Ten years ago I was still some 40 issues short of completing my run of K.G. Murray's Mighty Comic when this copy of Mighty #46 fell into my lap:
As you can see, it is hardly a slab-worthy specimen - the cover is missing, it's been coloured in by pen on a few pages, and it lacks the modesty and decency of a choice Mammoth Annual or Gigantic Annual cover draped around its privacy.
But I've been very fond of this copy. Quite apart from fulfilling its duty by ticking a box on my must-have-before-I-die list, I've had a rather emotional attachment to it due to its provenance. It was given to me by a friend who had owned it since childhood, and who was in the process of divesting himself of beloved comics due to unfortunate personal circumstances.
Nevertheless, I have been keenly seeking a complete copy ever since. I've come close a few times - the most recent was about a year ago when I was advised that a copy was being put aside for me, but for various reasons that did not eventuate.
So you may appreciate my deep pleasure in finally securing this marvellous specimen for my collection:
If you're reading this I'm sure I don't have to tell you how significant this cover is in the history of the DCU, just as I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it ranks highly amongst us KGManiacs, for whom the phrase 'parallel universe' means just a little bit more when it involves such key covers on KGM's.
My usual practice is to pass along my old copies of comics after an upgrade - it's quite a longstanding tradition now, a reciprocal arrangement amongst a small coterie of fellow collectors. But I won't this time around. I feel the rather sentimental duty of a custodian to keep the old copy in situ - and, if and when my friend is ready and able to reclaim it, my duty will be complete.
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