Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 91, 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 91…
Cool Comics News!
Over the last few months I’ve been giving lots and lots of love to DC for their Walmart 3-packs, which include a variant cover, for just $5. So, I decided to give the Marvel 3-packs a chance. That’s right, Walmart has Marvel comics too, and this one was also just $5. It didn’t contain a comic with a variant cover, but I enjoyed all three in this package. What Marvel did instead was to include randomly inserted Bronze, Silver, and Modern Age key issues. Over 500 of them, according to the plastic package. I bought the two different packages they had at my local Walmart, but neither contained Silver or Bronze age comics. Maybe one of mine is a Modern Age Key issue? If so, I probably wouldn’t know at this point, since I’m fairly old school with my comics. And again, time will tell if any of these end up being key issues. And that’s what this week is about, all three issues that came in the package pictured here.
Cool Comics
Cool comics in my collection #445: Hercules #1, January 2016.
My first exposure to Hercules was the 1960’s cartoon. Anyone else remember it? As a young child, I was entranced by the heroics of the Greek hero. It’s probably why I have a place in my heart for the Marvel version of the character. I was first introduced to that Hercules in a reprint comic titled Marvel Spectacular. I have issues #2 and #3 from 1973, and Hercules is on the cover with Thor. By that time, Thor had replaced Herc as my strongman hero, because Thor had that cool Marvel cartoon with the not-so-great animation. I don’t believe I saw Hercules in any other Marvel comics until the 1982 limited series, Hercules, Prince of Power. If I’d been a savvy comic book reader, I would have bought The Champions in the Seventies (I’ve rectified that as an adult), but alas, we all make mistakes. Anyway, this comic came in a three pack from Walmart, and I’m glad for the purchase, because Hercules always entertains me. The cover price of Hercules #1 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Cool comics in my collection #446: Wolverine #4, June 2014.
I haven’t bought a Wolverine comic in quite a while, and it seems like a number of things have changed for the character (along with the X-Men themselves) since issue #189 in 2003. When more than a dozen years have passed, you can’t expect to read a comic and understand the story, character motivations, or the world they’re now living in. This comic was underneath the Hercules issue, so of course I didn’t even know it was in the bag. I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Wolverine fan in the world, but at different times I’ve really enjoyed the character. My first real exposure to Logan was the 1982 mini-series. I sold it on eBay a number of years back, and I also sold all my other Wolverine comics at a garage sale. Like I said, I’m not the biggest Wolverine fan (plus, space is limited, so sometimes I have to sell parts of my collection). I do still have my Origins run and don’t plan to sell it anytime soon. Would I buy more from this modern Wolverine series? Probably not, but it was interesting to read and see what they’ve done with the character. The cover price of Wolverine #4 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Cool comics in my collection #447: Star-Lord #1, January 2016.
Peter Quill, Star-Lord, was a seldom-used character in the Marvel universe until the Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014. I have some older comic books that feature Star-Lord, but from what I’ve read, those adventures now belong to Peter Quill from Earth-791, rather than Earth-616, which is supposedly the Earth that really matters (though these different versions of Earth seem to be more common today, and I don’t recall mention of them during my prime comic reading days up through 2003, the idea was first mentioned in a comic called Rough Justice in 1983…and used mostly in UK Marvel comics). It was an easy way to clean up continuity problems, and this #1 issue goes back to Star-Lord’s origin. It’s different from the movie, so that may make it worth reading to you, if you enjoy the character. I’d certainly consider reading more of this series, but it probably won’t happen for a long time, as I still have too many old comics to read. The cover price of Star-Lord #1 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Recently Read Digital Comics
About three years after I stopped collecting and reading comic books on a regular basis, Civil War broke out in the Marvel Universe in July of 2006. It was interesting reading the collected digital version (I got it on Amazon for the ridiculously low price of $2.60!) of all seven issues of Civil War on my tablet via the comiXology app. I guess I could say it’s always interesting to read comics that came out after 2003, because I’d been on a steady diet of comic reading for over ten years, and read several monthly industry magazines. I really felt like I knew everything that was going on. And now when I read comics after 2003, I’m kind of lost. Anything older, and I feel comfortable. Especially Seventies comics, as regular readers of this blog know. But Civil War certainly turned out to be interesting, with lots of differences from the Captain America: Civil War movie. Although it did have the same basic premise, which is certainly an interesting one. I think one of the most difficult things for me was Spider-Man’s weird costume. The one with all the extra arms…or were they legs? To be honest, I wasn’t too fond of the direction Spider-Man had been going around the turn of the century. I like Seventies Spider-Man stories the best, but that’s to be expected, considering it’s when I started buying comics. I guess I’ll have to read Civil War II now.
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Civil War II has some interesting ideas. . .focusing mainly on the question of, if you knew someone was GOING to commit a crime in the future, is it right to stop them NOW before the crime is committed? (The Avengers come across a young inhuman with the ability to see the future) Unfortunately, it’s all a bit weak and the conflict feels forced compared to the first Civil War.
Atom, that idea behind Civil War II sounds very similar to Philip K. Dick’s “The Minority Report” and Alfred Bester’s “The Demolished Man.” Thanks for the info. If I can get a cheap copy digitally, I may consider reading it. But, as I’ve started saying, there are tens of thousands of comics I’ve never read, and time is growing short!