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About this journal

I buy cheap reader comics. I read them. I discuss them.

Entries in this journal

CAPTAIN AMERICA #113 - It's all about the Art!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #113 - It's all about the Art!   I bought this beat up copy for $7.50   I may have my issues with Steranko the 'person', but he certainly created some of the most memorable handful of issues ever made in comics. Probably no artist in history has less work that is more popular than Jim Steranko.   Captain America #113 was the third of 3 issues he did in 1969 - the first two #110 and #111 interrupted by the origin re
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The INCREDIBLE HULK #144 - Too many cooks!

The INCREDIBLE HULK #144 - Too many cooks!   I bought this beat up copy for $4   Herb Trimpe did the cover for this (I really like Herb's run of covers on this book) but this is actually Part 2 of a two part story that Ayers and John Severin did the art on. John Severin is one of the few thin line inkers that I really like.   For some reason it took two people to write this, Roy Thomas and Mike Friedrich are credited, this just a
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ARCHIE ANNUAL #24 - Length and Suggestiveness!

ARCHIE ANNUAL #24 - Length and Suggestiveness!   I bought this ok looking copy for $4   This 48 page Annual came out in 1972 and features a couple of 'Still going strong Harry Lucey' stories, though it sports a humorous Dan DeCarlo cover. (See what I did there?) Lucey was in the last couple of years of working for Archie Comics, retiring in 1976 with Archie Comics #254 (July 1976) after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Inker Chic Stone completed the ar
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The STEVE DITKO ARCHIVES: The THING #13 - Dr. Strange had a Brother! (Or Did He?)

The STEVE DITKO ARCHIVES: The THING #13 - Dr. Strange had a Brother! (Or Did He?)   Everything I'm about to tell you is untrue, except this: This story was done by Steve Ditko two years before he ever worked at Marvel (as a freelancer for 16 stories), and five years before he worked there regular AND two years before he ever did a story with Stan Lee (it was a Western) and five years before he ever did a story with Stan Lee that was horror/scifi themed.  
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SUPERBOY and the LEGION of SUPER-HEROES #197 - Dress for Success!

SUPERBOY and the LEGION of SUPER-HEROES #197 - Dress for Success!   I bought this beat up copy for $4.00   Nothing against Cary Bates, who... wrote some decent stuff for DC Comics in his long career there (sold a few stories at the age of 13, wrote regular beginning in 1970 at age 17, and stayed until 1986). But this is all about the creativity of Dave Cockrum.   Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes was monthly, except for Ma
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FANTASTIC FOUR #61 - Pencil! Ink! Action!

FANTASTIC FOUR #61 - Pencil! Ink! Action!   I bought this beat up copy for $7.50   It's fun to read these old issues, in no order other than when I buy them, the same way I used to read them when I was a kid and teenager). Storylines are somewhat overrated if you ask me... sometimes I just want 15-20 minutes of entertainment. And one title that always seemed to deliver was the Fantastic Four.   (FANTASTIC
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TALES TO ASTONISH #93 - Can't create? Imitate!

TALES TO ASTONISH #93 - Can't create? Imitate!   I bought this beat up copy for $8   This is one of those issues that are sort of well-loved... I mean, the idea of it and that cover are certainly well-loved. It IS a great Marie Severin cover (inks by Frank Giacoia), the kind of thing where someone (probably Stan) said, "What if the Hulk ran into the Silver Surfer?"   (TALES TO ASTONISH #93 - cover dated July 1967, on
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Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #95 - Odd Jobs!

Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #95 - Odd Jobs!   I bought this beat up copy for $1   One month after I was born (25 days actually), this hit the newsstands and buying it for $1 in this condition is perfect to me. Not the greatest Bob White cover ever done, but it brings a smile to my face when I read the corny joke.    (Archie's Girls BETTY and VERONICA #95 - cover dated November 1963, on newsstands September 1st, 1
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The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Book and Record Set

The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Book and Record Set   I bought this beat up copy for $10   It's something I had never owned before, or even held in my hands, so I was excited to see it at the local comic book shop - and with that John Romita cover and $10 price, I had to have it.   Of course, I wondered how I'd listen to it, but... it's 2020 and You Tube has everything:   The Invasion of the Dragon Men Recording
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SUPERBOY and the LEGION of SUPER-HEROES #208 - The Future NOW!

