Awhile back I started the Canadian Comic Fan Project, posting the names of fans who appeared in old comic books. When I come across a Canadian letterhack in these old comics, I always wonder if they are still around and if they remember being a comic book fan. Do they still care about the superhero adventures and Archie jokes they loved as a kid? Do they have nostalgia for the comics of the past? Did they maybe grow-up to become comic book writers or cartoonists? I always ask, "where are they now?"
You will hopefully be only slightly less excited than I to learn that earlier this week I got my first answer!
Hello Bryan...I was googling around and did a search for my own name (Roy Bishop) in Hamilton, Ontario. To my surprise I stumbled onto your website.
Years ago when I was about 12 I joined the Archie Fan Club. I wrote to them and gave them a short blurb of how much I liked their TV show on saturday mornings. They published my comments in one of their comic books and I won a cash prize of $1.00...yee ha! Well, jump ahead about 38 years to now. I still have the letter and envelope they sent to me and my original copy of Archie #191. It's one of my childhood joys.
They also spelled my street address incorrectly but no problem. Even today my brother and his wife live at [the same address]. I am still in Hamilton about 5 minutes from the home I grew up in.
I wrote to a pen pal who lived in England because of my mention in that comic. We wrote letters for a few years afterwards.
Bryan, Thanks a bunch for putting my name and address on your webpage. It brings back many good memories.
Have a great day. Roy Bishop.
Thanks for writing Roy! It's wonderful to know that the Archie penpal club actually led to some international correspondence in the days before the interweb!
