Date: October 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 19 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko”, a 3 page mini-story and one ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko’s gang takes the road less traveled!
Arguing with friends and colleagues can be fun, don’t you think? In this issue we get to see more of Spuckler and Mr. Beeba exchanging words about, well… just about everything! They fight over which road to take, how to travel, what to do with the dragon’s egg and more. It is the part about the egg that ends up nearly costing Spuckler his life – and after he has paid a dear price he finally admits to his friendly nemesis that he was wrong. Gosh, what an inspiring tale, huh?
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Date: November 1983 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ 2013 Price Range: $2.00 – $18.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus ads, “Postbox: The Pit!” letters page and Bullpen Bulletins Writer: Larry Hama Artists: Mike Vosburg, Jon D’Agostino, Joe Rosen, G. Roussos Notable Notes: Cobra fugitives get lots of help!
I commute to work on a bus nearly every day. It is nice because I can read, or surf the internet or just take a nap. But sometimes, in the back of my mind, there is a little bit of worry that something crazy is going to happen. You know, something like the driver getting us in a big crash, or even worse – the bus gets hi-jacked like in the movie “Speed”! This issue has a scene where a bus gets taken over by one of the Cobras, and as you can see from the cover it makes the ladies cry – now how sad is that! Plus, now I’m going to have nightmares about my own bus getting attacked by some crazy para-military group – sheesh!
Date: May 2013 Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $2.99 Stats: 21 color pages plus ads and “Letters Without Fear” Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Chris Samnee, Javier Rodriguez, Joe Caramagna Notable Notes: Someone is methodically targeting Daredevil!
I don’t hate hospitals, but I don’t particularly like being in them either. There is always that “hospital” smell, and lots of action and noises going on. It’s a hard place to relax. But if you don’t like them either, you’ll be glad to know that Matt Murdock especially hates them! Yep, can you imagine having to spend time in a hospital with super-sensitive senses? Yeah, it would probably be quite uncomfortable!
Date: 2013 Publisher: KiZoic (an imprint of Ape Entertainment) Cover Price: $3.99 Stats: 28 color pages plus one ad Writers: Sid Jacobson, Lennie Herman, Ralph Newman Artists: Ernie Colon, Warren Kremer, Ben Brown, Dustin Evans, Deron Bennett, Joe Rosen Notable Notes: An issue about giving money.
When I was a kid reading Richie Rich comic books, my favorite stories were the ones where Richie would explore parts of his mansion or grounds that he had never been to before. Can you imagine how cool that would be! I remember one story where he gets lost in a part of the mansion where there are rooms full of really cool, big toys. This issue had a little bit of that when Richie goes to swim in pool #14 and takes a short cut through a forest! Ah, somehow I never get tired of the endless explorations of a rich little boy!
Date: September 1970 Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: 15¢ 2013 Price Range: $6 – $80 Stats: 24 color pages plus ads and “Letters to the Batcave” Writers: Denny O’Neil and Mike Friedrich Artists: Irv Novick, Dick Giordano and Mike Esposito Notable Notes: Batman the murderer?
It’s not a unique idea – in fact it is quite common – when good guys become the bad guys… or appear to do so! I think that it would be every legitimate peace-keeper’s fear that a powerful superhero would turn into their worst enemy. That is what happens in this issue… well, almost, anyway. This time it turns out that Batman is framed, and he must use all his Bat-skills to evade the police long enough to prove his innocence!
Date: April 2013 Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $2.99 Stats: 21 color pages plus ads Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Chris Samnee, Javier Rodriguez, Joe Caramagna Notable Notes: Matt and Foggy spend a night on the town – DD style!
When I was younger (um, yeah, younger…) I used to dream about what it would be like to spend time with a super hero. Wouldn’t it be cool to swing along with Spidey, watch Captain America whirl his shield or tag along with Thor as he put the hurt on the villains of the world? Well, in this issue we get a small glimpse of what that would be like as Daredevil takes along a very important passenger. And how cool it is!
Date: August 1984 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ 2013 Price Range: $1.00 – $10.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus ads, Bullpen Bulletins and “The Spider’s Web” letters page Writer: Tom DeFalco Artists: Ron Frenz, Josef Rubinstein, Joe Rosen and Glynis Wein Notable Notes: Spidey battles the Black Fox, the Red Ghost and 3 super apes!
I find our primate cousins – gorillas, orangutans, monkeys – to be just fascinating! I love watching documentaries, like Nature on PBS, that follow these amazing, beautiful animals and reveal their world to us. Silver back gorillas are especially cool, and a little bit frightening too. I can’t imagine what it would be like to come across one of these beasts in the wild! In this issue we get to see a criminal who has to do his work with 3 of these apes watching his every move – and ready to make him pay the price should he mess up! Ulp!
Date: December 2000 Publisher: CrossGen Comics Cover Price: $2.95 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus house ads, “Delineations” letters page, “Milestones” and a slam on a former employee! Writer: Barbara Kesel Artists: Joshua Middleton, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, John Dell, Morry Hollowell and Dave Lanphear Notable Notes: Sephie’s power is manifest on the surface!
