Great topic!  Gives me a chance to indulge in nostalgia!  There were so many wonderful comics helmed by talented creators in the ‘80s.  For me, it was the true golden age of the medium.  I will limit myself here to 2 pivotal issues: ‘Marvel Tales’ # 127 and ‘Man of Steel’ #1

I turned 7 in 1980 and the first American comics I discovered were all DC, including the likes of ‘Superboy’ and ‘Super Friends’.  I was the perfect age for such material.  The following year, on a family trip to London, we called into a newsagent which had the biggest selection of American comics I’d ever seen at that point….. including some ‘exotic’ Marvels.  ‘Marvel Tales’ #127, which reprinted ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #150, caught my eye.  With hindsight, an epilogue to the original clone saga was an unusual place to start reading Spidey’s adventures, with the story referencing so many past events and characters I was unfamiliar with.  That didn’t turn me off though, it fascinated me. I realised I was getting my first glimpse into a much bigger world.  Also, I’d never before read a story where the hero went through such mental anguish before finding the will to win.  It was so different to the DCs I’d read, which now seemed ‘little kiddie’ in comparison. Happily, Marvels started popping up more in my hometown shops, and it wasn’t long before I was a Marvel Zombie. I didn’t look at DC again for years….. until JB’s ‘Man of Steel’ #1.

I almost didn’t get ‘MOS’, simply because it was DC and I didn’t read DC.  I couldn’t resist when I chanced upon a copy of ‘MOS’ #1 though.  I realised I was curious to see what JB at DC would be like.  Of course, I loved it!  I expected to love the art, but I was surprised by how much JB made me like Clark.  For the first time, Clark was the ‘real’ person and Superman the persona.  It worked for me!  The JB halo effect made me give more DC titles a try and, to my very pleasant surprise, they were no longer the ‘little kiddie’ comics I remembered but were just as interesting to me as Marvels.  With so many titles starting over in the wake of ‘Crisis’, it was the perfect time to get back into DC.  I was soon buying as many DCs as Marvels.

Ah, happy days!