Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 153, where we take a look at various 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 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 scale 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. For any questions or to submit your completed blog, write to edgosney62@gmail.com.
If you have any comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a Reply.” And now, Episode 153…
Cool Comics News!
Do you remember the Kung Fu craze of the Seventies? The Billy Jack movies (the first one debuted in the Sixties), Kung Fu the TV show starring David Carradine, and the coolness of Bruce Lee movies filled our hearts and imaginations with wild adventures (and let’s not forget Howard the Duck, Master of Quack Fu!). This week Cool Comics In My Collection celebrates heroes of martial arts from Marvel, DC, Charlton Comics, and UDON Entertainment. Do you have a favorite character or series that features martial arts? Please tell us in the comments section below!
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Shang-Chi versus Karate Kid! 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
#730 — Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu #1, Marvel Comics, November 2009.
Marvel’s Master of Kung Fu holds a certain mystique (no, not the blue one!) in my mind. It’s nothing I can really lay my finger on, yet it’s there. I remember seeing comics and the black and white magazines he was featured in when I was growing up in the Seventies, yet I never read them. But when I went to college, I got a few issues my freshman year and liked what I read. Yet my days of reading comics while a college student didn’t last long, and they were all packed away until I started collecting again in 1993. Still, Shang-Chi was pretty absent in Marvel until a mini-series came out in 2002, which I did get, but it didn’t feel the same as the early Eighties ongoing series. And neither did this black and white one-shot comic I picked up for just 50 cents. Elements were there, especially after the first story (which was an odd, yet somewhat entertaining team-up with Deadpool), but it wasn’t the same. Which makes me glad that I can still find issues of the original series for decent prices when I’m fondly remembering the past. The cover price of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu #1 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
#731 — Legion of Super-Heroes #103, DC Comics, April 1998.
If you’ve been reading Cool Comics for a while, then you know that I have a special spot in my heart for the Legion of Super-Heroes. Much like the Master of Kung-Fu above, I never bought any issues until my short time collecting while in college, but what a time that was, as I was able to buy and read all the issues in The Great Darkness Saga. Jumping into a Legion comic can be a pretty complicated journey because there are so many members and they have all different kinds of powers and abilities, along with decades of story history. Which also makes me think of the X-Men, but that team of Mutants has a lot of media exposure via cartoons, movies, and novels, and the members of the Legion aren’t as well-known. Still, there is something so fascinating about them that I try to get a lot of their issues when I find them in quarter boxes, regardless of what series they come from. And you can see why I picked this issue for Cool Comics this week, as we see Karate Kid in action! This is the second issue of Legion of Super-Heroes I’ve used with Val Armorr on the cover, in case this seems vaguely familiar! The Karate Kid is a master of all forms of martial arts in the DC Universe up to the 31st Century, which makes him fit in well for this episode of Cool Comics. The cover price of Legion of Super-Heroes #103 is $2.25, while the current value is $2.50.
Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap
#732 — Power Man and Iron Fist #8, Marvel Comics, November 2016.
When you’re doing a martial arts theme week, there’s always a little trepidation that maybe you won’t have what you need in your Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap legendary longbox. You know what I mean, right? Needless to say, we here at Cool Comics were ecstatic to find a Power Man and Iron Fist issue stuffed inside the box of cheap glory (for the few left who may not know, I bought a longbox of comics, jam-packed with 419 issues, for just $20, a little over a year-and-a-half ago). Sadly, the excitement wore off during the reading. If I thought Cool Comic #730 didn’t live up to Shang-Chi’s comics from days gone by, Luke and Danny’s adventure was an even bigger letdown for me. We all have different opinions about what makes a good comic, but for me, I can’t say I enjoyed much of it beyond the fact that it contained Iron Fist during my martial arts theme week. Also, it didn’t help that this was part of the Civil War II crossover event, and I don’t really know what’s going on in the greater Marvel Universe when this issue takes place. But really, how can I complain much about a comic that cost less than a nickel? The cover price of Power Man and Iron Fist #8 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 17)
#733 — Ultra Street Fighter II #1, UDON Entertainment, May 2018.
As far as I can remember, this is the first Street Fighter related comic I’ve ever read. Each week I pick up another issue from my Free Comic Book Day pile (yes, I have them all), and this week, upon seeing this title, my little brain decided it was time for another theme week, and thus we have Martial Arts Mayhem at Cool Comics! Lots of people enjoy the Street Fighter II (I’m assuming there was an original Street Fighter, and it progressed to II…but I could be wrong) franchise, whether it be comic books, movies, TV shows, and whatever else exists for Street Fighter fanatics out there (feel free to tell me other Street Fighter fun in the comments section below), and the people at UDON Entertainment made sure to give you even more during Free Comic Book Day. There have been a few of these freebies in which I haven’t been able to follow the action too well, but this one turned out to be easier to read for the uninitiated, which I appreciate. The cover price of Ultra Street Fighter II #1 is free, while the current value is $1.
Cool Comics Classics
#734 — Yang #1, Charlton Comics, November 1973.
When it came time to pull a Cool Comics Classic out of the vault for this week, it ended up being a no-brainer, thanks to Back Issue! #105 (pictured here also). This is just the second issue of this fun magazine that I’ve read, and now I’m completely hooked. Without it, I would be clueless about Yang, Charlton Comic’s martial arts master. And maybe you’re shaking your head right now and saying, “Yang? Is he serious? Why not a Seventies issue of Master of Kung-Fu or Iron Fist comics?” Like me, you may have never heard of Yang, or paid no attention to him during his run many decades ago. Charlton Comics may not have been much on your
radar. They certainly weren’t with me, though I had a few (now I really appreciate them!). But did you know that when the Kung Fu craze hit comics in the Seventies, Yang was the first to hit the stands? I learned that from Back Issue, as they had a really nice article about this character who I didn’t know anything about (if you enjoy learning about older characters and creators, there are a couple magazines you may want to look into: Alter Ego and the previously mentioned Back Issue! Both can be found at http://twomorrows.com/, and can also be ordered via Previews). Once I’d read about Yang, I decided I wanted to own an issue. I really wanted #5, as Yang battles a bigfoot, but since my local shop didn’t have a copy, I was more than happy to get his first issue for just $4. The cover price of Yang #1 is 20¢, while the current value is $20.
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