Happy Belated 25th, Marvel—18 years later...

It's been several years now since I actively collected comics, although through my job I'm privy to the occasional graphic novel or trade paperback. Between work and the internet, I still get to revisit my favorite form of escapism from my youth. And occasionally, I like to delve into my stacks and reread series from my collection. My collecting wasn't entirely sequential and once I got into a new series, I would often buy back issues whenever I found a good deal at a convention or my local Woolworth's. Revisiting my collection, I've often been able to read a series sequentially, which I hadn't done the first time around in many cases. I recently reread all of my various Sin City series, upon hearing the news that Robert Rodriguez would be directing a movie based on Frank MIller's noir masterpieces next year. I'd actually read his second series, “A Dame to Kill For,” prior to picking up a hardcover collection of the original, and read all subsequent ones as they came out while I was in college.

I'm not really sure what triggered it, but I started re-reading my old Larry Hama G.I.Joe comics(actually, it's a safe bet that the seeds of this foray were sown by The Cheat Commandos) When I reached issue #53, the cover featured Snake-Eyes, easily my favorite Joe, and something else--a decorative border featuring many Marvel favorites.

I did some Googling™ and found a website showcasing all the Marvel 25th Anniversary covers from 1986. I had never seen some of these, and only actually have six in my collection(Avengers #273, Fantastic Four #296, G.I. Joe #53, Iron Man #212, West Coast Avengers #14, and X-factor #10). I remember those borders fondly. I remember not knowing who all the characters were as I began collecting. I remember when the Mike Zeck Secret Wars#1 poster that still hangs in my studio to this day held some unfamiliar faces, and I didn't even recognize Storm with a mohawk.

Knowledge in general isn't always gleaned sequentially, and for me personally, filling in the gaps and holes in between the facts I DO have is one of the greatest motivators to learning. As far as my comics collection goes, I still know where the gaps are, and nearly twenty years after the fact, I wouldn't mind having some of these anniversary issues amid my stacks. Then I'd have an excuse to revisit more series in sequence.