Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection episode 401, 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 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 many are certainly worse. But to simplify it, that’s the scale I use. 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 401…
Cool Comics Stuff!
Cool Comics is sending out a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Sonic Theory, who is now a YouTube Pro! It takes a lot of work and dedication to hit the milestones necessary to monetize a YouTube channel, and Sonic Theory put in the time to reach these goals. The videos are fun, exciting, and as polished as any professional could hope to achieve, and all this was accomplished in under a year! Please click the image and check out how cool this channel is!
Cool Comics Battle of the Week!
The Cool Comics Battle of the Week is Thor versus Thanos! 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 of Cool Comics features that titanic Asgardian, Thor, by Robert A. Kraus! RAK has a distinctive style that meshes so well with the heroes, villains, and monsters we grew up loving. As the creator of Chakan, the forever man, RAK is known around the globe and is a great friend to Cool Comics — it’s always a pleasure to show off his amazing art!
You can have a piece of your art (or an original piece of art that you own) 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 if 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
Cool Comics from the 21st Century
#2021 — Thor #34, Marvel, July 2023.
Cool Factor: Ever since I started reading comic books, Thor has always been one of my favorite characters. But a hero needs challenges, and when you look at this cover, it’s hard to imagine taking on both Thanos and Doctor Doom in the same issue! It took me a while to warm up to Torunn Grønbekk’s storytelling, and with thrillers like this one, who wouldn’t be hoping for more! But alas, the end is coming, and a new creative team will be upon us come August. Let’s just hope we continue to get such great Asgardian adventures.
Comic Book Credits: Torunn Grønbekk (writer), Juan Gedeon with Sergio Dávila (penciliers), Juan Gedeon with Sean Parsons (inkers), Matt Wilson (color artist), Joe Sabino (letterer/designer), Nic Klein (cover artist), Michelle Marchese (assistant editor), and Wil Moss (editor).
Price and Values: The cover price of Thor #34 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.
Facsimile Edition Cool Comics
#2022 — House of Secrets #92, DC, October 2019 (Original Cover Date: July 1971).
Cool Factor: What’s so special about this Facsimile Edition of an older horror anthology? Longtime comic book fans are sure to know, but if you’re rather new to the world of four-color fun, this issue features the debut of Swamp Thing! Now if you want an original copy in as good a condition as my Facsimile Edition happens to be in, you’ll set yourself back around $1,500. So, if you don’t happen to have that kind of cash available for your comic book budget, this is definitely the next best thing!
Comic Book Credits: Cover – Bernie Wrightson (pencils/inks) and Jack Adler (colors); Welcome to the House of Secrets – Gerry Conway (script), Bernie Wrightson (pencils/inks), and Ben Oda (letters); Swamp Thing – Len Wein (script), Bernie Wrightson (pencils/inks), and Ben Oda (letters); After I Die – Jack Kirby & Mark Evanier (script), Bill Draut (pencils/inks), and Ben Oda (letters); It’s Better to Give… – Mary Skrenes (script), Alan Weiss (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), and John Costanza (letters); Trick or Treat – Gerry Conway (script) and Dick Dillin (pencils/inks).
Price and Values: The cover price of House of Secrets #92 Facsimile Edition is $3.99, while the current values are $4 on CBR and $10 on ZKC. The Key Collector Comics value is $12.
Cool Comics Celebrates FCBD (Week 4 of 2023)
#2023 — Star Trek, IDW Publishing, May 2023.
Cool Factor: I’ve been enjoying several of the ongoing Star Trek titles at IDW, and this Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) offering features a prelude to a big story that’s coming out later this summer, titled Day of Blood. If you’re a fan but somehow missed this FCBD issue, you’ll want to get your hands on a copy before the storyline starts!
Comic Book Credits: Prelude to Star Trek: Day of Blood – Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, & Christopher Cantwell (writers), Mike Feehan (artist), Lee Loughridge (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters); Lower Decks #1 Excerpt – Ryan North (writer), Chris Fenoglio (art/colors), and Johanna Nattalie (letters); Malachi Ward (cover artist), Johanna Nattalie (designer), Vanessa Real (editorial assistant), and Heather Antos (senior editor).
Price and Values: The cover price of Star Trek is free, while the current value is $1.
Cool Comics for the Young at Heart
#2024 — Hot Stuff, the Little Devil #85, Harvey Comics, August 1968.
