Books you just cant find in the Wild 22 22

[fastballspecial]

A few tough books I have found last few weeks. 
The Halloween books I rarely see even though I remember buying
Them off the rack. Static books are still the rarest I find right along
with late Hardware issues they just don't exist much.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

On 3/20/2022 at 6:59 PM, fastballspecial said:

A few tough books I have found last few weeks. 
The Halloween books I rarely see even though I remember buying
Them off the rack. Static books are still the rarest I find right along
with late Hardware issues they just don't exist much.

Oddly enough, I've only ever found two issues of Nightdance and both of them are that same issue and cover. 

[SuperBird]

I've gotten really into Alexis Ziritt artwork - Space Riders and Night Hunters being his two main books, aside from a plethora of cover art - and came across a copy of the self-published 1st appearance of Space Riders (not the Black Mask version), which has a print run of under 100 copies. I definitely overpayed, but never saw one for sale before. 

[october]

On 3/24/2022 at 11:18 AM, SuperBird said:

I've gotten really into Alexis Ziritt artwork - Space Riders and Night Hunters being his two main books, aside from a plethora of cover art - and came across a copy of the self-published 1st appearance of Space Riders (not the Black Mask version), which has a print run of under 100 copies. I definitely overpayed, but never saw one for sale before. 

Great series. Didn't know the self-published version was even a thing. 

[SuperBird]

On 3/24/2022 at 12:44 PM, october said:

Great series. Didn't know the self-published version was even a thing. 

Yeah, it's the same content as the Black Mask version of #1, but with a black and white interior. He brought them to 1 comic con, basically. 

[Qalyar]

On 3/24/2022 at 11:50 AM, SuperBird said:

Yeah, it's the same content as the Black Mask version of #1, but with a black and white interior. He brought them to 1 comic con, basically. 

Congrats on that book. I was aware it existed, but I've never seen one. That's the sort of item where you probably only have the one chance to snag it.

Sharp looking copy, too.

[fastballspecial]

First copy of this book I have ever seen. Its actually Gambit
origins on the inside.

 

[mr_highgrade]

On 3/24/2022 at 3:08 PM, fastballspecial said:

First copy of this book I have ever seen. Its actually Gambit
origins on the inside.

 

Was this originally inside one of those Marvel action figures?

[fastballspecial]

On 3/24/2022 at 11:55 PM, mr_highgrade said:

Was this originally inside one of those Marvel action figures?

Well I want to say yes, but I cant confirm it yet. My guess its a later
copy in the run as several later issues have Not for Resale in the 
2004/2006 range of production.

 

 

 

[Morganmi]

OK so my LCS got this collection in that looks to be from someone that maybe worked at a comic store or distributor  and would grab random issues and throw them in a box unbagged unboarded but also unread and most of them are very high grade.

I helped him go through them and he took out the stuff he wanted and said he didn't really have the buyers for this stuff so offered me the drek for a good price.

Got about 900+ books of which about 50%  are DC and the rest weird Marvel, Valiant, Image, etc. and some really obscure stuff that I admittedly know little about but pretty fun looking at them all. 

[Qalyar]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:24 PM, Morganmi said:

OK so my LCS got this collection in that looks to be from someone that maybe worked at a comic store or distributor  and would grab random issues and throw them in a box unbagged unboarded but also unread and most of them are very high grade.

I helped him go through them and he took out the stuff he wanted and said he didn't really have the buyers for this stuff so offered me the drek for a good price.

Got about 900+ books of which about 50%  are DC and the rest weird Marvel, Valiant, Image, etc. and some really obscure stuff that I admittedly know little about but pretty fun looking at them all. 

I like trying to provide fun facts about weird indies that turn up in collections like this. In this case, well... I don't have all that many fun facts about the indie titles pictured.

Flowers on the Razorwire was a horror anthology that tried to be edgy and trangressive. Tried, in my opinion, a bit too hard, frankly. This is #2. Not a ton of market on these, but indie horror does better than other genres, all else being equal.

Nightmark Blood and Honor was the third of three "Nightmark" titles from Alpha Productions, and the only one to go past #1 (you have #1 here). The series is about a detective who investigates the paranormal in New England in the 1930s. Writer Christopher Mills has had an okay career at various small publishers, and I believe is still the editor at Atomic Action. These are okay, although the art quality does the books no favors. For better or worse, probably really is dollar bin fodder.

Phantom Force #0 was published after the title left Image for Genesis West. Jack Kirby and Jim Lee cover art, and some interior work by Kirby too. Somewhat challenging to find in high grade and probably a dollar bin book in that condition, but almost purely fodder for the Kirby or Lee completionist.

Frank, published by Nemesis, was a vaguely interesting re-imagining of the Frankenstein story in the modern era, with an organized crime / police procedural background. I don't see a lot of these in high grades, but no one really seems to care about anything from Nemesis except the 1993 Ultraman series. Do note that this book -- Frank #4, the last issue of the miniseries -- was printed in two editions that differ mostly by cover price ($1.75 vs. $2.50).

Killroy is Here interpretes the WWII "Killroy was here" graffiti as the sign of a supernatural agent of vengeance. Sort of Caliber's take on the Specter. This is the #0 issue. Like most Caliber stuff that's not Crow, FMV is minimal. But like pretty much everything from Caliber that used the color black on the cover, this is really really tough to find in high grades, if anyone ever cares.

Mangazine was Antarctic Press's anime- and manga-fandom magazine. There are a few issues in the very long run that are actually important for various reasons (v2 #11 comes to mind as the first appearance of Fred Perry's Gold Digger). This is v2 #33, with the cover story about the, ahem, "controversial" Legend of the Overfiend. But I don't know if there's any real collector interest in this title outside of the handful of books where otherwise significant characters appear.

