This journey explores the comic books that hold special significance to us as two lapsed collectors, highlighting what we find valuable in a book and all the fun and hijinks that come with it.

I find major keys all the time in dollar bins…

Granted, not in the true sense of the word “major keys”* as what I care about rarely holds substantial value to collectors. But to me and my weird sense of nostalgia and things I think are cool – sure, that issue of The Star Brand that shows the city of Pittsburgh (where I am from) and how it basically explodes leading to a one off story called “The Pitt” is meaningless to 99% of comic book collectors, but to me? This is some Holy Grail shit.

*A comic book key issue is a comic book that holds significant value and importance within the comic book community. This value can stem from various factors, such as:

First Appearances: The debut of a major character (e.g., Spider-Man in "Amazing Fantasy" #15).

Major Events: Significant plot developments or turning points in the storyline (e.g., the death of a key character).

First Work: The first professional work of a famous writer or artist.

Variant Covers: Rare or special edition covers that are sought after by collectors.

Historical Significance: Issues that mark the beginning of a new era or the end of a significant story arc.

Key issues are often more valuable and sought after by collectors due to their impact on the comic book universe and their rarity. -Editor

So what is “Key To Me” and why should anyone care?

This story actually starts over 30 years ago in a suburb of Pittsburgh called Penn Hills. Smaller than that – a neighborhood where my best friend lived up the street from my grandparents (and subsequently, less than a mile from where I lived with my parents). The neighborhood had everything two kids could want – a public pool (Penn Aqua), acres on acres of woods to explore and a comic book shop. In a later issue expect a full issue zero* about how Geoff (you will meet him soon enough) and I got into this, and why we are collabing on Key To Me.

*Issue zero is comic book speak for origin story. -Editor

Key To Me, as it currently stands, is basically going to take the text chain Geoff and I have about comic books and bring it to Instagram, Youtube (maybe who knows?) and here on SubStack. This is going to show you what two men in their mid-ish forties look for at comic book stores, conventions, WhatNot, eBay and the like. We are not comic book investors, we are collectors of nostalgia searching for that feeling we got when we were 12 years old jumping off the school bus and running into the Comic Book Connection on Rodi Road (more on that place in another issue I’m sure).

Both of us collected in the spec-boom of the early 90s* and still have a passion for oversized muscles, guns and especially pouches. After taking literally a three-plus decade break, we are revisiting the hobby. In a later issue, I will describe what it felt like to walk into a local comic shop (LCS) for the first time in forever and how the sticker shock of what a new book costs really threw me off.

(Shakes fist at the clouds and says, “In my time a comic book cost a buck, a buck and a quarter and now you expect me to pay FIVE DOLLARS an issue?)

*The spec-boom of the early 90s in comic books was a period marked by rampant speculation and investment, where collectors bought multiple copies of newly released comics in hopes that their value would skyrocket, often driven by gimmicky covers and overhyped issues. This really did not happen as planned and the entire industry took a massive nose-dive. -Editor

As I mentioned, this is going to be a joint effort between me (Dave) and my buddy Geoff. By no means do we want this to feel like “work”. This is just going to be two guys talking about cool shit we find, things we are looking forward to, comic book hauls at stores, online and at conventions and the like. Since this is the “first issue”, not sure if anyone will ever read this – but if you eventually stumble upon this and are curious about our “back issues”, this should be a good gist of what this whole wacky project is going to be.

Before I preview Issue 2 below, I wanted to close with a very soft sell of what I hope to gain from this:

A place to write about what I find cool about comic books.
A hopeful wish that there are other people in the comic book hobby like me and Geoff who will find this interesting and fun.
A community of people to share all of this shit with instead of a text to my buddy.
We are launching this project not just on Substack, but also Instagram and eventually Youtube. Links are ready, so if you read this – feel free to subscribe. We are still ways away from even a soft-launch, but stuff will be happening.

Thank you so much for reading, and a massive thank you to Geoff for making comic books fun again.

Instagram: instagram.com/keytomecomics

Youtube: youtube.com/@keytomecomics

Issue 2 Preview: The thrill of the hunt

As I got back into comic book collecting, the discovery of dollar books is what hooked me back. More importantly, the thrill of hunting dollar books. As it stands, I have about 450 or so books in my collection, I would guess 400 of them came from dusty dollar bins in warehouses and dead malls across Western PA.

The first time I really spent time in a “dollar book room” was at New Dimension Comics in Tarentum, PA – located in a giant barren wasteland known at the Pittsburgh Mills Mall. Surrounded by 100s of empty store fronts inside and potholes the size of moon craters on the outside, this was the “ah-ha moment” I was looking for. To say this room has 100,000 books priced at a buck each may be an understatement.

But to me, it was 100,000 chances to relive my childhood – $1 at a time.

….to be continued (gasp!)

Not so fast! No Dave issue #2 before I get Geoff #1 on the stands! So stay tuned for my explosive, spectacular, and in no way over-hyped first thoughts on what is Key To Me in PART 2! -Geoff