Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 209, 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 209…
Cool Comics News!
The Founder and President of the charitable organization ComicBooks For Kids!, contacted Cool Comics this week so that we could let readers know about this special coloring book (there will be at least two volumes, with the first coming out with two different covers) that will be going out to hospitalized children across the nation. But you also have an opportunity to help the cause by purchasing your own copy. An abridged version of the details follow (any errors in the information are my fault):
Available now in very limited quantities on eBay, ComicBooks For Kids! will be releasing the first coloring book of its kind, including content from Eisner award winning and nominated artists, professional illustrators, Emmy award winning animators and those in toy 
design. The book will include both an index and brief biographies of the artists. Additionally, new talent will be spotlighted, giving artistic voice to those who have aspirations of working in the comic book industry. Entitled Legends Vol 1, this volume includes—in some cases—unseen or new art from John Bolton, Gary Gianni, Aaron Lopresti, Art Baltazar, Val Mayerik, Steve Rude, Shawn McManus, Stan Sakai, William Stout, Dan Parent, Rich Tommaso, the late Mike Wieringo, Topper Helmers, Jerry Bingham and many others. A total of 34 artists donated their time and talents toward helping the kids in this first volume. Copyrighted material outside of the artist’s own creation was prohibited. What you are seeing here are the depth and breadth of these creators.
ComicBooks For Kids! and all of the participating artists wanted to share their love of this industry with the kiddos in the hospital. They prepared this 56-page coloring book for kids of all ages, as there is art included for all skill levels, including adults. The paper quality is top of the line and all pages are perforated for easy removal.
The coloring book will come with a 4-pack of Crayola crayons, and these limited for sale copies will be available for $10.00. If you’d like to be a part, order yours by clicking the link below:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/123910985138
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Spider-Man versus Green Lantern! 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
#1043 — Spider-Man #1, Marvel, November 2019.
When it was announced that J.J. Abrams (yes, the famous one who is associated with Lost, Star Trek, Star Wars and a bunch of other movies and TV shows that you probably like) and his son, Henry, were going to be writing a Spider-Man mini-series, some controversy ensued. And some of the controversy made sense. Many comic book writers have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into every word they’ve written, hoping to get an opportunity to someday do a story for one of the most iconic comic book characters of all-time. Then along comes a Hollywood guy and his son, and they get this fantastic gig out of thin air. But what we need to remember is that comics are a business, and the companies make decisions they believe will be profitable. And with so many people predicting that doom and gloom isn’t far from ending the comic book industry, why not give it a kick-start with someone who has a built-in audience? I’m not saying that J.J. Abrams fans are rushing to comic shops across the country to purchase Spider-Man, but the potential is there. But that wasn’t the end of the controversy. Once this issue was released and readers saw something that happened, there was an outcry from some corners of the globe. If I say more, I’ll be spoiling it, but I had no problem with what the writers and artist (Sara Pichelli) did. I will say that I had fun reading it, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and seeing what happens with this new, diabolical villain that you’re going to love to hate. The cover price of Spider-Man #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5.
#1044 — Armored Forces #1, Rugged Cross Comics, 2015.
Often when I attend conventions, I try to get some comic books from independent artists and writers. They work hard not only at their craft, but they also must do all of the promotion and marketing that goes into a business. The writer and artist of Armored Forces, Archie Cunningham, worked hard to meet and great 
convention attendees at the recent Cleveland Comic & Toy Show, as I heard him talking to so many people over that weekend. I was happy to hear him talk a little about his Christian-themed superhero comic that takes place in downtown Pittsburgh, PA, a fun story done in black and white, with a nicely colored cover (you can see where he signed it on the top left). I grew up in Ohio, but less than an hour from Pittsburgh, so it was fun seeing some familiar scenery. But it wasn’t until later that I discovered that Archie is also a part of our Cool Comics In My Collection Facebook Group. If you see Archie at a convention, make sure to stop by and pay him a visit! The cover price for Armored Forces #1 is $5.
Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap
#1045 — Deathblow/Wolverine #2, Image Comics, February 1997.
This is a really short crossover mini-series, lasting just two issues, springing forth from 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). Back in the Nineties, I bought a couple issues of Deathblow, but don’t really remember much about the character. On the other hand, it seems as if Wolverine made appearances in a dozen comics a week during that time, due to his popularity. When you start reading a new comic and don’t start at the beginning, it can take a while to understand what’s going on, just who the characters are, and what they are trying to accomplish. And with this being the second issue of just two, I missed all of that, because Wolverine and Deathblow are in the middle of trying to fix everything that’s wrong, right from the start of this comic. It seems like this was probably a decent story, but I was a bit lost. I’m sure fans of these two characters wouldn’t mind having this in their collection. The cover price of Deathblow/Wolverine #2 is $2.50, while the current value is $3.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 21)
#1046 — Ghost Hog #1, Oni Press, May 2019.
