Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 113, where we take a look at comic books I own (and in some cases ones that I let get away), both new and old, often with a nostalgic leaning for those feelings of yesteryear.
For each of the comic books I include in this blog (except for digital issues), 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 113…
Cool Comics News!
To all my readers, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you were able to spend time with family and/or friends, and to consider all you have to be thankful for. Did you watch the Macy’s parade? Are you traditional and have turkey for dinner, or do you have ham or something else? Did you watch football, hockey, or instead, finally binge Stranger Things 2? Do you have a roaring fire going during the holiday, or is it too hot where you live? What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions? Do you get together with friends and family to eat and have great conversation? Do you participate in local turkey trots or play a friendly annual football game? Maybe you watch comic book movies or shows on Thanksgiving! Nothing wrong with that. Whatever it is that you like to do or eat, why not share some of your traditions and memories in the comments field below? Cool Comics would love to hear from you.
Cool Comics
Cool comics in my collection #542: Doctor Strange #381, January 2018.
While Marvel Legacy has been providing some interesting stories, there have been a few in which the headliner of the title is mostly missing. In the case of Doctor Strange, we don’t actually see Stephen Strange until the last three pages. And he’s not even the Sorcerer Supreme. Say what? Yup, we’re told that there was a tournament and that Loki (of course, it had to be Loki!) defeated Strange and now holds the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. I imagine there are a number of Loki fans out there, based on how popular he seems to be in the Thor and Avengers movies, so is this a play to pull in some of those readers? At any rate, it’s an interesting story, but darn it, we have to wait a while until we get to our real hero. Even Thor (the Jane Foster version) makes an appearance before Strange enters the fray. I’m a fan of Doctor Strange, and I’m hoping writer Donny Cates and artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta give us an awesome Loki – Strange faceoff. The Marvel Value Stamp for this issue is Deadpool. Is anyone removing them from their comics and putting them in the special book Marvel produced for this? Tell us in the comments section below. The cover price of Doctor Strange #381 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Cool comics in my collection #543: Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #297, January 2018.
Can you imagine the shock of walking into your local comic shop and discovering that the next issue of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man is number 297? Because just a few weeks ago, you picked up issue 6 from the shelves. You have all six issues at home, stored in special plastic bags with nice white backing boards, and carefully placed in a comic book box. So what gives? While most hardcore collectors have known about Marvel Legacy for months, and know that many titles are going back to their original numbering, newer collectors may not understand how they missed out on over 290 issues in such a short space of time! But within the pages of each first Legacy issue per title, Marvel gives us a breakdown of how they figured the numbering scheme now being used. And with this comic, we can see that #1-133 began in 1976, #134-263 started in 1988 (with a slight change to the title name), and #264-290 launched in 2003, but the numbering was actually 1-27 on the covers. Then comes our current series of #291-296 in 2017, listed as 1-6. Do you like it or hate it? Like everything in life, change happens. But most importantly, writer Chip Zdarsk and artist Adam Kubert (with Juan Frigeri) are putting out some good comics, and I’m glad to be along for the ride. The Marvel Value Stamp for this issue is Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan…the Ms. Marvel from the Seventies is now Captain Marvel, for those who haven’t kept up). The cover price of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #297 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap
Cool comics in my collection #544: Ash/22 Brides #2, April 1997.
Whenever you pay less than 5¢ for a comic book, that’s a good thing, right? It’s really hard to go wrong when they’re so cheap, so that’s my mindset with Ash/22 Brides #2. It wasn’t bad…it just wasn’t for me. The good is that it features the writing of Fabian Nicieza and the pencils of Humberto Ramos, along with inks by Jimmy Palmiotti. Familiar names to me. I especially have appreciated Ramos’ art, distinctly recalling the big feet he gave Impulse, and he has big feet in this comic, too. These days, he’s drawing Champions for Marvel, and I noticed that only the Hulk has big feet. Which makes sense of course. Yet 20 years ago, everyone seemed to have big feet when Ramos penciled. Part of the problem for me is that I never read issue #1, which makes this hard to follow the action. I read a total of three Ash comics way back when, but can’t tell you anything about him. There were dinosaurs and vampires in this comic, and people like those, so maybe you read this and loved it. Nothing wrong with that. The cover price of Ash/22 Brides #2 is $2.95, while the current value is $3.
Cool Comics Classics
Cool comics in my collection #545: Watchman Trade Edition, May 2014.
Originally published in comic book form from September 1986 through October 1987, Watchman is a groundbreaking story that changed the way people perceive and create comic books. Although dated in some respects, it’s still has relevancy today, and HBO is working on a live-action series. When Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were putting out monthly issues of Watchman, my mind was on other things, such as finishing up college, becoming engaged, and then getting married. When I did start buying comics again in 1993, for some reason I never sought out the iconic series. But last year, one of my daughters gave me this collected volume, and with the advent of DC’s Doomsday Clock (it came out yesterday!), I realized it was time to crack open the pages and discover for myself why everyone says it’s a must read. First off, let me say that this isn’t a comic book for all ages, as there are some adult themes. Nothing too bad, but I’d keep it out of the hands of pre-teens for sure. It’s violent, philosophical, and at times, slow. As in boring slow. But that’s just me, and maybe your experience is different. The characters I found most interesting were Rorschach and Nite Owl, just in case you were wondering. Now that I’ve finally read it, I can watch the movie, which came out in 2009. The cover price of this collected edition of Watchmen is $19.99, while the current value is $20. The current value of the 12 original individual issues adds up to $135.
Recently Read Digital Comics
Over the last couple months, I’ve seen several people on social media raving about the new Mister Miracle comic written by Tom King and penciled by Mitch Gerads, so it was a no-brainer to download Mister Miracle #1 Extended Preview, when I saw it offered free via comiXology. I admit that I don’t have much background with the character, having never bought any issues from the original series that ran from 1971 to 1978. Sounds like a solid run, but it saw just 25 issues published during that time, and I didn’t buy anything related to the New Gods back in the Seventies. DC gave the character another title from 1989 to 1991, this time putting out 28 issues, but I wasn’t buying comics at that time. And then in 1996, when I was once more making weekly trips to a comic shop, Mister Miracle had another series. I bought issue 7, but that was the last one released, until now. There have been 4 issues so far for Volume 4, and it’s getting a lot of love. Unfortunately, this digital preview was just 10 pages, so it was hard to know what was going on. When this comes out in a digital collected volume, I may have to pick it up.
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I think, that like my love of Sam Wilson Captain America, I’m sort of the odd bird out on Watchmen. I really liked the movie a lot, but am not a very big fan of the original comics. Pretty much the opposite of most comic fans. The Watchmen comics aren’t BAD, but to me they are very garishly colored and there are parts that are pretentious to the extreme. . .giving us more of a look inside Alan Moore’s overinflated ego than at the story itself. On the other hand, I loved the gritty, dark tone of the movie, and the soundtrack is great listening by itself! I’m going to step out even further on the limb of comic fan outrage and say that I enjoyed DC’s controversial “Before Watchmen” series of prequel stories better than the comics they were based on. Check them out and tell me I’m crazy. They’re good!
Atom, I understand where you are coming from. I’ve talked with people who consider Watchmen the best comic series ever, and then, like you, it wasn’t really for them. I sort of fall in the middle. At times it was a struggle to read, but I will say that I’m glad I did, because it is an important work in the industry. I plan on reading those “Before Watchmen” comics at some point in the future, so thanks for pointing those out. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!