My Obsessions > Comics

I was eight years old when Adam West and Burt Ward hit the small screen as the Dynamic Duo on the soon-to-be hit TV series Batman. I didn't catch on to the fact that the show was a send-up...tongue planted firmly in cheek...until well after the series came to a close. All I know is that I was hooked. I bought as many of the trading cards as I could lay my hands on (now worth a pretty penny) and was soon buying the four-color renditions published by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) in the form of Batman and Detective Comics. Now addicted to the spinner rack at the local F.W. Woolworth, I also bought the adventures of the Flash and the Metal Men, not to mention the combined adventures of Superman and Batman in World's Finest (a two-fer!) and the ultimate super team the Legion of Super Heroes in Adventure Comics.

What can I say? I am also a member of the disco generation...

I didn't become a true collector for another six or seven years, when I discovered that comic shops existed (the Vault of Comics) and attended my first Maryland Funnybook Festival. I was now immersed in a world ruled by the artists who created the images that enthralled me. Neal Adams. Mike Kaluta. Jim Aparo. Howard Chaykin. Walt Simonson. But first and foremost...the legendary Berni(e) Wrightson, co-creator of that shambling, muck-encrusted mockery of a man...the Swamp Thing.

Future updates to CoolGhouls.com will include images and commentary that cover the full scope of my comic-collecting obsession. Stay tuned for stories such as how I ended up buying a tattered copy of Foxy Grandpa (1904)...of my short-lived tenure as a convention organizer (Metro Con)...how I bought the original art for the cover of Batman #296...how I blurted some inane comment to Neil Gaiman after waiting in line for several hours to meet him...even how I met and spoke to the one and only Quentin Tarentino one afternoon at Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, Maryland.

In the meantime, I hope the images here whet your appetite.