Super Friends No More? Meanwhile, Absolute Carnage Reigns at Marvel!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 203, where we 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. I hope you have as much fun reading about them as I had writing about these cool comics!

For each of the comic books I include here, I list the current secondary market pricing (with the exception of digital issues, which don’t have collectible value). This is according to the websites ComicBookRealm.com (CBR) and Zap-Kapow Comics (ZKC), using the comic book grading scale of 9.4 (if both sites have the same price, you’ll find just one price for that issue). Not all my comics meet that grade. Some are probably better, and some are certainly worse. But to simplify it, that’s the scale I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Did you know that you can be a guest host for Cool Comics? It’s your chance to show off some of your favorite comics in your personal collection! 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. To submit your completed blog (or if you have any questions), write to edgosney62@gmail.com.

The Cool Comics In My Collection Facebook Group is a place where you can discuss the comics you love, your favorite titles, and the characters that keep you coming back for more. Also, creators are welcome to share news about what you are working on, including Kickstarter campaigns. And don’t forget the prizes. Yes, Cool Comics gives away cool prizes. Be sure and join today!

If you have any comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a Reply.” And now, Episode 203…

Cool Comics News!

Ever feel like you’ll never catch up on your “To Be Read” pile? I’ve felt like that for decades as far as regular books are concerned, and now the same goes for my comic book collection. I keep up weekly with the new stuff that comes out, but back issue acquisitions will have me reading for a long time. Same goes with magazines. When I can find discount back issues of…well…Back Issue, Alter Ego, and other comic periodicals, I grab them, promising to get them read…someday. But when will I ever catch up? Over the last few months, I’ve maintained a mandatory daily reading schedule. So many pages of several different kinds of books each day, along with magazines. And it’s working. Sort of. The problem is, I still keep finding great deals that I can’t resist, and the piles keep growing and growing!

Cool Comics Battle of the Week!

Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Carnage versus Superboy! 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

#1010 — Absolute Carnage #1, Marvel, October 2019.

As I mentioned last episode in the FCBD section, I’m not a fan of the Marvel Symbiotes. However, I’m unabashedly admitting that I enjoyed this extra-thick start to the mega-Absolute Carnage crossover event. For those who are fans of Knull and all the craziness associated with him, Venom, Carnage, and others, you’re probably trying to reconfigure your budget, because if the spin-offs, one-offs, mini-series, main series, and other related titles involved in this storyline that runs into November are half as good as the opening, you’re in for quite the comic book ride. Donny Cates (writer) and Ryan Stegman (penciler) did a great job in this opener to attract someone like me who doesn’t care much for these characters, but I’d be remiss without mentioning color artist Frank Martin, who knocked it out of the park in setting the right tone for this comic. If you plunked down your money for this and didn’t like it, I feel for you, because it’s not a cheap issue. But my guess is it’s the rare reader who doesn’t have fun with this wild ride. The cover price of Absolute Carnage #1 is $7.99, while the current value is $8.

Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap

#1011 — Superboy and the Ravers #18, DC, February 1998.

I started my third phase of comic book collecting in 1993, just after the Death of Superman story, and in time to get the early issues of the new Superboy who mysteriously shows up as a Superman replacement. Eventually I quit getting the title and didn’t really notice when this Superboy and the Ravers series came around in 1996. This issue wasn’t an easy read, though, because while I was familiar with this cloned version of Superboy, I have no background with the Ravers. And as it turns out, this was the next-to-last issue published. My legendary longbox (over a year ago, I bought a longbox that was stuffed with 419 comic books for just $20; hence, Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap) also contains issue 19, but unlike some series in which the last few issues see an increase in value, this wasn’t the case. The cover price of Superboy and the Ravers #18 is $1.95, while the current values are $3 on CBR and $2 on ZKC.

FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 15)

#1012 — Gillbert, Papercutz, May 2019.

