Am I the only one who occasionally cherishes a comic not just as an interchangeable copy but for itself?
_____This may just be me, indeed, but a few (a very few indeed) of my comics are not merely generic copies. I don't want to own any copy of them, I want to own mine.
_____It's not about the quality of the comics, that much is clear. It's about the memories attached.
_____The first comic I ever bought, Best of the Brave and the Bold #5, is like that. Green Lantern v3 #50 may be the issue where Hal cedes GL status to Kyle, but my copy's glow in the dark cover hanging on my wall led me from my lightswitch to my bed every night for a year (and kinda served as a nightlight too, on occasion, I sheepishly admit). There are a handful of others. My Holy Grails, those comics that I hunted for years before finding in any capacity, tend to be on the list. I fought long and hard to locate my copies of The Crisis On Infinite Earths Crossover Index (five bloody years to find), and Valor #16 (a mere three, by comparison). My copy of the Secret Origins featuring Zatara and Zatanna is included, for being a curious symbol of the fact that there will always be a second chance; it was one of many comics I once passed over and have since wished I'd bought (being incapable of buying them at a higher price than one I'd once refused, of course)... and many years later I found it for a quarter again.
_____I wouldn't sell these books. I wouldn't trade them. And most tellingly, I wouldn't want a different copy, not even one in better shape. These comics aren't just any old copies. They're my copies. They're... special.
_____So, maybe I am just a guy who's been collecting comic books for a wee bit too long. Or maybe some of you understand what I'm talking about.
_____What do you think?