Ed Gosney's Blog, page 40

More DC Rebirth & Digital Reading is Out of Control!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 70, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

 

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 70…

 

Cool comics in my collection #389: Justice League: Rebirth #1 (Walmart Variant), October 2016.

This week sees more coverage of my Walmart DC Rebirth variant finds, and we start off with the big guns, the Justice League. When I bought these 3-packs, I had no idea what the Rebirth concept entailed, and that it still related (at least somewhat, from what information I was able to find) to the New 52. Which still leaves me pretty much in the dark, since I hadn’t been reading any comics newer than 2003 since, well, 2003. So just what is going on? Superman seems to be dead, but Clark, Lois, and their young son Jon are alive and well, and Lois and Clark have a discussion about whether or not Clark should become this world’s Superman. Interesting stuff, along with a couple Green Lanterns I’d never seen before. Also, and I know it’s been for a few years now (from what I’ve seen as a none reader), but Cyborg is a Justice League member and has a larger role in the DCU than back in the days of the New Teen Titans. Fun stuff, and just maybe I’ll read more of these via comiXology. The cover price of Justice League: Rebirth #1 is $2.99, while the current value is $5.

 

Cool comics in my collection #390: Batman #1 (Walmart Variant), September 2016.

The Walmart 3-packs included both the Batman: Rebirth issue (see Episode 69 of Cool Comics) and the first issue of the ongoing Batman comic in the age of Rebirth, which is great for collectors. This first issue is packed with action, as a commercial airliner is hit with a missile as it’s flying over Gotham, and the expected crash site is filled with people. Under ordinary circumstances, you’d expect Batman to call in Superman, but Clark isn’t home, so Batman has to attempt to save the day. This is a fast-paced, hold-your-breath story that shows lots of promise for the Rebirth of DC Comics. It’s usually easy for the supernaturally powerful heroes with the ability of flight to save the day, so it makes it all the more hair-raising when someone like Batman is the only hero in town. These are the plot devices that Bruce Wayne may not like, but readers do. Pick this one up if you want to be entertained. The cover price of Batman #1 is $2.99, while the current value is $5.

 

Recently Read Digital Comics

 You may have noticed a slight name change for this section, which now better reflects what it’s been about. Digital comics have become an ingrained part of my everyday existence. So much so that when I saw a 10.1-inch Android tablet on sale for $80 this week, I bought it. My trusty old Asus Transformer EEE Pad’s operating system is just too old to download the latest apps, and since I’ve become serious about the digital reading experience, I needed something newer. I didn’t need a $500 BIG NAME BRAND tablet, but something that I could easily read comics on, and my new Insignia works great with all the apps, including the Amazon Prime comics via the Kindle app (which helped me get my Archie fix, and I’m also working on a huge Peanuts book that I downloaded for free as a Prime member!). The selection is small right now, but if you’re a Prime member, you should check out the new section called Prime Reading, as it also includes magazines.

Anyway, back to the comics. A couple weeks ago comiXology offered “Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Last Iron Fist Story,” for free, which is always cool when a collection containing six issues doesn’t cost you a penny. Where the problem comes in is that the story was so gosh-darned good that I’ll eventually have to shell out money so I can continue the series! I don’t know if they gave it away in anticipation of the Iron Fist Netflix series releasing in March, but maybe they’ll do a big Iron Fist push when it comes out.

 

When you have the comiXology app and you’re testing it out, you tend to download some of the free comics so you can see what the experience is like. And free is always a good choice. Now in my house, cryptozoology is taken seriously, because bigfoot, Nessie, and jackalopes really exist (okay, we don’t really believe it, but wouldn’t it be cool?). So when I saw Bigfoot #1, I immediately purchased it. For free. I decided to finally read it this week, and discovered it was written by Rob Zombie, which was kind of cool. What I didn’t realize until I got to some certain panels is that Bigfoot #1 has a 17+ age rating. Part of the reason I read comics is for the fun adventures, and part of the reason is because they make me feel like a kid again, and when you’re on the “other” side of 50, it’s fun to reclaim your youth. Anyway, some of the adult themes in this comic disappointed me, because I figured if I liked it I would purchase the remaining three issues in this series. Not going to happen now.

