The Villages - June 2018 - 21

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dc.wikia.com

Comic book characters are contemporary legends,
looked at with the same reverence as Achilles or Hercules
of ancient times. And in much the same way, these
modern-day myths mean many different things to many
different people, who often have a cherished memory
associated with reading or collecting their favorite comics.
Such is the case with The Villages Comic Book
Collectors Club.
Meeting at 4 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each
month at Paradise Recreation Center, the Comic Book
Collectors Club discusses new releases, recent additions
to their collections and the latest superhero movie out
in theaters.
Ken Barnes is a new member of the club. Before retiring to The Villages, Barnes boasted a stockpile of comics he
says was somewhere between 15,000 to 20,000 strong.
Collections that large are not uncommon among
serious comic hobbyists. Collectors are always in search of
the next big issue on their list, whether it is an ultra-rare
comic or a comic containing the first appearance of a wellknown character.
Like any other sort of collector, many comic book fans
begin collecting because of the personal memories that are
associated with the item they are collecting.
For Barnes, comic collecting stemmed from a favorite
television show as a kid, as well as his father, who drew
comics for his buddies during World War II.
"I grew up watching (the Superman TV show
starring George Reeves) at an early age and gravitated to
superheroes," Barnes said. "Luckily, my father promoted
my interest and we'd go to the comic shop. I'd buy one or
two books every couple weeks and Superman was what I
first started buying."
Many collectors share similar stories about a particular
memory or character that originally meant a lot to them,
spurring them to enter the (often wild) world of comic
collecting.
Today, comics are just as popular as they were back
in the 1960s. According to comic research website
Comichron.com, $1.085 billion worth of comics were sold
in 2016.

Marvel
CoMiCs No. 1

Release date: OctOber 1939

Founded earlier in 1939,
Timely Publications published
"Marvel Comics No. 1"
in October 1939. Timely
Publications would become
Marvel Comics in the 1960s.

CaptaiN
aMeriCa No. 1

Release date: March 1941

Introduced during World War
II and brandishing his iconic
red, white and blue suit and
shield, Captain America was
billed as an all-American hero,
becoming an instant hit.

CoMiCs Code authority fouNded
date: 1954

The Comics Code Authority is
founded in response to mature
content in comics. Many stores
and comic distributors would
not carry comics that did
not feature the Comics Code
Authority stamp on the front.

aMaziNg faNtasy No. 15
Release date: august 1962

The first appearance of
Spider-Man. Arguably
the most popular Marvel
superhero, Spider-Man was
relatable to readers of all ages
and became an instant megahit. Coincidentally, in a fiction
genre where characters often
die and are resurrected later,
Peter Parker's Uncle Ben is the
only major character in all of
Marvel Comics not to come back to life in some
way - and he died in his very first issue.
MAGAZINE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - June 2018