Batman Annual v.3 #3 (2019)
Written by Tom Taylor
Artwork by Otto Schmidt
Chef’s Note: Is someone chopping onions?
My Dad first introduced me to the world of comic books and I have been in love with them ever since.
He taught me that every “antique” store has a small box of comics stashed somewhere under a chair or bureau. I have yet to prove him wrong.
When I made some money mowing lawns and delivering newspapers, he showed me where I could buy comics on my own at Red’s News & Variety. I proceeded to spend many a Saturday morning there, sitting on the floor reading as much as I could, while old silver-haired men smoked cigars and ignored me and talked about the events of the day.
I was never told to leave. I was never told I needed to pay for what I was reading. Red and all his regulars never said a word to me. They just accepted me, silently, and simply.
To my young and often-feeling beleaguered and out-of place-self, Red’s Variety was paradise on earth.
When Superhero Universe II opened in the Providence Arcade, my Dad, without asking me, established a pull bag for me there and would check it regularly on his way home from work – endless brown paper bags full of storytelling magic.
I will always be very grateful for all of that.
Thanks, Dad! Happy Father’s Day!
(recent photo, beauty parlor there now)