1 1
  • entries
    50
  • comments
    47
  • views
    4,833

About this journal

One man's journey to turn his lifelong collection hoard of comics into a streamlined, Superman-centric collection.

Entries in this journal

We might as well round out this week with more Gorillas

At this point, we might as well round out the rest of this week with more Gorillas. Here we have King Krypton, the Super-Gorilla! Action Comics #238 This issue features the first, and only, appearance of King Krypton.  I won't spoil the ending that necessitates this being his only appearance, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. I love this cover for two reasons.  First, it's a gorilla in the Superman costume.  Second, it's the improbable physics involved.  You'r
tomo

tomo

0

The triad of epic-ness continues!

Day three, in the retelling of my estate sale find recap continues! The next book is a hard to find non-key, and was on my radar for some time before I found these. Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #106 from November 1970. With it's cringe-worthy (if not well-intentioned) look at race relations at the tail end of the civil rights movement amid the rise of the black power movement, this one has been sought after for the historical oddity that it is for a while now.  Snuggled r
tomo

tomo

0

The Superbooks in November 1970

Yesterday we took a look at the dawn of the Bronze Age with the Superbooks.  It would be about another year, however, for the Superbooks to start hitting their stride with some classic Bronze Age goodness.  For me, the quintessential Superman Bronze Age book is Superman #233, so let's see what else was on the newsstands that month as well. Aside from having the most iconic of Neal Adams' Superman covers, this issue starts a year-long story of a de-powered Superman by Denny O'Neil.  Whi
tomo

tomo

0

The Superbooks in November 1959

So I was ruminating on the state of my Superman collection the other day, as I am getting close to checking off all of the 12¢ books from Superman and Action Comics.  That made me curious as to how far back I could get in my collection, and have the entire month of Superman books represented.  I figured it would be early in the 12¢ run somewhere, but to my surprise it was late in the 10¢ era instead. Step out of the time machine, and welcome to the world of November 1959! No key i
tomo

tomo

2

The Superbooks in June 1967

Yesterday I was a little surprised that I was able to go all the way back to November of 1959, with having a complete set of all the Superbooks on sale for a particular month.  I thought for sure that my oldest set would've been in the early 12¢ era.  I ended up being wrong twice, as not only could I go farther back than I thought, but the next instance of this happening is way into the second half of the Silver Age.  It takes another 7 ½ years for my collection to once again have all of the Sup
tomo

tomo

0

The Superbooks in December 1978

So why December of 1978? Well, there was a movie released that month called Superman The Movie, that's why! A favorite complaint these days is that neither Marvel or DC has appropriate books on the shelves to take advantage of the heat that is generated by comic book movies.  So how did DC do back in 1978 at the golden age of superhero movies? Not too shabby! All-New Collectors' Edition: Superman The Movie #C-62 was right there to take advantage of the hype, with an issu
tomo

tomo

0

The Superbooks in April 1969

Continuing on for the theme of the week, let's set the time machine forward a few years to April of 1969 to see both the end of one era, and the dawn of another. The end of the Silver Age is a hard one to pin down, and there's a ton of debate to be had.  I, myself, like to keep things simple and generally assume that the end of the 12¢ books also ends the Silver Age, and this is the month that it happened. I sorted the books by release date, so you'll see that it starts with 10¢ b
tomo

tomo

0

The randomness speaks...

Back in the day, from 2009-2011, I used to have a blog called The Random Longbox.  The idea, was that I would let a random number generator pick a book at random from my collection that I would then have to read and review.  I had a lot of fun, and enjoyed the pure randomness of pulling a book out of the longboxes and reading with no prior context other than my (faulty at best) memory. The old link is long dead at www.randomlongbox.com, but the the original blogspot link is still up and act
tomo

tomo

0

The other Darkseid 1st appearance

I seem to have stumbled upon a theme week routine here, so let's keep it up looking at some more Kirby Fourth World in detail.  Before the holiday, we had the 1st cameo appearance of Darkseid in SPJO#134, so let's see what else he was up to leading up to his first full appearance. Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #135 from January 1971 I can definitely appreciate what Kirby was going for, with the slow reveal of Darkseid to build up tension, but it sure makes for some lackluster first a
tomo

tomo

0

The other big monkey key

Yesterday we saw my latest semi-key monkey book.  Today, let's take a look at another. Superman #127 The first appearance of Titano, from February 1959! This copy I bought off of eBay about 4 or 5 years ago.  It looked great in the scan, so I was surprised that I was able to sneak in and snag it for under $50.  Especially knowing the fascination with monkeys, apes, and DC. Initially, I thought the top edge might have been trimmed, as that upper right corner is just too s
tomo

tomo

0

The origin story

One of my favorite things about the CGC Boards, is when people take that time to go through parts of their collections.  In the process, they are revealing tales about their acquisitions and motivations that I always find fascinating.  I figure if I get a kick out of others stories, maybe someone will get a kick out of mine. For me, it all started back in the spring/summer of 1985 when my best friend at the time came back from a trip to somewhere in Pennsylvania.  He was gone for a couple o
tomo

tomo

2

The one missing book.

Yesterday, I had mentioned that when I bought my almost complete run of DC Comics Presents from eBay, there was one issue missing that the seller had kept.  So what was the missing issue? The obvious answer is #26 with the first appearance of the New Teen Titans.  Well, you'd be wrong. Then, you might guess issue #47 with the first comic book appearance of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  Well, you'd be wrong again. I'll give you a hint.  I bought this collection in 2006,
tomo

tomo

2

The next first

So yesterday was the first comic I ever read, and coincidentally enough, it was a Superman book.  What was the first Superman comic book I bought once I decided to start reading and collecting? That honor goes to Superman (Vol. 2) #13 from 1988. As I said in my first journal entry, I was pretty much a Marvel zombie for the first 7 or 8 years of my reading and collecting.  I remember getting the Crisis mini-series as it was fresh on the stands right when I started reading.  I was e
tomo

tomo

0

The Fourth World at its best!