 

In one of my Marvel Blu-Ray movies there was a little paper that had a code in which you could download three comics from the Marvel app, and I believe that Invincible Iron Man #1 happened to be one of them. I can’t be sure because after I got the three comics into my app, I tossed the paper away. But regardless of how I got this comic, I’m glad I did, because it was enjoyable and reminded me of the Robert Downey Jr. version of Iron Man. This is a 2015 comic, and I’m enjoying seeing the direction both Marvel and DC have taken recently. I know I always say here that I’m a Seventies comic guy, and I still am, but if a story is good, then it’s good!

 

Archie #4 and #5 where part of my Amazon Prime Reading comics that I downloaded for my Kindle app, and they looked great on my new tablet. This modern approach to Archie is probably more relevant for the character in the 21st century, but it’s still Archie and Jughead and the rest of the gang. But the storyline is more serious, the art is very appealing, and the writing is great. Riverdale premieres on The CW this week, and it will be interesting to see how the ratings go and if comic sales increase with Archie back on the small screen (I loved the old cartoons when I was a kid).

DC Rebirth Discoveries!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 69, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 69…

 

Cool comics in my collection #387: The Flash #1 (Walmart Variant), August 2016.

This past weekend I was doing some shopping with the wife, and she was looking for some particular sale items at Walmart. She’d found what she was looking for at the local Walmart, so we decided to see if they had more at a couple of their other stores that weren’t too far away. At the third one, I found this! I’d read some comments about these Walmart Exclusives in a comic book forum, but I’d never seen them at our local store. Now I retired from buying new comics back in 2003, but at the opportunity to pick up some of these Rebirth comics, I made an exception. And it’s not like I’m buying them monthly. This issue came out in the summer. I’ll periodically cover more of those Walmart exclusives here in Cool Comics, but decided to start with The Flash since I am a fan of the TV show and have always enjoyed speedsters (wishful thinking, I guess). I enjoyed reading this issue and am definitely interested in reading more. I did see that you can buy the first six issues of most of these Rebirth series comics in digital format from Amazon and comiXology. Just $9.99, from what I saw. But it was fun holding this new iteration of Barry Allen in my hands. The cover price of Flash #1 is $2.99, while the current value of this variant is $5.

 

Cool comics in my collection #388: Batman: Rebirth #1 (Walmart Variant), September 2016.

This issue is another Walmart Variant I picked up via the shopping scenario above. When I was a child, Batman was THE man. He was my hero big time. Or at least the Adam West version from the campy TV show. I think most people my age who watched it absolutely loved this version of Batman. As far as the comics were concerned, the only few I bought during my childhood in the Seventies were the 100 pagers. I liked Batman okay, but preferred to shell out my money to Spider-Man, Captain America, and several other Marvel characters. DC wasn’t my cup of tea, you could say. Now I was a fan of Super Friends and the live action Shazam!, but when it came to comics, I didn’t buy any DC regularly until a short stint in the Eighties when I was in college. When 1993 rolled around and Superman “died” in his battle with Doomsday, I gained interest in DC heroes again, and really started reading and learning more about this rich tapestry of tight wearing superheroes. If you have any interest in Batman, then you’ll probably want this Batman: Rebirth comic, and any ongoing series featuring Bruce Wayne. I enjoyed it, and just may end up reading more (via digital comics, more than likely) in the near future. The cover price of Batman: Rebirth #1 is $2.99, while the current value of this variant is $5.

 

Recently Read

 The flexibility and ease of digital comics has given me lots of reading options, not to mention great sale prices. Whether you make your purchase at comiXology or Amazon, you can read the with the comiXology app and read each panel individually, which reduces eye strain. Several times a week I’ll take a look to see what’s on sale, and when collections hit the $2.99 mark, it’s really hard to resist. In December, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol. 1: The Coulson Protocols, was offered via Amazon for just $2.99. You read that right. I bought the first six issues of this series for just $2.99. Consider that the current Amazon price is $10.99, and that through comiXology it’s $17.99. Maybe you don’t give a hoot about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (if you watch the TV show, you may have an interest in reading this, but there are differences), but the point is that awesome collections are being offered on sale every week, and sooner or later they’ll have something you want to read. As you know, my heart resides in the Seventies, and earlier this week I bought Marvel Masterworks Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 of the Black Panther for just $4.99 each (a total of 673 pages!). I know it’s great to hold comics in your hands, and I know it’s cool to have comics that are valuable, but digital editions give us a chance to read issues we might never be able to purchase in hardcopy.

Power Man, Iron Fist, & Golden Age Cap!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 68, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 68…

 

Cool comics in my collection #385: Power Man #37, November 1976.

