Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 213, 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 (except for 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 213…
Cool Comics News!
I enjoy comics for the stories, but I also like to know if my comics have any secondary market value. Another aspect of collecting is trying to get key issues such as first appearances by a character, deaths, first team-ups, etc. It’s nice to know if you have any, and it’s helpful to know what exists out there. I’m sure some of you are already aware of it, but there is a website and app that focuses on this part of the hobby, called Key Collector Comics. I’ve had it on my phone for quite a while now, but just this week I really started exploring all the bells and whistles, and I like it so much that I’ve decided to identify issues that appear here as Cool Comics if they happen to be listed in Key Collector Comics, along with the easily accessible high price that’s listed (you have lots of grading options if you add it to your collection). And guess what? Two of the issues below happen to be Key Collector Comics. I recommend that you click the link for the website and check it out!
There are just a few days left to win a pair of one-day passes to The Akron Comicon, so enter now before you forget. First, you need to join the Cool Comics In My Collection Facebook Group, because that’s where the contest is taking place. Then look for it in the announcements (and note that the deadline to enter is Saturday, October 26, noon EST). Once there, all you have to do is write one little sentence in the comments, and you’ll be entered in the drawing! Cool Comics wants to give a big thanks to the owners of The Akron Comicon for this awesome prize!
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Werewolf By Night versus Dracula! 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
#1068 — X-Men #1, Marvel, December 2019.
Now that House of X and Powers of X have concluded, we’ve entered the age of Dawn of X, with X-Men #1 being the first title (with a lot more to come). If you’ve been following the series since Jonathan Hickman was brought onboard to write and shape this new beginning for Marvel mutants, then it should come as no surprise that he’s also writing this flagship title (with Leinil Francis Yu doing the pencils). If you skipped the two previously mentioned series and now wish you had picked them up, I heard on a podcast that there will be a collection coming out in the near future. Which will certainly be the less expensive way to read them, because some of the individual issues quickly moved into the double-digit price range. I’ve really enjoyed Hickman’s vision so far, and I recommend House and Powers. Now that Dawn is upon us, I’m excited to see where not only this series is heading, but also several of the other titles releasing over the next few months. The cover price of X-Men #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5. The Key Collector Comics value is $5.
Cool Comics Done Dirt Cheap
#1069 — Primal Force #1, DC, November 1994.
While Primal Force #1 can’t really be put into the horror category of comics, the cover does state, “Journey to the Dark Corners…”, so I guess it fits the October comic book mood. Although I was collecting comics when this series came out, I’d never bought or read any of the issues. If not for 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), I wouldn’t have any recollection of it. Five issues were packed into that longbox, but this is probably the only issue that will ever see the Cool Comics light of day. And I’m not saying that to complain about the title, it’s just that I have so many other comics to put in the blog that one and done is a good enough representation for this title I didn’t even remember. Except for the Red Tornado (you can see him at the top right on the cover), I didn’t know any of the other characters. Do any of you remember this one? The cover price of Primal Force #1 is $1.95, while the current value is $3.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 25)
#1070 — Vampirella #0, Dynamite, May 2019.
When I was a kid, I remember seeing Warren Publishing’s magazine sized Vampirella comics. As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t read horror comics in those early years, although I would sometimes get some monster magazines and watch Chiller Theater out of Pittsburgh on the weekend. But I also knew that I was too young to flip through any of the issues of this scantily clad vampire, and frankly, I wasn’t even interested. Now those early issues pull in some hefty prices on the secondary market, but I’m just not a fan of the character. This Free Comic Book Day issue is not intended for the youngsters, and is rated Teen+, so keep that in mind. I could have done without the first of the two stories in this FCBD issue, but the second one, presented to us by Kurt Busiek and Arthur Adams, was pretty good. If you’re a Vampirella completist and you somehow missed out on this, best wishes in finding a copy. The cover price of Vampirella #0 is free, while the current values are $3 on CBR and $5 on ZKC.
Cool Comics Kids
#1071 — Mickey Mouse #220, Gladstone, November 1986.
This week Cool Comics Kids takes a look back at a ghostly tale featuring the mouse himself, Mickey, and his pals Goofy and Donald. Gladstone did a lot of reprints from the old Sunday funnies, with this one originally running from September 14 through October 24, 1936. This is chapter 2, and unfortunately, I don’t have chapter 1…nor do I have chapter 3, in which this fun story is concluded…I may just have to look for both of those, because I thoroughly enjoy these opportunities to look back at stories from so long ago. There are also a couple other shorts in here from the papers, but neither are continuing stories like “Mickey Mouse and the Seven Ghosts.” If you have younger readers and you don’t think Mickey, Goofy, and Donald investigating a possible haunted house will scare them too much, this is a fun October comic. I found this one in a quarter bin, just waiting to go home with me! The cover price of Mickey Mouse #220 is 75¢, while the current value is $10.
Cool Comics Classics
#1072 — Werewolf By Night #12, Marvel, December 1973.
