When I started writing this the other night I expected it to be up and running as I settled in to watch Iron Man 2 and so I thought it only fitting that I follow up on Rol‘s suggestion and do the Comic Book Questionnaire meme which of course I invite any of you comic book readers to also do on your own sites (if you don’t have your own blog you should throw it into the comments below!).

Of course the best laid plans of mice and men, a trojan sprung itself on my computer and I spent the night removing it from my system.  So here it is a little late, the original meme started on Ryan’s blog Stink Brown so you should go check it out.  Also since I began writing this Rol has already published his version as well.

1 Did you read comics as a kid?

Depends upon what you consider a kid?  Yes I read any comics I could get my hands on from when I was around 11 or 12.  I know that the Batman film arrived when I was really getting interested in the medium.  It was a great time to be excited about comic books.

2 Who bought you your first comic?

I thought I did but at that age I would not have had the money to do so, I can only assume that my Mother bought my very first comic book, or at least gave me the money.  Our local newsagent was the only place to buy any comics from and I think they only ever carried two until Batman the film came out and then they had the movie adaptation.

I can actually tell you the two comics I first bought it was Australian reprints of Batman and the Outsiders #14 and Justice League of America #229.  See that kind of thing I remember!  Maths and stuff not so much.

3 Did you take any time away from comics? Why?

I did actually, I’ve talked about that here before.  I took a break from comics when I went off to university and didn’t keep reading them simply because they were too expensive and I had a lot of other stuff going on in my life.  I walked away from who I was to a lot of degree.  I stopped drawing at around the same time and fortunately both have returned to me.

4 What brought you back into comics?

It was a couple of years ago when I was having a bit of a struggle of the identity variety and realised that so much in my life was not me.  I’d backed myself into a corner and hid away from the world in a dead end job well beneath my potential or my ambition.  I went through the process of putting the stuff I loved back into my life and comics were one of them.

It didn’t hurt that I also discovered comics were a lot cheaper than I remembered them to be when bought through the comic book shop rather than the newsagent.

5 Do you prefer getting comics monthly or in trades?

This is the thing, it makes more sense financially to buy a trade and for most of the books that I’m picking up behind everyone else like The Losers  and the first season of Runaways it’s the only way for me to check them out in non-digital format.  So I like trades, I really do.  But there is something special about grabbing that paper single edition each month even though I know a better copy will come along later.

6 Do you know the name of your Local Comic Shop (LCS)?

It’s Comics Etc and they are pretty awesome. They were also the comic book shop that when I first starting reading again I went to.  They had just dropped their prices because of the international currency rates which really impressed me.  My wife has gone in there on her own a couple of times looking for presents and they have always been helpful and friendly to her which also impresses me.

7 Does your LCS know your name?

LOL no I don’t 100% think so, they certainly know me, they’ve hooked me with free tickets for movies out of the blue.  I suppose they probably have a nickname as you generally do for regulars in retail.

8 Do you own any old number 1 comics (must date before 1980)?

No, although I have the very limited reprint of Phantom #1 here somewhere, you can tell the difference because the reprint has a bullet hole in the skull.  I’ve got a lot digitally too.

9 Do you own any original comic art?

I’m actually surprised myself but no I don’t, I guess I’ve never actively sought it out.  I was tempted once by some Norm Breyfogle stuff.

10 Do you bag and board your comics?

All my comics books are free range.  So no to answer the question.  I don’t believe in it.

11 Where do you store your comics?

I’m supposed to store them in the long boxes I picked up but it is a very slow process getting them all into them and I don’t think the four I have is enough.

A small sample of the collection - at least they are close to the box! Yes that is a TekWar #1.

12 How many comics do you read right now, in either floppy or trade format?

Good question!  I honestly have no idea off hand and if I try and list them I just won’t get them all.  I would say at least 20 titles in floppy and maybe 8 or so in trade (trades are hard in that they come every three months or so).  I also get a couple of Manga lines when they come out.

13 What would be your number one, all-time desert island, favourite comic series?

Don’t make me choose between my children.

Runaways.

Maybe Iron Man if we are going back to the whole series and not the current stories.

14 Do you follow comic creators on Twitter?

One or two but I couldn’t name them off the top of my head, I tend to avoid celebs or famous people most of the time.  I do follow a bunch of indie creators and people who generally draw real good.

15 Do you have a favourite comic creator?

Mike Mignola.  Love his work.

A lunch sketch done by me in Mignola style

16 Do you harbour any aspirations to create your own comics?

But of course! Got a few projects that I have to finish.

17 Do you access comic news online, if so where?

Not as much as I used to, probably read CBR and The Weekly Crisis (like Ryan).

Time to pick sides…

Marvel or DC – This is hard because I’ve been reading more and more DC of late but I’ll put myself down as Marvel.

Superman or Batman – Batman, although I respect the icon that Superman is.

Spider-Man or Wolverine – Wolverine but only because I’m picking from two characters I don’t really care for in modern Marvel… actually I do like Ultimate Spider-Man… dang it.

Iron Fist or Luke Cage – Iron Fist, I just got into him after reading a couple of trades and really liking the artwork.  Cage was way too much for me to stomach during Civil War.

Nick Fury normal or Nick Fury Sam Jackson – After seeing Iron Man 2 I’m going for Nick Fury normal.

Spandex or real life stories – I’ve been enjoying more and more Manga which isn’t so much your traditional spandex but I would say spandex when written like a real life story

Golden Age or Silver Age or Modern Age – Silver Age if only because I love that era of Iron Man.  Aquaman’s Golden Age comics are also quite charming.

Digital or paper – either, I now read just as much on the computer as I do in paper.  I’ll probably always prefer paper but I’ve managed to read comics online that I would never had the chance to.

Gotham or New York – Gotham of Tim Burton / Anton Furst – I love giant statues littered around the streets and Furst’s Gotham is the definitive.

Hero or villain – Hero.

Cape or no cape – Cape, despite a lot of my favourite characters not wearing them.  It’s mythology and iconography.

Cowl or domino mask – I prefer the cowl, the domino mask seems impractical to me.

One of Anton Furst's Gotham images

Thanks again to Ryan for putting this together and to Rol for bringing it to my attention!!

Also thanks for the birthday wishes from everyone today – you guys are awesome!