The Comic Van - Buying and swapping comics in the 1960's

Back in the 1960's American comic books were for the most part regularly available in newsagents in the UK. While comics like Superman, Batman, The Flash etc were available , they were (compared to most UK comics) also expensive. To combat this there was a ‘Swap’ culture available amongst comic fans at the time. Although my interest in comics in the 1960's was largely confined to UK titles (being only 9 years old by 1969) I do recall my older brother and his pals "buying and selling" rules, which were predicated by the owner of the “comic book van" in my local town.

The “comic van” was a confectionary van that also sold US comic books, bubble gum card sets like American Civil War, Mars Attacks, Batman etc and other media-based items. I no longer remember the gentleman’s name that owned the van, but I can still recall the magic of visiting his van and checking his latest selection of new comics and cards. Comic sales were split into 2 section , new comics, and preowned titles with the option to swap an older comic along with some money (usually getting a new comic for half price). Batman and Superman comics were always the best items to swap as these allowed you to buy a new comic for less money, but titles like Lois Lane, US War comics, Archies etc were never in demand and these were the worst items to swap. In one of my last conversations with my brother we briefly discussed this time and the "comic van" and I wish I had taken more account of the details on these tims and the swaps/stories he told me. Below are some of my brothers original comics that he bought at the comic van (some of these are comics I have repurchased) to go with the above titles ( Justice League of America # 63 by Mike Sekowsky (a repurchase) and Jimmy Olsen #111 by Neal Adams(my brothers original):

Above : Hawkman #27 - 1968 - Cover by Joe Kubert (a repurchase)

Above: Action Comics #359 - December 1968 - Cover by Neal Adams (my brothers original)

Above: Adventure Comics # 354 - 1967 - Cover by Curt Swan (original)

Above: Adventure Comics # 361 - 1967 - Cover by Curt Swan (original)

Above: Superman # 201 - 1967 - Cover by Curt Swan (original)

Above: Action Comics # 368 - 1969 - Cover by Carmine Infantino (original)

Lois Lane # 89 - 1969 - Cover by Carmine Infantino/Neal Adams (Original)

Above: DC Special - 1970 - (repurchase)

I recently saw the above issue of Justice League of America (#74 by Neal Adams) on the excellent Rip Jaggers Dojo blog, which reminded me of the "Comic van" as this was one of my brother favourite comics. It also encouraged me to visit to my loft to look out the above comics when I found some of these in an carrier bag that my cousin gave to me ( I had loaned him some of these comics over 20 years ago and forgot all about them when he returned them a few years ago).

The Shock of the New: Batman and Robin: Year One - by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee

In general, I haven't really purchased many new comics since the early 1990's . There have been some exceptions to this and I will occasionally delve into titles like B.P.R.D (Dark Horse), the odd mini-series by artists I like, and I will almost always check out anything by the team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee (Daredevil, Black Widow etc) . The latest offering by this team is "Batman and Robin: Year One" which is a pretty decent comic that reminded me of the bronze age Batman with Samnee’s Alex Toth inspired art. If you’re a fan of the bronze age Batman (with a modern twist) then you could do worse than pick this up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

This is a 12-issue series so I may pick up a couple of issues and wait for the trade collection. Enjoy.

Gone but not Forgotten: Marvel (Panini UK) Pocket Books

From 2004 - 2017, Panini, who hold the licence to publish Marvel comics in the UK, produced a series of "Pocket Books" reprinting in full colour, several classic tales from Marvels back catalogue with many books running to over 250 pages for between £3-£4.99 each. I never actually saw these advertised in any of the then Panini Marvel monthly comics at the time and only came across (and purchased) my first pocket book “Spider-Man: The end of the Green Goblin” (see below) when visiting the Waterstones book shop in Glasgow. I don’t recall seeing any other Pocket Books again until around 2014 when I picked up the above “ Spider-Man: Countdown to Chaos” book for £1 in a charity shop, since then I have managed to purchase 6 other Pocket Books for only 50p each with my most recent one ("The Night Gwen Stacy Died") being bought last week.

My Famous Firsts: Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, X-Men, Flash, Cap America & others

I normally bore you all to death on here by talking about how I bought the first issue of a specific comic book title back in the day. However, the truth is that apart from on a few occasions, the event was usually marked by myself simply walking into a newsagent in my old home town, seeing a comic I wished to purchase, and buying it. Of course, there was always the fanboy elation at finding that first US issue but if you are a comic book fan then you know that feeling. Below are a few of my “famous first” purchases that have no specific memory or story attached to them. these along with my first US "Fantastic Four" comic (above) - #150 from June 1974 – cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, still hold memories of a diffenrt time. Enjoy:

Above: Ghost Rider #7 - Cover by John Romita and Gasper Salindino - from May 1974.

Above: X-Men #79 cover by Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia - September 1972 (I know I need to buy a replacement copy, this one is a bit tattered but it's my original)

Above: X-Men #96 - Cover by Marie Severin & Sal Buscema - December 1975 - I was never a fan of the original X-Men (I missed the Steranko and Neal Adams issues first time around) and my "first" X-Men issue 79 was a reprint, so this is my second first issue of the title. I really enjoyed the team of Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum on this title -This is a replacment copy as I read my original so many times that it is falling apart.

Above: The Flash #208 - Cover by Neal Adams - August 1971.

Above ; The Mighty Thor #205 - cover by Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia - August 1972.

Above: Warlock # 5 - cover by Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia -January 1973.

Above: Captain America #121 -Cover by Gene Colan and Joe Sinnott - October 1969 - This was one of the first US Marvel comics that I ever purchased (around 1970) and it is still a big favourite of mine.

Above: Teen Titans # 34 - Cover by Nick Cardy - August 1971 - Another classic comic book from the bronze age.

Above: The Demon # 13 - Cover by Jack Kirby - October 1973 - I was never a big fan of Kirby's 1970's stint at DC, but the Demon (and Kamandi) were pretty decent.