Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 216, 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. And for those who enjoy the additional fun of knowing some of the more important issues in your collection, I recognize each Cool Comic that is listed in Key Collector Comics
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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 216…
Cool Comics News!
In our last episode, I mentioned that I’d start showing off some of the comics I picked up at Akron Comicon by episode 217 and for several episodes following, and that I’d also show off some cool other stuff I got from the con right here in Cool Comics News. This week I wanted to share an awesome print I bought by artist Rick Lozano. I wasn’t going to purchase it on first glance, but the more I looked at it, the more I decided it would look great in a frame, hanging on my wall. This is an awesome mix of classic heroes from both Marvel and DC, including H.E.R.B.I.E., the Fantastic Four robot!
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is New Mutants and X-Force versus Legion of Super-Heroes! 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
#1086 — New Mutants #1, Marvel, January 2020.
While Marvel has been putting out one X-Title each week, somewhere along the way they decided to publish two new Dawn of X titles in one week (November 6), and since I’m committed to covering them all, now you know why I’ve got two in this episode. The plan going forward, starting in December (at least according to Previews), is to put out two a month of each title. Yet the indicia for this issue of New Mutants tells us it’s published monthly. You may have checked out the tiny print from time to time, so you know what I’m talking about. Often, titles are listed as monthly, with the added clause that goes something like, “except twice monthly in May, June, July, October, November, and December.” Sometimes they actually meet the schedule, depending on the company. But on comic book news websites, I’ve seen articles on some scheduling problems ahead for X-Men, and who knows if it will tumble down to any of the other titles or not. Personally, I prefer each title to come out once a month. It’s easier on the wallet and allows you to explore different series. But what about this comic, you ask? Written by both Ed Brisson and Jonathan Hickman, with art by Rod Reis, the New Mutants find themselves out of this world, on a rescue mission, hitching a ride from Corsair and the Starjammers. If you have a history with New Mutants, don’t let this one slip past you. The cover price of New Mutants #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5. The Key Collector Comics value is $5.
#1087 — X-Force #1, Marvel, January 2020.
The second Dawn of X title this week, X-Force, is probably familiar to you. And no, Hickman is not the writer on this one. The creative team behind X-Force consists of Benjamin Percy doing the writing, while Joshua Cassara is the artist. By the way, most of you know there are typically many more contributors on each comic book (colorist, letterer, etc.), but Cool Comics usually keeps it basic. If you want to know more, you can ask me in the comments or dig around on the Internet. There are plenty of sites that track all this information. This team is quite a bit different from the original X-Force comic that came out in the early Nineties, sporting a lineup of Beast, Wolverine, Kitty Pryde Jean Grey, Sage, Black Tom Cassidy, Domino, Healer, and Professor X. Each of the Dawn of X titles have differences, yet they are certainly linked by the events that took place in House of X and Powers of X. The cover price of X-Force #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5. The Key Collector Comics value is $5.
#1088 — Legion of Super-Heroes #1, DC, January 2020.
While I’m undoubtedly not on par with many Legion aficionados (and by this, I mean having read and/or owned lots of issues and series throughout their history), just the thought of this team brings great memories to mind. Back in 1982 during the second half of my freshman year in college, I started reading comics again (my second phase of collecting, as I typically refer to it), thanks to a wise roommate. During my first phase, I bought mostly Marvel. Yet this time around I decided to try new things (meaning DC comics) and began buying Legion of Super-Heroes at just the right time, as the Great Darkness Saga started to unfold. It was a fun period of learning about these heroes who were new to me, and now, because of this nostalgia factor, I tend to grab lots of Legion titles from quarter bins. I read a not so favorable review of this new iteration of the team at a comic book website, and while I agreed with some of their points, I felt we came at this comic from different perspectives. I had fun with it and have hopes that it will continue to grow and entertain us. The cover price of Legion of Super-Heroes #1 is $3.99, while the current value is $4. The Key Collector Comics value is $4.
Cool Comics from the Quarter Bin
#1089 — Black Hood #1, Impact Comics, December 1991.
Maybe you know the Black Hood from MLJ Comics (which later became Archie Comics), or perhaps the character is familiar to you from the Riverdale TV series. Although you could be a fan because of the Impact Comics series (an imprint of DC), which takes us right to this week’s issue that was snagged straight out of the quarter bin. Many months ago, I took some time at my local comic shop to dig around in the quarter bins (they often have as many as four longboxes stuffed with comics for just 25 cents…hard to beat!) and found a treasure trove of Impact Comics titles. I bought each number one issue they had with thoughts of someday adding Cool Comics from the Quarter Bin to the blog and knowing that they’d fit right in with this new category. But be patient, rabid readers, as I’ll be spacing out the Impact titles and showing off a variety of quarter finds in this space each week. My question to you is, does this issue of the Black Hood bring back any memories? I wasn’t actively collecting when this line came out, so these old comics are new to me. But I’m sure there are those out there who were once-upon-a-time excited about the Black Hood from Impact! The cover price of Black Hood #1 is $1, while the current values are $4 on CBR and $3 on ZKC.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 28)
#1090 — Treasury of British Comics Presents Funny Pages, Rebellion, May 2019.
If you think a lot is going on with this zany Free Comic Book Day cover, you should see the interiors! I don’t have background on any of the stories in this comic, but there are lots of them, as they are short, most just one page long, many in color, some black and white or a different color (such as green) and white, and the stories are pretty goofy. The best part is that it’s an all ages book, so you can share this with the comic book kids in your life and not worry about the content. The center of the comic has a two-page spread that functions as a gameboard, with playing pieces at the bottom, but I sure wouldn’t cut these out. Yet it’s fun to look at all the monsters that are part of the game. This one takes a little while to read due to small print and lots of content, but it’s certainly worth the price you didn’t pay for it. The cover price of Treasury of British Comics Presents Funny Pages is free, while the current values are $0 on CBR and $1 on ZKC.
