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About this journal

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

Entries in this journal

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
Prince Namor

Prince Namor

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STRANGE TALES #174 - There Walks the GOLEM!

STRANGE TALES #174 - There Walks the GOLEM! One of the earlier comics I ever had was this Strange Tales #174 from the Spring of 1974.  (STRANGE TALES #174 - Cover Dated June 1974 - on Newsstands March 26, 1974 - cover art by Ernie Chan? John Buscema? Tony DeZuniga?) What a great cover and what a controversy surrounding who drew it!  I've read Gil Kane, Tony DeZuniga, John Romita, and Ernie Chan for pencils and then Ernie Chan, Tony DeZuniga, and John Romita
Prince Namor

Prince Namor

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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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FANTASTIC FOUR #142 - It's a Thing Thang

FANTASTIC FOUR #142 - It's a Thing Thang One of the earlier comics I owned within the actual time frame it came out, I would’ve been 10 years old when SOMEONE made this available to me. The cover really stood out... and I would learn to really enjoy the personality and mannerisms of the Thing, one of the great characters of the Marvel Universe.   (FANTASTIC FOUR #142 - Cover Dated January 1974 - on Newsstands October 16th, 1973 - cover art signed by Buckler and Sinnott)
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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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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
Prince Namor

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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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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
Prince Namor

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LIFE WITH ARCHIE #109 (and #23) - Remembering Amnesia!

LIFE WITH ARCHIE #109 (and #23) - Remembering Amnesia! No, that isn't the cover to Life with Archie #109, it's the cover to Life with Archie #23. I'm starting this post off with it because it's another cool old comic I picked up for $1 at a recent show.   Featuring a fairly ho-hum cover (as far as Archie Comics and Life with Archie in particular goes) from the nevertheless under appreciated Bob White, the story inside (Sy Reit) isn't much to talk about either. However, it
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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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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
Prince Namor

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MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Wanna Play on the Bridge?

MARVEL TEAM-UP #12 - Wanna Play on the Bridge? Marvel Team-Up was the FIRST regular spin-off series for Spider-man (Spectacular Spider-man Magazine preceded it for two issues) and featured Spidey in all but 10 of its 150 issues and 1 of its 7 Annuals. Somewhere out there, someone has all 150 issues collected, but amazingly enough all SEVEN Annuals as well. I can picture the first one in my head (Spidey and the X-Men) but for the life of me can't remember the other 6. On
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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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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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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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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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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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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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The ATOM #27 - Funny Little Guy

The ATOM #27 - Funny Little Guy Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman survived the disappearance of Superheroes through most of the 50's, but DC's power was so strong during this period, that in July 1956 a re-vamped Flash hit the scene, followed by the Green Lantern 3 years later.  TWO YEARS after that (man things moved slowly back then), The Atom appeared in Showcase #34, an Atomic Age type of hero, firmly landing in the Silver Age of Comics. Culled from the concept of the Golden Age Ch
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Superman's Girl Friend LOIS LANE #98 - Romance Comics in Plain Sight

Superman's Girl Friend LOIS LANE #98 - Romance Comics in Plain Sight I'm going to warn you ahead of time - I may sound overly critical of Curt Swan's work here in this piece. I get that he was the definitive Superman artist for 2 1/2 decades. No question about that. But personally, I just never understood the huge fan love for his work, other than "I was 13 and these were my favorite comics." That I get. Going back and discovering his work after reading Neal Adams Superman stories? Hmmm...
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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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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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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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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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