Today I went comic book hunting. This is something of a dead experience. Why would anyone spend an entire day driving around looking for comic books when they can go to sites like ebay and find exactly what they want? There’s something fun about the hunting experience and anyone who collects anything can probably relate. You don’t know what you’re looking for until you find it, and there’s this exhilaration that goes with that. Will today be the day I find that first edition worth thousands of dollars? Will today be that day I find the last issue in that Avengers run so I can finally read them all? There’s also the constant need to balance your budget. If you buy a bunch at the first two stops, will you be able to afford something really cool at the last stop of the day? I’m not a die hard collector by any means. I’m not trying to hunt down a million dollar comic, I’m just looking for whatever looks fun to read, or maybe just some cool cover art.
Out of the 10 issues I ended up getting today, my 3 top picks I’d say are Marvel Star Wars #15, Uncanny Xmen #316 with the hologram cover art, and The Invaders #24. Star Wars was an obvious pick, stamp anything “Star Wars,” and for $2 I’ll buy it. This is a bit of a mark up from the 35c cover price, but I guess there’s been some inflation since 1978. The other two picks, were mostly for cover art. I really dig the hologram cover on the Uncanny Xmen, and it’s also a wrap around so the art continues onto the back cover. The Invaders #24 is a reprinting of Marvel Mystery #17 from 1941. The cover has the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner battling Nazis on the bridge of a u-boat. I’m not sure Marvel would risk a cover like that these days.
The other really great thing about getting a handful of old comics into your collection is the ads. Even a really garbage, poorly written, poorly drawn comic, will have those classic ads that have become a staple of the comic book history. I kind of wish these places still existed because I totally want x-ray specs, an some sea monkeys now.