This older guy at a con in 2012 changed how I see collecting

I was at a small con in Portland, really excited about a mint copy of a Spider-Man issue I'd just bought. I showed it to this older guy at the next table over, who had a huge box of worn out, beat up comics. He just smiled and said, 'The ones with the creases are the ones I read to my kid.' He wasn't selling them, just had them out to look at. I mean, I still like my books in good shape, but that moment stuck with me more than any grade or price. Does anyone else have a story like that, where a quick chat just flipped a switch for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnson.river22h ago

Yeah, that hits home. I used to chase perfect grades too, but now my favorite book is a beat-up Detective Comics my dad left in the rain. The spine is wrecked, but it's the one he had in his coat pocket when he proposed to my mom. The damage tells its own story.

miles_robinson2011h ago

Man, that comic book story is awesome, @johnson.river. It's the flaws that make stuff real. My own prized possession is this ugly coffee mug I made in third grade art class. It's lopsided and the handle is too small, but my mom used it every single morning. The glaze is all chipped now, but that just proves it was loved. Perfection is boring compared to a good story.