Friends…

Before everybody breaks out in a chorus of “I’ll be there for you…” let me just say, it isn’t about that kind of “Friends” this entry is about a friend of mine which I have never met and honestly don’t know if I ever will…but I do consider him a friend and a good one at that.

I buy all my backissues in the US, and having them actually delivered to Belgium is not always an easy task. A lot of US sellers just won’t send to Europe, and if you find one who will, it’s a crapshoot…will the package make it safely across the big pond, will customs get their greedy hands on it and make me pay tons of $$$ to get it back…will it actually be sent at all ? Enough to give you sleepless nights, especially when you regularly get $400 - $500 packages in the mail.

Thankfully I got lucky the day I met Chrisco37 (the 37 refers to his IQ prior to the “operation”). Like me Chrisco37 is a comic-fan, a Dr Doom fan and an original art fan. But during our many conversations we discovered we were much alike (of course, I’m better looking and more mature than him). So comics just became the common background when we discussed all kinds of topics or just blow off steam.

For the last 2 years I’ve had 90% of my purchases sent to Chrisco37’s house, where he prepares the packages for their transcontinental journey. He inspects every comic book that I’ve bought and then packs them in a bulletproof box, stands in line at the PO and makes sure I get my wares in perfect condition and he does this several times a week…Over the course of the last few years he’s sent over 3000 comic books my way.
did I mention we’ve never met ?

We became really close friends when he went through his ‘dark period’. You see Chris used to run a hotdog stand in the trailer park where he used to live, but he got into a spot of trouble with the local law enforcement and the department of Health when it was discovered he used deer meat. This wouldn’t have been that bad, had it not been for the fact that he used his AMC Pacer to kill all kinds of animal life and serve them in a crusty bun with some chow chow.



Chrisco decided he needed a change of life and asked me to become his agent
as he wanted to take Europe by storm with his “Puppetry of the penis”..

but after many (many !!) painful training sessions, Chrisco37 decided this wasn’t the life for him and decided to stay in the US after all.

So why do I suddenly feel the need to bring this unsung hero in the spotlight after all these years ? Well today my mailman delivered a package.. an unexpected package. AN early Xmas present from Chriso37….good old Bambi-killer sent me a piece of original art featuring my hero “Dr Doom”.
Check out the cool Salvatore Larocca page below….
Thanks Chris…what a friend