About Dennis
In 1967 I was 10 years old. I had a grade 5 teacher who read Tarzan of the Apes to the class, a chapter a day, every afternoon. I was captivated by the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs, which led to Jules Verne and on one Saturday morning while flicking the channels I discovered The Fantastic Four, Jonny Quest and The Amazing Spider-Man! That was it for me. I started asking anyone who would listen to me if they had any comic books, and lo and behold I discovered continuity and …..back issues!!
I didn’t know it at the time ,but I was smack dab in the middle of the Silver Age of Comics. The first Spider-man I bought off the stands was issue #62″The Name of the Dame is …Medusa” and Fantastic Four #76 ,”Stranded in Sub Atomica”. By this time I had garnered ASM#56 and FF# 56 as well as a couple of Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish, if I remember correctly. This was the time when the explosion in titles happened at Marvel. New titles for Iron-Man, Sub-Mariner, Nick Fury, The Hulk, Dr.Strange and The Silver Surfer were right around the corner.
I was mesmerized by the different styles these artists named Kirby, Romita, Buscema and Colan had. I also did my best to learn how to draw these amazing characters. And thus began my love of sequential art storytelling! My comics to me were an entryway into a world where my imagination could run wild. Where I learned about alliteration, and 10 dollar words that Stan Lee threw around as if it was the way you were supposed to talk.
All this because a Grade 5 teacher loved to share the gift of reading with her class. Thanks Mrs. Nethercott!