Date: November 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2013 Price Range: $2.00 – $16.00 Stats: 30 color pages plus house ads and “A Gander At Gladstone” column Writers: Volker Reiche, Geofrey Blum, Bob Karp, Carl Barks Artists: Daan Jippes, Volker Reiche, John Clark, Ken Feduniewicz, Al Taliaferro, Michael F. McCormick, Tony Strobl, Carl Barks Notable Notes: Several classic stories of Donald messing things up!
Have you ever tried to bluff your way through something? I sure have. Truth be told sometimes it works, and sometimes it fails spectacularly! I think Donald Duck is the master of saying he knows how to do something, when in reality he has no clue – I mean that is part of what makes his stories so funny! Here are some classic examples of Donald at his bluffing best!
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Date: July 1983 Publisher: Archie Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ 2013 Price Range: $1 – $8 Stats: 23 color pages plus ads and Archie Club News Writer: Frank Doyle Artists: Stan G, Rudy Lapick, Bill Yoshida, Barry Grossman Notable Notes: Archie and friends stay at a haunted cabin!
After reading about this series in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1696 , and learning that this was the adventurous and mysterious Archie series, I dug through my back issues to see if I had any copies. Lo and behold I did – so I figured I’d give it a go and see how it rated now that I understood a little bit more about the series. Here’s what I thought about it…
Date: October 1979 Publisher: Harvey Publications, Inc. Cover Price: 40¢ 2013 Price Range: $1.00 – $9.00 Stats: 23 color pages plus ads Writers: ? Artists: ? Notable Notes: Casper visits Cardland!
I’ve mentioned before that I grew up reading Harvey comics , and that they are a big reason I love comic books so much. Anyway, I thought Casper was cool but he wasn’t my favorite Harvey character – that honor belonged to Hot Stuff. Casper was definitely the most famous of Harvey’s characters though, and even now, years after the comics stopped being published, you can still find proof of the popularity of this friendly ghost!
Date: June 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and one ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: A dream and a storm!
Have you ever had a very, very realistic dream? You know – the kind where when you wake up you’re shocked it wasn’t real? And maybe even sad that it wasn’t real? I have, and usually I feel a bit disappointed and cheated that I expended so much emotional energy on something that wasn’t even real! Oh well, better that than a nightmare eh? In this issue Akiko, our favorite 4th grader, has just such a dream.
Date: October 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2013 Price Range: $3.00 – $26.00 Stats: 32 color pages plus Gladstone info and 2 house ads Writer & Artist: Carl Barks Notable Notes: The first issue by Gladstone!
After reading Uncle Scrooge and the Prize of Pizarro as the first review for this blog, I realized that I enjoy adventure stories – especially ones that are set in the jungle. This comic is another classic adventure story from the early days of Disney comics. It reminds me of the Indiana Jones films, but with Donald Duck and his nephews filling in as the down-on-their-luck main characters. This is an excellent book and a prime example of how classic comics can be better than modern ones!
Date: September 2000 Publisher: CrossGen Comics Cover Price: $2.95 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus house ads, “Delineations” letters page and “Generator” news column Writer: Barbara Kesel Artists: Joshua Middleton, Dexter Vines, Michael Atiyeh and Dave Lanphear Notable Notes: Sephie finally bucks her Uncle’s tyranny!
Have you ever been pushed too far by someone? Maybe it was a close relative, or a boss or even a complete stranger. Sometimes it can be difficult to stand up to bullies – especially if they are older or in a position of power over you – but the star of this comic proves that it can and should be done! Let’s all hope that her future actions go just as well.
Date: February 1940 Publisher: Fawcett Publications Cover Price: 10¢ 2013 Price Range: $8,000 – $176,000 Stats: 64 color pages plus ads Writers: Bill Parker and ? Artists: C.C. Beck and ? Notable Notes: 1st appearances of Captain Marvel, Ibis the Invincible, Golden Arrow, Spy Smasher, Scoop Smith, Lance O’Casey and Dan Dare!
Captain Marvel, aka Shazam, has a long and complicated history. The complications begin with this issue and the question of “Is it issue #1 or issue #2?” The inside front cover lists this as issue #2 of Whiz Comics, and a little bit of searching reveals that the first issue was actually an ashcan copy created for trademark purposes and it wasn’t even called Whiz Comics! Anyway, this issue (the true #1 but actually marked as #2) is where all the magic happens. Oh yeah, there are other complications too – such as the name “Captain Marvel”, his close resemblance to Superman and his integration into the DC Universe after DC Comics obtained the rights to the character… but we won’t go there right now.
