When I was a kid, my best friend next door put me onto comics. I think he'd picked up a good deal of knowledge from a college student who lived down the street and ultimately gave my friend his comics when he moved away. That guy had known his stuff. He had the Korvac Saga, Byrne/Claremont X-Men, Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans, all the cool stuff of the late 70s and early 80s.

The way my buddy spoke about the Dark Phoenix Story was with a hushed reverence. He knew its backstory, too, and was particularly fascinated with the relationship of Scott and Jean. I remember he had some reprints I read of early Lee/Kirby X-Men books when Scott was still working up the courage to confess his love to Jean. So for a kid at least, I had a sense of their relationship when I finally tracked down the legendary #137 and paid (as I recall) the princely sum of $8.

Reading that was like being allowed to thumb through the Guttenberg or the First Folio. My friend had really impressed upon me the weight the story carried, and whatever the consequences of the rise of event-based comics, this one was one of the greats.

Just thinking back on it, I can recall how sad the story made me feel. I'd always liked the excitement of comics, but it was nice to really be moved.

I agree that $75 was overpriced... but it was such a good looking book... it was tough to not buy it.

Love that story.