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tomo

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Journal Entries posted by tomo

  1. tomo

    A DCCP miscellany

    By tomo,

    Let's wrap up this week by looking at a few other highlights of the DCCP run.

    DC Comics Presents #1 from August 1978.  If I were to rank my all time favorite Superman artists, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez would absolutely be in the top three, and I got the chance to meet him last year at the Motor City Comic Con.  My wife is a photographer (that's her alien pic that is my avatar) and she usually does a festival in East Lansing that same weekend.  Last year, however they were a week apart so she actually had the chance to be a vendor at the con!  During some down time, I was able to go and chat with him for a few and thank him for his work, and I got this autographed comic to add to my personal collection!

    DC Comics Presents #2 (Whitman Variant) from October 1978.  This is part 2 of the Superman/Flash race and one of the nicer Whitman variants that I have in my collection.

    DC Comics Presents #8 from April 1979.  Hands down, my favorite cover from this title.  What I would do to get the original art for this one...
    Earlier in the week, we looked at DCCP #26 which featured story and art by Jim Starlin.  He would actually keep drawing the book for a few more issues, helping to introduce (along with Len Wein) another classic cosmic villain, Mongul!

    DC Comics Presents #27 from November 1980.  For the next five years or so, he would be a semi-recurring villain for this title.

    Here he is again, looking decidedly happier in DC Comics Presents #28 from December 1980.  This issue is also the first appearance of the Warworld.

    DC Comics Presents #29 from January 1981 has my favorite cover from the Jim Starlin run on this title.  That's some classic Starlin...and that purple...love it!
    Starlin would have one more crack at this title before heading back to Marvel to do a small graphic novel about the death of someone or other.

    DC Comics Presents #36 from August 1981.  Once again, it's cosmic and Mongul is in the mix.
    After a few more appearances in this title, Mongul would remain little seen until he got pulled into the whole Reign of the Supermen storyline after the death of Superman.  From there, he was pretty firmly ensconced as a major Superman and Green Lantern villain.
  2. tomo

    Behold...Electro!?

    By tomo,

    When it comes to comic book storage, I don't really have a man-cave full of items on display.  I did build custom shelves fit to hold long-boxes that currently take up one wall in my office.

    I work out of my home, so my office is shared between my work and my hobby.  It's not the greatest of solutions, but I'll do the whole comic book room when I retire and move out to the country!
    In the meantime, however, I did pick up a couple of picture frame shelves from Ikea that I use to display about a dozen books at one time.  I like to pick a theme and swap out the books on display every couple of weeks or so.  This is this week's selection...

    The picture is not the greatest, as this room doesn't get a whole lot of natural light, but you get the idea.  I decided to go with a Superman on trial theme, after realizing how many of those covers there were after looking for books for a previous journal entry.
    My son doesn't really have the comic book collecting passion just yet, but he does enjoy trying to guess the theme every time I change it up.  This theme was relatively easy, but he did notice something that I didn't (aside from the shame of only having a reprint of Adventure Comics #247 so far).
    Who the heck is Electro, the glowing frog skeleton?

    He must be pretty important, right?  He is, after all, a member of the Jury of Super-Enemies.  It turns out I haven't read this story yet from Action Comics #286 from March 1962.  I did, however, remember this guy from an earlier cover...

    This story from Action Comics #271 from December 1960 I do remember quite well, as it features a great Lex Luthor scheme.  Spoilers for anyone hoping to read this themselves one day, but there is no light ray creature from Dimension X.  In reality, it's one of Luthor's goons projecting an image of a man made from neon-tubes! It was all a ploy to get Superman trapped inside the fake "spaceship."  Thinking he was getting transported to Dimension X, he was instead trapped on Earth inside a lead sphere while Luthor attempted to swindle the world's governments out of their stockpile of nuclear weapons.
    Superman eventually breaks free of his lead cage and reveals Luthor's scheme to the world.  So all this time, there never was a dimension X, nor were there any light ray creatures.  If that's the case, how did a figment of Luthor's imagination end up on the Jury of Super-Enemies?
    It turns out that the cover for #286 was part of dream sequence caused by Red Kryptonite induced nightmares!  Makes sense.  Electro never speaks, nor is he ever addressed by name in the issue.  He does get to put a Superman doll in a bowl labeled "DOOM" (why not?) and he leads a shackled Supergirl to the arena where she will fight Superman.  If it wasn't for the cover of this issue, we would never be able to associate the name Electro to this type of rampant villainy!
    It does beg the question, where were all the other actual super-enemies when they commissioned this cover?  It did get me to reread a classic Superman story from earlier in the run, so mission accomplished...I guess.
  3. tomo
    Almost everything I've highlighted in my journal to date has been silver and bronze age books.  Granted, that's where my collecting focus is these days, but I do have my fair share of copper and modern books...especially when it comes to Superman.  My collection of the main Superman titles is 100% complete from this week, all the way back to 1966.  With that said, let's round out this week's theme with a book from 1997!