When this series was coming out hot off the press, back in 2000, I was collecting it. However, after 6 issues I decided it wasn’t for me. I am still feeling the same way, and since I only own the first 6 issues I’m afraid this will be it for me and Meridian. Not that it’s a bad series, but it just isn’t my cup of tea so to speak. If you’ve read beyond issue #6 I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the series.
Date: October 1983 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ 2013 Price Range: $2.00 – $18.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus ads, “Postbox: The Pit!” letters page and Bullpen Bulletins Writer: Larry Hama Artists: Mike Vosburg, Jon D’Agostino, Joe Rosen, Andy Yanchus Notable Notes: 1st appearances of Cover Girl and Trip-Wire!
I loved the 3 3/4 inch G.I. Joe figures when they first came out in the early 1980s – and I collected many of the first ones, along with some of their awesome vehicles. Because I had those toys, this issue was more fun for me. I got to see The Wolverine missile launcher, the motorcycle with machine gun side-car and the jeep with the gun on top! Loads of fun, and it helped me to re-live a bit of my childhood. That’s a sign of a good comic book… isn’t it?
Date: November 1998 Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $1.99 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 color pages plus “American Graffiti” letters page, Bullpen Bulletins, fold-out gate cover and ads Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Andy Kubert, Jesse Delperdang, Chris Sotomayor and Todd Klein Notable Notes: Cap goes from cuckoo to berserk!
Why is it that when good guys go bad they go really, really bad? There is no such thing as a good super hero who just mellows out and becomes bland and boring. No, they go full bore bad! That is definitely the case in this issue as our red, white and blue hero goes over to the dark side in a big way! Come back Captain America, come back!
Date: May 1984 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ 2013 NM Price: $4.00 Stats: 24 color pages plus ads and Bullpen Bulletins Story & Art: Walter Simonson Other Artists: John Workman, Jr., Christie Scheele Notable Notes: Thor rallies an old timer to help him fight a dragon!
In the last few issues, Odin has disguised himself as a wandering traveler and visited some people who were left none-the-wiser. I couldn’t help but think how much he looked and acted like Gandalf in those scenes! I wonder how much one mythology was mixed with another there? Oh well, it was still fun, even if the scenes did feel a little bit out of place.
Date: March 2013 Publisher: Marvel Comics Cover Price: $2.99 Stats: 21 color pages plus lots of house ads Writer: Mark Waid Artists: Chris Samnee, Javier Rodriguez, Joe Caramagna, Paolo Rivera Notable Notes: Daredevil and Spider-Ock battle Stilt-man!
Ah Stilt-man, what a bizarre enemy for Daredevil to have! I mean, a man who has telescoping legs – really? Anyway, as I was reading this issue I realized that I have the actual issue in which Mr. Long-legs makes his first appearance! Maybe I’ll have to dig out my copy of Daredevil #8 and give it a read now that this crazy villain has made somewhat of a modern come-back!
Date: October 1986 Publisher: Gladstone Publishing Cover Price: 75¢ 2013 Price Range: $3.00 – $32.00 Stats: 31 color pages plus “A Gander at Gladstone” and house ads Writers: Daan Jippes, Tom Yakutis, Carl Barks, Carl Fallberg Artists: Daan Jippes, Walt Disney Studios, Carl Barks, Paul Murry Notable Notes: Daan Jippes and The Wuzzles make their 1st U.S. comic appearances!
All of the stories in this great comic book have some element of the characters doing anything to win. From Donald’s obviously unethical activities to Uncle Scrooge’s schemes, they all show us just how important it is to win. That attitude is kind of too bad, especially in a kids book, but it does provide for some good fun and laughs as people pay the consequences for such an outlook on life!
Date: September 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: Akiko’s gang discovers a tiny kingdom!
This was an immensely satisfying issue, and I think I have an inkling as to why: It contains three childhood fantasies! First there is the fruit, which gives Akiko and her friends the ability to fly. I mean, c’mon – what kid doesn’t dream of flying? Then there is the kingdom of nice, tiny people. And finally there is the cool monster which turns out to be a great friend! Yes, I used to dream about all of those things. That is another reason I enjoy comic books so much – they allow me to live out dreams that otherwise never came true. See – comics are good for us in many ways!
Date: August 1970 Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: 15¢ 2013 Price Range: $6 – $80 Stats: 24 color pages plus ads and “Letters to the Batcave” Writer: Denny O’Neil Artists: Irv Novick and Dick Giordano Notable Notes: Batman travels to New Orleans to avenge a Jazz man’s death!
I’ve been wanting to read some classic Batman stories lately. After doing a little bit of research I decided that I could financially delve into some of the popular Denny O’Neil stories from the early 1970s. Here is my first foray into a character I really enjoy, but haven’t read a lot of – at least in pre-modern comics.
