Bill Reinhold, Badger issue 9 page 15 (1983)

This page almost was lost before it arrived - it was packed in a box with a number of books and, after removing the books, I threw the box and the white peanuts packing material away. Within an hour I realized what I had done and raced down to the basement of my building, where the garbage was being bagged for pickup. I grabbed the box and found this page about 15 minutes before it would have been on its way to landfill.

This close call made me think about the nature of collecting, as I had briefly contemplated that I had inadvertently thrown the page away and it would be lost forever. Why do I collect Badger (I think I have the largest collection out there)? The pages are not expensive and do not appreciate in value. I am aware I will not make money if I eventually sell them. The book is well plotted and written, yet it has never been celebrated as much as its First Comics 1980s contemporaries Nexus and American Flagg! (nor as much as Grimjack, Dreadstar or John Sable Freelance).

So why do I collect these pages? I think it's a combination of nostaglia, amusement, belief in the importance of Badger, ability to buy and collect them inexpensively, and appreciation of the zany zeitgeist in the series. Mike Baron has said it many times, but following the success of Nexus, Capital Comics asked him for a superhero proposal. As he was thinking about the nature of being a "hero," it came to him that a person would have to be insane to put on a costume and fight crime. And Badger is insane, so he doesn't really fight crime but instead tries to right wrongs as he experiences them. This was a very early deconstructioning of the nature of heroism, several years before the Watchmen came out.

While Badger is the star, there is only so much of his fighting that can be interesting. The secondary characters and plot lines are really what brings out the "charm" of the book, and makes Baron's offbeat humor work. So on this page:

"Beige or Olive? Tell me now, sir, or you are no true friend. Speak."

Badger chose beige.