Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 182, 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.
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If you have any comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a Reply.” And now, Episode 182…
Cool Comics News!
Do you listen to podcasts? Recently I’ve been listening to comic book-themed episodes of various podcasts in my attempt to educate myself as much as possible when it comes to our favorite hobby. While I may be very far off from being able to call myself a comic book historian, each podcast I listen to inches me that much closer to knowing today what I didn’t know yesterday (along with all the reading I do, including the magazines Back Issue, Alter Ego, and Hogan’s Alley, not to mention a number of books that focus on four-color fun). A couple weeks ago I bought an old Atlas / Seaboard Comic issue (see Cool Comics Classics below) and found a podcast that focused on the company. I really enjoyed the podcast, and after reading the issue I bought, I acquired more Atlas / Seaboard comics. Another podcast I recently enjoyed was the Quarter-Bin Podcast (I listened to episode #129), which is part of the Relatively Geeky Network. The host, Professor Alan, really is a professor. Listening to smart people like Professor Alan is like going to school for free! Tell us what podcast recommendations you have in the comments section below.
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is The Grim Knight versus Iron Man! 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
Contemporary Cool Comics
#883 — The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight #1, DC, May 2019.
As most of us know, Batman is who he is because of what he experienced the night his parents were murdered. The euphoria of a great evening with mom and dad, then just a few moments later…Bruce Wayne’s world irrevocably changed. It’s hard to imagine that there are any comic book readers out there who haven’t witnessed this scene for themselves, as it’s often repeated between the pages, and nearly as often on the big and small screens. But what if things went down just a little differently, and in a moment of both madness and clarity, Bruce found himself with the same gun in his hand that moments before took away life as he knew it? When I made the decision to read Dark Nights Metal back in 2017 after having been away from new comics for 14 years, I knew I’d be lost in a big way. This mega mini-series, loaded with a history I didn’t know and crossing over into a number of other titles that I didn’t purchase, was still worth it, but I understood that I was missing out on a lot. Gone and seemingly forgotten for many months, I then found myself getting wrapped up in the offspring of Dark Nights Metal, The Batman Who Laughs. Pretty good stuff, I realized, knowing I’d made the right call again by adding it to my comic pulls. And now this one-shot adds to the Batman mythos in its own unique, agonizing, and fascinating way. The cover price of The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5.
#884 — Tony Stark: Iron Man #9, Marvel, May 2019.
This isn’t the comic book I planned for this spot, but when I was partway through reading it, I knew I had to include it as a Cool Comic. Filled with Easter eggs and just the right dash of humor, it’s the perfect balance after the serious Grim Knight comic in #883 above. In case you haven’t been reading Tony Stark: Iron Man, his consciousness is trapped in a virtual reality game called the eScape, which was created by Stark Unlimited, and at this point he no longer remembers that what is happening to him isn’t part of the real world. 
People and “others” (such as Machine Man!) are trying to help him and other innocent people who are being manipulated in the eScape, things are crazy in the real world, and death seems to be knocking at a few doors. Then we get some awesome Sixties Iron Man cartoon love like the page I included here (and you know I love this, because I never include actual comic book pages in Cool Comics, just covers…and click on the link, because if you’ve watched the cartoon, you love the theme song, and if you’ve never seen it, this page makes much more sense). But as much as I love this page, Machine Man has two fantastic panels that make this comic worth the price of admission. The last several issues of this title have been coming out a little late, but I’m okay with that when they give me such a fun product. The cover price of Tony Stark: Iron Man #9 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap
#885 — SpyBoy #1, Dark Horse Comics, October 1999.
SpyBoy? Even though I was a serious collector back in 1999, I can’t remember anything about this title. Yes, I got Previews on a monthly basis, but…this was 20 years ago, and my focus tended to be (and still is, for the most part) on superhero comics, mostly from both Marvel and DC. My Dark Horse Comics purchases have always been limited in comparison (although I do own several dozen). And if it weren’t for my legendary longbox (constant readers know that many months ago I bought a longbox stuffed with 419 comic books, sight unseen, much like a box of chocolates, for just $20, hence, Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap), I may have never read a single issue of SpyBoy (issue #11 was also stuffed into the legendary longbox), which would be a shame, because Peter David and Pop Mhan give us a fun, intriguing story. If you ever run across it, you may want to give it a try. The cover price of SpyBoy #1 is $2.50, while the current value is $3.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 45)
#886 — Scout Presents: The Mall #0, Scout Comics, May 2018.
Besides the variety of comics that came in my legendary longbox (see #885 above), Free Comic Book Day is another terrific venue for exploring comics and companies beyond the Big2. Scout Comics is a company that was completely off my radar before reading their FCBD offering, Scout Presents: The Mall #0. Besides the aforementioned “The Mall,” we also get introductions to Zinnober (London in ruins and Dragons…a winning combination for comic book readers!); OBLIV18N (everyone with any kind of authority or responsibility vanishes, chaos ensues, readers have a good time!); Geneticaa (futuristic tale in which evolution has run amuck); Monarchs (space exploration with the discovery of other sentient races); and The Source (a high school teacher finds out magic is real, but others will stop at nothing to prevent it). Several of them looked fairly interesting to me (they give you a couple pages of each to sample), but the title story “The Mall” was so good that I’m not sure the others can compare. As it states on the cover, it’s, “an ‘80s coming of age crime story,” and while that may not sound so great, the characterization is well done, with the focus being on a teenage boy, and you can’t help but want to see what happens next. I may have to pick up a trade of this someday, if one is ever issued. The cover price of Scout Presents: The Mall #0 is free, while the current value is $1.
