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WATERLDO CHRONICLE - Wednesday. lune 22. 201 t - I V . .. . . ) t . V , V ‘ ‘ V V ‘ . Hal llzlxb Ii) llll; (.l IRON l(.l.l: Dustmg off . Free amng light. and if people can afford a car informed before blindly si in a l p comes and groceries. they can afford to pay petition â€" which I trust megly gill . . ‘ 1 at a high cost for some their way for parking rather than treat with the respect it deserves e c aSSICS 1 Re: petitions protectlng proposed asking others to subs ize them. Searching the internet for the l charges for downtown m ~ Many of the comments on the phrase The High Cost of Free Park- he Silver Surfer. my all-time favourite comic book hero. petitions show an alarming lack of mg" is a good place to start. Tonoe said: 'Paradise unearned is but a land ofshado'ws.” very work day in the summer 1 understanding. if” M 5mm” In the shadows. incidentally, is exactly where my comic Ewe mush the downtown to from the people. Where did that Gleam book collection has been tucked away for the past 20 years _ and from work. and walk the person think the money for the 1°“ WW stashed in a boxin my basement. > same trip in winter. often stopping in “or?“ from 9°"? _, . ‘ ' ' -~ But I recently rescued my long-neglected comics from the the plazaatthe new dty square I couldn ‘, afford to 5h°P he“ » ' , shadows after a visit to Carry-0n Comics and Books. 'Free It is thus with some dismay that But_they re dnvmg a car downtown. f: .1 ' -. " :. Comic Book Day." filled me with nostalgia for the likes of the I‘ve been watching people in the paying hundred 0f don?!“ a month , ‘ ~ ': . ‘ - * :3 Teen Titans, Justice League of America and the incomparable supermarket signing the petition already for dnvmg. ’21: ‘ ' 3‘ * i X-Men. protesting the proposed fee for . By‘plannmg and perhaps reduc- : " ' ' 3:51;; , 2:? Rediscovering dozens ofold and obscure titles in my collec- downtown parking. mg trips. the cost of parking would » <- 9.5..) g. 7 ~ ' .; g x a tion _ from “a“ and the Sky Gods to 'nirok Son of Stone to Parking is a city responsibility. be minimal (tens of dollars a f3 " 7 " *“‘ .: ; ; '3.» Kamandi'l‘he Last Boyon Earthâ€"lwascurious to learn more funded through taxes. The petition mom” , _ y We“ is? ”a” - 3"" 4 about the history and present-day value of my comics So i is effectively asking me. a non-driv- Busmesses are being short-stght- a". ’ 7 3??? “an“ toted my box 0f 0V“ 200 comics in '0 Carryâ€"0n Comics 80d er. to sign to agree that I support my ed by promoting car drmng at the ff. -"“"'i"f" f ‘ “ ‘ 1" I? 5"?" 1'." Books. hoping store owner Andy Brast could shed some light taxes being used to pay for parking ”pens" 9f walk?” and cyclists ~ '1 ‘13“ ”a“ 1;"?2“ “3:3. ’ 3.2, on my collection. ’ for drivers. and to help the business (where ?d'd the bicycle "Wk-$80 ~’7"’""3‘?“"Z‘V“vf’"t 7‘CW' “You have some pretty cool comics here. that's for sure.” of the supermarket. recently). who have the option srm- ‘.‘ Witwf W‘W*"'M;§;3§~,fl? said Brest. pulling out my issue of 0.1. Joe No. 21. “This is the l, of course. have not signed. ply "’59 “ng“? '0 5h°P‘ . like? W*$e*0;’.a $2.3. 1. silent issue. There’s no words and it’s one of the first comics to People signing the petition Dnvrng '5 going to get more (“R 4‘ 32?“; C???“ 5”““2': «33123., ever do that. it‘s also the first appear- _______. ' objecting to a cost ofa few ofdollars cult as the “w becomes more Wriv‘!"&"~"l ’Sfi'm‘ag ance ofStom'i Shadowâ€"a really Pol" \ ~ r . . to park. often buy non-essential crowded. and things need to “" “it“: '§?V1‘”““3”5“’,‘:., ’41?" ularcharacter." \l “t l {\l l .l 5 items (pop. chips. etc.) costing way change. We need to spend taxes on ” it}? .. L7 . “!€.j‘fl£“ g3?" Aft" taking a moment ‘0 peruse l 3 l \ morethan their parking would. more '."‘P°“a"‘. infrastructure than i “F. ,‘...““I’”."i‘1‘"f ,. . flit; : my well-wom issue ofG.l. loe No. 21. ‘ ‘ l)ri\ing is an expensive luxury. as subsrdized parking. . - . 