I don't have home access to the internet anymore, so I don't post much on message boards these days. But back when I did have the internet, I used to write posts like this one on CBR, bragging about the back issues that I'd gotten dirt-cheap at comics shops or conventions.
So, here's a new post in that vein, inspired by the fact that yesterday I went to a local comics shop and bought the comics listed below for a total of... five bucks.
The shop has one of the coolest ideas for their cheap bins that I've ever run across. In one side of the shop, they have several rows of long boxes of comics, the cheap-o stuff that is priced at 25 or 50 cents each (I forget which). But they have some brown paper bags nearby, and the deal is that you can fill up a bag of these cheap comics for five bucks. The brown paper bags are thin ones, the kind to put a magazine of two in, but of course I manage to pack a whole lot of comics into those things!
I have a notebook where I've written down all the comics in my collection, and I take that with me when I go comics shopping. In the end, I put some comics back because I already had them... including a 1970s Marvel Premiere starring Iron Fist issue. And others I put back because there was no room in the bag. (Money was short and I wanted to limit myself to one bag.)
So, here's what I bought yesterday at the shop, for a total of five dollars...
AMAZING HEROES #22 (April 1983)
John Byrne’s Alpha Flight previewed, including a Byrne cover. Funny little fine-print on the cover where it gives the price, “$1.95 . $2.50 in Canada (Sorry, John)” These old zines are good places to get info on comics of the time, including things which were planned but never got published. Page 18 shows Steve Ditko’s pencils to an upcoming Hangman story for Archie/Red Circle, before the page was inked.
ATTACK #13 (Modern Comics/Charlton, 1978)
Modern’s reprint of the 1973 Charlton war comic. The cover is by Tom Sutton, to go with the 8-page Sutton-drawn tale inside.
AZTEC ACE #9 & 13 (Eclipse, 1985)
This is one of those series that eventually I’d like to get ‘em all (cheap) and then read ‘em, as they look intriguing. I also bought #10, but it turns out that I had that one already.
BEYOND THE GRAVE #2 (Modern Comics/Charlton, 1978)
This is the Modern reprint of the 1975 Charlton issue. I actually already have this issue, but wasn’t sure what condition it was in, so I got this one just in case, since it’s in nice condition. This issue has an unusually long Ditko tale (11 pages) plus Ditko cover to go with the story. There was also a Modern reprint of an issue of DRAG N’ WHEELS in the bin, but I knew I already had that one in decent enough condition, so I didn’t get it. It’s always nice to get a 1970s Charlton comic in nice condition, since I’m so used to seeing them in less-than-perfect shape (to put it mildly).
BLACK DIAMOND #5 (AC Comics, 1984)
I didn’t know this series had run beyond 3 issues. The Paul Gulacy cover is what caught my attention. A full color indie comic, back when AC was doing that.
CENTURIONS #4 (DC; Sept. 1987)
Final issue of mini-series by Bob Rozakis, Don Heck, and Al Vey, based on a TV cartoon of the time.
CODY STARBUCK by Howard Chaykin (Star*Reach, 1978)
This is a full color comic which shows just how good Chaykin was back then. The art looks like something Frank Miller would draw, but a few years before Miller was drawing like that. Chaykin’s line art in the comic is really stripped-down, letting the colorist (Chaykin?) add the shadings with color, not lines. That results in a far more attractive looking art than what Chaykin’s art normally looks like, IMO. This is one stylish, good-looking, ahead-of-its-time comic.
CRASH RYAN #3 (Epic/Marvel; Dec. 1984)
Four-issue limited series written and drawn by Ron Harris. Still don’t have #1, but I’m sure it will turn up in these boxes one day.
CROSSFIRE #21, 22, 24 (Eclipse, 1987)
I finally got around to reading some issues of this series (as well as the later Epic series HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTARS) a few weeks ago, and liked ‘em so much that I made a mental note to get more CROSSFIRE. So, I was very pleased to see these issues in the very first of the cheap boxes that I started to look through. (Great way to start a cheap-bin dig… when you immediately come across something you’d been hoping to find. That helps give you more energy in digging past so many undesirable comics, in the hope that you’ll stumble upon more of what you’d been looking for, so that you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time.) Each issue of CROSSFIRE has a great text-page (actually several pages) backup article by Mark Evanier about showbiz, which are worth reading on their own, never mind the comic part of the mag. However, the comic part is also terrific, with great art by the underrated Dan Spiegle. Dan has an art style reminiscent of the 1950s Alex Toth. I first discovered his work in 1983 in Black Hood #3 (great issue, by the way – Toth and Boyette are also in that issue), and I assumed that he was a younger artist for some reason. I only recently discovered, if his Wikipedia entry is correct, that he was actually born in 1920 (making him 7 years older than Steve Ditko). His art in CROSSFIRE is wonderful, and it’s great that Mark Evanier used him for this series (as well as WHODUNNIT? and the aforementioned HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTARS). Spiegle is one of those older artists (like Gray Morrow, Pat Boyette, etc.) whose style didn’t really fit the Kirby superhero style that began to increasingly dominate comics. The lead hero of CROSSFIRE is a masked hero, but I think that’s just a clever way of sucking in the superhero readers, so that it looks like a superhero comic without actually being a superhero comic. Anyway, if you ever see any CROSSFIRE in the back issue boxes, get ‘em, they’re great!