If you’ve watched the Luke Cage series on Netflix, I envy you. Obviously, I’m a bit behind on some shows. Matter of fact, I still have two episodes left of the first season of Daredevil! Yet it’s kind of fun knowing that I have some great shows yet to watch. And in the meantime, until I get to them, the comics are what truly matters, because without them, the shows wouldn’t exist. Of course, this is a Seventies comic, my favorite era, the period I grew up, and comic books were right there by my side, helping guide my way to geekdom. I didn’t buy Power Man when it originally came out (I know, MISTAKE!), but I grabbed some back issues, such as this one, during my third collecting phase when I was living in Atlanta, Georgia, serving in the Army. I did have a few Fantastic Four issues that guest-starred Cage in the Seventies, but now I wish I’d bought all the issues of his series. The cover price of Power Man #37 is 30 cents, while the current value is $10.

 

Cool comics in my collection #386: Iron Fist #1, September 1996.

The initial run of Iron Fist, from 1975 to 1977, consists of just 15 issues. I have three of them, and hope to someday have more, but they don’t come cheap (I may have to get digital issues to read, which is a very nice alternative). My idea this week was to pair up Power Man and Iron Fist without an actual Power Man and Iron Fist comic (look for more of these issues in future episodes), so I dipped into the first issue of this even shorter (2 issue) series that came out in 1996. And you know why, don’t you? That’s right, Iron Fist releases on Netflix in March! Now I really have to catch up so I can see another of my favorites in action. Danny Rand and Luke Cage have some cool adventures as solo heroes, but we love them best when they are together, and in September, The Defenders is scheduled to air, bringing all the Marvel Netflix heroes together. They may not be as powerful as The Avengers, but I’m sure this will be a great show to watch. The cover price of Iron Fist #1 is $1.50, while the current value is $4.

 

Recently Read

I purchased the Kindle version of Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America #1, for the measly price of $5.38. Plus tax. The hardcover version of this would have cost $50, and $30 for the trade paperback. If I had been alive back in the Forties and bought all four issues when they came out, I would have paid just 40 cents. And the value of those 4 issues today? $487,500! And if I owned those issues, I’d probably never dare to touch them! And that’s why it was great to buy this digital comic for such a low price and read it on my tablet. For 10 cents, they packed the issues with several Cap and Bucky stories, and then had a couple other ongoing series of other heroes in each issue. I started reading Captain America in the early Seventies, then for a short time in the Eighties, and then off and on from 1993 to 2003. These early stories are a lot different, and if you enjoy getting the historical perspective of where your heroes came from, then I highly suggest getting this digital version.

100 Pages of The Flash and Long Box Update!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 67, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 67…

 

Cool comics in my collection #382: Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #5, November 1978.

This was the last issue of the original Firestorm comic book series. At the time this came out, I don’t know if I even bought anymore comic books at all. I believe I’d bought my last earlier in the year, and didn’t make another purchase until early in 1982. When The Fury of Firestorm came on the scene in 1982, I gave it a try and liked it, buying each new issue for several months. Then my comic book collecting came to a halt for a decade. When I started collecting again in 1993, one of my goals was to own the entire 100 issue run of Firestorm. What I found out was that a short series, just 5 issues long, came out in 1978, so of course I had to buy them also. And this is the last one. I’ve now covered all five issues here in Cool Comics. But don’t worry, fellow Firestorm fanatics, because I still have 96 issues (plus five annuals) of the 1982 series to cover here, should Cool Comics be around long enough! The cover price of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #5 is 35 cents, while the current value is $15.

 

Cool comics in my collection #383: Legion of Super-Heroes #287, May 1982.

During my second go-round of comic book reading and collecting, while I was in college, was a bit of an experiment. This issue was just my second Legion comic (I bought the one just before this), and I still didn’t know Lightning Lad from Colossal Boy, but I was trying my best to get immersed into this interesting new world of superheroes. Though I’m not really sure what drove me to give Legion a try, it may have been the colorful covers that contained heroes I’d never heard of before, but for whatever reason, I do remember that I really enjoyed reading them and learning all about Mon-El, Shadow Lass, Sun Boy, Timber Wolf, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet…you get the idea. When I think the Legion, it always transports me back to 1982 and the new friends I made at Ohio State. The cover price of Legion of Super-Heroes #287 is 60 cents, while the current value is $6.

