While awesome in its own right, this particular comic book holds a very special place in my heart. Back in 1987 or so, I used to go to the local comic shop every Friday after school and blow my allowance. Usually, I was buying new comics — X-Men and other Marvel titles — but I always hit the bargain bins as well. One day, while searching the dollar bin, I came across this first issue of Iron Man. I was sure that it was NOT supposed to be in the dollar bin — this was long before Robert Downey Jr. ever suited up in the movies, but the premiere issue was still worth much more than a dollar.
I flipped through it, and saw that a half page was missing on the last page, but the story was intact. I was thrilled, since this would be one of the best comics in my collection, which was mostly recent books at that point.
This was at Joe’s Comics in Manassas, Virignia. Joe had a couple of locations and my friends and I were frequent and loyal customers, and I even had a pull list of probably a dozen titles. I remember taking the Iron Man comic up to the checkout and the “Comic Book Guy” wasn’t convinced that the comic had actually been in the dollar bin, but he knew I was a “regular” and was probably telling the truth, so he reluctantly let it go. Of course, a few years later, I needed cash for college and took several long boxes to this same guy and received pennies per book. I’m still a little bitter about that transaction, but I learned another valuable lesson about collecting that day, and hey, I was done with comics at that point, right?
The thrill of the Iron Man find still sticks with me vividly after all these years, and I attribute it to me becoming the collector I am today. I still browse through the bargain bins at flea markets and antique shops — you just never know!
That’s it for today, and now I need to go find something in the cave that will be a good fit for “J,” the next day for the Blogging from A-to-Z Challenge.
Seriously cool find.
Robert Downey Jr has certainly made Iron Man iconic. Will be hard to replace him – like Adam West as Batman, Christopher Reeve as Superman, and Bill Bixby as the Hulk. Wonder if Christian Bale has earned iconic status for Batman?
Hmm. I think Michael Keaton has more of a claim to the Batman title than Christian Bale, but I’m probably biased due to my age. It’s strange, but I almost think of the movie Batmen (?) as distinct characters — Adam West’s Batman, Michael Keaton’s Batman, Christian Bale’s Batman (Yes, I deliberately left out a few.), since the character is so different in not only his look but also his personality. Can you imagine Adam West portraying Frank Miller’s Dark Knight? Yikes.
It will be interesting to see how the next actor to suit up as Iron Man will fare. It wouldn’t surprise me if it took a few different actors/movies before they found the right fit.
Brings me back to the time when I found West Coast Avengers #10 in an ‘el cheapo’ bin at a comic store some years ago. Paid something like RM10 (USD2.5) for it but I had to endure the look of disbelief from the cashier who can’t believe that he himself had overlooked the discount bin himself for such a gem =p
And yes, agree with you……Bale is peanuts compared to Keaton. Batfleck is probably my favorite Batman right now for his superb performance as the very Miller-esque Dark Knight.
West Coast Avengers must be more prized in Malysia than over here. 😉 I was just reading a story about a guy who found Action Comics #1 and #4 in the walls of a house he bought to renovate. Treasure is out there, just waiting to be found!
I think Affleck certainly looks the part of millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, more so than any actor before him (and his Batman wasn’t too shabby either).
This is so awesome to hear stories like this …. I just love these vintage comics … even if they weren’t valuable, to me they just have so much more appeal than the current ones.
I’ve always loved this cover. Would make a great poster, enlarged.