Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 237, 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
If you have any comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a Reply.” And now, Episode 237…
Cool Comics News!
What kind of comic books are you reading these days? While we are in a holding pattern for new issues, this is a great time to catch up on comics you’ve bought but never read. And here at Cool Comics Central, we have lots of back issues that have yet to be explored. If you don’t have any sitting around the house, digital is another great way to go. Many libraries loan out digital comics, and don’t forget that Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe each have over 20,000 digital editions. If you want to read comics from companies other than the “Big2,” comiXology is currently offering a 60-day free trial period. If you’ve changed your comic reading habits during these days of social distancing, let us know what you’re doing in the comment section below.
Dr. Omnibus, the writer of our new Cool Collected Editions segment of the blog, is offering a chance for one of our newsletter subscribers to win all three trade paperback volumes of The Umbrella Academy (free U.S. shipping…if you are international and want to enter, you pay the shipping). So if you aren’t signed up, make sure you do it now before you miss out! Then, sometime during the week of April 20, we’ll send out a special newsletter announcement that will be your gateway to entering the contest!
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Archie versus Little Dot! 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 Creations!
This episode’s creation comes to us from illustrator Dan Gorman, a member of the National Cartoonists Society and one of the top sketch card artists on the planet. This card featuring Qi’ra from the Han Solo movie is one of the 50 plus sketch cards Dan created for the Topps Star Wars Masterworks 2019 Set. For more about Dan and his art, please visit www.dangormanart.com.
You can have a piece of your art featured right here in Cool Comics Creations! Just send an electronic file in an email featuring one of your drawings, whether you’re a professional or amateur, (it can be just pencils, or inks too…or full color if you prefer) or a picture of a craft or sculpture that you’ve done, and as long as it’s family friendly (and not controversial…let’s try to keep this fun), you’ll be a part of an upcoming Cool Comics episode. We also want your name and any other background information you want to provide, such as a website or a way you can be contacted about your art (who knows, maybe someone will make you an offer for the original!). And then email it to edgosney62@gmail.com.
Cool Comics In My Collection
Contemporary Cool Comics
#1206 — Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War #1, Marvel, May 2020.
If you read current comics, I’m sure that by now you’ve seen something like 500 different one-shots, mini-series, and tie-in issues solicited for Marvel’s big Empyre event that was supposed to launch in a big way last week on April 1. But we were all April Fooled by just how serious the Coronavirus turned out to be, and thus, no new comics. This special “Road to Empyre…” edition, which came out March 25, does a nice job of setting us up for everything to come and gives us some background as to how the craziness gets started. This issue is written by Robbie Thompson, with art by Mattis De lulis, Javier Rodriguez, and Alvaro López. The cover price of Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War #1 is $4.99, while the current value is $5. The Key Collector Comics value is $5.
Cool Comics from the Quarter Bin
#1207 — Archie #162, Archie Comics, May 1966.
From Zombies to Vampires to Werewolves to Predators (and even a gig with the B-52’s), sometimes it’s nice to get away from the offbeat stuff and just enjoy an issue of Classic Archie. In the Seventies, I found myself buying and reading Archie on a pretty regular basis for a while, and this issue that I plucked out of a quarter bin made me reminisce about those days. But even better, this issue is from the Sixties and contains stories I’d never read before. Finding older issues of Archie and his friends for that cheap doesn’t happen often, so when I see comics like this one in discount boxes, I pull them out right away. When I decided to read this issue for the blog this week, I looked over the cover and wondered if some younger people today might mistake his transistor radio for a cellphone. It would be an easy enough mistake to make. This issue comes with five stories, a pin-up, a two-page spread on Archie Club News (the cost was 15¢ to join and you received an OFFICIAL ARCHIE CLUB BUTTON and a PRESS CARD, making you a “real reporter” and giving you a chance to win prizes!), and wonderful ads. This was a genuine pleasure to read. The cover price of Archie #162 is 12¢, while the current value is $35.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 49)
#1208 — Dear Justice League, DC, May 2019.
Last year in May, when I had in hand the entire collection of Free Comic Book Issues for 2019, I placed them in a weekly reading order that had some meaning. Such as putting the Bloodshot issue in Cool Comics just before the theatrical release, scary comics in October, etc. Both of the DC comics included in the batch didn’t impress me much, being ashcan size and obviously geared towards a younger audience. I decided I was in no hurry to read them, so they ended up near the end of the stack in my FCBD box. Yet Dear Justice League, which consists of a couple chapters from the graphic novel with the same name (Superman and Hawkgirl are the heroes), turned out to be much better than I thought it would for someone from my generation. I didn’t think it would be bad or boring, but I didn’t count on actually liking the stories as much as I did. In my opinion, DC did a nice job, and I think the full trade edition would make a nice gift for younger readers. The cover price of Dear Justice League is free, while the current value is $1.
Cool Comics Kids
#1209 — Little Dot #133, Harvey Comics, October 1970.
It’s not too often I find Harvey Comics in the quarter bins, but when I do, I’m sure to grab them all. And this issue of Little Dot from 1970 is a fantastic find, in my opinion, because these old Harvey Comics are always fun and entertaining, which makes them a great edition for your ever-growing library of comics for kids. I’m betting that many kids today have no idea who Little Dot is, and these comics are a neat way to educate them on characters you may have grown up with. This issue contains two stories featuring Little Dot, two with Little Lotta (though this character wouldn’t be considered politically correct today, Little Lotta is actually pretty cool, has entertaining stories, and is a hero), and a Richie Rich story at the end. If your kids are familiar with any of these characters, Richie Rich is the one they’ll know, as they may have seen the movie with Macaulay Culkin. The stories are fun, the art is great, and the ads are terrific! The cover price of Little Dot #133 is 15¢, while the current values are $30 on CBR and $10 on ZKC.
