Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 264, 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), along with the 50th Edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (OPG) using their 9.2 NM scale. 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 264…
Cool Comics News!
Fellow four-color friends, we’re about half-way through one of our favorite months, and the chills and frights keep rocking our reading at Cool Comics! If you’re not sure what to read next, perhaps you’ll be inspired by some of the selections below.
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
Your Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Swamp Thing 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 Creations!
This week’s creation is simply perfect for October as it’s Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, by artist Ed Griffie. Ed is a lifelong comic book fan who started drawing Kawaii and Chibi style versions of pop culture icons and superheroes about five years ago. Through Facebook his work came to the attention of Daniel Hare, the owner of vintage toy and comic bookstore The Toys Time Forgot, who offered him a guest spot at Free Comic Book Day. Since then, Ed has been a regular at local conventions and comic bookstores, where he offers bookmarks, coloring pages, trading cards, and color prints featuring his unique artwork. You can check out his full catalog of work at toonist27.deviantart.com or contact him at edgriffiejr@gmail.com to commission an original piece of your very own.
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, an optional picture of yourself to go here, 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
#1336 — Legend of the Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular #1, DC, December 2020.
Last year fans of the fetid Swamp Thing (maybe using fetid is unfair…I’m not really all that sure if he does smell bad, but it seems like he probably does) rejoiced with a special Walmart Halloween edition, and hallelujah if DC didn’t do it again, this time at a comic shop near you! Admittedly I’m not a Swamp Thing fanatic, but I do appreciate the character and his place in DC lore, and if Halloween specials are now a thing with…well…Swamp Thing, then I’m all for it and all in. The structure of this issue makes it a really cool comic, as we start off with a story about a young boy lost in a swamp and then meet other Swamp Thing kinds of creatures throughout history, and finally wrapping it all up on October 31, many years later, in the same setting as the first story (the same writer and artist begin and end comic: Ram V and Mike Perkins). If you love anthologies and spooky stories for cool October evenings, make sure to grab this one before it’s gone from the shelves! The cover price of Legend of the Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular #1 is $5.99, while the current value is $6. The Key Collector Comics value is $6.
Cool Comics from the Quarter Bin
#1337 — Fright Night #18, NOW Comics, April 1990.
Okay Fright Night fans, 1985 or 2011? The 1985 version gives us Chris Sarandon as Jerry the vampire and Roddy McDowell as vampire hunter Peter Vincent. The 2011 movie features Colin Farrell as Jerry and David Tennant as Peter Vincent…along with Tony Collette and Anton Yelchin (and an appearance by Chris Sarandon). For my money, I prefer the 2011 version. However, we’re supposed to be talking comics here, so we get the 1985 version. I hadn’t realized there was a Fright Night comic book until a few months ago after some incessant digging through quarter bins at my local comic shop, and the moment I saw this one I felt like I’d struck gold, since my son and I really enjoy watching the movies together. Unfortunately, with this being issue #18, I didn’t have a good grip on the plot, but it was still some cool October fun. The cover price of Fright Night #18 is $1.75, while the current value is $3. The OPG value is also $3.
FCBD the Cool Comics Way (Week 13)
#1338 — The Weirn Books, JY, July 2020.
When I saw the cover of Svetlana Chmakova’s The Weirn Books and spotted the little round notice that it’s coming as “A Brand-New Middle Grade Fantasy” for the summer of COVID-19, I wasn’t too thrilled about reading it. But as I’m completely committed to bringing all the Free Comic Book Day issues to Cool Comics, I felt a commitment to include it in our schedule, and October seemed like the perfect month. Sometimes I like kid stuff, and sometimes I don’t. And I didn’t like this…I loved it! I had given an extra copy to my 17-year-old daughter and after reading it proceeded to gush to her about how much fun it is. I don’t know if she thought it was weird that her dad liked a comic aimed at junior high students, but part of the fun of comic books is to be transported back to simpler days, and this story most certainly had me feeling young again. You may still be able to find the free edition at your local comic shop, but if not, you can always purchase the full graphic novel. The cover price of The Weirn Books is free, while the current values are $0 on CBR and $1 on ZKC.
Cool Comics Kids
#1339 — Count Duckula #3, Marvel, March 1989.