For my money, Mister Miracle was the most successful of the Fourth World titles in both idea and execution.  The deceptively simple concept, coupled with Kirby's out there early 70's imagination, led to some great stories. It took me a while to find a nice copy of Mister Miracle #1 from April 1971.  I finally picked up this nice looking mid grade copy from a fellow boardie for a nice price. Look at that cover!  How could you not want to pick that up!  Well, if that one didn't enti
tomo

tomo

0

The first of the firsts!

Let's take the first few journal entries and talk about some firsts. So what was the first comic book that I ever read?  I can't be 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure it was this one... I vividly remember the Christmas I got this, although the year is fuzzy.  I'm guessing it was 1977, and I was 7 years old based on the copyright date.  I also got the Batman treasury with the dead Robin on the cover, and an agonized Batman and Ra's Al Ghul laughing in the background.  Both of these co
tomo

tomo

0

The epic-ness continues!

Yesterday I went through the narrative for my greatest estate sale find.  So for the rest of this week we're going to take a look at what else I was able to find, in addition to the Famous 1st Editions that I've already I shown off. After a little more digging I managed to find another sought after treasury sized book, since these were not with the majority of the others.  These three books were tucked away in a box with some newspapers, underneath a nearby table. Superman vs. The
tomo

tomo

0

The DCCP big dog

Continuing our look at the DCCP title, without a doubt DC Comics Presents #26 is the big dog of this run, featuring the first appearance of The Teen Titans. As it turns out, I don't think I've ever read it.  Call me a blasphemer, but I don't think I've read any of the Wolfman/Perez run.  It's not that I have anything against it, as I'm a big fan of George Perez in general (by way of The Avengers).  It's one of those runs that will one day fall into my lap, or not.  It's just that up un
tomo

tomo

0

The curious part of the epic-ness

To wrap things up for the week, let's take a look at a few curious items I found at the estate sale. First up are these set of 6 Collector's Series Value Packs. I have never seen these before in my time, and I'm still not 100% sure where they came from.  I think these are the mini-comics that came with a cassette tape?  Maybe? The second book in each two-pack is either an Untold Legend of the Batman issue, or an Archie book.  Very curious.  I would imagine that these were rep
tomo

tomo

0

Superman #149 upgrade

So I'm back from vacation with a new post!  Actually, I got back from vacation a while ago, but work has been busy and it's been creeping into my off time.  It'll probably be that way for the remainder of the year, so no weekday posting with any sort of regularity until the new year. The busier work schedule did come with one silver lining, as it took me to a side of the state that I don't normally get to, and that means new and exciting comic book stores to check out!  And find one I did..
tomo

tomo

2

Off on vacation

This will be the only post this week, as I am officially on vacation.  Woo hoo! My family and I will be joining up with my brother and his girlfriend to drive into the path of the solar eclipse this week.  We've been planning the trip for over a year, so fingers crossed that the weather holds.   Even scheduling this trip so far out, we still didn't manage to snag a camp site that lies in the path of the totality of the eclipse, but we'll be pretty darn close in Kentucky on the ban
tomo

tomo

2

Non-Superman Diversion...The Doom Patrol!

For the first two days of this week, we've had a look at the two Marvel titles that I still maintain a collection on, so let's take a look at a DC one now. I've mentioned previously how I was a big fan of The Sandman back in the early-to-mid 90's as it was coming out.  Naturally, I sampled some of the other titles and quickly fell in love with the Grant Morrison and Richard Case run of Doom Patrol.  It's a helluva 40+ issue run, and definitely rewards repeat reading.  When I started reading
tomo

tomo

0

Non-Superman diversion...The Avengers!

Since we spent the last month pretty much firmly entrenched in the world of Superman, I thought it might be fun to look at some of the other non-Superman titles that I collect.  This will almost always be a Superman-centric journal, as that is where my main interest lies these days, but I'll allow myself the occasional diversion as I see fit. As I mentioned way back in my first journal post, the first title I started collecting back in 1985 was The Avengers.  So the very first back issue I
tomo

tomo

0

Non-Superman Diversion...Justice Society of America!

Finally, for this week, we're delving into the Justice Society of America! I've always had a fondness for time travel and alternative universe storylines, so naturally the JLA/JSA stories from the 60's and 70's caught my attention when I started to collect DC back-issues.  I started out big, right out of the gate, with this one... ...Justice League of America #21 from August 1963. Aside from having one of the best covers from the Silver Age, this issue is the proper introduct
tomo

tomo

0

Non-Superman Diversion...Jonah Hex!

Continuing our look at the non-Superman titles that I still actively collect, we have the newest title that I've decided to fill out a run on...and that is Jonah Hex! As far back as I can remember I've always been a fan of westerns, much to the chagrin of my wife and son who sigh and roll their eyes when I come across one while flipping through the t.v. listings.  Although I do the same to my wife when Grease is on, so I suppose it's all good. Anyways, with as much as I like a good wes
tomo

tomo

4

Non-Superman Diversion...Dr. Strange!

Aside from The Avengers, there is one Marvel title that I still collect, and that is Dr. Strange! I'm an old school D&D player from back in the day (started playing in 1982), and among my friends, no one ever wanted to play the Magic-User character.  That usually left me to play that character class by default as I was the only one who didn't mind the inherent weakness at the beginning.  So naturally, when I started reading comics I found myself gravitating to the magic side of the univ
tomo

tomo

0
1 1