    Action Comics #730 from February 1997 features an appearance from The Superman Revenge Squad.  This team has never really been a formal group with membership cards like the Justice League, but more of a loose collection of whatever villains have been populating the Superbooks at any particular time.
    For this incarnation, we have Maxima, and...umm...hmmm...
    Let's put my old-man memory to the test and see what else I can remember, considering I haven't read this book since its initial release.
    I know I recognize the skeleton guy as he showed up semi-regularly during the late 90's/early 2000's, but I'll be damned if I can remember his name.  Bones, maybe?  I know it was a short, one word name.
    And since this is the 90's, of course there is a rock guy with a cyber hand.  He must be Cyberpunch?  Cyberfist?  Rockrobot?
    I'm sure the guy with a gun for a hand is Blood-something-or-other.
    The blond with the green nail polish.  The Emerald Empress, maybe?
    So how did I do, let's crack this issue open to find out.  Thankfully, they provide a recap page for me relatively early.

    Unfortunately, I failed rather badly, as Maxima was the only one I was able to remember.  Barrage is the gun guy, who of course has been turned into a rabbit by page four.  Riot was the skeleton guy.  I was close with bones, right?  No?  All right, moving on.  The rock guy (now made of steel) is Anomaly.  Lastly, there is Misa, who is some sort of magic based character, as it was her who transformed Barrage into Bucky O'Hare.
    Misa and Anomaly never made it out of the 90's, while Barrage and Riot would show up sporadically until the New52.  So while this particular incarnation of the Superman Revenge Squad never lived up to its potential, the name still lives on as the current story arc in Action Comics just wrapped up a Superman Revenge Squad story featuring Zod and Cyborg Superman, among others.
    So what was the first appearance of the Superman Revenge Squad?  It was actually the Superboy Revenge Squad debuting in Superboy #94 from January 1962.

    And who made up the initial line-up for the Superboy Revenge Squad?  It was a bunch of aliens from the planet Wexr II, of course.  You remember them, don't you?

    And how about the first appearance of the Superman Revenge Squad?  Why it was in none other than the already highlighted Action Comics #286 that started off this whole theme week, so it all comes full circle!


    Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
     
  4. tomo
    Yesterday we looked at a rather curious cover appearance by a super-villain wannabe.  Let's keep the theme going and take a look at another, this time from Superman Annual #2 from 1960/1961.

    This collection of reprints celebrates some the greatest super-villains ever featured!  Naturally, we see Brainiac, Bizarro, and Titano.  All three of these villains had been in about a half-dozen stories each, up until this book came out.  They've also gone on to more than stake their claim as iconic Superman adversaries.  Titano less so, but this was DC in the 60's, so of course a gorilla gets top corner billing!
    More curious, however, is the inclusion of Metallo, The Invulnerable Enemy, and The Thing From 40,000 A.D.
    In retrospect, the inclusion of Metallo seems like a no-brainer, but at this point his first (and only) appearance was overshadowed by Supergirl's first, as they shared the same debut issue with Action Comics #252 from May 1959.

    That's my newest holy grail book that I bought off the boards earlier in the year.  But that's not really what we are here to talk about.  Back to the nobodies...
    Metallo would have no other appearances until his brother picked up the Metallo moniker in 1977 and proceeded to turn him into one of Superman's A-List villains.  Or at least a B+, if not an A.  In retrospect, they got lucky here with Metallo as he would go on to become a player.
    So what happened to The Invulnerable Enemy and The Thing From 40,000 A.D.?
    The Invulnerable Enemy had one, and only one, in-continuity appearance back in 1957 from Action Comics #226.  I don't have a copy of that issue yet, but it does sport a great looking cover if you get the chance to look it up.
    The Thing From 40,000 A.D. had one more shot at notoriety, but alas he never caught on.  His first appearance was from farther back in Superman #87 from 1954.  That story was reprinted in Superman #196 from May 1967, with a new cover by Curt Swan.

    I love the Superman vs. Superman covers, and while this one is fun, it doesn't hold a candle to the original cover by Wayne Boring.  It's on my short list of books that I'm focusing on currently, so hopefully I'll find the right copy to add to my collection soon.
    And that was the last we saw of The Thing From 40,000 A.D. for another two decades until he was featured in DC Comics Presents #89 from January 1986.

    He even gets a cover appearance, beating up the Omega Men!  Alas, he gets caught in a disintegrator beam before the issue's end, and winds up as some sort of repentant, sentient thought cloud...never to be seen again.
    In retrospect, I guess you can never discount anyone.  While TTF40000AD (that acronym really didn't save me much time, did it?  Especially since I've now typed more letters in this parenthesis than I would've if I just typed out his full name to begin with.) would never capitalize on his second chance like Metallo, maybe there's hope for The Invulnerable Enemy yet....it's only been 60 years, there's still time...
  5. tomo

    Behold..Nemesis Kid!

    By tomo,

    While I was thumbing through the collection, looking for more odd cover appearances by D-List characters, it turns out there was another one in the wall display that I highlighted a few days ago that started me down this path.

