> > You got me thinking about comic books. Batman, Superman and the Green Lantern are at least 50 years old. Spider-Man is a Johnny-come-lately. I have a Spider-Man comic book from August 1967. (number 51, 12 cents) I think he first appeared about 1962 or 1963.
> >
> > I also have a Flash from about the same era. Are you familiar with that one? I don't really collect these things. They were in my antique booth which I am closing up for the winter and now they are cluttering up the den.
> >
> > I started reading comics about 1941. We traded them all over the neighborhood until they were worn out. (no TV then!) I wish I'd kept about 10% of them. I'd have thousands!
> > Howard
>
> Comics starting in 1939 (Action comics #1 first Superman) through the early fifties are now called Golden Age, that was the birth of the superhero industry. Superman, Batman, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, the original Flash, the Invaders, Captain Marvel, and the JSA all come from this period, fighting crooks, Nazis, and aliens
>
> In the early 60's Marvel Comics (no relation to the Golden Age Captain Marvel who was first owned by Fawsett Comics, but DC sued for rigths since he was so much like Superman) published Fantastic Four #1 wich started the Silver Age. A new Flash, Batman and Superman were alterd, a new Green Lantern, the return of Captain America and the Sub-Mariner, Spider-Man, X-Men, Avengers, and the Hulk all came from this time. the biggest diffrence was in the none costume lives of the heroes, Spider-Man was a geek with girl problem, the X-Men were also teenagers with all the problem that entials, no one ever tursted the Hulk, and Captain America found himself in a world twenty years addvaced from the one he knew.
>
> There is no real date to the end of the Silver Age. DC fans say it was in the eighties when DC published Crisis of Infinate Earth with compleatly reworked continucy (Superman didn't land on earth till the sixties, also the Silver Age Flash died and Kid Flash had to become the third {Modern Age} Flash) Marvel Fans will point to a story in the Seventies when Spider-Mans fiance Gwen Stacy was killed by the Original Green Goblin (who later died, GG was also the father of Spider-Man's best-friend)
>
> Your right about the money thing, most Golden age books, even in bad condition could be worth a ton. Many silver ages books are worth a lot too, you might want to get that Flash appraised and any other 1960 comics you got for that matter.
>
> But you never answered the question, what super-hero powers would you want?

Oops! I didn't, did I. Well, he isn't a super hero, but I always wanted to be Smilin' Jack, a comic strip pilot that you may not know.
Howard