Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 18, where we take a nostalgic look at six comic books I currently own, and one that I let get away. If you enjoying reading about my trip down comic book lane, consider signing up for my newsletter. There are perks to being a subscriber, and you’ll have the inside track to my writing projects.
For each of the comic books below, 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.
I welcome any comments you might have, and hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 18…
Cool comics in my collection #120: Kid Colt Outlaw #180, March 1974.
Last week I wrote about a couple military/war comics, and talked about how few I actually owned. So now I’m taking us in a somewhat different direction with a western comic. This is the first comic of that genre I’ve ever bought, and I just picked it up a couple weeks ago. As a kid, I pretty much stuck to super-heroes, and when I bought as an adult, it was still mostly the same (with the occasional science fiction comic). Western movies weren’t watched in my house when I was a kid. I remember watching the old Flash Gordon serials and Tarzan movies on the weekends with my father, and plenty of Star Trek reruns, but John Wayne didn’t get dialed in. It’s not that I hated them, I just didn’t have any real exposure, until I saw Lonesome Dove and read the book. And The Big Country. And True Grit. And Open Range. So now I’m a fan. Obviously, I need to add some westerns to my cool comic collection, so I picked up my very first, Kid Colt Outlaw for $2 at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio. Funny thing about this issue is that it blends in some science fiction with one of the stories contained in it, as you can see the monster (alien) on the cover. This issue is actually a reprint of #107, which came out in November 1962, but that’s okay with me. While the stories weren’t great, I still enjoyed reading them, and thought about the pleasure they did bring to so many who grew up loving westerns. Also, it was pretty cool to see Howard Stark filming a Kid Colt movie in this week’s Agent Carter episode. The cover price of Kid Colt Outlaw #180 is 20 cents, while the current value is $14.
Last week I wrote about a couple military/war comics, and talked about how few I actually owned. So now I’m taking us in a somewhat different direction with a western comic. This is the first comic of that genre I’ve ever bought, and I just picked it up a couple weeks ago. As a kid, I pretty much stuck to super-heroes, and when I bought as an adult, it was still mostly the same (with the occasional science fiction comic). Western movies weren’t watched in my house when I was a kid. I remember watching the old Flash Gordon serials and Tarzan movies on the weekends with my father, and plenty of Star Trek reruns, but John Wayne didn’t get dialed in. It’s not that I hated them, I just didn’t have any real exposure, until I saw Lonesome Dove and read the book. And The Big Country. And True Grit. And Open Range. So now I’m a fan. Obviously, I need to add some westerns to my cool comic collection, so I picked up my very first, Kid Colt Outlaw for $2 at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio. Funny thing about this issue is that it blends in some science fiction with one of the stories contained in it, as you can see the monster (alien) on the cover. This issue is actually a reprint of #107, which came out in November 1962, but that’s okay with me. While the stories weren’t great, I still enjoyed reading them, and thought about the pleasure they did bring to so many who grew up loving westerns. Also, it was pretty cool to see Howard Stark filming a Kid Colt movie in this week’s Agent Carter episode. The cover price of Kid Colt Outlaw #180 is 20 cents, while the current value is $14.Cool comics in my collection #121: The Amazing Spider-Man #200, January 1980.
Once more, Spider-Man faces the Burglar who killed Uncle Ben. Spoiler alert! And the Burglar ends up dropping dead of a heart attack. Of course this guy isn’t some super villain who can give Peter Parker a run for his money, but he is the man who killed Peter’s parental figure. Peter feels plenty of guilt over the death, since he could have stopped him earlier, but decided not to. He carried around a lot of guilt for over 200 issues. As much fun as being a super-hero sounds like, when we exam Spider-Man’s life, it turns out to be extremely difficult. He has to keep his identity a secret, he’s always worried his enemies will find him out and kill those he loves (remember the Green Goblin and Gwen Stacy?), he makes no money fighting crime (although he sometimes gets good pictures to sell to The Daily Bugle), J. Jonah Jameson hates him and tries to discredit him, his love-life is difficult, and death is always around the corner. At any rate, this issue brings about some sense of peace for Spider-Man. I don’t have the issue in which Uncle Ben gets killed (and most of you probably don’t either, but wish you did!), but this is a cool comic for any collector. I bought it in a back issue rack at Titan Comics in Atlanta, Georgia, in the mid-nineties. The cover price of The Amazing Spider-Man #200 is 75 cents, while the current value is $60.
