My comic book fascination started with my brother, most likely. 13 years older than I, his collections of books and toys all filtered down to me. I'm still the proud owner of several Silver Age issues of World's Finest, Adventure Comics, Action Comics, Batman and so on. They're dog-earred, not in the best condition and far from Fine/Very Fine ... but they've been read and appreciated time and time again. The stories were ridiculous, usually featuring some oddball version of Superman dealing with suddenly being old or the Legion facing off against the Time Trapper.

If that wasn't enough, my brother bought me my first "new" comic book. He came in from a date and handed me a copy of Uncanny X-Men. #162. The one with Brood-ified Wolverine on the cover.

My fandom was sealed in 1985. A new series was out, available on the rack at a local drugstore. My friends didn't like it, didn't understand it, saying it was way too complicated and too serious. But when I found it, I loved it. Crisis On Infinite Earths changed the way I appreciated comics. Superheroes could suffer, perish, then overcome obstacles at a cosmically profound level. After that, I went backwards, borrowing and begging issues of The Flash, reading his story from the very end, through the Trial and earlier.

From there, it was Green Lantern Corps, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Teen Titans Spotlight, The Question. All of these titles take me back to waiting for the high school bus, the taste of SweeTarts on my tongue. My need for encyclopedic backstories was fulfilled by the Handbook Of The Marvel Universe and DC's Who's Who issues, supplemented by Secret Origins. The multiple-choice origin of The Phantom Stranger was my favorite.

Shortly after, I started tracking down UK originals of Warrior magazine to read Alan Moore's serialized V for Vendetta in context. Judge Dredd. Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. I'd buy these at a local comic book and fantasy RPG shop called Comics & Curios. How they stayed in business, I'll never know.

On through college, I kept to the Vertigo side of the fence, collecting issues of Sandman, starting carefully to introduce others to my four-color fascination through the words and worlds of Neil Gaiman.

My story is far from over. Thankfully, good books keep coming. And while I can, I'll keep reading and talking.

Keep up with me at www.grabbingsand.com.