Why this and why now?

    I first came across After Dark magazine some time in the 70s when the covers became eye-catching and the content slightly scandalous--to me, at least.   It was a look inside a whole other world from the Iowa midwest life I had.    Music, theater, art and an urban lifestyle that hasn't been seen since.  You never knew who or what you'd find inside.   It all seemed very adult and exotic.

    But time and all of us moved on and I'd forgotten about it until I'd be rummaging in a box of old things and there would be one or two issues that I'd kept because I liked the cover or an article inside.  And then came Ebay.

    Suddenly, I could regain lost issues that I'd enjoyed and what's more; earlier issues that I'd never seen.   And at dirt-cheap prices back then.   After all, Ebay was still unknown and people were still figuring out how it worked.   So I would get an issue or two and enjoy that nostalgic feeling of a trip down memory lane.   And then someone would be unloading multiple issues and still at rock-bottom prices so I'd get those.   Before you knew it, I might as well try to get all the issues for a certain year since I had most of them and then it was, "Why not collect them all?"   Especially the early ones I'd never seen, let alone read.   And it was a good thing I'd started early, because somehow Ebay became the go-to market for all kinds of dealers who charged such outrageous prices that I'm sure some of them are using Ebay to launder money.   Magazine issues that I'd gotten at 5 dollars for multiple issues are now going for 25 for a single and in some bizarre cases 250 dollars.    I don't know that anyone is buying at that price but once it starts, everyone else follows along.   Which is odd in itself, because it doesn't really look like people are buying them.

So until prices get reasonable, I have to make do with the fact that I got almost all the issues, except for very early ones that don't seem to show up for sale anyway.

But I thought I would post these covers because I love the graphics.   And hey, maybe someone else would like them.   Because who doesn't like some glamour in life?