SUPERBOY and the LEGION of SUPER-HEROES #208 - The Future NOW!   I bought this pretty nice copy for $8   As a young teenager, the Legion of Super-Heroes was one DC group I actually liked, thanks at first to Dave Cockrum and then a little bit to Mike Grell. This is Grell in the early stages of his career, and he did some pretty cool stuff, but looking back now, you can certainly see he was a new talent immediately thrust into the spotlight.  
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FANTASTIC FOUR #51 - This Man, This Monster!

FANTASTIC FOUR #51 - This Man, This Monster!   I bought this slightly beat up reader copy for $8!   One of the greatest FF saga's of all time it comes immediately following the Galactus Trilogy and just before the 1st appearance of the Black Panther! Man, Kirby was on a tear! I'll be honest... I'm NOT the biggest fan of Jack's covers. As great as he is at sequential story telling, action sequences, and even grand splash pages... I always thought his co
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MARVEL TEAM-UP #34 - The Return of the Meteor Man!

MARVEL TEAM-UP #34 - The Return of the Meteor Man!   The original intention of Marvel Team-up was to put Spider-man with a guest star every month, either a big name or someone Marvel wanted to feature and help make more popular. The main problem I always had with it, is that they featured... a lot of talent, that as a kid I thought wasn't up to par with John Romita, or Jim Starlin, and so I gradually drifted away from this book.   Marvel Team-up #34 th
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GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW #85 (2019 Reprint) - Grim and Gritty long before Alan Moore!

GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW #85 - Grim and Gritty long before Alan Moore!   See! I buy Modern Comics too! :-) In February 1971 Marvel Comics released Amazing Spider-man #96 WITHOUT the seal of approval from the Comics Code Authority. The reason was, supposedly (who knows what’s true when it comes to the history of Marvel) the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare came to them asking that they do a story depicting the dangers of drugs.  In my r
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BEWARE! The CLAWS of The CAT #1-4 - Social Justice with Good Art!

BEWARE! The CLAWS of The CAT #1-4 - Social Justice with Good Art! Beware the Claws of... The Cat! was a 1972 Comic Series that lasted 4 issues. It was a part of Stan Lee’s idea to expand readership to a female audience. Of course, today this would be seen as radical and liberal and social justice warrior activity and denounced as some declaration of war vs the male species.    In reality, then like now, Marvel was just looking for more suckers to buy the
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LAUGH COMICS #222 - Talk Dirty to Me!

LAUGH COMICS #222 - Talk Dirty to Me! As Archie got into the ’60s and 70’s, the amount of sexual innuendo obviously cooled - partly because of the Comics Code and partly because Archie Comics as a company brand, saw the wholesome family brand as a viable path to success.  They were RIGHT... it worked out great for them for decades - by the mid to late 60’s they were no longer leading in sales, but as an overall publisher, they were very strong.  But ever
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Superman's Girlfriend LOIS LANE #35 - Scheming Up and Teaming Up!

Superman's Girlfriend LOIS LANE #35 - Scheming Up and Teaming Up! Man, it’s amazing to me what comics I can find, beat up, in $1 bins! Another classic Superman/DC artist that I prefer to Curt Swan, the oft-forgotten Kurt Schaffenberger, here with an early 60’s ‘modern-ish’ theme. I really like the way he uses shadows and shading to show depth and perception. (Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - cover art by Kurt Sc
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BATMAN ANNUAL #2 - Batman started out as Robin?

BATMAN ANNUAL #2 - Batman started out as Robin? I found this beauty in $1 box. Like... when was I ever going to read a Batman Annual #2? I’m not a big Batman fan in the first place, but this is one that turned out to have a few surprises. It WAS, however, coverless, so... here's a reproduction...   (BATMAN ANNUAL #2 - Cover Dated Winter 1961 - on Newsstands November 16th, 1961 - cover art by Curt Swan, Sheldon Moldoff and Sprang)     Ok... what's good about i
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ARCHIE COMICS #95 - Classic Artists of the Era

ARCHIE COMICS #95 - Classic Artists of the Era Whenever I find these early Archie Comics issues, especially pre-1960 in the $1 books, I HAVE to pick them up. Honestly, it's where they belong as there is only a handful of people who love and appreciate them. The Riverdale crowd isn't interested in this stuff and none of the artists are really 'hot' with the majority of collectors. Archie Comics is just kind of its own niche and I'm glad. I mean... I look at this Harry Lucey cover
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DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU #16 - What'd you call me?

DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU #16 - What'd you call me?   (DEADLY HANDS of KUNG-FU #16 - Cover Dated Sept 1975 - on Newsstands August 7th, 1975 - cover art by Luiz Dominguez) Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #16 starts off with a painted cover by Luiz Dominguez. Not my favorite DHoKF cover, and certainly not my favorite Luiz Dominguez painted cover (that would be Dracula Lives #5), but... it conveys a scene from an interior story pretty well so... it's all good. I love this beat up co
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MARVEL TALES #53/AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #70 - Wanted...Dead or Alive!

MARVEL TALES #53/AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #70 - Wanted...Dead or Alive!   The Amazing Spider-man was the comic I liked the most growing up. Occasionally something would strike me as interesting, but it seemed whenever I read an issue of ASM it would just entertain me in a way that the others just couldn't compare. Before I became a regular reader around 1975 or so, I remember having #43, #75, #80 and Spectacular Spider-man (Magazine) #2. Over time I would pick up an issue her
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AMAZING ADVENTURES #19-24 - 2018 Turned Out a BIT Different...

AMAZING ADVENTURES #19-24 - 2018 Turned Out a BIT Different...   In the second part of the story (#19), we get 13 pages of action right off the bat and the colors look more centered and less glaring, and it certainly makes the reading experience better. Next time I see Roy Thomas, I'm going to bring both these issues and ask him about the differences in how this process shows up. (AMAZING ADVENTURES #19 cover-dated July 1973, on newsstands April 17, 1973, wit
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HOUSE OF SECRETS #50 - Ho Hum, Earth's Getting Destroyed Again...

HOUSE OF SECRETS #50 - Ho Hum, Earth's Getting Destroyed Again... This period in the history of DC Comics was NOT one of my favorites. There's probably a fair amount of GREAT work from this period I'm just not aware of, but... there's also so much bland junk, it's difficult for me to even begin to wade into these waters.... The Senate hearing on Comic Books in 1957 had allowed publishers like DC and others to put out a Comics Code, aimed directly at their biggest competitor (EC C
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TIPPY TEEN #1 - This Looks Familiar!

TIPPY TEEN #1 - This Looks Familiar! Wally Wood had a long and storied career in comics, and there's plenty to go into, but of note today was his and Publisher Harry Shorten's Tower Comics. Shorten had worked as a writer and Editor at MLJ (Archie Comics) in it's early days and Wood had worked for nearly everyone. Tower Comics is primarily remembered for it's Thunder Agents by Wally Wood, but the LONGEST RUNNING comic they published was Tippy Teen, an obvious Archie Comics influenced Te
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AMAZING ADVENTURES #18 - It's All in a Name!

AMAZING ADVENTURES #18 - It's All in a Name! I was a pretty well-read 10-year-old kid, and I think comics may have had an opposite effect on me than it does most people. MOST collectors learned to read from comics. They didn't teach me to read, they made me lazy to read. Who needs books when you have pictures to spell it all out? I didn't STOP reading books of course, but when movies like War of the Worlds (1953) was shown on regular TV, how could I not be glued to the screen? Back in th
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HAWKMAN #25 - My Baby has a Temper!

HAWKMAN #25 - My Baby has a Temper! Here's another series I'm pretty clueless to, but this cover lured me in and, boy am I glad it did. It sort of has a 'Coop' (Devil Girl artist Chris Cooper) look to Dillin's art (even though Coop was born the year this came out!). Anyway, I dig it a great deal - the sexy green 'Death Goddess' (not sure why she's 'green' on the cover) - the flames  - Hawkman getting his butt kicked - the purple background...   (HAWKMAN #
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