I read reviews to guide me in selecting comics that might be worth my time and, in particular, my money. There is a wealth of exceptional material to be found in today's market, perhaps more so than at any other time in comics history. Through reviews I've found, among others, The Age of Bronze, Stray Bullets, Leave It To Chance, Crusades, Bone, and Hawkman. However, Theodore Sturgeon's law still obtains; there's a lot of dreck, too.

Who knows what I've avoided by reading or not reading reviews of a title? For the most, critics don't review the real drivel. Beating up on worthless and inept comics is too easy and, in some cases, cruel. If no one reviews a book, there's probably a reason. If I overlook a truly good book, eventually it will generate buzz and a trade paperback. I can pick up on it there.

Do I have a "Holy Grail" of comic-book collecting? Alas, no. I no longer burn with a gem-like flame to own any old book. I was lured back into the world of comics by Neil Gaiman's Sandman. The first issue I bought off the stands was #50. I had the notion that I'd buy my way back to the first issue so that I'd eventually own them all. You know, like in the old days. Pre-trade paperback days. I made it to #24. The first ones proved too expensive for my taste, and before I had to make any hard decisions between desire and debt, the collections caught up to issues I'd purchased. Scratch desire.

Though I don't have a comics "grail" per se, I have adopted an odd collecting habit. Once upon a time, I decided I wanted to own an actual Golden Age comic, not a reprint, but the whole enchilada, smell, texture, bad printing, and all. I bought a cheap reading copy of a 1948 Airboy, which is about as close to the Golden Age as I'll get. Since then, I've purchased an early Tomahawk, a late Mr. District Attorney, and a mid-run Challengers of the Unknown issue. I don't collect any of these titles, have no desire to, but they are issues indicative of their era and genre. A cheap, complete, readable odd-ball issue of any comic representing its time may be something I would purchase.

I don't regularly visit a comic shop, so reviews are my only real link to the latest projects. I use them to seek out the items I might be interested in.

I purchased my very first comic book in 1964 when I was but a tyke. That book changed my life forever. It was Marvel Tales #1 and I can still remember the day. Today I have about 25,000 books and probably 20,000 of them are Marvel. When you talk about being in comics for a long time, I can relate.

I would have to say my "Holy Grail" would be a Marvel comic because that's what I collect most. And it would probably be more than one or two books.

How about Pussycat #1 or Strange Tales Annual #1? How about Groovy #1? Our Love Story #5? I've been lucky enough to find each of these. I'm still searching for the Esquire Magazine Spider-Man Giveaway, Millie the Model Annual #1 and Chili Special #1. I'd say these comprise the rarest of the rare, the "Holy Grails," if you will, of the Marvel Universe.

Are there more like these out there? Probably. I would love to see other Marvel fans write in with their own lists of special Marvel treasures.

I read reviews to help find comics I might enjoy, to help me avoid ones I wouldn't, and to compare to my enjoyment with that of others...in that order!

A realistic "Holy Grail" would be a piece of original art. I'd love a Superman page by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson...or Neal Adams. A page of Adam Strange by Carmine Infantino and Anderson would also be nifty.

Unrealistic? I'd love to have complete runs of both Superman and Action Comics. I would also like someplace to store it these collections properly.

Why do I read reviews? Often, it's simply because I enjoy reading the way certain people write. I read your reviews mainly for the same reason I read the rest of your columns. I like the way you write. Whether it's a comic book, a retelling of a "war story" or a review.

I'm afraid I don't have any "Holy Grails" of collecting that aren't incredibly selfserving. I've been mentioned in a couple of comic-book stories and I'd love the original art to those pages, but I've never really done anything about it other than put out the occasional feeler. If you have either the first issue or the trade paperback of Blaze of Glory, the Ostrander/Manco work from a couple of years back, take a look at the final page of the first issue and you'll know why I want the original.

Brian Ahern stuck me in a Bumpkin Buzz strip a long time ago. The strip commented how it was always a British journalist working for American news organizations who got sent to the War Zone. He had a reporter named Budgie reporting from the Big Bang sequence in Zero Hour.

If any of my own comics writing sees print, yes, I'd like one page from each story. That would be so very cool.

I read reviews largely to learn about comics I might normally ignore. I consider myself a Marvel collector for the most part, and am inclined toward seeking out Marvel titles before working my way toward the products of other companies or individuals. Reviews of Lucifer and the too-brief Orion led me to them. Heart of Empire, Age of Bronze, and Promethea have found their way into my home and memory because of the superior reviews they had received. All were titles I may well have not paid much attention to when scouring the comics racks, particularly when seeing their hefty cover prices. It is also because of reviews that I am saving money toward purchasing Eagle: The Making of an AsianAmerican President.

I'm looking at the grades/scores given to various comic titles in CBG and more or less ignoring those receiving low marks. I don't have limitless funds to purchase comics and find that as my little ones get older I have less time for reading. Seeing a low grade for a title often results in my ignoring the review.

One exception to this was Alias, which got a very apprehensive review prior to its release. Reading about its depiction of Luke Cage was offputting, but I wanted to judge for myself. Did I like its use of Cage? Christmas, no! But Alias remains an agreeable read and finds its way to my home each month.

I would enjoy reading more reviews of comics and even books in your columns. I know the paper is titled Comics Buyer's Guide, but, as many CBG columnists and editors have noted, many of your readers are generally well read. I love reading in general and wouldn't be the least upset by reviews of science or fantasy fiction in these pages. It makes perfect sense to dabble in such reviews as so many comic-book writers make use of literature beyond comics for their research and inspiration.

...fans claim that a well-fitted corset top isn't any more uncomfortable than a pair of stilettos - and some wear both. And owning one can provide a respite from the tyranny of rigid dieting and rigorous workouts. "Why spend hours in pursuit of a physical ideal that is, for most women, unobtainable?" says Mark Nevelow, whose company THE OTHER WOMAN has designed garments for opera stars, S&M enthusiasts and, more recently, fashion divas. "Go out for the evening in a corset, look fabulous, then come home and have a doughnut."

The attached photo is of my debut as the Frankenstein Monster at a friend's haunted house. He's been running the Halloween event for twenty years...and this is the first year the Monster hasn't been an inanimate object! Note that I was smart enough not to say, "dummy." That's too easy a straight line.


I got lots of compliments on my makeup job, although me being my own worst critic, I see all kinds of places for improvement! I think next year, I'll start a few months earlier, and really do it up right...get the plaster mold of my head and build it up entirely from scratch so it'll be an exact fit.

I started with a partial headpiece which I bought online and discovered wasn't wide enough for my head, so I did all kinds of extending on it, as well as adding the hair. The top piece came from an officially-licensed Universal costume, but I didn't care for it. Unfortunately, it's about impossible to find a men's suit jacket in an appropriate color in something close to the right size at a thrift store or garage sale! Guess tall guys like me tend to wear clothes until they're ready to be thrown away! I may have a jacket custommade for me next year...or perhaps do the sheepskin vest version of the costume instead.

I had a great time playing the Monster, as well as just being involved in something like this. I've been wanting to be part of a haunted house for at least 25 years, if not longer! And given some of the cool stuff I found on clearance right after Halloween, I'll be even more involved next year, I'm sure!

Even playing the Monster, I still did my duty as a comics fan. Along with candy, I also brought a hundred or so comics to hand out to the kids after they'd gone through it. I'll have to bring a lot more comics next year!

One of the neat things about this was that we didn't charge admission for it, but we were collecting donations of cash and food for BASH - Bikers Against Statewide Hunger. The friend who does this every year has been involved with BASH for quite some time and we managed to do pretty good contribution-wise!