Comic book memories:
parents, codes,‘Spidey’
Superman, Batman, Archie, Richie Rich . . it’s a rare
university student who hasn’t come into contact with comic books
and their heroes at one time or another
Since the early part of this century comic books have helped
shape the lives of millions of Americans. Most people consider
themselves too old for such things by the time they hit their late
teens, though there are those who will go to their graves believing
that the "funnies” are the most important section of the daily
newspaper.
Occasionally, someone will re,use to give up his interest in
comic books as he gets older. Da.rell Grimes is such a person.
Grimes, a 26-year-old comic book collector who owns the Fantasy
Shop Comic Book store at 770 East 13th, recently bought an
original copy of Action Comics no. 1. Published in 1938 by
National Periodical Publications (also known as D C. Comics),
Action Comics no. 1 contains the first appearance of a Jerry
Siegel/Joe Shuster character called Superman. There are only
twelve original copies still in existence. Grimes paid $6,000 for his.
Obviously, comic book collecting has become big business,
big enough to command thousands of dollars for a single copy,
and big enough for a man to make a living running a store which
caters to comic book collectors.
Grimes began collecting comic books in 1967. Within two
years his collection numbered over 12,000. In 1974 Grimes
opened the Fantasy Shop in the back of the Koobdooga Book
Store, buying out the previous owner and using his own collection
to get started. Today, the Fantasy Shop has an inventory of
approximately 100,000 comic books.
A bit of history: comic books, originally known as "funny
books,” began as nothing more than reprints of newspaper strips
in book form According to A Chronology of the Development of
the American Comic Book by M Thomas Inge, the first such
collection was of Richard Outcault's Yellow Kid from the Hearst
New York American in 1897.
The first monthly comic magazine Famous Funnies, was
published by Dell Publishing Company in 1934. The following year
saw the premiere of D.C.'s More Fun, the first comic book to use
original material as opposed to newspaper reprints. Superman,
who had been appearing in Action Comics, was given his own
magazine in the summer of 1939 Batman followed suit a year
later.
The appearance of Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel
Adventures in 1941 prompted D C., publishers of Superman, to file
suit, claiming that Captain Marvel, because he possessed many of
Superman's powers, was infringing on their copyright. After years
of litigation, Fawcett had to cease publication of Captain Marvel.
That wasn’t all on the legal front. Prompted by parents and
educators concerned about the effect of comic books on the
nation’s youth, the U S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile
Delinquency launched an investigation in 1954. The major
publishers responded by forming the Comics Code Authority,
which had the responsibility of examining all comic books to make
sure they contained nnothing which might corrupt the little ones’
minds. A vast majority of comic books on sale today have stamps
on their covers assuring parents that they have been "Approved
by the Comics Code Authority."
According to Darrell Grimes, the hysteria surrounding comic
books in the fifties caused parents to forbid their children to read
them. Faced with declining sales, comic publishers printed fewer
copies. Comic books printed between 1954 and 1964, because of
their scarcity, are frequently more valuable than comics from other
periods.
Comic book heroes are constantly changing. The original
Superman was a somewhat less impressive figure than he is
today, says Grimes: "He could only leap tall buildings in a single
bound and move faster than a locomotive. And bullets kinda’
hurt.”
Today the trend is for superheroes to have more complicated
personalities, perhaps best exemplified by Spiderman. When Peter
Parker, Spiderman’s alter ego, was in high school, "he had acne
problems, he had girl problems, he was bullied around by his
classmates, he was called a bookworm, he had every problem you
could imagine. He grew out of some of them,” Grimes says, “but
not all.”
Serious comic collecting began to spread about 1964. By
1968, the hobby had the potential to involve large sums of money.
Today a comic book collection is much more than a hobby — it’s
an invention.
Grimes’ Action Comics no. 1 has been increasing in value by
a thousand dollars a year since 1974; its list price is now over
$7,000. Grimes keeps his copy in a safe deposit box.
Grimes had trouble gaining his parents’ acceptance when he
opened the Fantasy Shop. After all, his occupation wasn’t exactly
traditional. “They try to support what their sons are doing," he
says. “But it took a long time before I got them to feel that my
place in life is running a comic book store.”
Asked if he could imagine doing that for the rest of his life,
Grimes says yes without hesitation.
Customers at the Fantasy Shop range in age from 10 to 30.
Some come in merely to find something to read, but most are
collectors. Besides their investment potential, comic books offer
"an escape into a fantasy world,” Grimes says.
“Students come in here to get their minds off their studies, to
find some relaxation away from Sociology or whatever.”
Grimes advises the novice collector to talk to a reputable
dealer before buying: “I don’t know anything about coins, so I
wouldn’t dare buy a 1909 Lincoln Head penny, even though
they’re supposed to be valuable — I might buy the wrong one. Ask
a dealer — he'll be able to tell you which comic books are the best
ones to buy.”
A rare comic book with good art, a strong plot and believeable
characters is fun to read, and may fetch quite a bit of money on
the collection market.
That box of comics in your closet may turn out to be worth
more than scattered memories.
Darrell Grimes — Keeping the childhood industry In business
MARVEL COJKfCS GROUP
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McKenzie-Willamette Memorial Hospital and KU(iN AM/KM proudly present a
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• LEON RUSSELL •
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Saturday, Feb. 28,-8:00 p.m.
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Phone order: 726-4477 (M.C. or Visa)
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