I've been collecting comics for as long as I can remember. I thought everyone knew it in grade-school (de élémentarié). That's (comics) why I draw and write so much. I started writing and drawing the adventures of favorite hereoes (still do). Thus, I was somewhat surprised when I heard two of my friends talking about The Sentinels, an army of mutant-tracking robots to found in the pages of the X-Men.

I listened, amused, but didn't inform one of the two that I, too, collected comics until some days past. This week, I went through his collection and he went thru mine. We decided to trade comics, some at least. This was fine with me, and I selected some comics of mine that he desired and I no longer cared to possess.

After school, recently, I went over to his average suburb house (you've seen it, I'm sure) and he proposed an idea.

He would be willing to trade 3 boxes of comic books for the 70-some I was willing to trade. Of course, I agreed.

I traded Bill 70-some + some ones I threw in (around 15), for 365 comics!

We gathered up the books from his house and set them in 2 grocery bags (filled to the top with the books) to carry to my house. I don't know what my mom might have thought as we came in the door. I, undoubtedly, got the better piece of the cake. I had been worried that I would get the sour portion of the deal before he suggested this fantastic idea. In youth, when I traded, I always got the sour part. And I'm supposed to get 80-some books from a mail-order service [Mile High Comics]. Neat!