Full Circle with Worlds Finest #240

The cover of World's Finest #240. Click to bigify.

What better way of celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Batman's debut than with the story of how my Dad's quick investment made me a fan of the Dark Knight.

​Worlds Finest #240 as a comic was just another 'done-in-one' story among other various DC titles released in 1976.
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​However, it is the first comic that I remember getting which would kick off a love of comicdom that has now lasted 42+ years. 

By then, I was certainly aware of Superman and Batman from the George Reeves and Adam West live action television series. Not to mention The Adventures of Batman and Super Friends animated saturday morning cartoons. 

Let's set The Wayback Machine to the summer of 1976...!

As a late teen, my Dad worked at a general store near where he grew up. I believe that he did the 'catch-all' jobs and one of his duties included delivering chickens in the neighborhood. As an adult, he would frequently stop by to visit with his former boss and store owner, Mr. Wallace.

One afternoon, 9-year old me went with him on one of those store visits and I wasn't really looking forward to it. There usually wouldn't be any customers inside and all of the doors & windows stayed open as there was no air conditioning. I would dutifully stand beside my Dad as he leaned against the counter as they talked about the different characters in the neighborhood.

This time, I saw a spinner rack to the left of the entrance way behind the open door... I guess it had never occurred to me to turn around... and I made a bee line for it. I'm sure there would've been a sprinkling of DC, Marvel, Gold Key, and Archie titles but it was Worlds Finest #240 I picked up to thumb through. I had just hit the midway point when Mr. Wallace's voice boomed across the room, "This ain't no library, ya' know!!"  I'm sure he was joking (in fact my Dad was kind of laughing at the situation) but it sure sounded pretty serious to my 9-year old ears. I quickly closed the issue and gave it to Dad to purchase... and I'm glad he did. 

"How Do You Kill a Superman?" written by Bob Haney, pencils by Dick Dillin, and inks by John Calnan opens with Superman acting out-of-character and Batman having to break into The Fortress of Solitude to interact with the people in the bottled city of Kandor. Plot twists and more action ensues and they finally find out the mastermind behind it all was a purple sentient Zirkonian cat... (so it's a 40+ year spoiler... get over it!) 
I collected books regularly so after that... Batman, Justice League, Davedevil, Marvel Team-Ups, Fantastic Four, Star Wars, and more but none had the high esteem of World's Finest #240.

Batman breaks into The Fortress of Solitude. Click to bigify.

My interest in collecting comics waned as I got older and moved toward drumming. Purchasing gear isn't cheap ya' know! Somewhere along the way, my official first comic got lost in the shuffle and that should've been the end of the story. 

Flash forward to 2012.

I had just bought my first piece of original comic artwork and was trying to decide what to get next. The only piece I could think of (and also somewhat affordable) would be something from ​World's Finest #240. A quick search led me to a collector (we'll call him JA) who had a page from the issue complete with creator notes on it... in fact, this was THE page that I envisioned when I thought of the issue. It wasn't for sale but I sent a note to say how much I admired his piece and to contact me if he EVER wanted to part with it. I told him how my Dad had bought me #240 and it turns out that his Dad bought him his first comic, Batman #259, and that he owned a page of the original artwork. Well, that should've been the end of the story. ​

Flash forward to 2017.

I sent check-in message to JA just asking how he was and if he had changed his mind about selling the original artwork to World's Finest #240. 
Nothing had changed and that should've been the end of the story.

Flash forward to 2018.

I get a surprise message from JA stating that he's selling off some pieces to cover a new piece he had just purchased. He made an offer, I quickly accepted, and next thing I know I'm standing at the frame store giving them meticulous handling instructions. 

The piece as it arrived...

...and it hanging on the wall in the studio.

As you can imagine, this piece has a lot of sentimental value to me and JA even mentioned that he was glad to see it go to a good home. It's a true full circle moment for me every time I look at it... it makes me think of Dad and how his 30 cents bought me a lifetime of enjoyment that I now share with my little one.