1- J “L: ', ‘ '* '. ~1.’,v:;.vr;«‘r=ijt:§g Brast continued. the debates around the LRT high- Hopefully people wrll become l w “it's gone up to $45 in mint condi- ’ tion," he said. looking through a copy ‘ of the Overstreet Comic Book Price 4- -‘- ' Guide. .1 ' w , 01118 regr e S HBVBI' go away “Toobadvoudidn'uakecmom ~ l but even with the bends and creases l ather's Day has always been a little strange for sages pouring over the internet something struck it W0uld still be a five or six dollar ‘ l F me. For quite a few years. I harboured a certain me. GOING" * ' bitterness towards it. I can't thank my father for making me the man i Unlike me. Brast took meticulous it has been 35 years since my father died. 1 was 17 am today. I can't thank him for teaching me how to care of his comics when he was growâ€" MARSHALL years old. Let's remember that put us smack in the be a dad. He didn't Show me how (0 build things. OY ing “P in Germany. WARD middle of the 19705 and. like most teenagers of the how to fix stuff. Or what career steps I should take. “Some might call it ‘being anal." time. I Was rebellious. even to the point of . Any advice he gave me before he died Brast said with a laugh. hostility towards any member of the older was ignored. Because I was a kid. and I “I was a collector since the age of six and had quite the col- generation. l ) l l i l l l l knew it all. lection by the time we moved to Canada.” ‘ The fact my father was much older [if ll l R Kl" He died before we had the oppor- His own personal collection is what Brast first used to stock than most of my friend's dads didn't help. ‘ tunity to build an adult relationship. his store shelves, 20 years ago. “I sold everything] had. [fl had- - 1 He also travelled a lot. so i didn't see 1" And i didn't grow up fast enough to n't.lwouldbeamillionaire." ‘ i him much. He was diagnosed with cancer " t it? realize how selfish. pig~headed and I asked Brast ifhe has ever seen an issue of Spider-Man No. l when l was about 12. i remember he was Q 5 stupid I had been. 1. an extremely rare comic that always captured my imagina- l sick for five years. but not a whole lot else. ‘ 3 l was only 21 when we had our firm tion as a Child. l which would suggest we had a close rela- l at" ? daughter. i remember telling myself I “last year. a friend owned one and asked me to sell it for ' tionship. . ‘2; would be a better father I would be him. and i sold it the first weekend i had it," said Brest. ‘lt was I've talked to a lot of men in my age ‘s involved in my kids' lives. I would con- the first comic lever sold for over $10,000.1t was pretty cool.” group who had similar experiences with ‘ . :5 nect with them. And I did. But that did- He added. “Spider-Man's first appearance isn't in Spider- their dads. Except most of them had the 1 7 . n't make me better than my father. it Man No. 1 though, he actually first showed up in a comic opportunity to connect with their fathers. k 93., ' just made me different. called Amazing Fantasy No. 15. it's kind of like what Action after they had left their house and started Now that i have adult children, Comics No. l is to Superman. because that's where he made their own lives and families. BRIAN Father's Day has a different take for his first appearance. and a couple of those sold this year for r l envied my wife, and the relationship BOURKE me. Instead of looking at it as a day oversl million. 1 she had with her dad, who passed away which reminds of what I never had. i “investors are looking for something other than the stock just a couple ofyears 880‘ take a moment to say thanks to my market these days. something they can hold in their hands. They became much closer as Diana went through father. Thanks for making me defend my positions. and these comics have never gone down in value. They’re sell- the same stages of parenthood. He was an integral Thanks for instilling a sense 0f responsibility '0 my ins forcmzy money 7U" “M" pan of her life and i know she aches for him at oer. family. and my community. And i apologize for my Unfortunately. “crazy money” is not what my tattered and 1 rain times. one big regret. When I had that chance. in your final well~loved comic book collection â€" from Captain Canuck to But my memories of my father are really not that moments. pigâ€"headed. stupid and stubborn. I could. Howard the Duck to The Silver Surfer â€" is worth. Brest told pleasant. I remember the conflicts we had in my n't tell you hOWl felt. me. teen years, i remember how angry I was. I love you Dad. I wish i had been man enough to But that’s OK. I told him. since I never bought comics with I wish, many times he had seen me grow up, Get say it that one time. the hope of getting rich. Paradise unearned. after all. is but a married. Be a father, I don't know if he would have land ofshadows. ‘ been proud of me, Honestly. i didn't know him that '” well. and I was too worried about myself to consider Brian Bourke. a member ofthe 105.3 K001. FM ... him. morning crew. can be reached by e-mnt‘l at Marshall Ward is a visual artist and wrestling reporter - ‘ As I looked around on Father's Day at the mes- bbourke@koolfm.mm E-mat'lis WWW?“ WhaleuIdOhotmaime.