Cool Comic Book Memories Featuring Mark Weiss!

Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 255, featuring special guest host Mark Weiss! 

If you love comic books and aren’t familiar with Mark Weiss, well, now is your opportunity, since Mark is taking the reins and sharing a bit of his comic book history in this special episode. Mark is a longtime comic book fan who not only has a passion for our favorite hobby, but also cares so much about kids that he founded the wonderful charity ComicBooks For Kids (CB4K)! You may have noticed that at the bottom of each episode, Cool Comics provides information and links about CB4K, so please, if you are looking for a charity to support, this is truly a worthy cause.

If you have any comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a Reply.” And now, Episode 255…

Cool Comics Battle of the Week!

Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Black Canary versus Hawkman! 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 we welcome back John R. Smith, who is quite active on our Cool Comics In My Collection Facebook page. This fantastic piece is done in a trading card format featuring Batman’s rogues’ gallery. If you want to see more of John’s awesome creations, be sure to join the Facebook group…especially if you want to acquire some of his wonderful art! Let us know in the comments section below if you would like to get in touch with John, if you don’t want to join the group.

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

By Mark Weiss

I love comics. Really. Let me explain…

It was the summer of ’69 (wait, isn’t that a song?) and I couldn’t wait for my dad to walk home from the train station. You see, dad had told me that on the way home he would pick up some comics for me in the downtown Chicago train station. Now the train station in my neighborhood was about four blocks from my house.

Very close (except in the middle of freaking winter when my parents would make me walk there and back to go to my commuter college, but I hold no grudge, I am good…I am over that now…). So it was that it was a warm sunny day and I saw my dad walking down the street. My eyes immediately went to what he was carrying in his hands.

Even from a distance I could see the Flash, see Green Lantern, and (gasp) Batman!! Dad IS the best!

I gave dad a hug, grabbed the comics and fell in love with what I now describe as the mythology of characters. Flash, fastest man alive. Green Lantern wielding the power of a cool ring (darn if I didn’t want one of those!) and Batman, who made me do push-ups so I could be like him until I failed at around seven. OK, well, there is always Snapper Carr, right? Who, you may ask? Yeah….Snapper Carr!

You see, of all the comics in my collection, and believe me, there are a lot…the Justice League of America was my absolute favorite. I mean, how could it not be? Within those 20 something pages I could see Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Spectre (holy crap, was he cool), Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and more!!!

So, mom and dad knew that if they went to the store, they should please keep an eye out for the Justice League Of America comic! Of course, my bicycle also took me to the local spinner rack where I would have to make some of the most agonizing decisions any child ever could. I mean, how the heck was I supposed to decide between Flash telling me on a cover that he was going to die inside and not to open the comic, versus another issue with Superman flying at high speed about to destroy the bottle city of Kandor, but he can’t stop in time! And then there was the Justice League with (gasp) the Spectre! I knew that never again in my life would I ever have to make difficult decisions like this, and why, oh why, was I faced with them now?!!!

My love for the Justice League continued until (omg) I saw a Justice League comic with a lineup on the left side showing the Justice League of America and then on the right side, another team? The Justice Society of America? Who? What? And there wasn’t a Batman, but a character named Wildcat, and there were two Green Lanterns and two Superman? What? And wait, a grown-up Robin wearing a Batman costume? Earth one and Earth two!!! Really!!!! I was mesmerized.

From then on, my summers were never the same. Because every year, the Justice League would meet the Justice Society in their annual crossover. Sometimes the two teams would cross over with yet another team! There were multiple earths, and I actually looked forward to seeing the word “crisis”!

I remember in winter thinking it was only five months to the crossover! Year after year, I couldn’t wait. Justice League of America 21 and 22, first appearance of Earth 2 and the return of the Justice Society. JLA 37 and 38 with Earth A, JLA 46 and 47 with Solomon Grundy! JLA 55 and 56, another team up! I grabbed them all. They were read and re-read and yes, even today, I have every one of the crossovers, most still in near mint (NM) condition except, of course, the earliest ones!