Once more, Spider-Man faces the Burglar who killed Uncle Ben. Spoiler alert! And the Burglar ends up dropping dead of a heart attack. Of course this guy isn’t some super villain who can give Peter Parker a run for his money, but he is the man who killed Peter’s parental figure. Peter feels plenty of guilt over the death, since he could have stopped him earlier, but decided not to. He carried around a lot of guilt for over 200 issues. As much fun as being a super-hero sounds like, when we exam Spider-Man’s life, it turns out to be extremely difficult. He has to keep his identity a secret, he’s always worried his enemies will find him out and kill those he loves (remember the Green Goblin and Gwen Stacy?), he makes no money fighting crime (although he sometimes gets good pictures to sell to The Daily Bugle), J. Jonah Jameson hates him and tries to discredit him, his love-life is difficult, and death is always around the corner. At any rate, this issue brings about some sense of peace for Spider-Man. I don’t have the issue in which Uncle Ben gets killed (and most of you probably don’t either, but wish you did!), but this is a cool comic for any collector. I bought it in a back issue rack at Titan Comics in Atlanta, Georgia, in the mid-nineties. The cover price of The Amazing Spider-Man #200 is 75 cents, while the current value is $60.Cool comics in my collection #122: Beware #1, March 1973.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know how I grew to love monster comics, but not until my later years. So when I made it to my local comic shop (Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio) last week, I made a beeline for the Horror back issues. I’d never heard of Beware before (it ran just 8 issues under that title then changed to Tomb of Darkness), but that didn’t stop me from grabbing the first issue of this series from 1973. The stories are nothing particularly scary, but they were fun and reminded me of listening to old Alfred Hitchcock record albums when I was a kid. Inside Beware I couldn’t find any information about the writer or artist, but on a particular website, it said that Stan Lee wrote the stories, Jack Kirby penciled it, Bill Everett did the cover, and Dick Ayers inked it. Those are some pretty heavy hitters in the annals of comic book history. I bought this issue for just $3, and I will pick up more in the future, if Kenmore Komics has them in stock. The cover price for Beware #1 is 20 cents, while the current value is $25.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know how I grew to love monster comics, but not until my later years. So when I made it to my local comic shop (Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio) last week, I made a beeline for the Horror back issues. I’d never heard of Beware before (it ran just 8 issues under that title then changed to Tomb of Darkness), but that didn’t stop me from grabbing the first issue of this series from 1973. The stories are nothing particularly scary, but they were fun and reminded me of listening to old Alfred Hitchcock record albums when I was a kid. Inside Beware I couldn’t find any information about the writer or artist, but on a particular website, it said that Stan Lee wrote the stories, Jack Kirby penciled it, Bill Everett did the cover, and Dick Ayers inked it. Those are some pretty heavy hitters in the annals of comic book history. I bought this issue for just $3, and I will pick up more in the future, if Kenmore Komics has them in stock. The cover price for Beware #1 is 20 cents, while the current value is $25.Cool comics in my collection #123: Black Lightening #4, September 1977.
Though Jefferson Pierce, a Gold Medal winner in the Decathlon and the super-hero Black Lightning, has been around for 39 years, most people are probably not familiar with the character. Besides having his own comic, he’s also been part of The Justice League and The Outsiders. I bought this issue at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio, this month (January 2016) as I was perusing their back issue boxes. They were selling it for just 75 cents, and when I saw the cover, with Black Lightning looking as if he just knocked the stuffing out of Jimmy Olsen and Superman coming on the scene, it made me laugh and I knew I had to get it. This is my first and only issue of Black Lightning, though it probably won’t be my last. I enjoyed what I read, and if I can find the first issue for a good price, I’ll definitely get it. Again, this title is from the seventies, and that’s my favorite era of comic books (it’s when I first started collecting as a kid, so it has a magical hold over me). The cover price of Black Lightning #4 is 35 cents, while the current value is $8.
Though Jefferson Pierce, a Gold Medal winner in the Decathlon and the super-hero Black Lightning, has been around for 39 years, most people are probably not familiar with the character. Besides having his own comic, he’s also been part of The Justice League and The Outsiders. I bought this issue at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio, this month (January 2016) as I was perusing their back issue boxes. They were selling it for just 75 cents, and when I saw the cover, with Black Lightning looking as if he just knocked the stuffing out of Jimmy Olsen and Superman coming on the scene, it made me laugh and I knew I had to get it. This is my first and only issue of Black Lightning, though it probably won’t be my last. I enjoyed what I read, and if I can find the first issue for a good price, I’ll definitely get it. Again, this title is from the seventies, and that’s my favorite era of comic books (it’s when I first started collecting as a kid, so it has a magical hold over me). The cover price of Black Lightning #4 is 35 cents, while the current value is $8.Cool comics in my collection #124: Super-Villain Team-Up, October 1975.
