A Transitional Period
John Bell categorizes the Canadian Silver Age as coming to an end in 1988 when the black and white comics market collapsed. I, on the other hand, have long looked at the publication of the first issue of Drawn &…
Comic Book Daily
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Comic Book Daily
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
brian Campbell
Dr. brian Campbell is an Anthropologist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His PhD research focused on the used-goods trade in Halifax. Dr. Campbell is co-owner of East Coast Toys and Games, one of Atlantic Canada's largest eBay stores specializing in pop culture collectibles. Dr. Campbell left academia in 2019 to focus on his business. During his spare time, he researches Canadian comics that were released between 1960-1990.
Read MoreA Transitional Period
The Soul of Your Community
I mentioned a couple of months ago in my “50th Issue Spectacular” that I have found myself dismayed by the political and economic direction of Canada. To say that I have soured on this country is an understatement and my…
Free Magic Tricks
I recently became acquainted with François Bourdages. Mr. Bourdages is one of the preeminent experts on bandes dessinées québécoises (BDQ), having previously curated a museum exhibit on the subject with historian Michel Viau in 2018 at the Musée POP in…
50th Issue Spectacular Starring FreeKluck
It’s hard to believe that I have been writing Forgotten Silver for nearly five years. I have tried to stick to a monthly format, but there have been a few starts and stops during the pandemic era. In fact, due…
Spring Cleaning
Welcome back to another edition of Forgotten Silver. As regular readers know, I did not publish a new column last month. East Coast Toys and Games appeared at three major events over four weekends in late March and early April,…
Jim Somerville’s Maelstrom
The original Aircel comics from the mid-to-late 1980s are some of the best-known from the Canadian Silver Age. Barry Blair’s titles Samurai and Elflord continue to have fans more than thirty years later and other series, like Dragonring, Stark: Future,…
The World’s Toughest Milkman
David Boswell and Reid Fleming are topics that I have wanted to write about for some time. The reason why I haven’t already profiled the “world’s toughest milkman” is that I had been unable to procure a specimen of the…
Investing and Finding Value in a Down Market
Comic books and other collectibles are generally not treated as serious investments in the world of finance. However, in 2020 and 2021 they became more interesting to investors who had access to large amounts of credit and who were looking…
The Precious Legacy and A Glitch in Time
The normalization of antisemitism recently in the United States is extremely disturbing. The fact that this normalization is occurring among members of the Black community is also cause for concern. Unfortunately, the ebbs and flows of antisemitism are nothing new…
The Emergence of the Fredericton Scene at the End of the Silver Age
Greetings everyone. It’s been a long couple of weeks with Hal-Con sucking up most of my time and energy. It was the first major fan convention that Tania and I have vended at since the pandemic began. Despite the work…
A Trip to New Brunswick
Happy belated Thanksgiving to our Canadian readers! It’s good to be back after not writing a Forgotten Silver column last month. I had far too much on my plate in August and preparing for the NBAAC Flea Market in Sussex,…
Spectrum Addendum
Well, folks, I must say that I wasn’t expecting last month’s column, “A Spectrum Publications Checklist,” to receive such an enthusiastic response from readers. It obviously struck a chord. Quite a few people commented and numerous others contacted me privately…
A Spectrum Publications Checklist
When the second Canadiana auction (hosted by Walter Duralija’s eBay store, International Collectibles Exchange) ended on June 8, the talk of the comics community was the record price achieved for the first Canadian comic book, Better Comics # 1. This…
The Emergence of Comic Fanzines in Ontario in the Late 1960s
Before getting started on this month’s topic, I want to direct readers to Robin Bougie’s recently published Gutter Hunter # 2. Note that this Canadian publication is NSFW and Bougie calls it “The adults only guide to the history’s wildest…
“Captain” George and the Emergence of Comic Fandom During the Early Canadian Silver Age
The notion that comics could be collectible and worthy of critical study emerged in North America, somewhat organically, during the mid-to-late 1960s. The advent of comic book shops, comic conventions and comic fanzines all came to fruition during this decade.…
An Overview of Original Comics Published by Les Éditions Héritage
When I think about bandes dessinées québécoises (BDQ) from the early 1970s, the main collecting strain that comes to mind involves original content that was part of the “Springtime of Quebec Comics.“ The majority of these comics were comedic and…
Cartoon Charlie and Elmer the Safety Elephant
For the past few months, I have focused on a handful of bizarre, low-quality “gutter” comics from the 1980s. This has been a fun exercise for me, but I think it is time to break things up with something completely…
Hell for Leather
Despite last year having many starts and stops, including my personal hiatus (and a wider hiatus by our research group), Dan, Victor and I were able to uncover about a dozen “new” comics from the Canadian Silver Age that we…
The Synthetic Assassin
One of the most disheartening things about collecting and researching independent comic books from the late 1980s is knowing that the market collapsed before the decade ended. The simplest explanation of the crash is that the sheer volume of mediocrity…
Gutter Hunting After an Extended Hiatus
It’s been a while. My hiatus lasted a bit longer than I originally planned. It was a rough summer. In August, my mother-in-law fell down the stairs and broke her neck. She is doing well in her recovery (far better…