Seventies Sci-Fi Blasts From the Past!

Cool comics in my collection #36: Werewolf By Night #42, January 1977.
Horror of horrors! Iron Man is down and about to be pounced on by Jack Russell, the Werewolf By Night! Being that today is my oldest daughter’s 21st birthday, I had to get an Iron Man comic in here since she loves old Shellhead, while still keeping up with my horror theme for the week of Halloween. And I think I hit the jackpot with this issue from my collection. I bought this comic around the year 2000 at Kenmore Komics for $1. The cover price is 30 cents, while the current value is $20. Happy birthday, Renee!

Cool comics in my collection #37: All Hallow’s Eve #1, 1991.
I’ve been saving this one for Halloween! Do you remember Innovation comic books? They did some really awesome licensed properties such as Quantum Leap, Dark Shadows, and Interview with the Vampire. And it’s very cool to me personally because Innovation was based in Wheeling, West Virginia, right across the river from where I grew up in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The Ohio Valley was so important in shaping my imagination, and my upcoming Apocalypse Weird novel takes place there (if you like comic books, you really should be reading the Apocalypse Weird books – find them on Amazon). David Campiti, this one’s in honor of your former company! I bought this issue at Titan Comics in Atlanta, GA. The cover price is $4.95 and the current value is $7.

Cool comics in my collection #38: Logan’s Run #6, June 1977.
You might remember the movie Logan’s Run, starring Michael York, with the jewel embedded in his hand getting changed into a different color, and then he had to run for his life! Did you also know that it was a short-lived TV series? And of course, first it was a book by the awesome author duo of William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Nolan went on to write several sequels about Logan, and if all you’ve ever seen is the movie, you should read the books, which are different from the movie and quite exciting. As for the comic book series by Marvel, the run was even shorter, just 7 issues. But issue 6 contained not only a Logan story, but also featured a standalone story with Thanos and Drax the Destroyer, making this comic more valuable to collectors. I bought this issue at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio, in the late 90s. The cover price is 30 cents, and the current value is $50.

Cool comics in my collection #39: The Amazing Spider-Man #136, September 1974.
The Green Goblin is back! Although Norman Osborn is dead (or at least believed so at this point), Spider-Man’s nemesis turns out to be Peter Parker’s best friend, Harry Osborn. As cool as we like to think Spidey is, nothing is ever easy in his life. The Green Goblin was a fan favorite, and Marvel decided they couldn’t keep a good villain down. And this was just the beginning of Peter’s troubles in the mid-seventies, as eight issues later, someone else who was assumed to be dead makes an appearance that proves even more shocking (I’ll get to that story, eventually). I bought this issue right off the comic stand at Slicks in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The cover price is 25 cents and the current value is $140.

Cool comics in my collection #40: Star Trek #40 (Whitman edition), January 1976.
This comic came out in the 10th year of Star Trek’s existence. After the original series lasted three seasons on network television, many probably thought they’d never hear from it again, but here we are a few months from the Star Trek universe turning 50, and we find out a new series is planned for 2017, along with another movie to come out summer of 2016. Add those to the past 5 TV series, an animated series, and 12 other movies. Star Trek merchandising is huge, there are still Star Trek books being published, and you can get new Star Trek comics, now published by IDW. So do you think this vision of the future had an impact on fans, or what? There used to be a themed attraction at the Los Vegas Hilton called Star Trek: The Experience. It lasted from 1998 to 2008, and I was fortunate enough to have been there twice during business travels. Any of you ever been there? It was pretty awesome. I bought this comic used at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio, for 50 cents. The cover price is 30 cents and it is currently valued at $25.

Cool comics in my collection #41: Legends #3, January 1987.
The six issue Legends limited series put out by DC Comics is a follow-up to the 12 issue Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series. Legends is pretty cool when you factor in characters such as Darkseid, Shazam, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter … you get the idea. But issue 3 is special because it features the first appearance of the Suicide Squad (the movie is due out August 2016). If you can find all six issues at a good price, grab it. I bought this issue at Titan Comics in Atlanta, Georgia, around 1995, for $1. The cover price is 75 cents, and the current value is $30.

Cool comics in my collection #42 (One That Got Away): Green Lantern #47, November 1993.
Colors are important in the world of superheroes, and green stands out in the DC Universe. A few years ago a Green Lantern movie was released at the theaters, and currently The CW network is on season four of Arrow…being the Green Arrow. Which he is now called on the show, after being just the Arrow for the first three seasons. At any rate, DC seems to enjoy pairing up Team Green from time-to-time, and 1993 saw one of these pairings, shortly before Hal Jordan went off the deep end. My Green Lantern comics didn’t make the cut when I had to cull my collection, and someone else became the lucky recipient of this issue. I bought it when it came out at Fischer’s in Atlanta, Georgia. The cover price is $1.25 while the current value is $16.