Birthday Comic - Spider-ManOne of my favorite parts of comic book collecting has become procuring the Marvel comic books that were published in the month that I was born. Whether you are a Marvel fan, a DC fan, or love any and all types of comics, I would encourage you to join me in hunting down your specific Birthday Comic List.

Now, if you were born in the Silver Age, this might be moderately difficult to accomplish. The combination of age, scarcity, price, and a sheer number of major keys from that time period might prove prohibitive. If you were born in the early modern age it should be relatively easy to accomplish. The books should be plentiful and cheap. Your greatest obstacle might be the sheer volume of titles, variant covers, and bi-monthly releases that could stand in your way.

My Birthday Comic Month List

As for me, I fall somewhat in the middle of two ages. I was born in October 1979, as the Bronze Age was winding down. Still not quite to the Copper Age, which would come along a few years later. My first thought when I started this challenge was, "what keys do I have to start preparing to buy?" Well, Birthday Comic - The Incredible Hulkfortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), there are no major - or even semi-major - keys from my birth month, at least from those listed in the Marvel wiki from that month.

Over the past many months, I have been able to find Amazing Spider-Man #197, a classic battle versus Kingpin. I located Incredible Hulk #240, the really cool Flames of Fear cover. And my local comic shop recently had for sale Fantastic Four #211, where the team is introduced to Terrax the Tamer - someone who hasn't quite made it to famous status yet. This book is one of my favorites. It features a collaboration between John Byrne and Joe Sinnott - two famous Marvel artists.

Several others have found their way to my collection as well, but I am nowhere close to done. Next on my list to find are Iron Man #127, which has a bad-ass cover, and X-Men 126, which features the famous "In Search of Mutant X" cover with the new team. These aren't major keys by any means but have alluded me to this point.

My Favorite Birthday Comic

One of the best things about this hunt is that it can become instantly personal and shareable. One of the most cherished comics I have in my collection is Captain America #238. There is nothing special about Birthday Comic - Captain Americathe comic itself or its contents, but a friend of mine knew I had been looking for it and bought one and gave it to me on my 40th birthday. If you have a list you are hunting and also know what your friends are seeking, it becomes an easy way to earn some good comic karma on behalf of those you know.

But it also comes with disappointment from time to time. Many of you know my favorite character of all time is Daredevil. Does anyone know what issue of Daredevil was released in October 1979? I assure you that you don't because there was no issue released that month! I was heartbroken!

Make it Tougher

I concluded before I started this project that I wouldn't search the comics I needed on eBay and buy them the easy way. The best part of this search has been the hunt. Anytime I am in a shop or looking through a collection, I have my list handy. I challenge you to do the same.

Needless to say, the hunt has been put on hold for a few months. I will be back in full force as soon as I can get back into shops for hours on end.

Some of you are going to run into problems with this approach. One of my close contacts on Instagram - Jason, who owns Certified Comic Shop - told me his birth month includes Ghost Rider #1 AND Strange Tales #169 (the first Brother Voodoo). That's quite a bit tougher than mine, but if you're in a similar boat, it will give you a closer connection to some major keys that you might not have had before.

What's Your Birthday Comic List?

I admit I have not spent much time looking into what comics have come out in other months throughout history. My memory just isn't that robust and I have a hard enough time remembering that I need Marvel Team-Up #86 and Marvel Two In One #56.

So what's your specific birthday list? Have you ever tried to find them? Let me know in the comments what books were released in the month you were born.

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