Cool Comics Kids
#887 — Porky Pig #56, Gold Key, October 1974.
Cool Comics Kids is a section of the blog that contains issues we consider safe for younger readers. A number of months ago, my local comic shop had a nice stack of older “kiddie” comics in the quarter-bins, and I couldn’t resist getting them. And since Cool Comics is a supporter of ComicBooks For Kids! (read about them below), it seemed like a perfect time to dedicate a section to the younger reader. And while you may not be fortunate enough to find older issues like the ones we’ve had here for just a quarter each, most of these can be found at decent back issue prices. This Porky Pig comic features several stories, and if younger readers have shorter attention spans, this might just fit the bill. The first tale is called “Warranty and Peace,” followed by “Misfortune-Teller,” and ending with “Saboteurs From Space.” Porky Pig is the star of all three, and Bugs Bunny is featured in two of these stories. These are fun comics from a bygone era, and even if you don’t have any youngsters in your life to buy them for, why not get a few for yourself and revisit your past? The cover price of Porky Pig #56 is 25¢, while the current value is $14.
Cool Comics Classics
#888 — Morlock 2001 #1, Atlas Comics, February 1975.
A couple weeks ago while taking a walk through my favorite comic book store, my eyes wouldn’t leave this cover when I saw it displayed at the front of a box of comics. In full cooperation my legs stopped on a dime, I did a left-face that would have made my old drill sergeant proud, and snagged Morlock 2001 as if my life depended on it. You see, many moons ago, during my third phase of comic collecting (1993-2003), I bought three issues of Atlas Comics in bargain back issue bins: The Brute #1 and Scorpion #1 and #2. I didn’t know the history behind Atlas / Seaboard, so I didn’t really appreciate them. Unread, I ended up selling them at my gargantuan garage sale that took place about nine years ago. Since that time, I’ve learned some of the background of the company through various pieces of literature, the Internet, and a podcast. But the podcast came after I bought this issue. And after listening to the podcast and reading this first issue of Morlock 2001, I went back to my local comic shop and loaded up on more Atlas titles. They published a total of 61 issues (along with a handful of magazines), and while some people won’t want a thing to do with a company that failed, to me they are a fascinating piece of comic book history, and one of my collecting goals is to own the entire collection. Maybe some of you hold a special place in your heart for Atlas / Seaboard Comics, too. The cover price of Morlock 2001 #1 is 25¢, while the current value is $20.
ComicBooks For Kids!
ComicBooks For Kids! (CB4K) is a charity that Cool Comics In My Collection is honored to be working with. CB4K provides comic books to kids in hospitals and cancer centers all across the Unites States. You can check their website and see if your local hospital is included and if not, you can work with them to get them included! If you like what you see, please help them out and follow/like their Facebook page. Their link is https://www.facebook.com/comicbooksforkids/
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Thank you for the kind words about Relatively Geeky and the Quarter-Bin Podcast. Appreciate it!
I wasn’t on board for “Metal”, but my comic shop tends to toss a “Try it for free” issue in my pile about once a month since I’m a long time customer and “The Grim Knight” was this month’s freebie. I have to say that I really liked the whole “Batman as Punisher” feel to it. It’s a really dark and, well. . .grim. . .alternate look at a very familiar story.
As for your Classic comic. . .I’ve never heard of Morlock 2001, but if it has the same quality as the other Atlas/Seaboard comics I’ve read, then you have a nice find on your hands!
As always, another great post and thanks for keeping it fun!
Atom, I’d never heard of Morlock 2001 either before I bought it, and it was a pretty good story. Lucky for me I was able to go back to the same store and buy issues 2 and 3 last Saturday…along with all three issues of both The Scorpion and The Grim Ghost. As a matter of fact, I went a little Atlas crazy and bought 33 issues, so now I’m a little over halfway done with the entire collection. It’s a piece of my childhood that I let slip away at the time, but now I’m grabbing hold of it.
Thank you for adding the Tony Stark Iron Man book in this week’s blog.
One title I have not picked up yet, so it gives me a little more to go on. I think there is a Steranko homage on one of the issues that I had looked at a few times.
That Mall book was really decent too. I picked that up as well at last year’s FCBD, and obtained a second copy that a seller tossed in as a freebie with a purchase. I saw that the series is out, and may be making some waves now.
Iron Man has been entertaining! And The Mall is on my radar.
Oh, I just saw your comment to Atom on the Grim Ghost.
That is a great book! I had it in my original collection, I think my grandmother found it at a garage sale way back when. I read it numerous times and loved it. Just a few weeks back, I repurchased it for my current collection.
Spector, I’m really looking forward to reading The Grim Ghost!
I am interested in finding and buying the entire atlas seaboard line and the entire atlas revival comics line but they are not easy to find. I use to see them at comic book conventions in dollar bin boxes. I use to own a few of them but a few years ago I sold them to a comic book store dealer. now I am hoping to find and buy every atlas seaboard comics and magazines until I have a complete collection of them. I also hope to find and buy every atlas revival comics until I have a complete collection of them too. I would be willing to pay guide prices for an complete atlas seaboard collection and I would also be willing to pay guide prices for an complete atlas revival collection.
Morris, best wishes in finding the Atlas comics and magazines. I have two of the magazines, Movie Monsters issues 1 and 2, and now 34 of the comics. I love the history, creators, and characters behind this great piece of comic book history.