Hello, my name is Marcus and I've got a comic book addiction.
Like most other addicts, I remember getting my very first fix. It was an issue of Spider-Man where the Web Head battled Sandman, bought by ten year-old me at the convenience store that used to be within walking distance of my house. That was a great store, by the way. Not only did it have comics, candy and gum, but it was also where I would go to plunk my quarters into classics like Donkey Kong, Rastan and Defender. Man, I feel OLD. Anyway, I saw that wire carousel with the comics, picked out a few and was hooked. As the years went on, I graduated to other series, but mostly stuck with Marvel.
In high school, I dove in again with The Punisher, X-Men, more Spidey, Batman, Lobo, and a very wide array from all companies. Two things facilitated this: my first real jobs and the opening of comic book stores close to my house. Getting my driver's license made things worse. I just love comic book stores. They're like little geek cocoons where all the walls have cool posters, there are action figures in cases and busts of superheroes displayed like the great pantheon they are. I'm not the type of guy who really has "hang-outs" but I was a fixture in one comic shop from the middle of high school all the way through college. It got to the point where I helped unload the delivery trucks when they dropped off the new issues and my only payment was getting first crack at all those fresh, beautiful, clean, perfect. . . .sorry.
Money problems stepped in once I had real bills to pay and I was forced to go cold turkey. It wasn't easy. It was HELL, but I did it. I'd stocked up a good backlog and of course I kept every one of my older issues, including that first crinkled copy of Spider-Man from the days when I didn't know about bags and boards. Fellow comic fans know what I'm talking about.
My addiction kicked into high gear about ten years ago and quickly turned into obsession all over again. I had a good job and was able to maintain my hold list every week. These were the years when I fell in with a gaming group that not only reawakened my tabletop roleplaying bug with D&D and World of Darkness, but they also got me into Magic: The Gathering. Free samples of crack wouldn't have hit my wallet harder.
I weaned myself off of those things, got myself into shape and, apart from a few setbacks here and there, was doing fine. . .until yesterday.
My wife and I were out (she was there for the dice throwing, Magic card years) and I wanted to check out a local comic shop. I've been meeting the guys from Nevermore Paranormal (more on that later) at a comic store and felt the old cravings stirring deep inside me. Once I had a stack of comics in my hands, I looked to my wife and said, "Stop me before it's too late. Seriously." Maybe she thought the geeky fire in my eyes was cute or maybe she knew better than to grab the squeak toy from the hungry dog's mouth, because she didn't even try to stomp out the fire. I'm dipping my toe back into the comic book waters and will try to keep control of it.
Things will be better this time. I can control myself. I can quit whenever I want. I swear!!
