Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Something Appealing, Nothing Ap-PAUL-ing...

As I have mentioned constantly on this blog -- so constantly that it's become a running joke -- I used to work at a comic shop and "pop culture emporium" called That's Entertainment in Worcester, Massachusetts. Simply put, the three years I spent there (1985-1988) as a full-time employee and de facto albeit untitled assistant manager provided my first opportunities for amateur and professional comic book publication, and more importantly, acquainted me with a few people who -- in varying degrees -- remain friends to this day.

One of those friends is Paul Howley, the owner of That's Entertainment.

Paul has been serializing his life story on a few internet locations, but unfortunately, these locations have dwindled over time. Therefore, Paul has started his own blog, My Life With Comic Books, which is re-telling his story from the beginning.

Don't let the title "fool" you, however. It is indeed a history of Paul's involvement with comic book collecting and selling, and is crammed with fascinating information about the growth of comic books as a real collectibles business, but as you read each successive chapter, you happily realize that you've been "tricked" into reading an intriguing story about a man and his family, and their friends, etc. That's why I highly recommend it, as I said above, but not only to comic book fans. The blog should provide interesting -- sometimes captivating -- reading for anyone interested in the so-called "human experience."

That may sound like I'm over-stating it, but I have the advantage of having seen over 150 chapters so far. For most of you, the ride is just beginning.

(By the way, in order to read it from the very beginning instead of whatever chapter Paul has most recently posted, you may want to click here instead. This will bring you to Part One.)

Paul Howley... kinda

Thanks for your time.

15 comments:

  1. Greetings,

    I just finished reading your friend's posting, and thanks for providing the link here.

    What struck me as I was reading is how passionate he is in his love of comic books, and how he was able to marry that interest with his own creativity and use these not only in his store, which supported him, but personally.

    I think that he is very fortunate and I enjoyed his writing and look forward to more. Thanks for sharing this.

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  2. nice. i love comic books, on my way over...

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  3. Thanks for the hot tip but it will have to wait until this evening or even the weekend.

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  4. Paul is "somewhat" successful, too, as the illustration I added to my post will show.

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  5. David,
    Thank you SO much for the nice plug about my new blog location! As you know, in hindsight, life is much more about relationships and connections than we realize it while we're living it. Having you in my life influenced me in many ways to become who I am now. (and because of you, my life is better than it would have been) Thanks for being a good friend!...Paul Howley, owner of That's Entertainment, New England's largest collectible store ...specializing in comic books, sports cards, sports memorabilia, nostalgic toys, etc.

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  6. @Paul: "Having you in my life influenced me in many ways to become who I am now?" I can only imagine! ("See that? Don't do that!")

    And what, my plug for your store wasn't enough? ;-)

    And does this mean you're "retiring" your "Cousin Saul" blogger alias?

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  7. I love that photo of Scrooge McDuck - I spent many hours as a little gal reading those comics.

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  8. I read some Disney comics as a kid -- there was SO much out there -- but it wasn't until I was a teen that I delved into comic book history and started reading about Carl Barks, the too-long-unsung hero of the Disney comic books & Uncle Scrooge's creator. Great stuff!

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  9. I've just taken a look at your friend's blog. Interesting story.

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  10. David:

    Make him retire the Cousin Saul thing! If he logs in like this more often, folks will follow him back to the blog sometimes.

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  11. ugh. we watched that Duck Tales movie about a thousand times when the kids were little. Your link sounds interesting, of course will wander over there, thx

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  12. I think Paul owes you a big favor! :)

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  13. @Betsy: Hey, Paul and I have been friends for years. We've traded enough "favors" over time so neither one of us owes the other any more. ;-)

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  14. Fox, Thanks for the heads-up. I'm on my way over... -Jayne

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