 

Cool comics in my collection #384: The Flash #232, April 1975.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I absolutely love the 100-page issues that DC put out in the Seventies. Many great memories surround these comic books, and I can picture myself right now, sitting at the kitchen table of my childhood home, snaking on a bowl of Freakies cereal in the evening and reading the adventures of superheroes in one of these 100-page comic books. So one of my goals is to track down as many of these as I can find (and at reasonable secondary prices), and this issue of The Flash is portion of that goal being met. It seems like everyone loves The Flash these days, especially considering just how entertaining and well-done the TV show is on The CW, so I was excited to snag this issue at Kenmore Komics a few months back (with a sticker price of $8!!!). I haven’t read it yet, but no doubt in my mind it is Cool Comic worthy! Now if I can just get my hands on a box of Freakies. The cover price of The Flash #232 is 60 cents, while the current value is $65.

 

Recently Read

It’s obvious at this point that I’m hooked on digital comics. I’ve read them using comiXology, the Marvel app, the DC app, and now I’ve even explored digital comics via Kindle. Not my Paperwhite, but the Kindle app on my phone. I initially tried it with my “ancient” Asus tablet, but for some reason I couldn’t get them to open. But the other apps work great on the tablet. I’ve recently bought some great collections at low prices through Amazon, and when you link your Amazon account and your comiXology account, you can then read them through the latter, which is great. But if you are a Prime member, things changed back in October, and now magazines, comics, and more Kindle books are being offered as part of that service. I believe you have access to even more comics and graphic novels if you’re a member of Kindle Unlimited, but for now, I’m having fun exploring what I’m already paying for.

So what comics did I read on my Kindle app on my phone? Glad you asked. With the new Riverdale series on the horizon (starting January 20 on The CW – looks like a nice mix of Afterlife with Archie, Archies’s Weird Mysteries, and this newer Archie series I talk about here), I wanted to give the newer version of Archie a try. It’s written by comic veteran Mark Waid, and if you are an Archie fan, it’s worth your time to see what he’s doing with the series. Each issue is a continuation of the ongoing story, so don’t pick up somewhere in the middle, if you can help it. There are already a couple collections available covering the first 12 issues, and, as I mentioned, Amazon Prime members can borrow some of these. Currently the first 6 issues are included, and I’m hoping as time goes by they will continue adding additional issues as part of the service. ComiXology also has this series, and if you have an unlimited subscription they also have the first six issues available. Oh, and one more cool thing about the upgraded Prime Reading service: you can have up to 10 downloads of books/magazines/comics at a time. Happy reading!

 

The $20 Long Box

Last week I reported here about a long box I picked up at my local comic shop (Kenmore Komics) for just $20. It was jammed with all kinds of comic books, including Marvel, DC, Valiant, Dark Horse, Image, and more. I did a quick count that netted 421 comics, but after going through the box and tracking them on a spreadsheet by current value as indicated on www.comicbookrealm.com (see second paragraph from the top), it turns out I was two off, and there were ONLY 419 comic books. For the 419 total comics, the current listed value adds up to $1,218.70. Not too shabby! Of course, I did already own, or previously owned and read, 92 issues. So of the 327 new to my collection, the current value adds up to $943.45. These seem like big numbers, but the average price per comic book comes out to less than $3. The most expensive issue in the box was $7. Nothing earth-shattering. But the really cool part is what I paid per comic book, which comes out to just under a nickel apiece. Not to mention the hours of enjoyment I’ll have while reading them!

 

Wrapping Up 2016 with Cool Comics!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 66, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 66…

 

Cool comics in my collection #379: Thor #275, September 1978.

It’s Thor, it’s Loki, and it’s a comic from the Seventies! This is the kind of stuff I love, and you just might, too. I’ve sung my songs of praise for comics from this era a number of times here, and it won’t stop anytime soon. It’s the period I first started reading comics, and in my mind, they can do no wrong. Although you’ll notice that the price is a whopping 35 cents! My typical favorites cost a quarter, but that’s just nitpicking. Admittedly, I didn’t buy this one new, but instead out of a back-issue box in Atlanta, Georgia, in the mid-Nineties. The cover price of Thor #275 is 35 cents, while the current value is $10.

 

Cool comics in my collection #380: Batman #259, December 1974.

As we come to the end of 2016 and my last blog of the year, I have to include another 100-page DC comic. These extra thick issues contain reprint stories, but when they came out, it was the easiest, cheapest, and best way to add the older stories to your stack of comic books. This particular issue features the famous pulp character, The Shadow! I bought this at my local shop, Kenmore Komics, a few months ago, as part of my goal to eventually own all the 100 page comics that DC published. If you are a fan of Batman, this is definitely a fun one you’ll want to add to your collection. The cover price of Batman #259 is 60 cents, while the current value is $120.

