It was Thursday morning at the 2000 Comic Con International - San Diego, and I was walking the floor before the auditorium opened. Mark beckoned me over to a table where he was shopping, "Hey, have you ever tried these guys?" He then proceeded to haphazardly pull a copy of ACTION COMICS #252, containing the first appearance of Supergirl, out of a long box. "How can you pass that up?" He asked. As it turned out, I couldn't--and moments later, I also pulled up this copy of BRAVE AND THE BOLD #28 priced at a paltry $75.00. I'd been attending conventions as a pro for a decade at that point, but it had never occurred to me to do any serious shopping on the first day - and, especially not before the hall opened - until Mark opened my eyes. Of course that would be when the best bargains could be found.
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #28 is likely the seminal comic book in terms of the formation of organized comic book fandom. There had been a growing movement before the ads for this issue, starring the all-new Justice League of America, started cropping up across the DC line. But it was the JLA that brought the hardcore super hero aficionados together. Not markedly long afterwards, Jerry Bails and Roy Thomas began their fanzine ALTER-EGO, and fandom flourished - leading, over time, to conventions like the one at which I purchased this book.
On a more minor note, this was the first time that Aquaman appeared on a cover, despite having been around consistently since 1941.
This is why it pays to know Mark Waid.