Saturday, I went to my friend Joey’s house to help him move to California and while we were packing up his boxes, I came across his comic book collection. As soon as I saw them, I opened the plastic bag of September 1977’s Batman #291, turned to the middle page, and smiled as that familiar smell of the comic hit my nose. You see, comic books have their own unique smell that brought me right back to my childhood.

When I was living on East 29th Street between Avenues I & J, on Saturday mornings, I would take my allowance and walk to the comic book store on Flatbush Avenue between Avenues J & K. They had a special section in the store where they had boxes of comic books for only 25¢. All of the comics were just thrown in in no particular order.

How I can remember the thrill of wafting through the rows and rows of comic books and getting a spark of excitement when I found a really cool looking Batman or I saw a never-before seen Justice League or I would find the book I had been looking for to complete a series that I had been compiling. And then there was that smell, that distinctive smell that would come from the pages of a comic book. The whole store had that smell. The comics that are published today don’t really have the same distinctive smell. I think it’s the new paper and coloring process that they use. While the comic industry is doing a great job as a whole, it’s just not the same as the originals.

As far as my comic collection, I am proud to say that I have a pretty nice collection, mostly Batman.

I love to read comics. I love to read myself, and others, to sleep with a great Batman story. I love to take myself out of Brooklyn (only for a short time, of course) and run through the streets of Gotham City and visit one of my favorite places, Arkham Asylum For The Criminally Insane, and read stories like The Killing Joke, The Last Arkham, and Death In The Family. While I’ve been told by those closest to me to read the greats like Barbara Michaels and Jane Eyre, my heart is in Gotham City.

Do you have any comic books? If you do, don’t think I’m crazy, but open one up, smell it, and remember a part of your childhood. What’s your favorite comic? Write me and tell me, I’d love to compare stories.