Cool Comics Classics
#1210 — Thor #218, Marvel, December 1973.
If you’re reading the current Thor series, then you know he’s become a herald of Galactus, and together they are off to stop something called the Black Winter (and Thor, by the way, doesn’t behave like a typical herald, which makes the story that much more interesting). But back in 1973, Thor found himself waging war against another cosmic entity with the color black in the aptly named story (which we don’t see until we’re halfway through the comic), “Where Pass the Black Stars There Also Passes Death!” You may think that title is too long, but I love nearly everything about these old comics, and the title works for me. Written by Gerry Conway, with art by John Buscema, this comic contains so much of why I’m a big Thor fan, and even gives us a look at an equine alien that might just remind readers a bit of another wielder of a mystical hammer. If you’re a fan of the Mighty Thor, this is a cool comic to have in your collection! The cover price of Thor #218 is 20¢, while the current values are $25 on CBR and $20 on ZKC.
Cool Collected Editions with Dr. Omnibus
Infinity Wars by Gerry Dugan: The Complete Collection (Marvel)
Dr. Omnibus score: 7 out of 10
This is a direct follow up to The Guardians of the Galaxy run by Duggan. I was not super impressed with that run of Guardians. It wasn’t bad…it just wasn’t anything too special; let’s see how Duggan ties the story up.
The Book Itself
This is an oversized hardcover, but it is actually a bit thicker than Duggan’s omnibus. If it were my call, I would have combined the two books and made one thick omnibus from it and had a contained story. It has got all the standard stuff, dust jacket, graphic cover, solid binding, which we have grown to expect from Marvel. It did, however, have a misprint in it. A few pages in Issue 3 of the main event were printed in the incorrect order. This is not an unheard-of occurrence, but it sure can get confusing. It even affected a 2-page spread in which the right side of the spread was printed first, then 2 pages later you get the left side of that spread.
The Story
By Gerry Duggan
This book starts off with a deeper examination into one of the ending plotlines of the aforementioned omnibus, and an abrupt end to what seems like the main storyline throughout the Guardians run. I feel that perhaps Duggan had a plan and then editorial asked him to wrap it up and get this Infinity story rolling a bit faster. Aside from the lackluster conclusion to that one plotline, this book was pretty fun. It had a good mix of characters without being stretched too thin over every title, which is probably safely attributed to the fact that many tie-ins were not included. Overall, it was just another story about the infinity stones, white noise in the total cosmic marvel universe. Some unexpected team-ups and unlikely heroes make it a bit better. It did include an origin story for Drax that was kind of cool, and some twists about how the stones are used, as well as a very fun storyline concerning Loki and his companion.
The Art
Illustrated by a large assortment of artists
Much like the story, the art was just so-so. It’s nothing special-not bad-just not very interesting. I really don’t have much else to say that isn’t implied by what I have already said.
The Gist
Unless the events have some bearing on some future storyline, I would say you are OK to skip this. If the printing issue were universal, I would say 100 percent do not buy this book. But I haven’t been able to find information suggesting this is a widespread issue. It may be isolated to just my copy. I do not believe it is a universal issue. It was alright, but maybe you should read it digitally on Marvel Unlimited or something. In my opinion, don’t drop $125 on this.
Damian Starr is a long-time collector of comics who, in recent years, has converted his focus to reading—almost exclusively—trade paperbacks, hardcovers, and Omnibus editions. Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to the MCBCFA Play Network YouTube channel (check out his Dr. Omnibus playlists). To add one more layer to his geekery, he is an amateur comic author and co-founder of Illuminatus Comics.
Cool Comics Reader Reviews!
Would you like to write a review of a comic book or graphic novel for all the Internet to see? Our Cool Comics Reader Reviews section is looking for fans just like you to submit reviews of 500 words or less (introductions about yourself don’t go against the word count), along with a cover image of the comic, to edgosney62@gmail.com. Please keep in mind that we reserve the right to decide what will and won’t go in the blog, so keep the language clean, pick out a comic that won’t cause controversy (we try to have fun here!), and start tapping away on your keyboard!
ComicBooks For Kids!
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Views: 227
I’m not really a fan of Archie, but I’ve been having a great time digging through some of my daughter’s Archie and Sabrina The Teenage Witch comics lately. She even has that issue you spotlighted! I’m with you in that on first look, it seems like Archie has a cell phone. I guess you have to be of a “certain age” to remember the portable transistor radios. . .
That Thor comic seems like just the sort of thing I’d want to read while trying to keep on the lighter side of comics for a while. I LOVE that awesome title! It sounds like a heaping helping of Marvel-Style Bronze Age fun!
I notice no reader reviews this time out. I’ll send you another short but sweet bit of Longbox Junk for next week (or to hold on to for a rainy day).
Thanks for another great post and thanks for keeping comics fun!
Atom, your awesome Longbox Junk reviews are always welcome and much appreciated!
Archie Comics take me back to simpler, pre-social distancing days…
While Dorothy clicks her heels and chants, “There’s no place like home,” people like us always proclaim “there’s no age like the Bronze Age!”
Thanks for being an important part of Cool Comics!