It’s Super Team-Up Week!

Cool comics in my collection #141: The Champions #6, June 1976.
This comic, The Champions #6, is one that I bought at Kenmore Komics back in January for $2. I’m now at the point in which I need just issues #1 and 2 and I’ll own the entire 17 issue run. It’s a small collection, granted, but it fuels my need for seventies comics. The main problem now is the price. Issue #1 is valued at $50, and one of my goals in collecting these old comics is to get them for less than the value. I don’t mind buying comics that aren’t in perfect condition, as long as the condition and value are in concert with one another. This particular issue of The Champions is missing Ghost Rider because of whatever is happening in his own comic book during this time period. And while continuity is nice, when you read these 40 years later, you don’t care as much and prefer to have the entire team in the issue, especially since their team is rather small. The other members of The Champions are Hercules, Angel, Iceman, and Black Widow. This team blends a couple X-Men with a SHIELD/Avengers icon in Black Widow, and Hercules has also been a member of the Avengers. The cover price of The Champions #6 is 25 cents, while the current value is $20.

Cool comics in my collection #142: Marvel Triple Action #15, November 1973.
When I was a kid, I had no idea that Marvel was doing a lot of reprints in the seventies, and Marvel Triple Action just happened to be one. This comic originally came out as The Avengers #21, from October 1965. It would certainly be nice to have the original, but at a current value of $300, Marvel Triple Action will have to do. In this story we have Captain America, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver on the side of good, while the baddies are composed of Baron Zemo, the Enchantress, the Executioner, and Power Man. Who is he? That’s what it says on the cover. Doesn’t look like Luke Cage, does he? And he’s not. He’s Erik Josten, and in another comic he actually fights Luke Cage for the rights to the Power Man name. And no surprise, as he loses. Poor Erik turns out to be a guy who just can’t seem to keep a name, as he’s also been known as Smuggler, Goliath, Giant Man, and Titan. Not all that easy to keep up with. If you’re familiar with the Thunderbolts comic, he’s known as Atlas on that team. Sheesh! So if you’re a fan of good old Erik, and don’t want to shell out lots of cash for his first appearance, you can get this reprint for much less. I bought this comic off the rack at Slicks in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The cover price of Marvel Triple Action #15 is 20 cents, while the current value is $6.

Cool comics in my collection #143: Marvel Team-Up #21, May 1974.
This issue of Marvel Team-Up features Xandu, and while magic is definitely in the air, spelling is very important, because he’s not Xanadu and Spider-Man isn’t wearing roller skates (I wonder if Xandu ever faced Dazzler…just think of the possibilities!). Marvel Team-Up was usually a pretty fun title to pick up back in the seventies because more often than not, Spider-Man was in it, and it was cool to see him in action with other heroes. In this issue our favorite wall-crawler fights the forces of darkness alongside Doctor Strange. And unless you’ve been avoiding most media, you know that there is going to be a Doctor Strange movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, due out this November. I wonder if that will make this particular comic go up in value? Come on, it’s got both Spider-Man and the Master of the Mystic Arts! Though regardless of monetary value, Marvel Team-Up comics are definitely cool comics, and I can remember discussing different issues with the neighborhood kids. For some reason, I skipped a few issues, and one of my friends bought one that had a genetically engineered being named Woodgod who looked like a Satyr. I missed out, and always remember wishing I had bought it. But then again, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange are icons, and most people today have no idea who Woodgod is. I bought this comic off the rack at Slicks in Martins Ferry, Ohio. The cover price of Marvel Team-Up #21 is 25 cents, while the current value is $13.

Cool comics in my collection #144: World’s Finest Comics #223, June 1974.
In keeping with this episode’s theme of team-ups, I next went with World’s finest Comics #233, which has Batman, Superman, and Deadman, along with Commissioner Gordon. In the other corner we have Morgan Edge and Joe Chill. Yes, that Joe Chill, the guy who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their young son, Bruce. This is one of those wonderful 100-Page comics we saw so many of in the seventies. This issue has reprints of older issues of World’s Finest Comics, Strange Adventures, Adventure Comics, and Detective Comics. All in all, there are seven stories in this issue, well-worth the money. I got this comic at SupeRX Drugs in Martins Ferry, Ohio, when it was new. As I’ve mentioned before, my father was a pharmacist there and could get an employee discount, so I paid even less than the already great bargain price (at least a bargain by today’s standards). And if you look at the cover, you’ll see a couple other appearances in this huge comic: Aquaman and Robotman. You’re probably already familiar with Aquaman, but Robotman is a not a household name. His origins date back to 1942, in issue #7 of Star Spangled Comics. He was a regular human who had been shot, and his brain was placed in a robot’s body. The cover price of World’s Finest Comics #223 is 60 cents, while the current value is $55.

