Jim Steele Joins Heritage

Dallas, TX - Heritage welcomes Jim Steele as a full-time employee effective January 2, 2003. Jim has been a free-lance cataloger since May 2002, writing descriptions for the last three Signature Auctions and for the upcoming auction in March 2003.

Jim began collecting comic books in the late 1950s, just in time to enjoy all but the first few months of DC's Silver Age beginnings, and in plenty of time to buy most of the early Marvel Age issues off the rack. His collecting continued until 1965 when he graduated from high school, at which time he boxed up his collection for safekeeping. Some thirteen years later, after reading an article about the value of some of the books he had, he cataloged his collection, then utilized the books as stock for a part-time comic book dealer business that he kept going for over twenty years. He attended regional shows in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and operated his own bookstore in the early 1980s in New Mexico. His best show venue was Dallas' Fantasy Fair, where he was a fixture for over fifteen years.

For most of the past thirty years, Jim has been employed by life and health insurance companies, most recently Lone Star Life where he was Vice President of Policy Benefits from 1997-99. Throughout his working career, though, his interest in comic books and music inspired forays into collecting and dealing in comic books and other related science-fiction/fantasy media, in performing in bands, and in DJ work from radio and a club DJ, to marketing/promotional work for various bars and restaurants. In the past year, he also realized a long-time dream to become a registered massage therapist.

Other collecting passions have included recordings (both vinyl and CDs), and sports cards, primarily baseball and football cards. He also enjoys following pro and college sports, attending music concerts, and hanging out with his daughter, Alexis, and son-in-law, Gene, in Austin as often as possible. He is a native Texan, but has spent extensive time in both New Mexico and California. For the past sixteen years Jim has resided in Grapevine.

Jim can be reached by calling 214-528-3500. His e-mail address is JimSt@HeritageComics.com