THE DESTROYER Vol. Two #1 (Marvel; March 1991)
I had known that Ditko had drawn at least two Destroyer stories, and didn’t have them in my collection, so I opened this comic up to check, and sure enough there was a Ditko backup tale (inked by Ditko, too) inside. The lead story was drawn by Lee Weeks, whose art I also like. And both stories were written by the great Will Murray, whose comics history articles I have enjoyed since I was 13 years old. (Incidentally, Will has a short article in the current issue (#69) of Ditkomania – a little plug for my fanzine there…) This comic is thicker than a regular comic and I look forward to reading it.
ECLIPSE MONTHLY #8 (Eclipse; May 1984)
Almost missed this one because the cover and format doesn’t look like the previous issues of the series that I have. Again, a full color indie comic of the early 1980s. Back when there was a sense of excitement and experimentation (but also a lot of quality professional-looking art) in the independent comics scene.
EVANGELINE Vol. One #1 & 2 (Comico, 1984)
EVANGELINE Vol. Two #3 & 5 (First, 1987-88)
Great-looking full color indie comic with traditional style art.
GRIMJACK #3 (First; Oct. 1984)
Art by Tim Truman in the lead story, art by Steve Bissette in the back-up tale. (I assume this is the story that Steve has written about recently on his blog.) Another full color 1980s indie comic. (Notice a pattern?)
JONNY QUEST #4 (Comico; Sept. 1986)
Great art by the great (and underrated) Tom Yeates.
JUSTICE MACHINE ANNUAL #1 (Texas/Noble, 1983)
This is a thick full color indie comic with nice professional artwork. Front cover by Mike Golden. Guest-stars the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents! And apparently this was the first appearance (in the back-up slot) of Bill Willingham’s The Elementals, who later had their own series.
KROFFT SUPERSHOW #4 (Gold Key; Sept. 1978)
I know that when I was little, I loved this TV show, but now for the life of me I can’t quite recall enough about it to know why.
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES Vol. Two #21, 29, 35 (DC; 1986-87)
Nice (Mando or Baxter?) paper, nice Bronze Age style art by Greg LaRocque and Mike DeCarlo, nice covers, so that’s why I got ‘em. #21 has a tear in the cover’s spine unfortunately.
THE MANY GHOSTS OF DOCTOR GRAVES #51 (May 1975)
Nice painted cover by Pat Boyette. This was back when the Charlton titles were (as they boasted on their covers) “All New.”
MARVEL MILESTONES: DRAGON LORD (Marvel, 2006)
This all-Ditko comic reprints Marvel Spotlight #5 (from 1980), Speedball #1 (from 1988), and one story from Amazing Adult Fantasy #14 (1962). I already had all these stories in other comics, but figured I’d get this reprint since it has them on nice glossy paper. Unfortunately, I’m not crazy about the reproduction quality of the Speedball issue (plus there are 3 Speedball pin-ups by other artists which could have been dropped in favor of more Ditko art). If they had to use Speedball, maybe it would have been a better idea to collect some of those Speedball tales that Ditko did for the anthology titles like Marvel Comics Presents – that way, they’d all be in one comic to make it easier to add to one’s Speedball collection. (Better yet, they could just do a trade paperback collecting all the old Speedball stories in one book.) Still, it’s nice to have “Dragon Lord” on good paper.
MICRONAUTS #32 (Marvel; Aug. 1981)
Nice condition, nice looking art by Pat Broderick. This was the Marvel that I grew up reading, back when I was a pre-teen Marvel fan.
MS. TREE SUMMER SPECIAL #1 (Renegade Press; Aug. 1986)
I read this whole comic this morning, and it’s a great issue, especially the Bobby Darin bio backup tale and Max Collins’ article recalling his days in a rock band in the 1960s. It’s gems like this – not considered to be “cool” comics but which are dang good reads -- that make digging thru the cheap bins worth it.
THE NEW DNAgents #4 (Eclipse; Dec. 1985)
This was the second volume of DNAgents (“Whole no. 28” it says in the indicia). Originally I thought that I’d limit my cheap-comic purchases to the first volume only, but I happened to pick up a couple of the later ones and liked them, so before I bought this one, I flipped it open, the art (by Chuck Patton) looked okay, so I got it.
