It smells like comics today. I say or think that often, especially around this time of year. I’m not sure what comes first, me thinking about comics and then the smell, or the other way around. It’s probably the weather. It’s comic convention weather. It’s “riding my bike to the local comic shop after school with my backpack straps digging into my arm pits and my no-longer-needed jacket tied around my waist” weather. Most days I’m cool with my decision to quit, but some days I feel the jones. Days that smell like this, in particular.

So just for fun, here are the first two comics I remember owning: Detective Comics #527 and The Flash #257. (I just realized right now that the numbers are virtually the same, only the first two inverted. Crazy.) I did not buy them. I believe they were given to me by an aunt or some other collateral relative. I also think there were more than just these two, but these are the only two I remember with any sort of clarity. They had a bumpy, water damaged feel to their covers. I remember really digging Batman art, but was confused by why Robin was a blond (didn’t understand there were more than one Robin and the Robin featured in this issue was an up and coming Jason Todd). I also remember thinking the super power of the Golden Glider was fairly weird and no match for the Flash. (But what is?)

Originally published at kaiserthegreat.com. You can comment here or there.