Cool Comics Kids
#1091 — The Pink Panther #20, Gold Key, July 1974.
In my geographical area of the comic book world, finding copies of Pink Panther comics in discount bins is a rare occurrence. As longtime readers know, I comb quarter boxes at every opportunity in my ever-constant quest to bring you appropriate titles for Cool Comics Kids. It turns out that with just a little work, you can build a nice library for little readers…for a little price. And as you’ve witnessed here, most of my selections range from the Sixties to the Nineties. Will kids be familiar with these characters? In some cases, the comics feature Disney stars like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck or Warner Brothers stalwarts such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, with a few Ninja Turtles tossed into the mix. But what about the Pink Panther and his buddy the inspector? Chances are, kids today haven’t seen the cartoon versions, but that’s no reason to surmise that they won’t enjoy the comics. And after they’ve read some issues featuring these unknown characters, you can always treat them to episodes on YouTube. Just be prepared for questions, because while the Pink Panther talks in the comics, he’s silent in the cartoons. The cover price of The Pink Panther #20 is 25¢, while the current values are $16 on CBR and $8 on ZKC.
Cool Comics Classics
#1092 — Marvel Two-In-One #15, Marvel, May 1976.
Morbius versus the Thing versus the Living Eraser! Can it get more Seventies than this issue of Marvel Two-In-One? Perhaps some of you out there are excited to see yet another appearance of The Living Vampire, because a new Morbius series just hit the streets yesterday (make sure to tune in to next week’s Cool Comics episode for coverage of Morbius #1!), and now that you’re big fans, you want more-bius (it’s okay, you can groan at that one). And who doesn’t? Well, maybe not the Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing, who happens to find Michael Morbius about to make a late-night snack out of Alicia Masters, Ben Grimm’s longtime girlfriend. After the Thing chases away Morbius, this story gets really whacky when the Living Eraser shows up and seemingly erases them both out of existence! This is a fun issue that you don’t want to miss out on if you love these crazy Seventies mashups. The cover price of Marvel Two-In-One #15 is 25¢, while the current value is $10.
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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Which of the two X-men books above did you enjoy the most? X-force or the New Mutants. I loved your print and have been wanting to buy some myself to hang on the wall so i like that you were able to purchase it straight from the artist as that gives it much more meaning and story behind it than just winning an auction or buying from a store. Good stuff.
On that print, he also signed it at the bottom left corner, which you can see when clicking on the image.
So which did I like better? They were such very different stories! While I like New Mutants because of the original run, I think the X-Force story, because of this line-up and what happens, is probably the better story in my mind. The New Mutants team did something that frustrated me a bit, but that’s a personal quirk. One more title, and I’ll have read all six of the Dawn of X number 1 issues. So far, Excalibur may be my favorite, but they are all different…yet tethered, to make a cohesive universe.
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I really liked most of the !mpact comics I bought like The Comet, The Fly and The Shield, but I never bought an issue of The Black Hood. He showed up in a few other series before his own one started. It’s funny how a lot of the creators for these books wrote and drew the Justice Society of America miniseries in 1991. I look forward to seeing your comments.
I’ve enjoyed everything from Bendis so far at DC, but I must admit that at this point his Legion is at the bottom of the standings. At least Sook will make it look good.
Dream Girl told me the Legion wins this week’s battle.
Action Ace, sounds like you have the inside track on who will win the battle! And I agree that Bendis has done a pretty good job. I think that Legion is going to slowly unfold, based on what we’ve seen so far.
You’ll certainly be seeing more of those Impact comics in episodes to come!
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!
Nice bit of Mutant praise you did here. I enjoyed both books, as well as the others in the new crop of stuff out and read, but still am partial to the Excalibur book of them all. I may/may not pick up an issue or 3 of the bunch, here and there. I think I am definitely going to at least nab the second issue of excalibur though.
I was never a huge LOS fan, but the new book does look promising, and I have read a few reviews prior to this as well. I am sooooo late getting out for new books this week. I need to have a brake job done, so my purchases will depend on that first.
Those gold key cartoon comics are such a bunch of fun.
Nice pick on the Marvel 2 in 1 too. Morbius is such an interesting character. When is this movie ever coming about?
His first appearance still commands some big bucks, even in mid grade.
One that I hope to obtain one day. Not sorry for getting 2 copies of ASM #102 though
Spector, I certainly sympathize with the car repair bills, as I had a couple of huge ones this month.
Glad you enjoy those Gold Key comics! It’s always fun to look back at these innocent titles.
I don’t have that Morbius first appearance, and probably never will, outside of a digital copy. But I did grab Morbius #1 on Wednesday, which will be installed as an official Cool Comic in the next episode!
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!
Not much for me this time around, as I’m not an X-Fan OR a Legion fan at all. My daughter is a super-fan of the Merry Mutants, though, so I’ve seen both of those X issues and there’s no denying that New Mutants cover is SWEET!
But just because you don’t have any new comics that tickle my fancy, that doesn’t mean the quarter bin didn’t come through! I LOVE those Impact comics! I already have quite a few and the 2 boxes of non-Marvel/DC comics I recently bought have a pile more (maybe my own “Legendary Longbox”?), including The Black Hood! I really like the throwback Bronze Age art style in Black Hood and it’s probably my favorite Impact title.
Thanks for another great post and thanks for keeping comics fun!
Atom, I’m glad we had something this week that you could relate to! It’s lots of fun to look through quarter box finds and show off some of them, whether new or old. More Impact Comics will be featured in the future.
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!