    In Adventure Comics #346 from July 1966, we are introduced to four new recruits for Legion membership.  But alas, one of them is a traitor!
    Who could it be?
    Karate Kid?  Princess Projectra?  Ferro Lad?  Or err...ummm...Nemesis Kid?!

    Spoilers from here on out for anyone who hasn't read this yet, but the only worse name that Nemesis Kid could have chosen would've been Traitor Lad.  This issue ends in a cliffhanger, with all of the super-obvious clues pointing at Karate Kid as the Legion traitor.
    Now I don't have the next issue yet, so I don't know for sure, but I'm going out on a limb here to say that Nemesis Kid is the actual traitor.  I mean, it's right there in his name!
  6. tomo
    I actually worked this journal entry up over the weekend, as right now i'm in court trying to fight a traffic ticket.  In all honesty it's more of a "can you take my good driving record into consideration, put me on probation for six months, and take the points off of my ticket please?" than a 12 Angry Men type situation.  We'll see how that turns out tomorrow.  In the meantime, enjoy these covers of Superman getting hassled by the man!

    Action Comics #359
    I'm questioning the the capabilities of Superman's defense lawyer, allowing this little girl to tug at the juror's heartstrings like this.  This copy I picked up in an auction bulk lot at my LCS.  I'll spill the beans on that situation in the near future, as that's the site of my all time greatest pick-up...stay tuned...
     

    Action Comics #556
    Hopefully I can put up a better defense than Superman here.  This issue I picked up early on in my decision to start collecting the entire run of Action and Superman.  I bought a large amount of my copper and bronze runs out of the back of The Comic Buyer's Guide magazine in the early 2000's.  It only cost me a buck, so I'm sure it came from one of those bulk buys.
     

    Action Comics #319
    I can't see things turning out this bad in court, fingers crossed.  I picked up this issue at the Motor City Comic Con, probably 8 years ago or so.  I remember a dealer had a bunch of nice mid to high grade silver age books for cheap, $5-10 each.  I bought a nice stack, but it wasn't until I got home that I saw the extra embellishment on the face of one of the jailers.  D'oh...
     

    World's Finest Comics #145
    ...and if you do ever end up in jail, let's hope Batman is never your jailer.  That guy's a real piece of work.  This particular issue was another pick up from one of my LCS' auction nights.
    Make sure you tune in tomorrow, and we'll see how my pleading with the court for mercy turns out.
     
  7. tomo

    Board Game Cover

    By tomo,

    Here's another recent eBay purchase.

    Action Comics #360 from April 1968.
    This was the last of the 80 pg. Giant's that I needed for the Action/Superman collection, so I was very pleased to find a nice presenting, mid-high grade copy for a reasonable price.  This one cost me under $20 with shipping, so I call that a win.  
    There's nothing better than knocking off one of your mini-goals!  I still have quite a few of the 80-pagers that I need to upgrade into 7.0 or above territory, but those are going to come as the deals present themselves.  As a run collector, I'm content to let the upgrades find me, as I focus most of my attention on the new issues.
    In celebration, let's play the exciting game on the cover!  I just happen to have a six sided die here, so let's give it a roll...

    ...and it's a 6...
    That lands me on "Enter Malvern. Go ahead 1".
    All right, so that puts me on "Supergirl Regains Her Powers.  Go ahead 2"
    Moving forward 2 puts me on "Supergirl's Immune to Kryptonite.  Go ahead 3"
    Man, I am on fire.  Moving ahead 3 puts me into a fight with "The Infinite Monster.  Go back 2"
    Oh, no...moving back 2 spaces puts me into quite the dilemma for the politically incorrect world of the mid 60's..."Linda Becomes Fat.  Lose 1 turn"
    There's no one else playing, so I guess I'll just have to take a moment to think about my life choices that led me to this rotund state.  With that out of the way, let's roll those dice again...

    ...and it's a 4...
    That put's me on "Jerro the Merboy.  Go ahead 2"
    And moving 2 spaces forward puts on the FINISH line, I win!  Yea me!
    That's quite an action packed game, as I essentially took 7 turns and lost a turn with only 2 rolls of the dice.  How this book made it out of the 60's without an excessive amount of cover wear from all of the dice and token marks on the cover put there during the hours of endless entertainment is a true mystery for the ages!
  8. tomo
    This next book I just don't get.  I mean, I guess I understand it, I just don't get it.

    DC Comics Presents #47 from July 1982, featuring the first comic book appearance of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe!  I understand how this being the first comic book appearance could be a big thing, I just don't get it.  It's not like the toy line had a successful or fondly remembered comic book run like G.I. Joe or Transformers did.
    As a kid growing up in the 1970's, this toy line was before my time.  Although, now that I think about it, this book was from 1982 which puts me at 12 years old.  Why do I remember this being much later than that?
    Hold on a sec while I do some quick googling...
    So the toy line started in 1982, with the show following a year later in 1983.  So this issue is pretty early in the He-Man lore.  According to the editorial in the letters page, this issue also features the appearance of some characters who have not been publicly released toys yet.  I guess I can kind of see it now, especially since this issue predates the television show.  You learn something new every day.
    I also managed to find another copy of this issue in the $2 bins from a vendor at last year's Motor City Comic-Con, so this is a good flying under the radar pick of a book to find out in the wild for a quick flip.  I just checked the sold eBay listings, and I thought the Overstreet prices were crazy!  With VG copies fetching upwards of $30-50 raw, I just might have to put up my under copy.
  9. tomo

    Collecting Kirby

    By tomo,

    I commented last week about finishing up a mini-run of the 80 pg. Giants sprinkled throughout Action Comics and Superman, but there's also another nice little run that I finally finished up a few weeks ago with this eBay purchase...

    Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #148 from April 1972
    Since I don't really collect any Silver Age Marvel (aside from the odd Avengers or Doctor Strange book that crosses my path) my collection has a serious lack of Jack Kirby goodness.  I started to finally address this gross oversight about six years or so ago by going after the Fourth World titles.  The Jimmy Olsen's were already on my collecting radar, as that's a Superman proper title, but the other's weren't.
    With SPJO#148, this issues polishes off my run of the Jack Kirby Fourth World titles.  This one took me a while, as trying to find some of the white cover issues from this time period can be tough as there are a lot of yellowed covers out there.  That's especially so on the first issue of Forever People!  This one's not bone white, by any stretch, but it's good enough for a non-key issue.
    My 1st Darkseid, however, came rather early as I picked it up in an auction lot of SPJO#133-135 for under $20.  The auction house definitely didn't do themselves any favors by neglecting to state either "134" or "Darkseid" in the auction listing.  This was obviously before the whole market re-oriented on key issues, but I still thought I got a steal at the time.

    It's obviously not a high grade copy, but a solid low-grade copy was good enough for me for the time being while I searched for a high-grade copy.  I mean, after all...this was what the big deal was about anyway...one freaking panel!

    Needless to say, I'm still on the hunt for a high-grade copy, but it'll probably never happen as the prices these days are crazy for this issue, and I just can't justify it.  I usually like my twelve centers to be at least a 7.5 or 8.0, if not higher.  When it comes to expensive key book upgrades, this one will more than likely stay on the bottom of the list.
    The rest of the Jimmy Olsen issues from #133-148 I picked up dirt cheap, as this was right when my LCS was starting up their auction business and I was apparently the only one interested in the post-Marvel work of Jack Kirby!  Crazy...
  10. tomo

    Disregard...Bizarro!

    By tomo,

    Continuing along with our week-long theme of odd character inclusions, we come to 80 Pg. Giant #6 from January 1965.

    At first glance, it looks like I might have overthought this, as this whole cover is filled with nobodies.  But then if you look over up in the upper right, you'll see the decidely a-list villain, Bizarro!  In the end it makes sense, as of course Bizarro would be featured in a collection of nobodies.  As Bizarro would so horribly state it...
    "Me am nobody."
    Which means he's popular?  I think?  Damn, Bizarro makes my head hurt sometimes.
    A quick look at the other "stars" of this issue reveals that they mostly debuted in the late 50's or very early 60's, and had just the one appearance.  That period is where my collection is what we'll affectionately call "spotty," as I don't have too many of these reprints in their original publication.  It's funny, as in every case I have the issue after their appearance.  The only exception is Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #47 from September 1960.

    And this isn't even the first appearance of Jimmy Olsen's Private Monster, but his second (and last) appearance.  I haven't read this one yet, but it's got a great robot cover.  Perhaps I've tripped upon my next wall display theme!
    Anyways, back to Bizarro.  This issue reprints the first appearance of Bizarro #1, Action Comics #254 from July 1959.

    This issue is the first appearance of Bizarro #1, and the second appearance of the Bizarro concept overall, after it's debut in Superboy #68 from October 1958.

    While the Superboy issue has its place of honor in the Superman world firmly established, I do think that AC254 is a bit under-appreciated as this is the first appearance of the Bizarro that would go on to flesh out the whole Bizarro concept as we know it today.  My copy I picked up at one of my LCS' earlier auctions.  DC was dead with his customer base back then, so I regularly got deals.  This sharp looking copy I got for $80, which I think is a steal considering it's importance to the whole Superman mythology.
    My copy of SB68 is one I picked up off of eBay about 3 years ago.  It's low grade, but I like to think that since it's Bizarro's first appearance, then it's high-grade?  I think that's how it works?
    "Me hate my high-grade book"
    ...and that is enough Bizarro speak for the day.
    You're welcome.
  11. tomo
    Let's round out this week with one last interactive cover of sorts.

