One year ago today I walked into a comic shop and purchased Hawkeye #1. I’d never read, let alone purchased, a single issue comic before, but I enjoyed the character of Hawkeye in The Avengers and the gorgeous, striking cover had been popping up all over my feeds for weeks.



When I got home I sat on my couch and read it. Then I flipped back to the beginning and read it again. “This is fantastic!” I thought, “Are all comics like this? Have I been missing out on something amazing all these years?”



So I started doing some research and buying more comics. I dug through dusty unorganized long boxes hunting for old gems. I discovered writers and artists whose work I couldn’t get enough of. For every comic I read I was discovering another that I wanted to read. I discovered amazing communities of people who have insightful, hilarious, touching, and/or infuriating things to say about this unique medium.



So now it’s a year later. I have a shop I visit every Wednesday where the clerks know my name and the manager slips me free posters and variant covers that he thinks I’ll like. My collection has grown from one single issue to over 1800 items stored in twelve lovingly organized short boxes.



Hawkeye #1 is still the star of my collection. Even though I’ve found few issues that grab me that way that one did I’m happy to have found my way into this terrific multiverse.