I’m not very familiar with Papercutz, the company that published this issue, and if it weren’t for Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), I wouldn’t have any of their titles in my collection. Last year for FCBD they included The Only Living Boy (see episode 163), which measured taller than standard comics and probably caused a few other collectors some storage grief. But it was entertaining, so I guess that’s what counts. This year as I flipped open the cover to their FCBD issue, Gillbert, I spied a familiar name. Jim Salicrup is the editor-in-chief for Papercutz, but I recognized his name because of Marvel, along with Topps Comics (anyone remember those? Jim edited The X-Files, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Zorro, and a few others), which I did read back in the Nineties. What about Gillbert? It might make you think a little about that other undersea character aimed at a younger crowd…you know, the absorbent yellow guy…but these characters also have a certain charm. The cover price of Gillbert is free, while the current values are $0 on CBR and $1 on ZKC.

Cool Comics Kids

#1013 — Tweety and Sylvester #60, Whitman/Gold Key, August 1976.

I wasn’t a big fan of Tweety and Sylvester cartoons when I was a kid, but I’d still watch (and feel a little sympathy for Sylvester). Like most of these older Gold Key (mine has the Whitman logo, but it’s still basically a Gold Key comic of the period…you can find out why if you Google it) kid comics, there are several stories in each issue, perfect for short attention spans. Looney Tunes characters often borrow stories and ideas from pop culture, and this one has a dickens of a story called “A Tale-of Two Kitties!!” And as I read this and others in the issue, I found myself enjoying it, especially since Tweety, while playing a bit of a mean trick on Sylvester in a story titled “Claws!” doesn’t have things go as smoothly as he’d hoped. If you are looking to build a comic library for the little ones in your life, this is a fun issue to toss on the pile. I was fortunate to find my copy while digging around in a quarter box. The cover price of Tweety and Sylvester #60 is 25¢, while the current values are $10 on CBR and $5 on ZKC.

Cool Comics Classics

#1014 — World’s Finest Comics #180, DC, Nov 1968.

I just love a cover with a price-tag of “12¢” printed on it. And when you can grab one of these for a measly buck, why not, right? The condition isn’t great but owning these small pieces of comic book history are part of the fun of the hobby. And how can you resist reading it to find out what happens to poor Batman? Looks like Superman woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something, because he’s not acting like a Super Friend should! Written by Cary Bates with art by Ross Andru, “Superman’s Perfect Crime” will have you wondering how in the world the Caped Crusader made it into the 21st Century! A backup story from 1955 is included, “The Batmen of All Nations.” Originally published in Detective Comics #215, this story, written by Edmund Hamilton and penciled by Sheldon Moldoff, has us doubting Batman’s abilities for a while, but of course he comes through in the end. The cover price of World’s Finest Comics #180 is 12¢, while the current values are $60 on CBR and $45 on ZKC.

Recently Read Digital Comics

I’d been reading this digital title for a while and at long last wrapped up the lycanthropic collection. With all the other comics, books, and magazines I read, I’ve neglected Jack Russell and his lupine alter ego for a while now…not to mention taking a break from it to get through the digital editions of All-Star Superman. I’ve mentioned here at Cool Comics before that I skipped buying monster comics when I started collecting in the Seventies. Not because I was scared, but because I tended to like my comics to be of the superhero variety. I was a big fan of Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille, the weekend horror host of Chiller Theatre out of Pittsburgh, and I segregated my comic stuff from my horror collections (I had a small collection of monster magazines during that time…and still have them, along with some awesome Aurora monster models). Nowadays, when I think back to those childhood years spent looking over all the new comics on the shelf at the little shop I frequented, I wish I’d bought some of the Werewolf By Night and Tomb of Dracula issues I ignored. On a few occasions over the last couple decades, I’ve bought some back issues of these titles, but this digital version is great, because it gives me everything I need. Werewolf By Night: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 includes Marvel Spotlight (1971) #2-4, Werewolf By Night (1972) #1-15, Marvel Team-Up (1972) #12, and Tomb of Dracula (1972) #18. I also own Volume 2 in the digital edition, and Volume 3 is available. Best of all, I got this on a terrific sale and spent just 99¢ for 434 digital pages of Seventies Marvel monster love.

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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