NEXUS #16 (First; Jan. 1986)
Slowly building up my Nexus collection. Great Steve Rude cover and inside art, as always.
RAWHIDE KID #46 (Marvel; June 1965)
Lousy condition, but I was pleased to discover that there’s a 5-page back-up story in here written and drawn by Alex Toth! (Or “Al Toth” as he is listed in the credits box.) Unfortunately, his pencils are inked by Vince Colletta -- obliterating Toth’s elegant simplicity with his own needlessly scratchy style. It’s a real shame that Toth didn’t ink this one himself.
RIO AT BAY #2 (Dark Horse, 1992)
Turns out that I have this one already, so it goes in the “get rid of/sell/trade” box. I had seen the first issue in the cheap bin as well, but knew I had that one already; didn’t recall the cover of the second issue, and didn’t have time to consult my list.
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT! #50 (Gold Key; Oct. 1974)
SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #32-34 (Marvel magazine, 1978)
CONAN SAGA #32 (Marvel magazine; Dec. 1989)
MARVEL COMICS SUPER SPECIAL #2 (1977, Savage Sword of Conan)
SAVAGE TALES Featuring KA-ZAR #12 (Annual #1) (Summer 1975)
The above six magazines were all laying on top of the cheap bin and so I asked the guy at the store if they were part of the “fill a bag for $5.00” deal, and he said yes, so it took me about 30 seconds to put them all in a bag. (There were actually a few I left behind, including one great book that I plan to get next time. There was literally no more room in the paper bag after these mags were squeezed into it!) The Marvel Comics Super Special issue is a special full color issue of Savage Sword, the rest are B&W.
SUN DEVILS #12 (DC; June 1985)
Final issue of the maxi-series, written and drawn by Dan Jurgens. Shows how good his art was even back then in the early days.
TEAM YANKEE #3 & 6 (First, 1989)
Six-issue war-comic mini-series with traditional style artwork.
VALKYRIE #3 (Eclipse, 1988)
Sometimes it’s a good thing that I don’t have time to look at my list when I’m buying comics. If I had looked at my list, I would have assumed that I had this comic already, since it lists that I already have Valkyrie mini-series #1-3 from 1987. Turns out that there was a second 3-issue Valkyrie mini-series the following year, so I didn’t have this one.
WARLORD #1 (DC; Jan.-Feb. 1976)
Now this was a surprise to find. I have to admit that I’ve never really READ Warlord, but I pick them up whenever I see them in the cheap bins, with the intention of eventually reading ‘em at some point. At least I know the art is good on the series (first by Mike Grell, then by Dan Jurgens, later by Ron Randall, etc.). There’s a tear on the cover of this one, which is probably why the issue ended up in the cheap bin.
WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #40 (Marvel; July 1988)
I like the old Bronze Age style of art that Alex Saviuk (who drew this issue) and Larry Lieber were providing Spidey at this time. Not enough to buy them when they came out, mind you (I quit buying Spidey, and most other current mainstream comics, in 1989 and stayed away for the most part until 1997), but they are okay to get cheap.
WORLD’S FINEST #225 (DC; Sept.-Oct. 1974)
This is one of those big “100 Pages for Only 60¢” issues, loaded with reprints (including tales of Rip Hunter, Black Canary, and The Vigilante). The main defects are that the back cover is missing (which was likely all ads anyway) and a fold along the middle of the comic. (Now who could have tried to fold a comic this thick into their back pocket??)
YOUNG LOVE #44 (DC; July-Aug. 1964)
YOUNG LOVE #45 (DC; Sept.-Oct. 1964)
One of them has some chunks missing near the bottom of the cover, the other has a loose (but intact) middle page and some paper curl, but both are readable. And I’ve rarely seen DC romance comics priced at less than 4 bucks each, which is why I own so few of them, so this was a nice find. I detected some Romita in the art (which is all unsigned), although I could be mistaken.
And there you have it: around 50 comics that I bought yesterday for a mere 5 bucks.
It’s moments like this that make me glad to be a comics fan, to be able to walk out of a store with a bag crammed full of comics for less than it costs to buy, say, two brand-new comics. I had borrowed a twenty dollar bill from my sister to pay for this, and so when she picked me up, I had the odd feeling of handing her back a ten and a five and then dropping a big stack of comics in the backseat. All for five bucks. I think that means it comes to around 10 cents per comic. And the thing is… there are more cheap boxes there. I amassed the above lot in around 30 minutes or so. I had the chance to only look through about one-fifth of the “fill a bag for $5” boxes there. I didn’t even look at the “$1.00 each” boxes at the front of the store. I will have to make another trip back up there soon…
