That’s my copy of the Watchmen trade paperback, a first printing from 1987. It’s actually one of my prized possessions. Not because it’s in mint condition which it isn’t. Not because it’s autographed by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons because neither man has ever laid eyes on this particular copy of the book. This book has been with me everywhere in the last 20 years.
It’s been in:
- Palos Heights, IL
- Dekalb, IL
- Grand Rapids, MI (2 dorm room and 3 different apartments)
- Bowling Green, OH
- Toledo, OH
- Downers Grove, IL
- Aurora, IL
- Bartlett, IL
It’s old, beaten up, scratched up and has even survived one fire. When I was a freshman at Northern Illinois University, I loaned the book to a friend of mine a few doors down from me. One Friday night, when a lot of people were in my room, the fire alarm in the building went off. When we opened the door to the hallway, we could easily tell where the fire was because we could see it around the door; it was in my friend’s room. We all evacuated the building and the fire department showed up. An hour or so later, we were able to go back upstairs and survey the damage.
A still-smoldering cigarette had been thrown into the garbage can. That’s what caused the fire but luckily there was no damage other than to my buddies’ room. That’s when I realized it– he had my copy of Watchmen somewhere in that room. Luckily it was away from the garbage can and was spared too much water or smoke damage.
But over the last 20+ years, the book’s been everywhere and it shows its age. I’ve upgraded to the Absolute edition last year but still keep this one around. It’s fun and easier to read and it still just feels right.
Why am I going on and on about a lousy old book?
Today I put my original issues up on eBay. Thanks to my old trade and now the Absolute edition, these have been sitting around in longboxes for those 20 years. I don’t know if I’ve actually even looked at them other than to shift them from one box to another. With the recent Watchmen trailer, complete sets of this series are going for $100-$200 and it just seemed like the right time to part with the regular issues.
In case you haven’t realized it yet, this post is basically just a commercial to get to you click on over to eBay and bid on my books. Honestly, I don’t need them but I’d like to find them a good home with a caring collector.
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Tags: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, ebay, Watchmen