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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134752
Posted: 08 July 2025 at 6:32pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

American members of the forum should understand what it was like to discover fully coloured comics for us poor Brits (we were used to weekly B&W reprints!).

•••

Relatives in England used to send me hardcover black and white reprints of Superman and Batman. They were an important part of my childhood—so much so that when I first drew the Forties style Batman in BAT/CAP, my reaction was Hello old friend!

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Craig Earl
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Joined: 13 July 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1541
Posted: 08 July 2025 at 6:37pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

The other thing was that with only B&W reprints as a reference point, I had no idea what colour costumes characters like The Falcon wore.
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James Woodcock
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Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: 08 July 2025 at 9:01pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

in the mid-80's there was a small comic shop in
wolverhampton called The Place, which saved me going to
Birmingham, but it didn't last long.
--------------------------------------------------
I made a special stop off there when I visited Wolves
Poly prior to coming down to Wolves.
Bought Longshot from there as I had not been able to find
it anywhere.


If only you’d found a reason to stop in West Bromwich,
you’d have the Byrne family trifecta!
------------------------------------------------
There ain’t no comic shops in West Brom 😊, although I
travel through there on a regular basis now

American members of the forum should understand what it
was like to discover fully coloured comics for us poor
Brits (we were used to weekly B&W reprints!).
--------------------------------------------------
The big surprise for me was finding that the original
Falcon costume was green. I had only seen the red and
white one in colour and assumed the original was similar
colours.
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Robert Bradley
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Joined: 20 September 2006
Location: United States
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Posted: 09 July 2025 at 1:02am | IP Logged | 4 post reply

Nothing will replace the experience of being a young boy making the circuit of convenience stores and drug stores in the neighborhood in anticipation of finding out what might on their rack.  Then after going home and reading what you found, continuing the hunt at the other shops in your circuit to find the ones you're still missing.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134752
Posted: 09 July 2025 at 3:04am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

As a lot of you know, we moved a lot when I was growing up. One of my favorite locations where we stopped had a big drugstore a few blocks away, with a KFC across the street. Every Thursday I would bike over to the drugstore, pick up the latest comics, then stop by for a box of fried chicken to eat as I lay on the living room rug reading my latest haul.
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James Woodcock
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Posted: 09 July 2025 at 3:34am | IP Logged | 6 post reply

That’s childhood right there
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Bill Collins
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Joined: 26 May 2005
Location: England
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Posted: 09 July 2025 at 6:12am | IP Logged | 7 post reply

I remember being in The Place in Wolverhampton, and a
mother with her son was giving the guy behind the counter
some grief over the price difference between the air
freight comics and the ship ballast distributed one's. His
explanation didn't cut much ice with her, and she dragged
the lad out!Now we DO have a comic shop in Wolverhampton, i
rarely visit Wolverhampton, or go into the shop if i do.

Regarding the Byrne trifecta, i have never been to West
Brom, used to go to Walsall regularly though!

Edited by Bill Collins on 09 July 2025 at 6:13am
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 134752
Posted: 09 July 2025 at 11:34am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

No offense to the city of my birth, but I don’t count Walsall. I spent about the first day and a half of my life there, because friends had recommended to my mother a “maternity home” located there, so that was where she went to have me. At that time my parents were already ensconced in West Brom.
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James Woodcock
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Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: 09 July 2025 at 12:50pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

I’m on the floor.
Bill has never been to West Brom.
You’re 5 miles up the road! ;-)

I have long thought that immigrants to an area visit more of the surrounding
area than locals do.
I’m sure people who move to West Yorkshire visit more of it than I ever did.
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Shaun Barry
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Joined: 08 December 2008
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Posted: 09 July 2025 at 1:33pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply


Not everything needs to be ordered online.  I still get a thrill skimming through back issues and bargain bins at the (few) LCS in my area.  Or the occasional "comic book show" held every 4 months at our local American Legion.  (To be clear, I've pretty much avoided full-on conventions for decades now.)

Still manage to find a few gems, every so often.


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Andrew Davey
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Joined: 27 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1459
Posted: 09 July 2025 at 5:17pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

Pleasant memories of the comic hunt—finishing my paper route and biking off to the nearby small towns: Bedford, Pound Ridge, and New Canaan, with crisp fall air and leaves crunching under my tires. Returning home to homemade chocolate chip cookies, a cold glass of milk, and some indulgent fictional reading before buckling down for homework.
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Andrew Johnson
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Joined: 21 July 2017
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 18
Posted: 09 July 2025 at 5:40pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

I spent so many happy hours in The Place, chatting comics with the guys in there.  This was where I picked up the JB She Hulk graphic novel brand new off the shelf.
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