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| Image copyright DC COMICS |
I've got a question for you all, but first let me waffle on for a bit. In 1969, I bought The MIGHTY THOR #158, which was the first of a two-part story examining the origins of the thunder god. It was around six years before I finally got to read the conclusion, which was reprinted (in two episodes) in the pages of a 1975 British weekly MARVEL title (SMCW #s 125 & 126). Ten years later, I managed to obtain Thor #159 - along with a replacement of #158 - both of which I still have today. It's good to eventually catch up with one's past.
Another occasion was when I finally tracked down a copy of the third WILLY The KID book by LEO BAXENDALE - a mere 31 years after the fact. Being able to place it on the shelf alongside the previous two books (which I'd purchased when first released) gave me a feeling of immense accomplishment. Same goes for when I obtained two missing issues for the 17 ish run of X-MEN: The EARLY YEARS a whopping 19 years after the series had finished. Then there was the 40 years between buying the first CAPTAIN AMERICA King Size Special and finally adding #2 to my collection.
However, the record time it's taken me to track down a follow-up issue of a mag to find out how a story ends is a whopping 46 (possibly 47) years. The periodical in question is WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #180 which I received today, acquired from eBay for a modest price. (For the story behind its predecessor, click here.) What's interesting (to me anyway) is the fact that the door of the room in which I've just read the wrap-up, bears the actual number plate of the house in which I lived when I read the initial part of the tale all those years ago. (I bought the number from the then-current tenant of my former abode back in 1991.) A nice touch of continuity, I thought.
So, was it worth the wait? Well, it's nice to finally know what happened, but the issue was never going to make the same impression on my consciousness as that of its predecessor, simply because I'm not as impressionable as I was at 9 or 10. One look at the first part of the tale and I'm back in my old house again, the intervening years yet to occur, but I haven't had WFC #180 long enough for it to conjure forth any associated images in my mind. That'll take time.
Anyway, enjoy the cover and a few pages from this latest acquisition to my cataclysmic comics collection. And here's the question I mentioned at the beginning of this post: What's the longest period of time it's taken you to find and fill a missing gap in your collection? Can you beat 46 years? Do tell, if you'd be so good.
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| Is this the first U.S. splash page to continue from the cover? If you know of any others, spill... |
