my mind when I first went looking for this thing:
Meanwhile, I'd found a cornucopia of other vintage Batman coloring books while conducting my search, and some were so gorgeous that I just had to own them. While the interior art of these books is always (necessarily) very basic, those covers were designed to demand a kid's attention, and they were seemingly done by artists not working for the comics companies. Many of them look like they were actually painted. Whatever the case, they are beautiful and possess a vintage feel while also not resembling anything familiar in vintage comics. I purchased the following three and am seriously considering seeking out more.
1960s Whitman:
1960s Watkins Strathmore:
The Watkins Strathmore covers are far more gorgeous, are remniscient of the painted Gold Key covers of the era (perhaps the same artists or production house?) and are, thus, generally more pricey, which is why I only have the one.
Anyway, in an age in which everything is becoming more collectible, it surprises me that more folks haven't discovered the charm of these vintage books.
Recently, I was re-reading an archived blog entry (remember blogs?) I'd made over twenty years ago and was surprised to discover that it held the answer for me. Back then, I couldn't grasp the importance of a memory in which my mother had sat down to color a Batman and Robin coloring book with me. I was too young to read, and this was my first memory of having any kind of attachment to Batman and Robin. So...a story about Batman and Robin, told with pictures and word baloons...this was my first comic book!
Suddenly, I could remember the book reasonably well: Batman and Robin on a trapeze in a circus tent, no recognizable villains, and lots and lots of orange on the front and back covers. I didn't think I'd have a prayer of finding this thing again, but (sure enough) ebay came to my rescue, and I now get to experience my very first comic book for the first time since I was probably four years old:
I'm surprised by how clearly I can remember certain pages within that I must have colored, including the image that I had in my mind when I first went looking for this thing:
Meanwhile, I'd found a cornucopia of other vintage Batman coloring books while conducting my search, and some were so gorgeous that I just had to own them. While the interior art of these books is always (necessarily) very basic, those covers were designed to demand a kid's attention, and they were seemingly done by artists not working for the comics companies. Many of them look like they were actually painted. Whatever the case, they are beautiful and possess a vintage feel while also not resembling anything familiar in vintage comics. I purchased the following three and am seriously considering seeking out more.
1960s Whitman:
1960s Watkins Strathmore:
The Watkins Strathmore covers are far more gorgeous, are remniscient of the painted Gold Key covers of the era (perhaps the same artists or production house?) and are, thus, generally more pricey, which is why I only have the one.
Anyway, in an age in which everything is becoming more collectible, it surprises me that more folks haven't discovered the charm of these vintage books.