Ghost Hog? The title makes me think of a combination of Ghost Rider and Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham! Yet this Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) offering from Oni Press, written and illustrated by Joey Weiser, will not only entertain the little ones in your dwelling place, but you, too. A graphic novel of Ghost Hog and her friends was published shortly after this came out, so this was a good way to market the more expensive book to potential buyers. Did this get in the right hands? Often on FCBD, everyone is busy looking for comics by Marvel, DC, and Image, and readers may not take notice of fun stories like this one. Near the back of the comic, we also get several preview pages of another graphic novel, Pilu of the Wood, by Mai K. Nguyen. I didn’t like it as well, but the sample was enjoyable enough for me. The cover price of Ghost Hog #1 is free, while the current values are $0 on CBR and $1 on ZKC.
Cool Comics Kids
#1047 — The Beagle Boys Versus Uncle Scrooge #4, Gold Key, June 1979.
A couple weeks ago I really hit the jackpot in the quarter boxes at Kenmore Komics & Games, my local shop. My supply of Cool Comics Kids issues was starting to dwindle, and I was hoping I’d be able to pick up a few on the cheap while in the store, and I came away with enough to keep me in business for 81 more episodes (if Cool Comics lasts that long, that is). It’s always fun to find comics you just know you’re going to like, and I was able to get a few issues from this short-lived series, The Beagle Boys Versus Uncle Scrooge. Over the last year or so of reading lots of comics primarily aimed at kids, I’ve discovered that I like the Disney ducks quite a bit, including the irascible Uncle Scrooge McDuck. In this issue we get a couple stories, “The Great Gift Grab” and “The Rare Stamp Episode,” which will probably make you cringe a bit with worry if you’ve ever collected anything (and more than likely, if you’re reading this, you’ve collected comic books at some point!). As usual with these Seventies comics, the ads are as much fun as the stories, and we get extras like “The Adventures of Gritboy” and a Slim Jim ad that has a couple scary looking kids chomping away! The cover price of The Beagle Boys Versus Uncle Scrooge #4 is 40¢, while the current value is $8.
Cool Comics Classics
#1048 — Justice League of America #158, DC/Whitman, September 1978.
If you’re a fan of superhero teams, you can’t go wrong with the original Justice League of America series. Just look at the heavy hitters on this cover! Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash should have no problem keeping you entertained with some comic book fun and heroism, right? But they’ve really got their hands full in this one, not only because they’re facing The Injustice Gang, but because Ultraa is, well, rendering our heroes powerless. And with that, trouble ensues, and we have to keep turning pages to find out if they can even survive! Gerry Conway wrote this Seventies classic, while Dick Dillon did pencils. You may have noticed that this issue has a Whitman cover, and if you’d like some background as to why, just click here. Guess where I found this issue? In a quarter bin, of course! Who says you can’t get great entertainment on the cheap? The cover price of Justice League of America #158 is…well, the regular DC cover price is 50¢, while the current value is $18.
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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Views: 517
Ohhh, I am going to have to give the upper hand to ole’ web head there. I don’t think it would take too much for Spidey and his spider sense to avoid anything Green Lantern could throw at him. Eventually he would thwiiiip the ring right off of Green Lantern’s finger and have him down.
Dern you! You left the Spider book a mystery. Now I am going to have to pick up a copy lol. It will be interesting to see how JJ translates on the comic pages still.
Huh? I remember a bunch of the Marvel/Image crossovers, but did not recall this Deathblow Wolverine book at all. Another crossover book I eventually want to check out is that Rune/Silver Surfer one that came out around that time frame.
Nice Whitman JLA book! I love coming across those harder to find ones like that.
Spector, I like your assessment of the battle. It would certainly be interesting to see in a comic someday!
I have that Rune/Silver Surfer crossover. I enjoyed the Ultraverse titles, and have most of them.
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!
This looks like a fun place.
Spidey vs Green Lantern? Has to be Green Lantern since that ring can’t be twipped off like a normal ring. Since Spidey doesn’t wear anything yellow or have yellow webbing, Green Lantern will eventually go wide angle to trap Spider-Man. Most likely Spidey would stay just out of reach in a fun chase scene until Green Lantern got summoned away to matters of greater import elsewhere.
JLA #158 “The Super Power of Negative Thinking” Solid issue and I got to see two favorites, Chronos and Mirror Master, on the same villain team. If I wrote a letter it would have said ,”Gerry quit trying to make Ultraa a thing.” Speaking of the letters page, this issue has the result of two readers’ polls. The questions are “Who should be out of the JLA?” and Who should join?”
Results here…https://eruditegorilla.com/2017/11/06/comics-review-jla-158-superboy-the-legion-243-all-star-comics-74/
click on the picture
Full disclosure: 8 year old me voted to kick out Phantom Stranger, Green Arrow and Elongated Man. He voted in Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and J’onn J’onzz.
Action Ace, welcome to Cool Comics! I read all your comments on the previous posts and appreciate your input, as they were educational and entertaining! I hope you enjoy future episodes just as much.
Ed
Ghost Hog seems like an interesting comic, I might have to check it out. Funny enough you read a Scrooge McDuck comic because I just started watching some DuckTales while doing laundry earlier in the week.
Yes, I’ve become a big duck fan over the last year! I’ll definitely have more ducks in future episodes. Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!