The Mission....

As I've studied the history of comics as an amateur, I found several "truths" to be considered to be self-evident:
     - That there are the big two DC and Marvel
     - Both have existed since the Golden Age
     - DC was by-and-large number one until the Silver Age of Marvel
     - There were key distinctions that led to the Marvel style: more dramatic, realistic characters, more dynamic villains, and a shared universe/continuity that was unique. 

I wanted to challenge these truths.  In my personal reading, I've always been a Batman fan, but in my school years, I was primarily a Marvel fan, and in my adulthood, my preference has been DC.  Maybe I wanted to justify my tastes, but I felt like it couldn't have been that pat.  I discovered Mike's Amazing World of Comics and based on the information there and on The Grand Comics Database built large spreadsheets chronicling what was published by each publisher by year, who appeared in what issue, etc.  And it wasn't enough....

I've collected comics for almost 30 years.  I have issues, trades, bound copies, microfiche, digital comics.  I could see trends, but I wanted to experience the history of comics the same as a person plunking down their dime (yes kids, comics were once a dime).

So that's the mission, to read my comics and any comics I can get access to in chronological order based on when they were published.  Sounds complicated?  It gets worse...

I love Comic Geek Speak, especially the spotlight podcasts.  Listening to the Spotlights on Spider-Man, Avengers, and X-Men, made me yearn to experience the Marvel Silver Age now not later.  The solution?  Two tracks (actually three):
- Comics history in chronological order starting with 1935 (I'm up to April, 1938)
- Marvel Silver Age starting with 1960 (I'm up to April, 1960)
- Recent comics (I'm about a week behind with Marvel and DC; as far behind as a month for some of the independents)

I try to read at least some every night.  I hope on this blog to post my observations and thoughts about what I'm reading.  Along the way we may take detours to discuss recent comics news.