Comic collecting is such a serious pursuit these days, what with mylar bags and backing boards and acid-free boxes and hermetically sealed "slabs," it's hard to believe there was once a time we were encouraged to write in our comics or even cut them up for coupons, paper dolls or desktop dioramas.

Don't tell anyone, but I had a friend who -- gasp! -- would roll a comic into a tube, shove it in the back pocket of his jeans, then hop on his bike and ride off with a THPPPPPP! sound from the baseball card held between the spokes of the front wheel with a wooden clothes pin.

What can I say, we were dumb kids. Some of us even took our Star Wars figures out of the box and (get ready) played with them, instead of hanging them on a pegboard and waiting for eBay to be invented.

Ah well, anyway, in celebration of those simpler times, here's a word puzzle to while away the idle moments. If you want to fill it out, I'd advise printing it instead of writing on your screen with a Sharpie. I'm not that crazy.