Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 86, 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 86…
Cool Comics News!
Okay comic book lovers, we’re back to three more comics that came in Walmart Variant 3-packs. In the coming weeks, I’ll also have some cool, personal comic book-related news to share with all of you!
Cool comics in my collection #428: Suicide Squad: The Black Vault #1, April 2017.
So here we are, back to another Walmart Variant. This comic was originally published as Suicide Squad #2, part of DC’s Rebirth. I know, it gets confusing that they keep putting these out as #1 when they aren’t, but I guess that’s part of what makes them variants. This is just the second Suicide Squad comic that I own, both having come from these nifty Walmart 3 for $5 packs, and I’ll be the first to tell you that I wasn’t thrilled to discover that Suicide Squad issues were part of the deal. And yes, this was the comic facing the customer in the plastic wrap, and I didn’t have to buy it, but sometimes we need to be willing to try new things. No, I haven’t seen the movie (although it’s currently parked on my DVR for future viewing), thanks for asking. To be honest, this just didn’t seem to be the type of comic I’d like. And yet…I loved it! The story is very entertaining, the art a pleasure to view, and yes, I hope there are more of these in Walmart’s future. If not, I may end up getting some digital collections. As longtime readers know, I rarely pick up new comics, as I usually focus on filling in older runs I started in the Seventies (and sometimes Sixties or Eighties comics). By the way, I was at my local Walmart on May 16 and they had lots of the Variant 3-packs on the shelf, in case you are looking for them. The cover price of Suicide Squad #2 is $2.99, while the current value of this variant is $5.
Cool comics in my collection #429: Larfleeze #5, January 2014.
What is a Larfleeze? That’s the question I asked myself before opening the cover to this “New 52” comic I found tucked underneath one of the newer Walmart Variant 3-packs. To me, this is a new character, but perhaps for many of you, he’s ancient. I looked him up on the internet and saw that Larfleeze made his first appearance in 2007, so this December he’ll be a decade old. But I quit buying new comics back in 2003 when my home was being overrun by too many of them! I went cold turkey, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I didn’t pick up a comic book to read again until 2011, and I’ve been enjoying reading the many back issues I’d bought before this (and even some of the newer ones I’d purchased in 2003 but hadn’t read yet…you have to understand, when I came to the realization that it couldn’t go on any longer, I didn’t want to look at them…I had to completely turn my back on comics so that I wouldn’t be tempted to start purchasing them once again like a mad man!). Okay, back to Larfleeze. I read the comic. I can say that much for it. I don’t really know how to feel about it, because I had no history with the character, this was a number 5 issue, and the entire thing was sort of weird, from my perspective. Maybe you love him, but I won’t be looking to add any of his issues to my collection. The cover price of Larfleeze #5 is $2.99, while the current value is $3.
Cool comics in my collection #430: Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #4, March 2014.
Seems like DC’s really been pushing the anti-hero bit a lot since I stopped being a weekly reader (remember those from school? Just having a little fun). Lobo was sort of popular back when I was buying, and so was Guy Gardner, but all three of these comics that came from Walmart 3-packs feature the type of characters I typically don’t really care for. Except I found myself surprised by how much I enjoyed the Suicide Squad issue. The difficult part of Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion being included underneath one of the variant issues is that it’s part 4 of a 6-part limited series, so a new reader doesn’t really understand what’s going on. Maybe they were hoping to garner some interest, but personally, I’d rather get another Batman or Superman New 52 issue. The cover price of Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion is $2.99, while the current value is $3.
Recently Read Digital Comics
A couple weeks ago in Episode 84, Cool Comic #427 was Moon Knight #6 from 1981. The inclusion of Moon Knight in that episode garnered some comments, and my guest blogger from last week, Rob McClellan, mentioned the Warren Ellis take on this unusual hero. So I just had to purchase the digital collection, right? The six issues in this first volume didn’t have a lot of dialogue or description, but it wasn’t necessary, as the art and sequential storyline kept me glued to my tablet. Great series, thanks so much, Rob! I went ahead and purchased volumes 2 and 3, and although Ellis isn’t the writer for either of those collections, I’m looking forward to reading them. I was fortunate that Amazon had all three on sale, but the full price on comiXology would have been worth it. I haven’t read a lot of Moon Knight comics, but I’m working on remedying that.
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Moon Knight rocks, you won’t be disappointed! I just picked up the latest version by Lemire that continues where Ellis and Wood left off. Good stuff.
Whenever I see Suicide Squad these days, I still hark back to the “Secret Six” series by Gail Simone, that was the precursor to the modern Suicide Squad. Fantastic series and worth the read. It’s over on Comixology and Kindle now, about $9/volume.
That Secret Six looks pretty good. I read an article a few weeks back that DC is exploring a digital unlimited subscription (possibly having something to do with Amazon Prime), much like Marvel Unlimited. So if I don’t get to this series for a while, maybe I’ll be able to read it that way someday!