Time Flies By

It can sometimes be a little daunting - even scary - when you look at your comic collection and think "How long have I been buying these things?" I've got just under 6,000 or so comics and trades in my study, not counting the 300 or so that are in piles waiting for me to get my arse in gear and put them on to e-bay and while that may be small in comparison to some, it's been built up over a fairly long time.

As the old song goes, "It was twenty years ago today . . ." and, just for the hell of it, here's what I was buying all those years ago - at least, everything I still have with a cover date of April 1991.

Green Arrow #45

Back when Green Arrow had to carry a "Mature Readers" tag in order to show Ollie blood and guts. How times have changed, huh? This was still a good couple of years before Mike Grell left the series and it was quickly absorbed back into the DCU proper. I remember reading somewhere that throughout his run, Grell never actually referred to Green Arrow by that name . . . or am I confused?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #106

Come on - who wouldn't?

• BOOSTER GOLD #38 - Giffen and DeMatteis seem determind to run through the roster of their Justice League run as time travelling Booster Gold bumps into General Glory when he ends up in World War II. Yet another good, fun issue.
• CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD: THE LAST BATTLE #5 - Blimey, I'd almost forgotten about this series! This is a cracking issue as several things come to a head and Jay makes a big sacrifice for his friend.
• GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #4 - Guy Gardner's Lanterns head into the Unknown Sectors (question for you - if they become known, does that mean there would then be more than 3,600 sectors?) and Sodam Yat rebels against the Corps.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #13 - So Magog, the guy that was big enough to helm his own title just a little over a year ago, has now been summarily disposed off, tossed aside and killed by Max Lord with Captain Atom being framed for the murder. That's another black mark against Judd Winick in my book because, yes, I kinda liked Magog. Sue me.
• KNIGHT AND SQUIRE #2 - oh, I'm liking this! Let's ditch Winick from Power Girl and get Paul Cornell to write it! Yes, part of the attraction is seeming deliberate (and a little cliched) elements of British life injected into American comics but there's so much fun in this title it escapes from being a parody into genuine good humour. Would it work as an ongoing? Probably not, but a six issue mini-series seems perfect.

And there were a couple of things that made me smile this week, both from Knight And Squire #2:

That scene was simply there for that punch line but it worked a treat! And, in the same scene in the newsagents, it tickled me to check out the titles of the "top shelf" magazines:

Tucked in besides copies of Indeed, Blimey, Oops, Honestly and Strewth . . . the Joy of Sheds!

Paul Cornell, I salute you!