Dan(not
his real name)'s sister was in my class in 8th grade, and she found out
I liked comic books. "My brother collects those," she said, and gave
him my number. Dan had been a regular reader for several years before
I ever discovered comics, and he was a couple years older than I was, so
he had a head start and I regarded him as a wise sage. This was back
in the days when continuity mattered in the Marvel Universe. That
made things trying for new readers who weren't up on all the history, but
the experience was that much more interesting for it.
Dan filled me in on a lot of the back story of events I had missed out on so that, for example, I could understand just why Ms. Marvel hated Rogue even though they were both supposed to be the good guys. (Correct answer: Back when Mystique had Rogue working with the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Rogue permanently stole Ms. Marvel's super strength and ability to fly thereby leaving Ms. Marvel without powers until she was kidnapped by the Brood who performed medical experiments on her until she gained a new set of superpowers through a connection to a white hole after which she teamed up with the Star Jammers and traveled the galaxy.)
Dan and I were only in high school together for a year before he graduated, and while we never hung around together much while he was there, we talked on the phone off and on for several years until I got away from comic books. I also used to see him at church since both our families went to the same (read: only) Catholic one in our redneck (read: Baptist) part of the world.
He ended up going to the same college as I started off at, and he stopped by my dorm one day to say hi and welcome me on my first semester there. I don't remember running into him again after that, though I knew he was working on a degree in education.
