Cool Comics Goes Back to 1980!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 76, 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 76…

Cool comics in my collection #401: Thor #295, May 1980.

Hey comic book fans, for this episode we are traveling back in time to a particular year, 1980! It was the start of my senior year at Martins Ferry High School in Ohio, The Empire Strikes Back was at the theater and everyone had to see it, and you could play a cool new game called PAC-MAN. What else happened in 1980? Tell me your memories in the comments section below (maybe it’s when you were born, got married, bought your first comic book, etc.). Oh yeah, this issue of Thor came out. That’s why we’re here! I didn’t buy it at the time. I was a senior and too cool to be reading comic books. Stupid me. If I could go back in time, there are so many issues I’d buy! I picked this one up in a back issue box in Atlanta when I was in the Army, during the Nineties. By that time, I was no longer worried about my old school friends knowing that I read comic books. I was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army and married to a beautiful woman, who liked to read my comic books also. I always liked Thor, but missed out on lots of stories when I “thought” I was too cool. Thumbs up to back issue boxes! The cover price of Thor #295 is 40 cents, while the current value is $8.

Cool comics in my collection #402: Marvel Two-In-One #64, June 1980.

Still pondering what your life was like back in 1980? Here’s a helpful website that may jog your memory. Lots of information here, and I’m sure there are other web pages that would help. Tell us your favorite comic book memory from 1980 in the comments below, or something important in your life, if you feel like opening up a bit. Comic book readers are a sensitive lot. Usually. Just like Benjamin J. Grimm, straight outta Yancy Street. Though Marvel Two-In-One lasted for 100 issues (plus 7 annuals), which is longer than many titles do, I don’t think it ever got the love that it deserved. Each issue featured your favorite orange, craggy rock-like hero, the ever lovin’ blue-eyed Thing, pairing up with or against a bevy of guest stars from the Marvel Universe. This was another title I didn’t buy fresh off the stands until 1982 (so yes, this is another back issue box find), and by that time it was nearing the end. These are fun issues, and if you like the sort of humor and empathy you get with the Thing, you may want to search some of these out (you can probably find many of these, excluding the really early issues, at excellent prices) and feel like a kid again, which older comics have a way of doing. The cover price of Marvel Two-In-One #64 is 40 cents, while the current value is $4.

Cool comics in my collection #403: Marvel Team-Up #97, September 1980.

I have a nice little collection of Marvel Team-Up issues, and I knew that Spider-Man appeared in most of these, but I didn’t know until just now, after looking this up, that for the 150 total issues of this comic, Spider-Man is in all but 9. Or 9-and-a-half, if you want to count #126, which has two team-up stories in it, one with and one without Spider-Man. This title produced 7 annual issues, and all but one featured Spider-Man. Add that one to the list, also, if you want. So a Marvel Team-Up comic book without Peter Parker is a rare thing indeed, which brings us to this 1980 gem featuring the Hulk and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew). The Hulk wasn’t a bad choice to guest in this title without Spider-Man, because he was doing well on network TV at the time, and they did get a spider-person in there, of the female variety. I wonder if there are any collectors who specialize in, for instance, just the issues of Marvel Team-Up that don’t have Spider-Man in them? There probably are. There are collectors for just about everything. If you specialize in anything from 1980, please add it to the comments section below for our time capsule commentary. The cover price of Marvel Team-Up #97 is 50 cents, while the current value is $5.

Recently Read Digital Comics

One of the reasons I’m loving digital comics is the discounted savings. And the availability of so many comics I missed out on the first time. And the ease of reading them on my tablet. Not to mention they are easier to store than physical comics, too! Each medium has its advantages, no doubt, and my heart has room for both.

Back in January, Amazon was offering Black Panther: Marvel Masterworks Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for $4.99 apiece. It didn’t take much thought to click the buy button for each of these, and it was an excellent decision. I recently checked and they are selling for $9.99 on Amazon and $16.99 via comiXology (the cover price for the hardback volume is $64.95).

But what if I decided instead to buy all 18 issues (number 6 – 22, and 24) of Jungle Action contained in this edition? I’d have a hunt on my hands, and maybe have to go to several different comic shops to find them all. And condition would vary, as would prices. I’d possibly have to spend much more than my budget allows. Check out the pricing by clicking here.

If you have both a comiXology and Amazon account, be sure to link them through comiXology (where you sign in), because then when you buy Kindle comics on Amazon you can read them with the comiXology app and take advantage of the Archive feature to store the comics when you finish reading them.

The Black Panther is getting more press today than ever before. He’s in the Civil War movie and will have his own movie in the near future. He has a current run at Marvel, and people are taking much more notice of the character. But my friends and I knew who he was in the Seventies, and we thought he was a pretty cool cat…or panther, at least. It took a while to read all 18 of these issues, but it was worth it, and made me feel awfully nostalgic for my childhood.

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