    Action Comics #388 from May 1970
    So what is wrong with this cover?  Let's count 'em up...
    Krytpo as Streaky One Way road sign pointing up Cosmic Boy's gloves Cosmic Boy's legs are white Saturn Girl's logo Superman wearing glasses Superman has long hair (damn hippy!) Superman has short cape Superman's chest emblem backwards Flash marking on Superman's left arm Bizarro's chest emblem backwards Bizarro throwing confetti Jimmy "Mr. Action" Olsen sleeping while his signal watch is going off Perry White in a bow-tie Perry White smoking a pipe Brainiac in Mr. Mxyzptlk's costume Brainiac holding up a sign supporting Superman Brainiac has a DC logo on his chest The Batmobile is red Supergirl throwing spaghetti Supergirl wearing a kryptonite bracelet Supergirl missing her cape Supergirl has an "S" logo on her back, with inverted colors Argo City no longer around in this continuity ...and perhaps the most unbelievable thing of all...Lois Lane as Superman's bride?  Right, like that will ever happen!
  12. tomo
    And finally, we have what has to be the greatest of all Superman gorilla covers...or at least the zaniest!

    Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #98
    I mean, c'mon...what's not to love about this one...
    Jimmy as Tarzan, getting married to a female King Kong in a bridal veil, with the ceremony being performed by Superman, who just happens to be the local witch doctor.  Since he's a witch doctor, he has brought with him his boiling cauldron.  It's good to know they went for at least one aspect of realism with this cover!
    Whatever drugs they were smoking back in 1966, I hope that a) they didn't screw up the writer and artist for life, or b) they helped you make heads or tails of this cover!
    This particular issue I got in a bulk lot of Jimmy Olsen titles from one of the LCS' auctions.  I think I ended up paying under $2 when everything was said and done.  Always on the prowl for an upgrade of this one.
    Have a great weekend everyone.  Don't do anything rash that you'll regret like our impetuous friend Jimmy!
  13. tomo

    Happy 4th of July

    By tomo,

    Seeing as how the oversized treasury editions were released in the mid-70's, there were some great patriotic covers to coincide with the upcoming bicentennial celebration!  I was only  6 ½ at the time, but I seem to recall quite a bit of bicentennial fever leading up to that summer.

    Limited Collectors' Edition #C-38 released on July 3rd, 1975.  The lead off story, reprinted from Superman #48, is the only one with a real patriotic bent.  Superman heads back in time to collect signatures from some of histories greatest figures, including George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln, among others.  Also reprinted are the only two appearances of Zigi and Zagi from Alpha Centauri, as well as a classic Mr. Mxzyptlk story featuring little Susie Tompkins.  An odd collection of stories to say the least.
    If you ever do find one of these in the wild, make sure you check to see that it still has the Neal Adams Superman pin-up centerfold attached, as I've come across a few without it.

    Limited Collectors' Edition #C-47 released on May 4, 1976.  Covers just don't get much more patriotic than this one.  I don't have a copy of Superman #14, so this reprint will have to suffice.  Contrary to the cover image, this book isn't really a Superman book per se.  In it, Superman narrates several Tomahawk stories from the time of the American Revolution reprinted from Star Spangled Stories and Tomahawk.
    These two books I got in an auction lot tailor made to me.  It was a collection of 10 different Superman related treasuries all for one price.  My memories a little hazy, but I think I ended paying less than $85 for the lot.  Not bad for bunch of mid to high grade treasuries (including the second Superman/Spider-Man crossover in NM/M condition) that filled quite a few holes in my Superman collection.
    Happy 4th of July everyone!
  14. tomo

    Happy Father's Day

    By tomo,

    Happy belated Father's Day to all you Dad's out there, as I'm sure this forum has their fair share of 'em!  I got these two lego guys from my wife and son.

    I'm pretty sure I have an unhealthy obsession with Lego, as I got so pleased to see a Bizarro lego figure.  Bizarro?!  C'mon, that's just fantastic.  At this point, I think my obsession with Lego's has turned Pavlovian, as I see a kit and I just have to build it immediately.
    And that's not even touching on the fact that they made a kit for the Supermobile!  Good stuff all around.  Although it's funny, as I was putting the Bizarromobile together I had to keep double checking the instructions as I couldn't understand why the tail fin is in front...that doesn't make any sense.  Then it hit me.  Me am Bizarro!  Of course he sits backwards in his car!
    Anyways, here's my copy of Action Comics #481 from March of 1978, featuring the first appearance of the Supermobile!

    And my beat to heck Whitman variant...

    Speaking of Pavlovian responses, I have the same thing with Whitman variants.  I see one, and I have to buy it, no matter what the condition.  It's not like they are exceptionally valuable in anything other than NM condition, so who knows why.  This issue cost me $0.50 from a flea market booth, so I probably overpaid!
     
  15. tomo

    Impeding traffic

    By tomo,

    So after about 2 ½ hours at the local courthouse yesterday, I got my 3 point traffic citation reduced to a zero point infraction for impeding traffic.  The actual fine went up $30, but I'd gladly pay that to avoid the higher insurance rates associated with a 3 point ticket.  Especially considering the fact that my wife and I just bought a new car last week!
    Here's Superman impeding traffic, from Superman #85 from 1953.

    This is another book from one of my LCS' monthly auctions.  I had already bought a few Superman books during this session, and this one was an afterthought since I already had a stack going.  I normally don't go for books with parts of the cover missing, but for $15 I'll make an exception for a book that's 60+ years old.
    It was only after thumbing through my books, trying to find an appropriate cover of Superman messing with cars, that it hit me that perhaps one of the most iconic comic book covers of all time would've fit the bill quite nicely.

