“Echoes of Future Past!”

1986 was a big year for me…it was the year I started collecting comics. Sure I’d read plenty before that, my grandparents had a stash they kept for us grandkids to read when we visited, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America and some Archie and Disney titles too, and I’d managed to pick up a few others off countless spinner racks when I’d been good while grocery shopping with my mom, but it was actually Christmas of 1985 that I received my genuine comic book collecting kit. I’d circled it in one of the catalogs that year, probably Sears or JC Penny, and Christmas morning there it was under the tree! A long box decorated with generic comic panels, with a few bags and boards, a small price guide, and reprints of the origins of some Marvel heroes stuffed inside. Within days I’d talked my mother into taking me to the local comic store so I could spend my Christmas money and officially start my collecting. “Crisis On Infinite Earths” was just coming to an end, and while I was still years away from realizing exactly what that meant I still found myself in a great position for a new collector. Not only did I have lots of first issues, and great jumping on points, but I also had “Who’s Who” and “Secret Origins” to act as my guides through the DC Universe!*

As a kid, most of what I knew about superheroes I learned from watching cartoons, and as such most of the superheroes I knew were those that appeared on those shows. “Who’s Who” and “Secret Origins” opened up whole new worlds to me! It was actually “Secret Origins” where I first saw the character that inspired me to write this blog, Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle!** I’ve often heard that the first “James Bond” you experience tends to be your favorite. The first actor you see on “Doctor Who” is “your Doctor”. Well, for me, Roger Moore is “Bond”, Peter Davison is the “Doctor”, and from the moment Ted Kord swears to carry on Dan Garrett’s legacy as the Blue Beetle in “Secret Origins” #2…Ted became my “Blue Beetle”.

For the foreseeable future, I plan to update this blog once a week (Saturdays or Sundays) and explore all things Blue Beetle. I’ll be touching on the comics, TV and animation, toys, even the old time radio show, and that means I’ll be discussing Dan Garrett and Jamie Reyes occasionally, but my primary focus will always slant a little more toward good old Ted…MY Blue Beetle! I'm pretty new at this, so bear with me while I learn the ropes and find my grove.

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See you next week! 

*Let me say, I love comics and characters from all different publishers, but from the start I have always found myself drawn toward DC more than any other.

**OK, in fairness Rob Kelly and his amazing Aquaman Shrine had something to do with it too