 

Cool comics in my collection #381: Captain Marvel #7, November 1968.

I really like these old Captain Marvel comics when he is still sporting his green and white uniform. As much as I love the comics from the Seventies, it’s cool to have older issues, especially from the sixties, the era when I was born. If you enjoy collecting older characters and comics, your local comic shop probably has some affordable back issues. Sometimes the prices are in your range, and sometimes not, but I’m sure you can find some affordable issues to add to your collection to read and enjoy! The cover price of Captain Marvel #7 is 12 cents, while the current value is $55.

 

 

Recently Read

ComiXology has now become a regular thing for me, so I’m a digital reader as well now. I bought a few Christmas comics to read last week, which included Marvel Holiday Special 2004 and DCU Infinite Holiday Special #1 from 2006. I got a few others at low prices and will save them for next year. One of the features I like on both comiXology and the Marvel App is the archive option. Once I’ve read a digital comic, I can select for it to be archived so I don’t accidentally read it again a few years down the road when I may no longer remember! I don’t mind a rerun every now and then, but with so many out there to read, why repeat unless it’s purposeful? As for the comics, if you enjoy short features and seeing your heroes in holiday situations, these can be fun. Also, reading them on a tablet is a breeze, and I can turn off my bedside lamp, which my wife appreciates.

 

Upcoming

This past week I was at Kenmore Komics and the owner mentioned a long box completely stuffed was only $20. I snapped it up, and have found lots of cool comics I’ve never read. I’m still sorting through all of them and capturing secondary values in a spreadsheet, which I’ll report on once I’m finished. I did a quick count, and it appears that there were 421 comic books in this box, so it’s taking me a while. Do you have any cool stories about comic book finds? Feel free to share them with us below where it says, “Leave a reply.” Happy reading, and see ya next year!

 

Celebrate the Season in Super Style!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 65, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 65…

 

Cool Comics would like to wish you a Merry Christmas, and may your comic book “want” lists come true this holiday season!

 

Cool comics in my collection #376: Archie’s Classic Christmas Stories Volume I, January 2002.

I bought this back during my third phase of comic book collecting (1993-2003), and never got around to reading it until now. If you appreciate the simplicity and nostalgia of reading Archie comics, you can’t go wrong with this seasonal collection of holiday hijinks with Archie and his friends. Keep in mind that these are all reprints, from 1955 through 1964, but most of us probably weren’t buying comic books back then, so for me there were no reruns in my reading. It’s a very nice and sturdy trade paperback, with thicker pages than most comics you’ll come across, which makes it much easier reading when relaxing in bed after a hard day’s work. When the wind is bitter, the snow in your driveway piles up, and all you want to do is stay inside your nice warm home, grab a hot cup of your favorite beverage and celebrate the season, Riverdale style. The cover price of Archie’s Classic Christmas Stories is $10.95, while the current value is $12.

 

Cool comics in my collection #377: DCU Holiday Bash #1, January 1997.

‘Tis the season, right? This is my last blog before Christmas, so of course I’m giving you a lot of Yuletide cheer. DC comics has given us lots of Christmas stories over the years, and what is merrier than spending the holidays with such a colorful bunch of costumed heroes? This anthology features Batman, Catwoman, Superman, Etrigan, Green Lantern, Flash, Orion, and Highfather, to name a few. If you’re looking to build your collection of Christmas themed comic books, I’m betting that your local comic book store (mine is Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio) probably has a number of them in back issue boxes. The cover price of DCU Holiday Bash #1 is $3.95, while the current value is $5.

 

Cool comics in my collection #378: Marvel Holiday Special 1992, January 1993.

Yes, Marvel also puts out holiday specials! This one has lots of characters in it, as you can probably surmise from the cover. Wolverine, the New Warriors, Spider-Man, the Punisher, Doc Sampson, Thanos, Iron Man, and Daredevil are the featured stories, but we also are joined in holiday festive spirit with appearances of Dazzler, Captain America, the Thing, Venom, War Machine, and Hank Pym, just to name a few. If you want to know if the Punisher and Thanos made the nice or naughty list, consider browsing through your local comic book shop’s back issues. It’s the holiday season, and it’s a great way to show support to small, local businesses. The cover price of Marvel Holiday Special 1992 is $2.95, while the current price is $3.

