Hello everyone. This would be my first foray into the wonderful world of online communities, so please bear with me.

I have been an avid comic collector for 22 years. Surprisingly or not so surprisingly to those that have read them, the first comic that got me going was TMNT. Before reading the first issue I still thought comics were "for kids" and didn't expect too much from it. After I was done my life would be changed forever. Could there be other comics equally as cool as this? Yep.

My second book of serious collecting came in the form of a prestige book you may have heard of - The Dark Knight Returns.

As much as those Turtles got me going, this one really sent me over the top. Most of what I knew of Batman or The Batman (if you prefer) was those horrible cheesy reruns I saw on Saturday afternoons. This was completely different. I found my escape from the real world all the while reading about someone else's.

Since that wonderful first year of spending all my lunch money on comics and then getting a paper route to support my habit, my collection has grown considerably. Three years ago I had the pleasure of marrying the love of my life, Shiloh, who thankfully is also a full fledged comic geek and former comic shop owner. Our collections combined are currently occupying an entire room in our home.

I also collect an occasional toy here and there, including but not limited to Star Wars, Spawn (not any more. Anybody looking for Spawn toys?) and Marvel/DC.