One of the latest controversies involves comments/observations made by Mark Waid and Rob Liefeld about the quality of comics produced today versus comics created years ago.  One school of thought is that if we get too wrapped up in nostalgia, we miss out on all the great things happening in the here and now.

I totally get it. I would tend to agree. And I’m saying this as Ed Catto, a teacher, an artist, a writer, and also the editor-in-chief of RetroFan Magazine. The irony isn’t lost on me.

But at the same time, I see two purchasing opportunities that have popped up – and I’m not talking about Amazon Prime Days. These are both fueled by nostalgia.

Exhibit #1 is Wayne Manor. It’s for sale! It turns out that the home used in the Batman 1996 TV series for establishing shots of Wayne Manor is for sale. It’s not in Gotham City, however – it’s in Pasadena.

And as you can imagine, all the usual jokes follow. Does it include the Batcave below? Does it come with Alfred the butler? The list goes on and on.

But like imagining if one wins an absurdly large lottery, it IS fun for Bat-fans to daydream for a just a moment about owning this property.

(And for anyone keeping track, in the current DC mythology, a bad guy, Vandal Savage, has bought Wayne Manor and lives there now. Bruce Wayne now lives in Pennyworth Manor.)

Exhibit #2 is the 1971 six foot Superman “peace sign” poster. This one is glorious! It was illustrated by THE Superman art team (for me, anyways)- Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson. I assume that Murphy also colored it. It was created by a firm called Poster Prints of Plymouth Square Center, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. I don’t know much about this company, but I’d love to learn whole the story behind it all. This was thirty years before DC Direct, of course.

I wish I still had mine, as it’s selling for a pretty penny at a Southeby’s auction.

As a kid, I hounded my dad when I saw the ads in various DC comics.  He acquiesced and bought me the six foot poster and gifted my younger brother, Colin with the smaller poster. (Colin liked comics, but he wasn’t quite as into them as me.)

It was glorious. To me, it was like being gifted Mona Lisa. And being able to hang it in your bedroom! At that time, I kind of knew who the artists were and I loved their style. I couldn’t imagine I’d meet them both at ITHACONs years later, and later even develop a friendship (which I treasured) with Murphy.

Before this beauty found a “permanent” place in my room, I remember bringing it into my second grade class at Herman Ave. My teacher at that time,  Mrs. Beardsley, was the most gorgeous teacher ever, and her beauty, charm, and patience captivated every one of us in that class. (I think this story is about her patience.) This poster was so incredible, that it seemed like a no brainer that we’d hang it up (even if just for one day) on the chalkboard right in the middle of the classroom front wall. I am astounded that she said “yes” to my goofball request and actually hung it up on the chalkboard.

I guess I thought everyone would love it as much as I did. I’m not sure if the rest of the class did, but I’m STILL glad I brought it in for a day.

The companion piece (Colin’s poster) sells for a quite a bit too.  Check out this Antiques Boutique poster posting – it’s for sale for $1,400.

I think it’s important that we don’t let the past keep us from enjoying the present.  But…can you imagine buying Wayne Manor and then putting that Superman poster in the living room? How cool would that be?