    Now that's how you impede traffic!
     
  16. tomo
    I picked up a couple of early 12¢ Action Comics off of eBay recently to help fill out the run.

    Action Comics #290 from July 1962 and Action Comics #306 from November 1963.
    I realized long ago that trying to fill out a run of both Action Comics and Superman was going to be a herculean task at best.  With that in mind, I settled on a minimum grade for the 12¢ books to be at least a nice presenting F/VF.  I'll obviously make exceptions, however, if I come across some beaters at a price I can't resist.
    I love that cover for #306, as it tells a hell of a story with just one image.  It's got it all...Clark Kent in peril, kryptonite, a 3rd world generalissimo, a cigarette smoking mastermind, the secret identity in jeopardy, etc...  If I can't have world-shaking super-villain fist fights, than these are the type of stories that I really enjoy from the Silver and Bronze Ages.
    Anyways, on to the anagram fun!     
         Clark Kent = Tank Clerk
    Let's see...Clark is essentially the clerk that handles the routine duties for the tank that is Superman.  I'll buy that.  Fun fact (and  a peek behind the curtain): I use the internet to figure out my anagrams, and so far "Clark Kent" are the letters that have generated the least amount of anagrams, with only 3 total.  That man's in a class by himself!
         Lois Lane = Los Alien
    My spanish is rusty, but that means the alien, right?
         Action Comics = Iconic Mascot
    That makes a lot sense, seeing as how this title birthed the original superhero!
     
     
  17. tomo
    Lastly for this week of low content anagram fun, let's see what we can do with this latest round of purchases from the wilds of eBay.

    A nice little run of high-grade Weird Western Tales featuring Jonah Hex!  Such good stuff.  I especially like this cover Weird Western Tales #25 from December 1974.

    Jonah Hex riding out on horseback from a pit of quicksand!  How badass is that?!
    Anyways, anagrams...
         Jonah Hex = ?
    I got nothing here.  Hex is an enigma even in the world of anagrams.
         Weird Western Tales = Tawdriest Newsreel
    Newsreels wouldn't be a thing for another 50 years in Hex's world, but I can only imagine that if they were around in the wild west, they would've been quite tawdry!
    Have a great weekend everyone, thanks for reading!
  18. tomo
    Low content mode week continues, as we delve deeper into the latest purchases for my collection, through the skewed lens of anagrams.
    This next book I picked up off of eBay after a fellow boardie tipped me off that this is, in fact, the first use of the Supergirl masthead.

    From what I could turn up, it does appear that The Brave And The Bold #63 from January 1965 is in fact the first usage.  It predates Action Comics #334 from March 1966 by over a year, which I would have guessed previously was the first.

    All in all, a nice little bit of trivia that I was previously unaware of.
    Now, on to the anagrams...
         Supergirl = pig rulers
         Kara Zor-El = kale razor
         Linda Lee Danvers = lavender denials or vanilla needs red
    There's nothing there that gives us any secret insight into Supergirl, so let's try Wonder Woman...
         Wonder Woman = onward women
    That's better, a nice feminine mantra hidden in plain sight!
    Lastly, how about Multi-Face...
         Multi-Face = a cute MILF
    I'm not so sure about that, but who am I to cast aspersions.  I journal, you decide....

  19. tomo
    Yesterday I mentioned that I'll pick up lower grade 12¢ books to help fill out the run if the price is right, well on these the price was right!


    The focus of my collection is completing Action Comics and Superman, but I've slowly been filling out the secondary and tertiary titles as the opportunities present themselves.  After enjoying the heck out of @Silver's Superboy Complete thread over in the Silver Age Forum, I decided to bump the Superboy collecting up a notch as there are some great books in there.
    Thanks to @SOLAR BOY for another killer sales thread that had some of those Superboy books I enjoyed seeing over in @Silver's thread.  And thanks for the freebie too!
    With this haul, and yesterday's, that brings me pretty darn close to filling out all of the Action Comics and Superman 12¢ books, as I need only 12 more Actions and 16 more Supermans.  Hopefully by the end of the year I can finish off that mini-goal and be able to fully concentrate on the 10¢ books.
    And what do the anagrams have to say?
         Superboy = Buy Ropes
         Superman = Man Purse
    Not to much secret insight there.  Let's try the creators on these issues.
         Leo Dorfman = Elf Doorman
         Edmond Hamilton = Damned Monolith
         Al Plastino = Nasal Pilot
         Curt Swan = ...
    Tread lightly on that last one, as there are some decidedly NSFW anagrams there.
  20. tomo
    It's looking like a low content week for the journal, as I have a busy work week ahead of me, so I'll probably be spending it posting some pics of my newest acquisitions.
    First up, I got this beauty off of eBay for a great price...

