Just bought my first comic from a comic shop today...

[Superman's Pal]

Some random thoughts from a former "lurker" on this great website who has decided to take the plunge...

I've been reading comics since 1970 and am thrilled that my 7 year son enjoys them as much as I do.   His favorites are Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans Go.   The books DC puts out for "kids" seem to capture the spirit and excitement of the Silver Age comics I fell in love with.  It is a very special experience for the two of us to visit a comic book store together and pick out new books.  I know my comic collection will be in good hands when I pass it on to him (my older son on the other hand would probably just sell them all on EBay if he ever got his hands on them!)

Permanus - speaking of Forbidden Planet.  Back in my late teens I took a break from buying comics that lasted a couple of years.  What brought me back was the day I wandered into the Forbidden Planet that had just opened in NYC (this was in the early '80s and I was attending NYU).  I thought I'd gone to Comic Book Heaven.  I started buying comics again, including back issues from the years I'd missed and I've never stopped (although I am much more selective in what I buy now and have drastically cut back on the number of new books I read).   I think Goths must congregate at Forbidden Planets on both sides of the Atlantic since I thought the same thing the last time I took a trip down to the City.

Regarding Comic Book Store Conversations- I generally do not get involved in the discussions that go on at comic shops (mostly because my tastes are now so selective that I have no idea what they are talking about).  However,  I did take offense when I over heard some arrogant fanboy in his late teens or early 20s dismiss a comic book writer who I like as a "hack".  This raised the hackles on the back of my neck and I was drawn into a debate with him about what makes a writer good or bad.  It ended pretty quickly when we discovered we had no common ground for debate - he kept bringing up comic book writers who I do not read and I introduced authors such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway (which he did not read).  A good writer is a good writer regardless of the medium- whether it be novels, comic books, screenplays etc.  Ultimately it's all subjective anyway. I think what lured me into the debate was his attitude - had he said "I don't like the way X writes because...." I probably wouldn't have commented. It was the arrogant way he just dismissed the writer as a "hack" which brought "my Irish Up" (which is pretty hard to do since I'm Italian American).

And what does all this have to do with All Star Superman?  Nothing I guess, but let me add that I am enjoying this wonderful homage to the Silver Age more than any Superman book I've read in years.