Spider-Femme 2088 was a spoof comic by, well, Spoof Comics, a publisher who did nothing else. I don't consider any of the Spoof books to be really dollar box fodder, they're weird enough to attract attention.

[fastballspecial]

On 3/24/2022 at 11:55 PM, mr_highgrade said:

Was this originally inside one of those Marvel action figures?

Okay have your answer now. I am saying no. Gambit origins came out in 2009. The indicia states
this this came out in 2011 so I think some sort of Hasbro insert.

 

[Morganmi]

On 3/25/2022 at 3:10 PM, Qalyar said:

I like trying to provide fun facts about weird indies that turn up in collections like this. In this case, well... I don't have all that many fun facts about the indie titles pictured.

Flowers on the Razorwire was a horror anthology that tried to be edgy and trangressive. Tried, in my opinion, a bit too hard, frankly. This is #2. Not a ton of market on these, but indie horror does better than other genres, all else being equal.

Nightmark Blood and Honor was the third of three "Nightmark" titles from Alpha Productions, and the only one to go past #1 (you have #1 here). The series is about a detective who investigates the paranormal in New England in the 1930s. Writer Christopher Mills has had an okay career at various small publishers, and I believe is still the editor at Atomic Action. These are okay, although the art quality does the books no favors. For better or worse, probably really is dollar bin fodder.

Phantom Force #0 was published after the title left Image for Genesis West. Jack Kirby and Jim Lee cover art, and some interior work by Kirby too. Somewhat challenging to find in high grade and probably a dollar bin book in that condition, but almost purely fodder for the Kirby or Lee completionist.

Frank, published by Nemesis, was a vaguely interesting re-imagining of the Frankenstein story in the modern era, with an organized crime / police procedural background. I don't see a lot of these in high grades, but no one really seems to care about anything from Nemesis except the 1993 Ultraman series. Do note that this book -- Frank #4, the last issue of the miniseries -- was printed in two editions that differ mostly by cover price ($1.75 vs. $2.50).

Killroy is Here interpretes the WWII "Killroy was here" graffiti as the sign of a supernatural agent of vengeance. Sort of Caliber's take on the Specter. This is the #0 issue. Like most Caliber stuff that's not Crow, FMV is minimal. But like pretty much everything from Caliber that used the color black on the cover, this is really really tough to find in high grades, if anyone ever cares.

Mangazine was Antarctic Press's anime- and manga-fandom magazine. There are a few issues in the very long run that are actually important for various reasons (v2 #11 comes to mind as the first appearance of Fred Perry's Gold Digger). This is v2 #33, with the cover story about the, ahem, "controversial" Legend of the Overfiend. But I don't know if there's any real collector interest in this title outside of the handful of books where otherwise significant characters appear.

Spider-Femme 2088 was a spoof comic by, well, Spoof Comics, a publisher who did nothing else. I don't consider any of the Spoof books to be really dollar box fodder, they're weird enough to attract attention.

Thanks for the Info Qalyar. So great to have insights on these from someone who knows. The books pictured before are just what I had at the top if the stack of what I had already bagged and boarded. I don't really know much about this era as I stopped buying new comics around 1993.

It's pretty fun going through them all though because they are mostly all new to me and in unread condition so when I grab a stack of them I feel like I just went to the comic store and got a bunch of random new comics in the mid 90's. All  of the comics I've gone through so far are from 90-95 with the majority from 94; 95. Still got about 600 more to go through though.

Is there anything I should be looking out for or anything you guys are looking for. Here's another  random  pic of weird stuff in this collection. 

[Morganmi]

On 3/27/2022 at 11:37 AM, Sold! said:

That Stormwatch #10 on the left is a variant that connects with other variant covers.

oh cool I knew it was a variant cover but not that it connected to others. I'll be on the lookout for the others. Thanks!

[Morganmi]

Don't know much about these but I'm guessing  newstand versions are pretty hard to find. If anyone even cares. 

[Beastfeast]

On 3/27/2022 at 2:20 PM, Morganmi said:

Don't know much about these but I'm guessing  newstand versions are pretty hard to find. If anyone even cares. 

I can't believe it went to 12 issues.  

[MetalPSI]

Pitt made it to 20

Eventually 

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 3/27/2022 at 4:34 PM, The Meta said:

Pitt made it to 20

Eventually 

I loved Pitt 1.  But I had quit collecting again by the time the 2nd issue ever came out.

[MetalPSI]

On 3/28/2022 at 8:02 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I loved Pitt 1.  But I had quit collecting again by the time the 2nd issue ever came out.

It took me about 30 years to get past issue 4

So glad I picked up the whole run

[Qalyar]

On 3/27/2022 at 1:20 PM, Morganmi said:

Don't know much about these but I'm guessing  newstand versions are pretty hard to find. If anyone even cares. 

 

On 3/27/2022 at 2:22 PM, Beastfeast said:

I can't believe it went to 12 issues.  

Primortals actually went to 15 issues, plus a 2-issue prequel, with Tekno. Then it was revived for another 8 issue run with Big Entertainment. They're not great, but you can tell that there could have been a good comic book there. Leonard Nemoy more or less wrote the outline for the story, which was then handed off to... whoever Tekno managed to pay at the time, I guess, for scripting and art. The latter, in particular, is really uneven as a result. Regardless, there are quite a few names attached to this book that have had significant careers. In particular, the first couple books were scripted by Kate Worley, who is unquestionably best known as the creator of Omaha the Cat Dancer.

What I didn't know was that this book had newsstand distribution. I feel pretty confident in describing the newsstand run of this title as "rare, but valueless". Cool find from the wild, though!