One of my favorite comic series I bought issues of as a boy was Marvel Team-Up. Most of the time it was Spider-Man teaming up with some other member of the Marvel Universe, but on occasion, they gave him a day off and paired up two other heroes. But I never heard of Super-Villain Team-Up until my recent visit to Kenmore Komics. How I never saw this comic when it debuted in 1975, I’ll never know, but I made sure to grab an inexpensive copy (just $2) of issue #2. It turns out this series only reached 17 issues (it came out bimonthly, although the last two issues had many months in between, with the last issue having a cover date of June 1980), but it was preceded by two Giant Size issues. The majority of these star Doctor Doom, with Namor the Sub-Mariner as the runner-up. I don’t like putting Namor into the Villain classification, but he does have issues with most surface dwellers. But villain or hero, Doctor Doom tells a character that Namor is his friend, which seems like a funny thing to hear Doctor Doom say. I enjoyed it enough to pick up some more in this series (when I can get them at a good price), so you may see more issues in the future here at CCIMC (Cool comics in my collection). The cover price of Super-Villain Team-Up is 25 cents, while the current value is $12.
One of my favorite comic series I bought issues of as a boy was Marvel Team-Up. Most of the time it was Spider-Man teaming up with some other member of the Marvel Universe, but on occasion, they gave him a day off and paired up two other heroes. But I never heard of Super-Villain Team-Up until my recent visit to Kenmore Komics. How I never saw this comic when it debuted in 1975, I’ll never know, but I made sure to grab an inexpensive copy (just $2) of issue #2. It turns out this series only reached 17 issues (it came out bimonthly, although the last two issues had many months in between, with the last issue having a cover date of June 1980), but it was preceded by two Giant Size issues. The majority of these star Doctor Doom, with Namor the Sub-Mariner as the runner-up. I don’t like putting Namor into the Villain classification, but he does have issues with most surface dwellers. But villain or hero, Doctor Doom tells a character that Namor is his friend, which seems like a funny thing to hear Doctor Doom say. I enjoyed it enough to pick up some more in this series (when I can get them at a good price), so you may see more issues in the future here at CCIMC (Cool comics in my collection). The cover price of Super-Villain Team-Up is 25 cents, while the current value is $12.Cool comics in my collection #125: Justice League of America #112, August 1974.
I thought I’d throw in another 100 page comic book this week. When I had to cut my collection down, I made sure to pull all of these to keep, because they were such a big part of my childhood. Using his employee discount, my father bought this issue for me off the magazine rack at Super-X Drugs in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where he worked as a pharmacist. This has a great cover, with the Justice League Lineup on the left, and frames from three of the interior stories, the biggest one featuring Amazo, an android, standing victoriously over the fallen “Super Friends,” with a foot on Superman’s chest. Super Friends premiered on Saturday mornings the year before this issue came out. For a while, it was my favorite cartoon, and when these 100 page comics came out, it was a sure bet I’d be wanting them. This one has some great characters, such as Batman, Superman, the Flash (Barry Allen), the Atom, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Red Tornado, the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and the Elongated Man. The cover price of Justice League of America #112 is 60 cents, while the current value is $60.
I thought I’d throw in another 100 page comic book this week. When I had to cut my collection down, I made sure to pull all of these to keep, because they were such a big part of my childhood. Using his employee discount, my father bought this issue for me off the magazine rack at Super-X Drugs in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where he worked as a pharmacist. This has a great cover, with the Justice League Lineup on the left, and frames from three of the interior stories, the biggest one featuring Amazo, an android, standing victoriously over the fallen “Super Friends,” with a foot on Superman’s chest. Super Friends premiered on Saturday mornings the year before this issue came out. For a while, it was my favorite cartoon, and when these 100 page comics came out, it was a sure bet I’d be wanting them. This one has some great characters, such as Batman, Superman, the Flash (Barry Allen), the Atom, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Red Tornado, the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and the Elongated Man. The cover price of Justice League of America #112 is 60 cents, while the current value is $60.Cool comics in my collection #126 (One That Got Away): Daredevil #168, January 1981.
This is another comic book I truly regret having sold. Daredevil #168 contains the first appearance of Elektra, and the value for this one has continued to climb. When I started my second phase of comic collecting while in college at The Ohio State University, a friend of mine actually gifted this issue to me. I hung onto it for about 24 years, but about a decade ago, when things were selling well on eBay, I made some nice cash for this comic. I imagine it will continue to be popular, especially considering that Elektra is going to be in the second season of the Daredevil series on Netflix. Also, the cover, art, and story were all done by Frank Miller. The cover price of Daredevil #168 is 50 cents, while the current value is $220.
This is another comic book I truly regret having sold. Daredevil #168 contains the first appearance of Elektra, and the value for this one has continued to climb. When I started my second phase of comic collecting while in college at The Ohio State University, a friend of mine actually gifted this issue to me. I hung onto it for about 24 years, but about a decade ago, when things were selling well on eBay, I made some nice cash for this comic. I imagine it will continue to be popular, especially considering that Elektra is going to be in the second season of the Daredevil series on Netflix. Also, the cover, art, and story were all done by Frank Miller. The cover price of Daredevil #168 is 50 cents, while the current value is $220.
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