    Adventure Comics #267 from December 1959, featuring the second appearance of The Legion of Super-Heroes.  This particular issue only cost me $42 bucks, and it's a killer looking copy, although I'm sure some would balk at the ½" tear that goes through the entire book on the right edge.  I'll still keep my eye out for an upgrade, but I am more than content with this issue for right now, as it gets me one step closer to completing those early Legion appearances.  I'm now only missing 4 of their first 20 appearances, although that last one is going to be painful to the old wallet.
    It's a shame though, that they didn't keep the original costumes, as the originals are so much better.

    And a big shout-out to @Marwood & I for unknowingly setting the theme for low content mode week!  I so enjoyed his anagramming of Legion members from my Nemesis Kid post last week, that I just have to try it for myself this week.
    Here goes...
         Cosmic Boy anagrams to boy comics
    That's not to shabby, if a little lazy.
         Lightning Lad anagrams to dangling hilt
    That must be where he keeps his lighting rod.
         Saturn Girl anagrams to raring slut
    Yikes, how dare the internet anagram maker impugn our beloved Legionnaire like that.  For shame!
  21. tomo
    Yesterday we had a lot of fun with the board game cover of AC#360, so let's see what other "interactive" covers we have.

    Here's Action Comics #344 from December 1966.
    This cover boasts a mystery to solve, with all of the "Bat-Clues" right there on the cover.  Superman is having nightmares, and it's up to us to figure out the cause!
    Let's give it a good look...there's a crystal man on the cover, doing his best Santa Claus impersonation while a multitude of Supermen are frozen in an infinite array of ice blocks.  Going solely by the cover, I'm guessing that an alien subconsciousness has possessed Superman and is attempting to create an army of Supermen to take over the world by manifesting through Superman's dreaming state?  Maybe?
    So how correct was I?  Let's give it a read and find out...
    Well, don't I feel stupid now.  In reality...and spoilers from here on out for anyone who wants to read the book first...
    Looking back at the cover in hindsight, it's all so obvious now!
    Anyways, this issue was another eBay purchase that was one of my earliest mid-60's books.  It's got a great Curt Swan infinity cover, with just a hint of that DC purple background! The inside story is drawn by Wayne Boring, who will always be one of my favorite Superman artists.  This was during his last regular run on the Superman books, before he was shuffled off.  He really gets to let loose here, as there are three dreams sequences that he's allowed to interpret in his signature style.  Good stuff!
  22. tomo
    Time for a war story from the trenches!
    Over the years, I've had some mild successes with estate sales.  My best find up to this point was a complete run of 7.0 to 8.0 copies of Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths for a buck a book.  A nice enough score to keep you out there looking for opportunities, that's for sure.
    During my routine check of local listings, I came across an announcement for a camera/comic book store that was going out of business in Milford, Michigan.  That's about 30 minutes from my house, so definitely worth a gander.  The preview pictures showed a three story storefront loaded with piles and stacks of "stuff" all over the place.  One table had a collection of about 30-40 Famous First Editions spread out, as well as what looked liked the corner of the Superman vs. Muhammad Ali book!  Another table had some Lois Lane's on it, so at this point I was all in!
    My wife is a photographer, so she was happy to tag along on this one.  Along with my son and mother-in-law (who was staying with us for the weekend), we made the trek out there early in the crisp November morning.  I was number 37 when we arrived, so I thought for sure all the good stuff would be gone by the time I was allowed in.  To my surprise, they let the first 40 in at once!
    We headed down to the basement, since the pics I saw had a "basement" feel to it.  Right away I spy some books and begin looking.  Nothing good.  All common, mid-grade copper stuff.  I move on and find the table with the Lois Lane's.  While flipping through those, I hear my Mother-In-Law yell out from across the basement "Hey Tom, are these the first editions you were looking for?"  
    Instantly, there are now a couple of other collectors converging on the table off in the corner.  By the time I get there, I see the Muhammad Ali book getting tucked away in someone else's stash.  So close...
    I did, however, manage to get quite a few of the Famous First Edition's to fill out my collection.

    Famous 1st Edition #C-26 from 1974 and #C-61 from 1979.  Not high grade, but nice looking mid-grade copies.  I also managed to pick up all of these as well...

    An almost complete run of Famous 1st Editions.  I think the only one I'm missing is #F-7, which reprints All-Star Comics #3.  It's a shame, as after the Superman ones, that's probably the one I want the most.  Oh well...keep hunting...
    So how much did I pay for these gems?
    By the time I had rummaged through all three floors, I was carrying a long box full of books around with me.  I was unsure what the pricing strategy was going to be, so I figured it was best to snag everything that I thought I may want, and then whittle it down when I figured out how much they were going to charge me.  I think the guy at the checkout was already warn down at this point (and the sale had only been open for a couple of hours, lol).   He took one look at my longbox (and the other items that the wife found in her quest) and said "How does $100 sound?"  I don't think I've ever produced a $100 bill faster than that.
    After I split the cost with the wife, and averaged it out, it came to about fifty cents a book!  Quite the bargain indeed.
    I later ended up selling a few of the early Punisher mags and Batman 80-Pagers from this haul on eBay that didn't quite fit my collecting focus, and ended up more than recouping my investment!
    So what else did I get for fifty cents a book?  Stay tuned for the rest of this week and we'll go through it.
  23. tomo
    Now it's time for my favorite part of the haul from my epic estate sale find.
    As I had mentioned earlier, when I was in the basement level rummaging around I had managed to snag a longbox to start storing all of my finds in.  I was working my way up the stairs to the third level, it was tricky to say the least as the stairs were very narrow, and a nice gentlemen noticed me struggling and backed up so I could keep going.  I thanked him, and as he noticed what I was carrying said, "I don't think anyone's really noticed it yet, but there are a bunch of comics in a plastic bin mixed in with all of the camera stuff over there."  After another round of thank you's, I made my way over to the aforementioned blue bin and found these...