Cool comics in my collection #145: Legion of Super-Heroes #292, October 1982.
And speaking of team-ups, it seems like nobody has more members than the Legion of Super-Heroes. Here’s a list of some who appear in this issue: Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Duplicate Girl, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Phantom Girl, Sensor Girl, Shrinking Violet, Bouncing Boy, Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Dream Girl, Element Lad, Karate Kid (not Daniel LaRusso, and this Karate Kid came first), Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, and Ultra Boy. Keep in mind there are more, Superman being one of them. This issue happens to be The Great Darkness Saga – Part 3. I’ve had parts 1 and 2 in earlier blogs. If you like the villain Darkseid, then The Great Darkness Saga is a must, whether you collect the individual issues, buy the trade paperback collection, or go with the comiXology version. I bought this comic during my second phase of comic collecting, when I was a student at The Ohio State University. This second period didn’t last much more than a year, but I purchased some fun comics during the time, and I’m really glad I bought and kept this issue. One of the places I bought my comics was a little shop that I believe was on Neil Ave. right near campus. I believe they carried greeting cards, magazines, and comics. I don’t remember the name of it, and I’m not completely positive of the location (this was back in the early eighties). If anyone reading this actually knows the place I’m talking about, I’d love if you’d mention it in the comments section near the bottom of the page. I’ve got some great memories of those days, no doubt. The cover price of Legion of Super-Heroes #292 is 60 cents, while the current value is $8.

Cool comics in my collection #146: The New Mutants #87, March 1990.
The New Mutants started up just as I was ending my second phase of comic book collecting and ended right before phase three started, while I was in the Army in Atlanta, Georgia. During the mid-nineties, when I started reading Cable and X-Force comics, I came to learn about The New Mutants, so I decided to buy back issues when I was able to find them at good prices. I went to a comic book show when I was there and someone had comics for a dime apiece, so I bought lots of back issues, and that’s how I got this comic that has the first full appearance of both Cable and Stryfe. The character of Cable became popular, so Marvel did a second printing (I have a copy of this one also – it has a gold metallic cover and is currently valued at $6). I am fortunate to have found this issue at such a great price. The lineup of characters in this issue is long and varied. Here’s an example of heroes and villains you’ll find between the pages of it: Balder, Cable, Forearm, Moonstar, Reaper, Stryfe, Volstaag, Boom-Boom, Cannonball, Fandral, Hogun, Mystique, Rictor, and Wolfsbane. And a lot more. Wait a minute, you’re saying. Volstaag? Fandral? Yes, The New Mutants are on Asgard. Kind of weird. But fun. If we had the same old stories each month, we’d get tired of them, so it’s good to see heroes in different environments. The cover price of The New Mutants #87 is $1, while the current value is $125.

Cool comics in my collection #147 (One That Got Away): X-Men #25, October 1993.
I’m ending the week on another team-up issue, and this time with one of the most popular teams of all, the X-Men. During the nineties it seemed like there were 2 or 3 x-family titles out each week, and that’s probably not much of a stretch. X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor, Excalibur, and lots and lots of mini-series. In X-Men #25, there was a BIG event that changes two characters forever! Or at least until the writers decided to put things back together again. Wolverine and Magneto get into a fight (what’s new?), and Magneto gets really angry and rips the adamantium right out of Wolverine’s body. Ouch! Even with his healing factor the old man’s prospects don’t look good. Poor Wolverine is so torn up he looks more like that team up north after my Ohio State Buckeyes pound them on the football field (I’m an OSU grad, what did you expect me to say?). Obviously Professor Xavier isn’t happy and provides payback by wiping Magneto’s mind. Later, as many of you are aware, we find out that Wolverine still has claws. Bone claws. And of course there are dozens of characters in this particular issue even besides X-Men such as Mr. Fantastic, Scarlet Witch, Nick Fury, the Thing, and Quicksilver. I bought this comic off the rack at Titan Comics in Atlanta, Georgia. When I got to the point that I had too many comics and realized I needed to cull my collection, this issue got sold at a garage sale. The cover price of X-Men #25 is $3.50, while the current value is $8.