Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 137, 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 137…
Cool Comics News!
Way back in the Nineties, when I started reading new comics again after a decade away, I started picking up the occasional comic book magazine so that I could keep up with what was going on. Wizard was very popular at the time, along with the short-lived Hero Illustrated (which was the place I first read about a new TV show that would be starting up, called The X-Files). These magazines—and others like them—had articles about artists, writers, and things happening in the world of comics, along with price guides. Sometimes I would find magazines that stepped back in time and talked about the good old days of comics, and special collections and creators from the past. And now that I’m buying new comics again, I get Previews each month. I see cool magazines being offered like Back Issue! and Alter Ego, and fall in love with the nostalgic covers. I’ve never been sure if I’d really read these if I ever bought a copy, since I 
already read lots of comics, magazines, and books, but I recently found out, as last Thursday, just a couple days before Free Comic Book Day (did you go? Did you get some fun stuff? Tell us in the comments section below!), I stopped in my local comic shop and found a box full of discounted Alter Ego magazines, along with some other fun and interesting comic magazines. The shop owner made me a deal, and now I’m having to pry myself away from the earliest issue of Alter Ego in my collection, issue 19, from way back in 2002. If you have an interest in or appreciation of Golden and Silver Age comics and creators, Alter Ego is the magazine for you. I can’t say enough good things about it as I’m working my way through this first issue, which has two beautiful covers, as the magazine, at least in this earlier one, flips upside-down for the second half. Very cool.
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Wonder Woman versus Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)! What do you think would happen if they faced each other in a titanic tussle, and how do you see the winner achieving victory? Let us know in the comments section below.
Cool Comics in My Collection
#644 — Avengers #1, Marvel Comics, July 2018.
I wasn’t overly excited to see that Marvel decided to have a “fresh start.” Seriously, they just ran their Legacy thing in the fall, and now this? Renumbering and all that? And yet Avengers #1 is a great read. Marvel didn’t change the past, have a crisis, or do any sort of Heroes Reborn or Rebirth thing. Instead, they mixed up some of the creative teams and started with number one issues (and underneath the “1” is the Legacy numbering…LGY#691 for this issue, for those who like that sort of thing). Undoubtedly this will help sales by providing clean jumping on points for people who see the movie and want more, or collectors who haven’t read Marvel in a while and decide to give it another try. But why do this now? Um, Bendis left, so that is part of it, but comic sales aren’t what they use to be. Anyway, back in the fall, did you read that Marvel Legacy one-shot? Yeah, that one with the heroes from a million years ago. It was different, that’s for sure, and at the time, I didn’t much care for the concept. But they’re back, and now I’m smitten. That’s right, the first few pages show us the earliest heroes of Earth (and Asgard), and they really are pretty cool. I hope they continue doing this each issue. As for the main story, it ties in to something that happened long ago, and I’m eagerly looking forward to issue #2. In other words, Avengers #1 rates extremely high on my Cool Meter, so try to get a copy if you still can. The cover price for Avengers #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5.
#645 — Harbinger Wars 2: Prelude #1, Valiant Entertainment, May 2018.
At the end of January, in Episode 122, two of my Cool Comics were Valiant Entertainment titles, Harbinger and Harbinger Renegade. One I found in a discount box, and the other was in my legendary long box. I ended up really loving those two comics, so when I saw in Previews a couple months ago that a Harbinger Wars 2 mini-series would be starting, I couldn’t add it to my pull list fast enough! Granted, I don’t know much about this series or the characters in this Prelude issue, but I wanted to make sure that any fans don’t miss out if they didn’t know about Harbinger Wars 2 (I guess if this is news to you, you aren’t a Psiot). I’m looking forward to issue 1, releasing at the end of May, and hoping we get to see Peter Stanchek and his nemesis, Toyo Harada. If you are a Harbinger fan, let me know in the comments section below! The cover price of Harbinger Wars 2: Prelude #1 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
#646 — DC Nation #0, DC Comics, July 2018.
If you participated in this year’s Free Comic Book Day and wondered why DC had just one offering, and it was a reprint to boot, maybe you forgave them when considering this quarter comic that came out on Wednesday last week. That’s right, just 25¢, right there on the cover, like so many of us grew up with. And if that’s too steep for your budget, you can get it free on comiXology for your digital collection. DC Nation #0 gives us three stories to prepare us for a few things coming down the road. There is a Batman wedding preview story that features the Joker, Brian Michael Bendis gives us a glimpse of his version of Superman, leading into The Man of Steel weekly 6 issue series that starts May 30, and we also get a prelude for the Justice League series No Justice. If you didn’t grab this off the shelf last week, perhaps you’ve found a quarter in some lonely parking lot, waiting to be exchanged for some four-color fun. The cover price of DC Nation #0 is 25¢, while the current value is 25¢.
#647 — Hunt For Wolverine: Weapon Lost #1, Marvel Comics, July 2018.
