New Geek Shirt & A Personal History Lesson
comic books, personal, superheroes June 24th, 2008
I recently got a new geek-related t-shirt I thought I would share. This one I picked up from Kohl’s. I absolutely love the image, especially the bit across the top, “#1 in a Twelve-Issue Limited Series“, just like the comic featured. I wish it wasn’t on dark gray, it makes the colors look muted. But otherwise I love the shirt.
One of the reasons I like this shirt so much is my own personal connection to the “Secret Wars” comic series. When I was in sixth grade, I was the victim of peer pressure. “Peer pressure in sixth grade, surely not?!?!”, you think astonished. I know… shocker (read as sarcasm). I had just started a new middle school and was still getting to know my new friends (including Ravenface). During lunch one day, they started talking about all these fantastic sounding characters from some comic book I had never heard of. I was really only familiar with a few Marvel characters; mainly the ones who appeared in the “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends” cartoon. When I acknowledged that I didn’t know many of these characters, my new friends pounced on me as all sixth graders typically do when they see weakness in a fellow classmate. “You don’t know what Secret Wars is?!?!?!” “You don’t know who Galactus is?!?!?!” “Everyone knows who Magneto is, don’t they?” And so on…
So there I was, an eleven year old outcast. I felt ridiculed and incompetent. Surely there must be some way to redeem myself. And then the answer appeared before me… I was in the local convenience store (Sing store for us Tallahassee folks) getting some candy and an icee. I happened upon the comic book rack and staring me in the face was 
“Secret Wars” issue #2. A big bold image of Magneto on the cover. I immediately purchased the comic and devoured the information. I refused to be the butt of my sixth grade class. So from there forth, I made sure to buy all the issues of “Secret Wars”. I even paid the painful sum of $5 for a back issue of #1 (considering cover price was $0.75, that’s a hefty mark-up). In order to prepare for any unexpected, yet vitally important sixth grade conversations, I started to buy other comics also… a little Uncanny X-Men here… a little Marvel Saga there…
And that’s how it begins. A life long addiction… all because of sixth grade peer pressure.
I blame Ravenface… a.k.a. Ravenface, the pusher. DAMN YOU, RAVENFACE!
June 24th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Which middle school?
June 24th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Raa. This would have been late 1983. Eleven years before a runaway planet hurtles between the Earth and the moon.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:37 am
they couldn’t have taken off the “#1 in a Twelve…” blurb? i mean, jeez, why not keep the cover price and UPC symbol?
sheesh.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
You can actually see where they had to use the distressed look around Cyclops chest because that’s where the UPC code was.
And for the record, I love that it has the “#1 in a Twelve…” bit and the shout out box. I’m such a dork.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:54 am
you know, i think the distressed look makes it cooler. And despite the fact that i knew you back then but didn’t ‘know’ you…somehow we still became friends. Amazing.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Serv - Our fates were woven together for years, we were just too stupid to realize we were meant to be brothers. I mean c’mon… We met in something like 1984 and had classes together for quite a few years. I even confronted you in the hallway regarding your G-n-R t-shirt at one point. However, it wasn’t until 1992 that we really clicked. Funny how fate works.
Shag