Older Self (os): “What if?” was an old series that Marvel Comics had back in the late 80’s, when I was still collecting. It was interesting to see the alternate timelines that could have happened.

Younger Self (ys): So…. what if?

os:  I am a firm believer in that things happen when they happen in the order they have to happen. It may not have been apparent at the time, but your past determines your future. Who you are now is because of everything that has happened to you in the past. Good, bad and ugly. It all matters. If you were to go back in time and change anything, then things will turn out very differently.

ys: So what are you trying to say? There is no “What if?” That you took the correct way back then?

os: No. There’s no correct way. Life just happens around you. You make the choice, and keep going. And you keep making choices, every day, every hour, every minute, every second. And you keep going.

ys: You’re starting to scare me.

os: Oh, just humor me.There’s always “What if?”.

ys: So…. what are talking about then?

os: Well, I guess I am trying to do a few things. The main thing is still just learning everything I need to do. I want to spend time getting the procedures down, fixing up the scans, maybe coloring them in. Figure out the best way to post. Even waiting for the new software versions to come out.

ys: So you’re just stalling for time?

os: Yeah, okay, you got me. I don’t have the time like I used to, so things will take a lot longer to accomplish. But, small steps until it’s ready to go.

ys: Okay. Going back to “What if?”.

os: Let me think about it for tomorrow.

ys: Alright.

Older self (os) : So, younger self, tell me again, why are we doing this?

Younger self (ys): Well, older self, I did these comic pages because I wanted to pursue some kind of career in the comics industry. Hell, I was spending $20 a week on comics in jr high school (they were 75 cents back then in the 80’s) . I was skipping lunches so I could save the money.

os: No wonder I was so skinny back then.

ys: Yeah… anyway, I had friends who were much better artists, and some friends who were at Marvel comics. I also made some good friends at the comic store I went to (Big Apple Comics, located on west 90’s on Broadway, long gone now). I thought, I could do this, and I tried.

os: I remember. It was a good experience.

ys: And it should not be confined to a box in the attic, or basement, or whereever it was moved to over the years.

os: I agree. This work represents about 8 years of trying, from 1982 to 1990, from high school through college. And then the real world hit.

ys: We can play “What If”.

os: Next post. Save it for the next post.

ys: Okay. See you later.

os: Later.