Over a year ago I was fortunate to find eight issues of everyone’s favorite vampire duck comic book…at least I’m assuming he’s everyone’s favorite (if he’s not, you simply haven’t read any of his tales yet). And with just 15 total issues in the Marvel collection, I may be able to complete this series if I set my mind to it. But best of all I paid just a quarter each. This is a fun series for kids and adults alike, as the vampire duck is an avowed vegetarian and doesn’t seem to follow in the footsteps of most of the vampires we’re familiar with (such as the one in the comic below!). As kids get older, they often tend to gravitate to movies, books, and comics that produce a bit of fright, but for the little ones, Count Duckula isn’t scary at all and his adventures are a lot of fun. These make great editions to little reader libraries, especially for the month of October. The cover price of Count Duckula #3 is $1, while the current value is $4. The OPG value is also $4.
Cool Comics Classics
#1340 — Tomb of Dracula #25, Marvel, October 1974.
Tomb of Dracula #25 (“Night of the Blood Stalker!”) contains the origin and first appearance of Hannibal King, a character who would go on to appear ten more times in the title, and later played a large role in the Doctor Strange storyline The Montesi Formula, which in turn led to his membership as part of The Nightstalkers in which he teamed with Blade and Frank Drake. If you’re familiar with the character of Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then you know that even though he’s a vampire, he’s basically one of the good guys. But Marvel did it before Angel came around because King is a vampire, too. A vampire detective. And of course, Blade is a Dhampir…but…this issue isn’t about Blade. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t care about Marvel’s monster comics in the Seventies, but over the years I’ve picked up some back issues when I’m able to find them for decent prices. As an added note, I’ve been reading the digital edition of the series and can’t stress enough how much fun this title is! The issue I have is actually from a JC Penney offer from the Nineties, and while the value isn’t as good as the original, it’s still a great October read! The cover price of Tomb of Dracula #25 is 25¢, while the current value is $60. My 2nd Printing JC Penney copy is listed at $12 on CBR and $10 on ZKC. The OPG value is $95 for the 1st Printing and $12 for the edition I own. The Key Collector Comics value is $25 for the original edition.
Cool Moments in Graphic Lit with Dr. Omnibus
The Walking Dead (spoilers ahead)
The Walking Dead will forever hold a special place in my heart. I remember the night the first episode aired on AMC. It was Halloween, the trick-or-treaters had already stopped knocking on the door for the most part, and I was able to sit back and take it all in. I fell in love instantly. A T.V show about zombies with big budget quality special effects and makeup. Yes please!
I didn’t read an issue of the comic until six years later. So, I already had a fair amount of the show under my belt, but once I started reading it, it didn’t take too long to figure out there were some significant divergences between the two mediums. Enough so that I viewed them as practically unrelated to one another, but also familiar enough that I never felt lost as a result of the changes.
Many of the comic’s pivotal scenes were recreated in the show and some characters portrayed more accurately than others. One of the characters that I felt was most accurately portrayed on screen was Hershel. His Bible-thumping and dedication to doing what was right translated well in both mediums.
One character the show did not give justice to was The Governor. Given that the show was still newish when he first appeared, I can understand them wanting to scale back the depravity of The Governor. In the comic he was a far sicker individual than in the show. I mean, that stuff with his daughter was scaled back big time in the show. Not to mention actually being a rapist in the comic as opposed to just being a very convincing manipulator in the show.
There is no shortage of changes (Alpha, Lori, Andrea) and similarities (Negan, Glenn, Shane) to discuss, but instead of droning on about all of them, I will move on.
Many people say the quality of the comic dips considerably after issue 100 or so; I do not agree at all. I thought it was more interesting in the last 75 issues. But maybe that’s because I read issue 100 shortly after the events of that issue had been portrayed in the show; therefore, everything that followed in the comic was completely new to me and I no longer had any sense of what to expect. Regardless, I enjoyed the whole series and recommend it, even if you’ve seen all the episodes to date.
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 your review, along with a cover image of the comic. Additionally, you may provide a picture of yourself and any other biographical information you want published in Cool Comics. Send all this 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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I think Swamp Thing could take Dracula with ease. Dracula just has no real way of hurting Swamp Thing. No blood to drain, no actual human physiology at all for that matter. He is one with the earth. I see swamp thing just growing a vine through Dracula’s heart and that’s that.
Great assessment of what might happen should they ever battle! Any takers on Dracula? Is his bark worse then his bite when it comes to swamp creatures?
Thank you, Dr. Omnibus!