Date: December 2012 Publisher: Krause Publications Cover Price: $5.99 Stats: 58 color and B&W pages including ads
I have been reading and collecting comic books for over 30 years now, and I enjoy everything about the hobby! Obviously I like reading comics, but I also really enjoy searching out and finding issues that complete my sets, reading about comic book history, learning about how comics are created and used in other industries and pretty much everything else associated with collecting comic books. Anyway, all this is leading up to the fact that I like reading Comics Buyer’s Guide because it helps me enjoy the hobby more thoroughly. I’ve been reading issues of this magazine on-and-off for the past 9 years, and I figured it was time I talk about this very cool magazine. Here are my thoughts:
Date: October 2007 Publisher: Red 5 Comics Cover Price: $2.95 Stats: 22 color pages Writer: Brian Clevinger Artists: Scott Wegener, Ronda Pattison, Jeff Powell Notable Notes: 1st appearance of Atomic Robo!
I’ve been wanting to try out Comixology for a while, so I finally decided to make an account and check out some of their free issues. This one was free and looked really cool so it became my first read on Comixology! I still prefer physical issues of comics, but this wasn’t a bad experience. Here’s what I thought of the comic:
Date: October 1986 Publisher: Harvey Comics Cover Price: 75¢ 2013 NM Price: $6.00 Stats: 24 color pages plus ads, letters page, table of contents, letter from publisher and poster. Writer: ? Artists: ? Notable Notes: Hot Stuff returns after a 3 year absence!
When I was 12 years old I realized that I could no longer find Richie Rich, Casper or Hot Stuff comics anywhere! It was kind of shocking, because they were my favorite ones and I totally loved them. After asking around at several comic shops I found out that they weren’t publishing comic books anymore. I was sad… but a few years later I was delighted to find that Harvey Comics returned after some reorganizing at their company. This was the first issue I picked up in 1986, and it was a sweet reunion indeed!
Date: December 1995 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $3.95 2013 NM Price: $5.00 Stats: 40 black & white pages Story and Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: 1st appearance of Akiko and friends
I started reading the Akiko comic series back in the late 1990s, and enjoyed it so much that I made an effort to get all of the comic books. It has taken me a long time, but with the purchase of this book I finally completed my collection! This one-shot was the first comic featuring Akiko and her band of misfit friends, then there was the regular comic series that ran for 52 issues. I must say, I’ve been please with all of them, and this issue is no exception!
Date: Oct-Nov 1964 Publisher: American Comics Group Cover Price: 12¢ 2013 Price Range: $5 – $70 Stats: 25 color pages plus “Kisses and Hisses” letters column and ads Writers: Lafcadio Lee, Pierre Alonzo Artists: Edd Ashe, Pete Costanza Notable Notes: An early appearance of a somewhat popular secret agent!
The story of how I came to possess this comic book is an awesome one! So, in the late 1990s my oldest brother was remodeling an old house in a small, rural town. As he was gutting the kitchen area he found this comic inside one of the walls! Realizing that it might be valuable he carefully pulled it out from between the crumbling dry-wall and eventually brought it to me to see how much it was worth. Given its condition I told him it was worth about $10 – $20 dollars. Well, that didn’t make his eyes light up with dollar signs, so he eventually gave it to me! I think it is a great comic book, and even if it is only worth $10 that is still 83 times its original value! Yay for old comics!
Date: July 1986 Publisher: Archie Comics Group Cover Price: 75¢ 2013 NM Price: $5.00 Stats: 23 color pages plus “Dear Betty” letters column, word search, hairstyles and ads Writers: George Gladir Artists: Stan G, Rudy Lapick, Bill Yoshida Notable Notes: Betty tries her darnedest to snag Archie!
Ah, Archie – the envy of men everywhere! Is there any guy luckier than the man who has not 1 but 2 beautiful women chasing after him? I was jealous as a teenager reading these issues, and now as a middle aged man – well, I’m still a little bit jealous! Oh well, joining in on all the fun, hi-jinks and plain good luck of Archie is half the fun of reading these issues… right?
Date: August 2000 Publisher: CrossGen Comics Cover Price: $2.95 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus recap page, house ads, “Delineations” letters column and “Milestones” Writer: Barbara Kesel Artists: Joshua Middleton, Dexter Vines, Michael Atiyeh, Dave Lanphear Notable Notes: Sephie begins to question her uncle!
Even though I loved this book there were some elements of it that sounded kind of familiar: a princess in exile, a devious ruler with ulterior motives, a ruffian boy that is just so charming. Now where have I heard all this before? *Cough – Aladdin – cough* Hmm… I’m sure it’ll come to me.
Date: 2012 Publisher: KiZoic (an imprint of Ape Entertainment) Cover Price: $3.99 Stats: 28 color pages plus one house ad Writers: Sid Jacobson, Ralph Newman, Lennie Herman, Tom DeFalco Artists: Ernie Colon, Warren Kremer, Sid Couchey, Armando Zanker Notable Notes: An issue about aliens and robots!
I bought this issue along with Richie Rich: Rich Rescue #5 so that I could try out both new Richie Rich titles from KiZoic. While that one features the new look of the modern Richie, this one sticks with the classic style, and includes new, original stories as well as digitally re-colored old ones. I was impressed with the modern Richie Rich, so let’s see how this one stacks up shall we?