    A complete run of Adventure Comics #381-424 featuring Supergirl's first solo title run!  They were all in order, so as I started to thumb through them all realizing that they were all there, I could barely contain my excitement!  There are no real key issues here other than 381, and maybe 397, but this isn't a cheap run to put together by any stretch.  All of these are mid to high-grade, and for the most part well presenting.  This was right at the tail end of my search through the building after a solid two hours, so to find this box untouched at this point was quite a stroke of luck.  Here's a few close-ups of some of the individual issues.


    This run also has some killer covers, especially later on in the run.

    Not all of 'em feature an unconscious Supergirl...I promise!
    And for the cherry on top?  The box also had the complete run of the Black Orchid issues and the Spectre issues too!


    That's epic-ness defined right there!
  24. tomo
    While not necessarily Superman titles, I do consider the Fourth World books Superman-adjacent, since they did kick off in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.  So today, let's take a look at the series that laid down a lot of the mythology to come.

    New Gods #1 from March 1971.
    I think out of all the Fourth World titles, this cover is not only a classic, but probably one of my personal favorites as well.  I love the oversized logo, the black and white background, and the oversaturated colors on Orion really pop.  This was one of the last books that I needed to complete the run, and almost didn't get it.  I was going to be out of town and unavailable during the auction at my LCS for this one, so I put in an absentee bid of $30 since the picture wasn't the greatest.  Low and behold, the other on-line bidder stopped at just under $30, so it was waiting for me when I got back into town.  Aside from the small mis-wrap, the books a stunner and I couldn't be happier.  It was one situation where a low-res picture worked in my favor.
    The other (relatively new) big dog from this series is the 1st appearance of Steppenwolf, in New Gods #7 from March 1972.

    I picked this one up well before the movie hype, so it only cost me $10.  I still can't believe how cheap the DC Kirby stuff was going for, not even 5 years ago.  This cover is not one of the stronger of the run, as the coloring on this one just seems to mute all of the detail.  At least Steppenwolf made the cover for his 1st appearance!
    Finally, we have what is my other favorite cover from this series...

    New Gods #11 from November 1972.
    It's a great action packed cover, and in my opinion, the only thing keeping it from legendary status is that the Black Racer is in the background.  Imagine this cover with an imposing figure of Darkseid in his place, watching his two sons go at it.  I realize that the Black Racer was there to amp up the stakes, but c'mon...the Black Racer?  He's one of the few lost opportunities with the Fourth World, as far as I'm concerned.
     
  25. tomo
    Here's my newest acquisition, straight from the wilds of eBay.

    Superboy #76
    When I first discovered the eBay alerts were a thing, this was one of the first that I set up.  I have no idea why it took such precedence, as it's just the first appearance of a very minor character, that being Beppo, the Super-Monkey!  In all reality, who wouldn't want this book, am I right?
    Over the intervening years, I have found it near impossible to find a nice looking copy at a fair price.  There is something about DC silver age books with monkeys and apes that bring out the big bucks.  With that in mind, I just decided to pick up a VG copy so that I can finally cross this one off of my list.
    Anyways, this listing came across my radar so I put in an opening bid of ten bucks, and won it.  I'm sure the "R.H." initials put some bidders off, but personalizations like this don't really bug me.  In some cases, like with date stamps, they add to the charm of a book.  Knowing that little Robby Harrison (or maybe Ronnie Hargrove, or Richie Holt, or Robin Hunter, or Reginald Hawksmoor III) took the time to initial his/her book shows that it was well loved back in 1959.  Now if it was initialed with a big black permanent marker, that would be a different story.
    Even though I initially won this auction for $9.99 (plus free shipping!), I actually ended up getting it for free.  When it arrived at my house, I opened up the box and Superboy #44 was inside instead.  Uh oh...I contacted the seller and he was really apologetic about it, and had a bunch of different orders shipping, and it's obvious he got a couple of labels confused.  I offered to send the Superboy 44 on to it's correct owner and waited for my issue to work its way to me.  The seller ended up crediting my purchase, as the other buyer never responded to his emails.  Fast forward a week, and the seller emails me to let me know that he found my book misplaced in a stack of other books and would send it out to me at no cost.
    So I ended up getting this book for free, losing only a little bit of my time in the process.  I call that a win!  The seller also got a future customer in me, as I appreciated the above and beyond customer service that he provided.