How can you go wrong with a comic about a werewolf when the writer’s name is Marv Wolfman? I don’t think you can. Werewolf By Night always had a certain attraction about it when I was young, yet I never bought any issues. In the Seventies, I always liked movies featuring lupine creatures of the night and I thought Man-Wolf in The Amazing Spider-Man was really cool, yet Jack Russell never got any pocket change from me. But times have changed, and every once in a while, especially when the moon is full, I buy a back issue or two. This issue, which I’ve read before as part of a digital collection, features the villain the Hangman, and he tries his best to live up to his name, but Werewolf By Night doesn’t go down that easy, as he finds out. Gil Kane’s pencils do a nice job setting the tone for this October read, and now having read it a second time, I still question why I didn’t buy some of these when I could have gotten them for two lousy dimes. The cover price is 20¢, while the current value is $38.
#1073 — Tomb of Dracula #45, Marvel, June 1976.
If you’ve read any comics with Blade (and he’s currently been in the Avengers, not to mention Strikeforce, which I’m sure you remember from Cool Comics episode 210), then you know he’s a pretty tough guy, being part vampire and having Daywalker abilities. But back in 1976, when pitted against vampire Hannibal King (who’s never killed a human for blood), Eric “Blade” Brooks fights about as tough as Peter Parker’s Aunt May (the really old Seventies version who seemed to have a heart attack every other issue). And King isn’t really trying to hurt him, as he knows they’re on the same side. Just like Werewolf By Night above, this one is written by Marv Wolfman, and Wolfman gives us a creepy story that’s just perfect for October, as Dracula searches out the local Satanist Tribunal, who just happen to be preparing a bride for the Devil, so when the old vampire shows up at the ceremony they seem to think he’s the dark lord and couldn’t be any happier. The tagline for the next issue is “The Marriage of Dracula!” I’ll certainly be on the lookout for it while digging through the back-issue bins. Also, if you’re into key issues, this contains the first full appearance of Deacon Frost, the vampire who caused Blade to be born with his abilities. The cover price of The Tomb of Dracula is 25¢, while the current value is $55. The Key Collector Comics value is $65.
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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I got the first few issues of Primal Force when it came out. It was part of Zero Hour, so #0 is the first issue. While it had Red Tornado, Jack O’ Lantern and Dr. Mist in it, the comic didn’t hold my interest for long. I gave the issues away years ago.
Since I am a child of the 70s, the Disney comic reminds me of an old Fisher Price hand cranked movie camera I had as a kid. It played the Disney classic, “Mickey and the Lonely Ghost” where Mickey, Donald and Goofy investigate a haunted house.
Dracula vs. Werewolf by Night? I’ll take the Lone Ranger
Action Ace, I think I remember that Fisher Price camera…my sister may have had it. I know you’re not a monster/horror comic reader, so just one more episode and October is finished, plus, there just may be a couple issues next week you like.
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!
Awesome posting – cant wait to read that new X-Men #1. Your classic comics are awesome keep up the good work.
I have been using the Key Collector app for the last month and really enjoy all of the alerts and just knowing important aspects of various books. I try to ensure that I do not let it influence my buying habits as there are always a ton of books to purchase. However, if i stumble upon a deal then the app could be helpful.
Thanks, Inty! That’s the way I’m looking at the Key Collector Comics app and website. It adds a level of fun, but I just need to be careful I don’t let it influence me too much.
I’m glad you enjoyed the two Cool Comics Classics! Next week I have a couple more goodies for Halloween.
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!
So, is it team Edward, or is it team Jacob? lol couldn’t resist!
Man, you come up with some great battles. Both are great, powerful characters and it would be a difficult decision ultimately. This one would definitely go 12 rounds, and be an all-out gore fest. I had to dig deep into my mythology knowledge base, and tossed in everything I have read from comics, or watched in movies and tv shows about werewolves and vampires. From that, I am going to have to give the edge to Werewolf by night (barely)…unless the battle goes on until dawn and the moon is no more. 😉
Great review on X-men. I ended up getting the first issue of the new titles (including the Marauders yesterday) but didn’t keep up beyond that, due to the expense of it all. I will say the story was fantastic. Hickman does such a great job, and I think he breathed new life into these books.
That is the first I have seen of Primal Force. And like you, don’t recognize anyone else besides the Red tornado. You got a steal of a deal on that long box, so still awesome you have a copy of this book in it.
Oh man, I missed out on the FCBD Vampi book. I don’t have a ton of Vampi books, but do appreciate the character. Hard to believe she has been around as long as she has. On a side note, yesterday I received in the mail Red Sonja and Vampirella meet Betty and Veronica #2, 4 and 5 in the hack variants. My LCS did not have the hack variant to #6 which came out Wednesday, so I will need that to complete the run.
I love that WWBN #12. Cool cover and Gil Kane’s art looks great. I have one myself, and like that cover a lot too. I got a steal of a deal on Marvel Spotlight #2 and 3 that arrived today as well.
Sweet review on tomb of dracula. I love a lot of the supporting characters in the books such as Hannibal. Not too many in my collection, but I am always on the look out. I lost out on a bid for one that Bernie Wrightson did the cover of a couple of days ago.
Spector, if the battle goes until dawn, Dracula is in just as much trouble with that sun on the horizon!
It does look like Dawn of X is going to be expensive to collect, as now they’ve announced a Wolverine series, and also a Moira MacTaggert comic. My advice would be for them to build slowly as they attempt to gain a wider audience. Too much at once will frustrate many comic readers.
As you can tell, I enjoy pulling out the monster comics in October. Just one more episode left before it’s all over…until next October!
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!