Cool Factor: If you’re of a certain age, you probably have some great memories when it comes to Harvey characters (regardless of the fact that they tossed devils, witches, and ghosts at little kids!). I was able to find this old issue while fishing through quarter boxes (the condition isn’t what many of today’s collectors want, but the price is certainly within my budget), and it’s always hard to resist bringing home a handful of Harvey memories. When you want to feel Young at Heart, Hot Stuff and his friends are hard to resist.
Comic Book Credits: No given creator credits for this issue, which contains the stories The Weird Laughing Mystery, The Last Laugh, Stumbo the Giant in Mighty Suspicious, and a couple unnamed Hot Stuff adventures.
Price and Values: The cover price of Hot Stuff, the Little Devil #85 is 12¢, while the current values are $28 on CBR and $14 on ZKC.
Cool Comics from the 20th Century
#2025 — Cougar #2, Atlas/Seaboard, July 1975.
Cool Factor: As longtime readers may remember, I’ve finally finished my collection of all the Atlas/Seaboard original titles from the mid-Seventies, a company that I never took a chance on as a kid. For me, the stories are all new and contain a great flavor of nostalgia from such an important time in my comic collecting life. But I want these magical moments to last, so I don’t read more than one every month or two. And as it happens, this second issue of the Cougar was the last in the series. But the ending demands more! Oh well, I’m just glad to have it as part of my collection.
Comic Book Credits: Gary Friedrich (script), Frank Springer (pencils/inks), Sharon Iborn (letters), Rich Buckler (cover pencils), Al Milgrom (cover inks), and Larry Lieber (editor).
Price and Values: The cover price of Cougar #2 is 25¢, while the current values are $20 on CBR and $8 on ZKC. The Key Collector Comics value is $3.
Cool Comics Reader Reviews!
The New Teen Titans, Volume 1
Reviewed by Steve Adams
Hello, fellow comic book fans. It’s Steve Adams again, with another review. It has been a while, but I have not been neglecting comics. I have been keeping up on Dan Slott’s run on Fantastic Four, as well as reading the adventures of Ms. Marvel after watching her series on Disney+. I also spent some time on Spectacular Spider-Man, centering around issue 300 of that title.
I have always been a Make mine Marvel guy, but today, I am focusing on the Distinguished Competition. In particular, I am reviewing Volume 1 of The New Teen Titans, which collects issues 1-8 of this game-changing series. I remember as a kid, seeing a small paperback book sized, black and white reprint of these issues at a book sale, and I had to have it. I only knew Robin, but I didn’t care. I recall being amazed by the stories, and the immediate emotional connection this 9-year-old developed with the heroes featured here. Other than Spider-Man, no other title at that time was treating ‘kid heroes’ with any level of seriousness or respect. Titans changed that.
There are only a handful of truly iconic and legendary runs by authors in the world of superheroes. I mentioned Slott earlier. His run on FF is second only to John Byrne’s. Chris Claremont’s time on X-Men not only saved that book, but comics as a whole, in my opinion. It was at this same time that Marv Wolfman launched his unparalleled 16-year association with the Titans. Legendary does not cover it. He and Claremont made a lot of new comic fans with their tight, emotional, and realistic portrayals of not only the heroes, but the people under the masks as well. In these first eight issues of Titans, Wolfman quickly built a team of young heroes that reflected their surroundings and raised them from the perception that they were the Junior Justice League, and made them a top-level team in their own right. He gave us a team of seven heroes, some old, some new. Robin, Kid Flash, Changeling, and Wonder Girl were the familiar names that got people to notice the book. Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg rounded out the team. And of course, issue #2 gave us DC’s coolest character ever, Deathstroke the Terminator.
As good as the writing was, the art was just as good. George Perez drew these characters with a very clean and crisp style that still appeals to me today. His characters are expressive, and he is able to use his art to make the reader spend as much time reading the artwork as they did reading Wolfman’s script.
These stories are good, believable, and fun. You can see the initial tension between teammates melting away, and relationships growing. The emotions displayed are earned and honest. The New Teen Titans deserves to be remembered as probably DC’s best title in the early ‘80’s, and one of its absolute best ever. Check out the collected versions for yourself and see.
Would you like to write a review of a comic book or graphic novel for all the Internet to read? 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!
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