Time has moved on, but I still love the Justice League. My collection encompasses every volume of the Justice League, Justice League of America, and all their incarnations over the years. But the ones that will always thrill me are when the characters interact with their counterparts. If any of you would be interested in seeing any of the covers, let me know, Glad to show them.

Finally, it is not lost on me that Ed mentioned the Justice League and how he was missing 159. Forgive me, Ed, but that IS a Crisis!!! (It literally is…the title of the issue is Crisis from Yesterday!)

Mark is founder and president of ComicBooks For Kids! a 501(C)3 charity that provides comic books to kids in hospitals and cancer centers across the United States. He is also quite fond of the Justice League. His charities Facebook can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/comicbooksforkids/

Cool Collected Editions with Dr. Omnibus

Sentient by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta (TKO Studios)

Dr. Omnibus score: 7.5 out of 10

 This is the third book published by TKO Studios that I have read. As previously mentioned, I love the business model for TKO, specifically the binge release model and the independent distribution. They put out books by “A” list creators. Sentient is the most popular title from their second wave of releases and was nominated for a 2020 Eisner award for Best limited series.

The Book Itself

As should be expected, I ordered the trade paperback (TPB), which is an oversized TPB…not bad for $20. No bells or whistles though, not much backmatter, and no foreword or anything like that. Just a TPB with a large trim size.

The Story
By Jeff Lemire

(spoiler heavy description below)

I was fortunate enough to have had no idea what the story was about in advance, except what was fairly obvious based on the title. This story is about a ship that left earth in advance of its looming destruction. Aboard the ship are a handful of crew members and their children. Their mission: arrive at a very distant planet and help colonize and populate that planet. Well, apparently there is a faction of humans who are not big fans of this idea. They managed to place an infiltrator among the crew, once the ship had reached the point of no return; that infiltrator killed all the crew with the intent of hijacking the ship. Things went a bit sideways, and ultimately the ship’s on-board AI killed the saboteur before she was able to hurt/contain the children on board. Still years from their destination, the Ship’s AI became the caregiver for the children and trained them to operate the ship. At this point you may be thinking “Wow, Dr. Omnibus, you really just told the story there and spoiled the whole thing.” But as it turns out, that’s just the first issue or so. There is plenty more story where that came from. The story was fun, the characters were strong, but for the most part I just didn’t feel it. This really felt like just another comic…good, but not special. I have found that to be true of all 3 TKO comics I have read.

The Art
By Gabreil Walta

At first glance I didn’t care for the art in this book at all. Over time, it grew on me a bit. It kind of reminded me of the art in a super old MTV cartoon called “The Head,” which aired during Liquid Television. But in the end, it was just white-noise-nothing-special comic art.

The Gist

It was OK. I wouldn’t recommend against it, but also wouldn’t advocate for it. The main reason I went for it was that TKO was running a special in April in which 50 percent of your purchase price would be sent to an LCS (local comic shop) of your choosing, and I do love my LCS, so why not have them get $10 for nothing?

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!

By Ed Gosney III

Ed Gosney III is the son of the publisher of Cool Comics In My Collection. Ed is a college student at Ohio University, majoring in video game design. Some of Ed’s art has been featured in our Cool Comics Creations section in previous episodes.

After viewing the recently released Sonic the Hedgehog movie and surprisingly enjoying it a lot, I decided to look into the character more. Being an avid gamer, I started there, and I started growing a real interest for the character and the games he is in. From there my father and I began looking for the newer run of Sonic comics published by IDW.

Issue 2 is the first of which I read, and it picks up right after the events of the last video game, Sonic Forces. The world is in ruin and trying to recover after Dr. Robotnik had taken over. Amy tries to recruit Sonic back to the Resistance to help with what is left of the Eggman Empire, but Sonic decides to work alone.

The art style is exceptionally clean, and the colors are vibrant. The story allows these characters to be fleshed out even further, and I enjoy seeing where the story is going, leading up to the next game. If you haven’t checked these comics out before, I highly recommend it. This has become my favorite series in the short time that I’ve been reading it.

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, 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!

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 United 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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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!

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