Comic books can become a serious habit

As a family practice physician, Dr. Jeffrey Rapp of Fremont provides all kinds of relief to area residents.

Including comic relief.

Rapp has collected comic books as far back as he can remember.

He came by his hobby naturally.

“My grandmother was an accumulator and my grandfather was a collector,” said Rapp. “My parents started buying (comic books) when I was about 3.”

He recalled Superman, Superboy, X-Men and Spider-Man. He enjoyed the dilemmas of the Turok comics, where the heroes were lost in a valley of dinosaurs.

“They couldn’t find a way out,” said Rapp.

The Jetsons were also popular in the 1960s, Rapp added.

As a youth, Rapp would buy every comic book on the stand.

“Comic books were 12 cents when I was growing up,” he said. “I spent a couple bucks each week, buying what money would allow.”

He also ordered comics through catalogs. He recalled the “infamous Howard Rogofsky,” a mail order dealer from New York.

In 1972, while growing up in Las Vegas, he found a dealer named Tom Heiner at The Friendly Neighborhood Comic Book Store. In the early 1970s he purchased the first Spider-Man comic and the first Fantastic Four comic book. At that time, Rapp said he paid just $10-$20 for those collector’s items.

“I would get the toughest ones first and then fill in,” said Rapp.

By 1978, Rapp had collected about 25,000 comic books, but his father decided the time was right to sell the collection.

That same year he restarted his collection, which he now considers older and better, but smaller.

“It still numbers in the thousands,” noted Rapp.

Rapp keeps his books away from light, in protective bags and on pulp free backing boards. He stores the collection in a variety of secured places, including safety deposit boxes. He advises collectors never to store comics in a damp area.

“Basements are a coffin for comic books,” he added.

A history buff, Rapp enjoys the historical aspect of comic books. Before comic books there were pop up books, Rapp explained.

“They were very visually appealing, quality over quantity,” Rapp said.

“The early comic books were mostly reprints,” he said.

Publishers would shrink down comics from Sunday newspapers and compile them into books.

Rapp also enjoys the artistic, meticulous covers on some of the early comic books. Lou Fine, an artist in the 1930s, was one of Rapp’s favorite illustrators.

“Those covers were full of things — like mad scientists and someone about to be injected,” Rapp said.

One of Rapp’s favorite books from the 1930s was an Action No. 1 from June 1938 — the one in which Superman debuts. It’s one book he always wanted in his collection.

One of the most unusual books is a 1939 New York World’s Fair comic book which inadvertently pictured a blonde Superman on the front cover.

World War II decreased the supply of comic books available. There were paper drives and a recycling center in Kansas City. That made the Omaha area a poor place for collectors, said Rapp.

A lot of superheroes died out after World War II. The Comics Code Authority of 1954-55 regulated content. Psychologist and author Frederic Wertham stated comics played a strong role in juvenile delinquency, explained Rapp.

“There were comic book burnings,” said Rapp.

“Comic books couldn’t be as graphic. It was the general demise of some,” he added.

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman survived.

But Captain America, Green Lantern and Blue Beetle did not.

After the code, romance books and humorous books such as Richie Rich emerged.

“Westerns persisted until the 1960s and then died out,” said Rapp.

These days, Rapp enjoys adding eclectic items to his collection.

“I still try to pick up things I never saw or never had,” said Rapp.

Rapp warns collectors to beware of restored books and impostors.

“It is still pretty hard to counterfeit a comic book — the right look and right paper,” Rapp noted.

Rapp enjoys conventions such as those held in Chicago and San Diego.

“The San Diego show (exhibit) stretches about one mile,” Rapp said.

He also has attended shows in Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. The largest comic book show in the world is held in Angouleme, France.

“There (in France) comic books are an art form,” Rapp said.

Next generation comics are thicker, more elaborate, cost more and tell a much longer story, Rapp said.

From humorous to villainous, Rapp enjoys the history behind the books as much as he likes the art and stories.

So at the end of a busy day when the clinic waiting room is empty — well, there’s always a comic book waiting.

“It’s fun for me,” Rapp said. “I have a good enough imagination to find myself elsewhere.”