 

 

Recently Read

I seem to be on a real digital comic kick now. In the comments section of episode 63, Rob McClellan discussed his appreciation of going digital, and how today we can buy Kindle and Nook tablets at low cost to use for comic reading. This got me to seriously consider buying a cheap tablet for just this purpose, because reading on my phone isn’t the best scenario. Sunday night a friend mentioned he’d removed the Facebook app from his Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet and it worked much faster now. I have the same tablet but hadn’t touched it in months, since getting my new smartphone. So on Monday I decided to charge it up and start striping away as many apps as it would allow me, with the exception of comiXology, Marvel, DC, and a few other comic book apps. It took most of the day, because it kept rebooting over and over after I’d remove a few apps. But it was worth it! Comics look great on this larger screen and it works very well since I deleted several gigs of apps.

Now up to this point, I’d only read digital comics I’d gotten for free. A Kindle email enticed me with some Doctor Strange collections for just $2.99, so I decided to purchase a few, and the first one I read was Doctor Strange Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird, which contains issues 1-5 of a new series that started last December (the physical copies would have cost a little over $20, with tax). This digital volume came out April 27, 2016. Of course, the storyline didn’t end at issue 5, so I had to purchase the next collection, and very much look forward to reading it. I’ve bought a few other digital collections, and will tell more about them in this Recently Read section in the weeks to come.

I still love physical comic books, and have a nice collection, but it started getting pretty big again, so digital comics are a great alternative when it comes to storage space and ease of reading in bed with the lights out. And the cost savings is fantastic!

 

A Titanic X-Over From the Eighties!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 64, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 64…

 

Last week I gave you an opportunity to give your opinion on digital comics. All you had to do was leave a comment below, and you would be entered in a random drawing to win an eBook version of any of my novels or stories, or an Audible copy of my novel Prometheus Stumbles. Winner’s choice. We had one participant, Rob McClellan, so Rob is the automatic winner! Rob, when you have a chance, just let me know what you would like out of my books and stories. And thanks for your great comments!

 

Cool comics in my collection #373: Nova #3, November 1976.

If you’ve read my blog before, then you know that Seventies comics are near and dear to my heart. It was the era when I first started buying and collecting, and who doesn’t like to feel nostalgic from time to time? One of the best ways to bring back those good feelings of yesteryear is through comic books, as far as I’m concerned, and Nova was an exciting new character, and it was always cool in your neighborhood to be on the cutting edge of things. Will Nova ever make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Only time will tell, but I wouldn’t bet against Richard Rider. The cover price of Nova #3 is 30 cents, while the current value is $15.

 

Cool comics in my collection #374: The Flash #76, May 1993.

The year 1993 marked the beginning of my longest run of collecting comics (through 2003), and I remember how fresh and exciting the hobby seemed to me once more as I started out very selectively picking comics to try out. The Flash has always been a cool character, regardless of which incarnation he happens to be (Barry Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick), so it was a no brainer to add the comic to my new collection. I fondly remember how much fun it was to buy and read comics back then. My wife and I were living in Atlanta, I was in my first year of service in the Army, we really didn’t know many people, and comic books gave us something to do together. The cover price of The Flash #76 is $1.25, while the current value is $4.

 

Cool comics in my collection #375: Marvel and DC Present: The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans #1, January 1982.

My shortest period of monthly comic buying and collecting came in late 1981 through most of 1982. But I got some great comic books during this time (The Great Darkness Saga!), and this early Marvel and DC crossover is counted among them. It felt like this comic had it all, including the Dark Phoenix and Darkseid as the baddies, and an all-star lineup of good guys from both major companies, such as Kid Flash, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin, Raven, Deathstroke, Donna Troy, Starfire, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Professor X, and more! It was a fun moment to be a comic book reader. Marvel and DC Present: The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans cover price is $2, while the current value is $12.

 

  Recently Read

I seem to be on a bit of a digital comic spree, as I’ve read five of them in the last couple of weeks. While that may not seem like many to some of you, five is much more than zero, which had been my previous output for the year. I typically read five comic books a week, and these digital comics are in addition to the traditional paper comic books. All-Star Comics #8, dated from December 1941, gives you lots of bang for your dime. At least it did when it sold for just a dime back in 1941. I downloaded this issue for free on my ComiXology app and read it on my phone. At 68 pages, it was a great bargain even when you did have to cough up 10 cents. If you appreciate these historical comics, and especially the JSA, then you may want to check this one out, especially considering it contains the very first appearance of Wonder Woman! But if you don’t like the digital format and insist on buying a paper copy, it could set you back as much as $175,000. Just one of the great advantages of the digital age.

