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| Images copyright DC COMICS |
Dug out some old BATMAN comics recently, after reading my TALES Of The BATMAN, GENE COLAN volume. When my eyes gazed upon the above cover, images of my bedroom in another house popped into my mind, and I mentally dated it circa 1984. You can imagine my surprise when I read the indicia and saw that it was, in fact, an early 1980 mag that went on sale (in America at least) in late 1979. So how the heck did I get it so wrong?
As regular readers will know, I've lived in my current abode twice. The first period was between 1972 and '83, and the second period from 1987 to the present. As it was during my first 'term in office' when I bought the above mag, I should mainly associate it with this dwelling and not the one in between. I can only assume that for some forgotten reason, something caused the cover to impress itself upon my subconscious mind while browsing through my comics collection in that other room one evening, and supplanted my earlier memories of when I first got it.
However, I suppose there's always a slim chance I didn't acquire the comic until a few years after it first came out, and that I bought it in '84 to fill a gap in my collection. I considered that possibility, but a vestigial memory of owning it in this house before I flitted yet persists, though my later association now appears to be the primary one. (At least, it does today - that might not be the case tomorrow.) I always find it disconcerting when that happens, as I tend to use comics as signposts to various points in my life and I hate it when there's a blip in the process.
Have you ever looked at an old comic and recalled the place, the month, or the year you bought it, only to find upon checking the date on the cover (or in the indicia) that your recollection is off and that you couldn't possibly have bought or owned it where or when you thought you did? Tell all in the comments section. In the meantime, take a look at the pretty pics on offer.