Hello, my name is Dane and I'm an addict.....

No, I'm not a member of Narcotics Anonymous or Alcholics Anonymous so please don't get it twisted. But I am beginning to realize (even though I honestly already knew...LOL) just how bad my one true addiction is.....

COMICS:











Most people who know me for an extended period of time eventually discover my love for comics. The initial reaction that I normally get is that weird look because I don't fit the profile of what a comic geek looks like in their minds (I love that freaking look....LMAO!). Second I get disbelief followed by a line fo questioning (that usually lasts for a few weeks to a month...LOL). And eventually I get acceptance and even some interest at times (depending on how weird it is to that person). Now of course, I am not paying the person much attention because what they think isn't gonna change me but it's just interesting to see people always react acoordingly. LOL.

Back to my addiction.....
The reason that I'm coming to realize just how bad it has gotten is due to the upcoming North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (AGGIE PRIDE!!!) homecoming. For the first time since my freshman year at the esteemed university it looks like I will not be attending homecoming. This is pretty low for me so I need a moment..... But the crazy thing about it is that I still get my comics from the same shop I went to in NC (just once every 3 months now). So not going to homecoming means not getting my comics either (AAAAAHHHHHHHH!) and that's all I can think about. I'm not missing the ladies I will see (you know they come out for homecoming!!!), not missing the fish sandwich vendors (MMMMMMmmmmmm!), not even thinking about all the friends I won't get to see....yep all I keep thinking is how I wish I could still get my books. To the point where I want to go for the books and not go party just to save money....LMAO (I gotta laugh at myself). I know I sound weird to a lot but I swear it's not my fault. Let me explain....

The History of Dane and Comics (a love story):

I started reading comics when I was 4 or 5. Back then it was all about the pictures and how cool the heroes looked but it was something my father wanted me to get into since he read comics as a kid. So as I got older and my father wasn't around anymore (at 6 years old) I held onto that cause I knew that when I did see him I would have something to talk about with him (as I became a man I realized that love was one of the few things he passed down to me). As I got more and more into it growing up my attention went totally towards X-men comics because I always thought they had the best characters and at 11 when the cartoon came out I WAS DONE (LOL).











Now up to this point my relationship with comics was based strictly on an availability basis. If we went to a 7-11 or any store that carried them and moms had a dollar available she would buy me one...LOL. But after my mom remarried and moved to NC when I was in highschool I got pretty secluded for a while because I basically hated my situation (didn't fool with step pops or NC). Now my house had 4 kids instead of 2 (I have a sister) and every weekend my steppops would drop us off at the mall with $10 and tell us to have fun...great parenting style, I tell ya. Well that's when I discovered my first comic shop located in that very mall directly next to the main entrance (it was meant to be...LOL). And from that point on my $10 went to 5 comics every week and that turned into my regular subscription of all of the X-men titles once I got my first job at 15. See the comics were like the only thing that wasn't changing in my environment so I began to clinge to them more. It's funny how we attach ourselves to things in an effort to feel some kind of security.

Well from that point the love of comics only grew. So when I went off to college into yet another foreign environment what was the first thing I did.....yep you guessed it. Went straight to a phone book and found the nearest comic shop and THEN went and found a job (LMAO...yeah in that order). As I have grown into an adult it's a lot different now. I can appreciate the stories a lot more as well as the art. Since I'm a self proclaimed writer now I respect the craft a lot more plus I'm not cognizant enough to follow specific writers. Most people don't even realize that a lot of the folks who write comics write some of the movies we love to watch...they really are good writers in a lot of cases.

So you see, I have really had a growing relationship with comics and they are something that I hold dear...LOL (I know, it sounds funny to write it too). The problem I have now is that the shop I have been going to for 9 years is in NC. I am truly friends with the dudes in that comic shop in Greensboro NC and they take care of me when it comes to making sure I have all my books and introducing me to new stuff by my favorite writers or even just new stuff in general. You have to build up to that...they know what I like. It's sorta like a relationship with a girl in how well they know me. BUT I HATE LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS!!! So this once every three months thing HURTS and when I miss a visit (like the one for homecoming) it really really hurts....















(yeah I can name everyone in this picture LOL)





Someone please help me! I'm gonna go pray about it. LOL.