 

 

Son of Origins & Holiday Fun in the DCU!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 63, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 63…

 

Please don’t miss the details below on how you can win a prize from Cool Comics in My Collection!

 

Cool comics in my collection #372: Son of Origins of Marvel Comics, December 1974.

Back in Episode 53 I covered Origins of Marvel Comics (which was Cool Comic #344), and since I’ve been sick all week, I’m cutting things a little short, but packing quite a punch by presenting Son of Origins, another wonderful Seventies trade paperback that contains the origins of heroes you’re probably familiar with, especially considering all the movies and TV shows featuring Marvel characters. While this did come out in a hardcover edition, I’m happy enough to have it in paperback. Much like “Origin,” “Son of” gives you the origin comic of these mighty heroes, along with an essay about each by Stan Lee. With this one you get Iron Man, the X-Men, Daredevil, the Avengers, Nick Fury, the Silver Surfer, and the Watcher. For fans of the movies and TV Shows, this is a less expensive way to get the comic book version, right from the source. If you like superhero comics, this will provide you with hours of entertainment if you find yourself trapped indoors as the weather grows colder. And if you live where it’s warm, count yourself fortunate! The cover price of Son of Origins of Marvel Comics is $6.95, while the current value is $25.

 

Recently Read

Comic books with Christmas themes have been around for decades, and it should be no surprise that even superheroes celebrate the holiday. This DC Universe Holiday Special from 2009 gives you lots of short (some as short as one page) yuletide adventures with a wide range of DC characters. Chances are you can find a copy at your local comic shop in their back issues (the cover price is $5.99 and it’s currently valued at $6), but I read a digital copy of it this week. I have a number of different comic book apps on my smartphone, and occasionally browse the free comics and add some to my collection, such as this one, which I read using the comiXology app. If you haven’t given digital comics a try, you really should, and it won’t cost you a cent to take a test drive. Though they probably read better on a tablet, my phone (the LG V10) has a fairly large screen, and I enjoyed the experience. For those who don’t know, if you double tap the top left pane of the comic, it zooms in, and then you just finger swipe and it gives you the next section to read. Sometimes it’s better to flip your phone sideways so you can read the section on a bigger screen, which is easy enough to do. So what are you waiting for? Download the comiXology app (you can use your Amazon account with this one, which is handy) then go to the free comics and start reading the Christmas tales of your favorite DC heroes.

 

Maybe you love reading them, or maybe you can’t stand the format, but since it’s the season of giving, if you leave a comment below about digital comics (it can be as long or short as you desire), you will be in a drawing to win an eBook version of any of my novels or stories, or an Audible copy of my novel Prometheus Stumbles. Winner’s choice. Make sure to comment no later than December 14!

 

December Brings Back Comic Book Memories

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 62, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 62…

 

Welcome to December, comic book friends, a month in which we often let our inner child loose once more. Whether it be from the excitement of Christmas or having fun playing in the snow (only to come back inside where a steaming mug of hot chocolate is waiting), there seems to be something magical about the month. So with this in mind, I once again take us back in time to some of the comic books of my youth…comic books that truly make us feel like kids again.

 

Cool comics in my collection #369: Dennis the Menace #137, March 1975.

For a period of several years, I would buy the occasional Dennis the Menace comic book. Often they were of the digest variety, but this is one of the regular issues. I can’t really pinpoint just why I enjoyed reading about this unruly kid, but I know I liked reading them. Often I would pick up Christmas themed issues, so when I see anything with Dennis the Menace at this time of year, it brings back warm childhood memories of reading the comics in my bed. Way back when, Dennis was a pretty popular character, having a daily strip, and a nice color Sunday comic that I remember reading every week. There was a cartoon, but that didn’t come until the mid-Eighties, but from 1959 to 1963, Jay North played Dennis in a live-action TV show, and I saw many of the episodes in syndication. But to me, the comic books were always the best. The cover price of Dennis the Menace #137 is 25 cents, while the current value is $9.

 

Cool comics in my collection #370: Richie Rich Best of the Years #1, October 1977.