I should be embarrassed about this comic, because just last week in Episode 136 I said I would not be getting any of the Hunt For Wolverine mini-series (although I did admit that a couple of them intrigued me, due to the characters included, and Daredevil was one I mentioned). So why are you finding this here in Cool Comics? Because it got put in my pull box by accident…but are there really any accidents? I wasn’t disappointed with the art or writing (and I like Charles Soule’s writing), which made the experience even more painful because now I’ll have to get issues 2 through 4. And my guess is that Wolverine won’t be found in any of the four separate mini-series, but it’s really about the journey, right? The cover price of Hunt For Wolverine: Weapon Lost #1 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap
#648 — Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #2, Valiant Entertainment, December 2015.
I’m giving Valiant Entertainment extra love this week here at Cool Comics, as I decided to pull this one from my legendary longbox and give it a read. The fact that Harbinger Wars 2 has started (see Cool Comic #646 above) certainly helped influence my decision, but it wasn’t the only reason I decided to read this one. So why? Because like many of you, most of my comic book past is littered with many Marvel and DC titles, and sometimes we like to delve into something a little different. When I entered my third phase of comic book collecting (1993-2003), I experimented with lots of different titles and companies. I had a nice collection of Valiant back issues, as they were pretty easy to find in discount boxes, but I sold them—unread—at a garage sale a few years ago. Now I kind of regret it, as I’ve discovered just how much fun the Valiant universe is. As for this issue, I really didn’t know much of what was going on, since I don’t have a reading history with the Eternal Warrior, but I had fun with it anyway. The cover price of Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #2 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 1)
#649 — Avengers/Captain America #1, Marvel Comics, May 2018.
This is it, fearless friends, the first Free Comic Book Day the Cool Comics Way selection! So, while I’ll maintain my regular Cool Comic numbering here, I’m going to sequentially number the week of each FCBD comic. And Cool Comics isn’t missing a beat, or an issue, because we’ll be bringing you all 50 offerings from this year, plus two bonuses, to give you a full year of coverage (and if we have any guest hosts this year, Cool Comics will double down the following week so that we stay on schedule). Sometimes the FCBD issues are reprints or have nothing to do with the ongoing stories, but for Marvel fans, you’ll want to get your hands on this issue, especially with the launch of Avengers #1 (see #644 above). If the direction writer Jason Aaron is taking this team is intriguing you, don’t miss this one (don’t worry, no spoilers here!). I wasn’t as enthusiastic about the second half of this freebie, which is the Captain America story, but the Avengers section gives you every reason to try to find a copy, if you still can. The cover price of FCBD: Avengers/Captain America #1 is Free, while the current value is $0 (it will be interesting as the year goes on to see if any of these freebies start to gain value).
Cool Comics Classics
#650 — Star Brand #1, Marvel Comics, October 1986.
While Star Brand could end up being my most controversial Cool Comics Classic since the category began, there’s no denying its place in comic book history. Under the direction of editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, Marvel introduced comic readers to the New Universe with eight titles that were not part of the world of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and all your other favorite heroes. It lasted until 1989. Yet the characters and concepts refused to stay dead, and Marvel creators worked them into the world you know so well. (for more details on the New Universe, its resurrection, and controversies surrounding it, you can just Google it…but you might want to start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Universe). I’ve run across people who admit that the New Universe is their guilty pleasure, and you know what? That’s cool, because this great hobby of comic books is big enough to allow for variety, and we like what we like, right? Star Brand and his New Universe buddies came out at a time I was pretty far removed from comic books, so when I got back into reading and buying them, I would occasionally pick up a title or two when I saw them in discount boxes. But much like my Valiant comics, I sold them without having read them (yes, at my infamous garage sale). I got this copy at my local comic shop for just a quarter, and that’s hard to beat. After reading it, I don’t feel like I need to rush out and find more New Universe issues, but if I stumble upon some good deals, it might be fun to take another look. If you’re a fan and this brought back some fun memories, please tell us in the comment section below. The cover price of Star Brand #1 is 75¢, while the current value is $3.
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I never got into Star Brand, but I was (and still am) a big fan of New Universe’s “Justice”. It’s been in the back of my mind for a while to do a “Longbox Junk” entry on the full Justice run, as it’s a great example of worthless comics worth reading (well, mostly. . .it sort of goes haywire toward the end, and the art goes from great to dodgy on a random basis). Take a look if you’re interested in more of what Shooter’s strange experiment had to offer.
As for the battle of the week. . .THAT would be an epic cross-company matchup for sure! Cosmic powers vs. Magic! I’m more of a fan of DC and Wonder Woman, but I think she’d be outmatched in this fight with Captain Marvel’s multiple energy-based abilities able to take out Princess Diana from a distance.
Atom, I had issue #8 of Justice, and as I mentioned in my blog, never read them. I’m not averse to picking more of these titles up if I find them in discount boxes. Thanks for reading!