I must have wondered what it would be like to have untold sums of money, because I went through a short period of buying some Richie Rich comics. This one came out just before I turned 15, so maybe I was thinking about turning 16 and being able to afford any car on the lot! Or maybe, being near the end of 14, I realized my childhood was slipping away and I wanted to recapture it. Yes, I was still buying superhero comic books at the time, but sometimes I wanted a less complex story to read just before I fell asleep in my bed at night. That’s where I always read these digest sized comic books, propped up by a few pillows, living it up as a rich kid in the pages of this comic book. This particular digest series contained older stories, ranging from 1969 to 1977, but they were all new to me since I hadn’t read Richie Rich in the past. Simpler times, that’s for sure. Man, sometimes I miss those days. The cover price of Richie Rich Best of the Years #1 is 75 cents, while the current value is $14.

 

Cool comics in my collection #371: Archie Comics Digest #16, February 1976.

As a kid, my comic books tended to be of the superhero variety, but I was also a secret reader of Archie comics. There is something about that gang from Riverdale that has long attracted readers both young and old, and I still have all the Archie comics I purchased back in the Seventies. And with it being December, I made sure to include this digest-sized issue that is chalk full of Christmas cheer. Yes, the Decembers of my youth are full of Archie Christmas comic book memories. It seemed to me that Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose, Ethel—well, all of them—had more fun in December than anyone else I knew. Or at least read about, from a fictional standpoint. The writers did a good job of making these stories so much fun and appealing to a wide audience. Even today when I see this cover it brings back warm memories of holidays long gone by. I hope you have some special comics that give you those same feelings. The cover price of Archie Comics Digest #16 is 60 cents, while the current value is $18.

Some Comic Books I’m Thankful For!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 61, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 61…

Happy Thanksgiving, folks! To celebrate this festive day of appreciating what we have, I’ve listed some of my favorite comic book titles, which I’m very thankful for having and reading through the years. And you know what? I’m a big fan of coffee and pumpkin pie, so grab a cup, cut a slice (and really, any kind of pie will do!), sit back, and enjoy my little walk down comic book memory lane.

 

Cool comics in my collection #366: The Amazing Spider-Man #143, April 1975.

This issue of The Amazing Spider-Man brings back some good memories. I didn’t buy it when it initially released (somehow I missed picking it up at the local little shop, Slicks, in my hometown of Martins Ferry, Ohio), but I remember reading it in my best friend’s basement. We both loved Spider-Man, and this issue features the first kiss between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Of course, we were a little confused by it all, because over in Marvel Tales, Peter was dating Gwen Stacy, but in Amazing she was dead…and Peter thought he was seeing her alive again. Little did we know about reprints, and that Marvel Tales was giving us older Spider-Man stories. But we were only twelve, so that’s excuse enough. Spider-Man always takes me back to those golden days of the Seventies, so he holds a special place in my heart. When I found this issue in a back issue box, I knew I had to buy it. The cover price of The Amazing Spider-Man #143 is 25 cents, while the current value is $55.

 

Cool comics in my collection #367: Justice League of America #113, October 1974.

I wonder just how many of my comics have a cover date of October 1974. Seems like many of them I’ve listed here do. What a fantastic month for comic books! Again, this isn’t a comic I bought when it came out. I always found these 100 page comics at the drug store where my father was a pharmacist. For this particular issue, I don’t remember if I saw it there or not, but I didn’t own it, until recently. One of my collecting goals is buying up all the 100 pagers DC put out in the Seventies, so I bought this one a few months back at Kenmore Komics, in Akron, Ohio, for $5. It’s the way I time travel. When I think back to my comic book reading as a kid, I have a vivid memory of reading one of my other 100 page issues of the JLA, sitting at the kitchen table in the evening, eating Freakies cereal out of my Planet of the Apes bowl. Man, those were the days, and I’m thankful for them. The cover price of Justice League of America #113 is 60 cents, while the current value is $75.

 

Cool comics in my collection #368: Captain America #196, April 1976.

Captain America was an icon of my childhood, and what better way to present him here than in an issue from our Bicentennial. Not to mention an issue that took a Hollywood idea and put it into old Caps comic. Do you remember Rollerball? And no, I don’t mean the remake from 2002, but the original from 1975 featuring James Caan (you know, Elf’s dad…and if you’re older like me, what we really remember him for is playing Brian Piccolo, the movie that had all of America crying). I can remember kids in my neighborhood talking about Rollerball the day after it had been on TV, and we all wanted to play that strange, futuristic sport. And look at this comic book cover, where we see Captain America on a skateboard playing Kill-Derby! No doubt this was influenced by the movie. There were some strange events going on in Captain America back in the Seventies, but it kept us reading the comic each month. The cover price of Captain America #196 is 25 cents, while the current value is $18.