You may not be surprised to learn that most people in the comic business grew up reading comic books. However, you might be interested in knowing what they were reading. Here’s a look at “Famous Fanmail”!
Apparently, the 1990s shirtless Thor costume reboot got the girls at Seattle’s Alpha Phi sorority all hot and bothered. They got a letter published in Thor #501 (cover date: August 1996).
On Ebay: Thor
Some of the best parts of movies like Old School and Zombieland are their unexpected celebrity cameos. The same thing happens in comics, every once in a while. Here’s a look at another Celebrity Cameo!
J. Michael Straczynski’s Supreme Power re-imagined the Squadron Supreme as a great, slow-building read. When an alien baby crash landed on Earth, President Carter authorized the government to take custody of the child.
On Ebay: Supreme Power
On AtomicAvenue: Supreme Power
After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.
Erik Larsen swiped himself within a few short months! It’s funny to see how much the female characters mirror each other.
 Wolverine vol. II #33 January 1999 Erik Larsen |
 Savage Dragon vol. II #61 May 1999 Erik Larsen |
On Ebay: Wolverine | Savage Dragon | Erik Larsen
On AtomicAvenue: Wolverine | Savage Dragon
Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 2000
Cover Price: $2.25
Writer: Ty Templeton
Artist: Derec Aucoin
In 2000, Marvel published a series of one-shots that revealed what Marvel Comics would be like in the Marvel Universe.
Just like the Thor we’ve come to know, this Thor fights criminals with a lightning-summoning hammer and a speaks in a manner different than our every-day lanuage. But, when he gets back to his home base, we discover that his speech is actually quite normal – he puts on a show in public. And, the lightning coming from his hammer is actually an electronic charge.
His real name is Donald Jolson, and he’s actually the second person to become the crimefighter named Thor. Owen, the first Thor, bequeathed the name, costume and weaponry to his youngest son after a battle with the Destroyer (controlled by Owen’s brother, Vi) permanently damaged his leg. Now, the Destroyer is being controlled by Don’s older brother, Leonard. And, you can bet that Len’s not too happy that he was passed up for the Thor position. Can this new Thor defeat the one foe his father could not?
There’s a lot packed in here. First, they’ve got to cover the origin of the first Thor and how his powers work. Then, they’ve got to establish how the position of Thor was handed down to Don, upsetting his older brother, Len. All this set up goes towards the payoff – a showdown between the brothers!
Ultimately, it is fun to see how closely this mirrors the Thor mythos we’ve come to know, incorporating the relationships with his father Odin and his jaded brother, Loki. And, while this does give a “real-world” feel to how creators in the Marvel Universe might portray Thor, it does take away the root of what makes Thor stories enjoyable – the grand mythology behind it all. This version offers no feeling of storied mythology and turns the story of Thor into just another average super-hero tale.
On Ebay: Marvels Comics | Thor | Ty Templeton | Derec Aucoin
On AtomicAvenue: Marvels Comics
With years spent reading single issues here and there, juggling storylines of dozens of titles, I decided it was time to find a better way to read comics. So, it was off to the back issue bins armed with the longest want list you’ve ever seen! Putting together series after series and reading them in their complete goodness, I was reborn as the Retro-Reader!
Publisher: Image Comics
Number of Issues: 4
First Issue: January 2005 ($2.95)
Last Issue: April 2005 ($2.95)
Writer: Mike Bullock
Artist: Jack Lawrence
Joey’s not too excited that he’s got to move now that his mom got a new job. But, to cheer him up, his grandmother bought him the Night Pride – a collection of four jungle cat plush dolls. Touted as “Protectors of the Innocent”, the Night Pride consists of Minerva (a jaguar), Venus (a tiger), Pallo (a lion) and Ares (a white tiger). But, there’s more to these plush dolls than one might initially suspect. Through a magical portal under his sheets, Joey gets sucked into the Stuffed Animal Kingdom where a war is brewing between noble and evil stuffed animals. The devious rat plushes are attempting to capture their creator’s young daughter for some malicious reason. Now, it’s up to Joey and the Night Pride to rescue her!
The Bad: N/A
The Good: This book is fun for all-ages! It calls out to the imaginative little kid in all of us.
The Verdict: I would imagine that at one point or another most kids dream or pretend that their toys come to life. Well, this series explores that fantasy with fantastically appealing art! The story’s not too advanced but when developing a concept like this, simple and straightforward is best. There are good stuffed animals and bad ones. Drop in a human so we can explore this new world and creatures through an outsider’s eyes and you’ve got a great start to a fun all-ages story! I’m sure that when I’ve got kids, this will be one of the first comics I expose them to. It’s great proof that comics can be pure, brightly colored light-hearted fun. Someone should get an animation company to make this a feature film. It’d surely be an eye-catcher and the dynamic character designs would be easily marketable!
On Ebay: Lions, Tigers and Bears | Mike Bullock | Jack Lawrence
You may not be surprised to learn that most people in the comic business grew up reading comic books. However, you might be interested in knowing what they were reading. Here’s a look at “Famous Fanmail”!
Born in 1926, Anne McCaffrey is best known for her dragon fantasy fiction. Some of her works have even been adapted into comics. She got a letter published in Princessions #14 (cover date: Summer 1983), a fantasy fiction magazine.
On Ebay: Princessions | Anne McCaffrey
I’ve been selling comics in my sparetime since 2002 but I only recently started selling them on a full-time basis. March 2010 was my first full month of full-time comic sales. It’s been a fun ride and it’s allowed me to continue to maintain this daily comics blog. Here’s a look back at the previous month.
Number of listings in eBay’s “comics” section: 1,753,625 (.52% decrease from last month)
Number of those that are Cyberspace Comics listings: 7,036 (1.2% increase)
My “market share” of comic listings on eBay: .40123% (1.68% increase)
Number of eBay comic listings that are auctions: 107,727
Percentage of eBay comic listings up for auction: 6.14%
My current eBay feedback (unique): 10,248
My current eBay feedback (total): 21,836
My positive eBay feedback score: 99.9%
| Position | Dollar Sales | # of Current Listings |
| First | Bad Girls | Bad Girls (991 listings) |
| Second | Underground (↑) | Marvel Comics (875 listings) |
| Third | Marvel Comics (↓) | Image Comics (689 listings) |
| Fourth | Image Comics | Other Indies (534 listings) |
| Fifth | Movie/TV Comics (↓) | TPBs (484 listings) |
Number of listings on Atomic Avenue: 1,265,671 (.28% increase from last month)
Number of those that are in the Cyberspace Comics Store on Atomic Avenue: 20,233 (14.81% increase)
My “market share” of comic listings on AtomicAvenue: 1.5986% (14.49% increase)
My estimated “market share” of AtomicAvenue orders: 5.26%
After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.
Avengers #57 introduced the super-hero android, the Vision! Besides the main three Avengers (Cap, Iron Man, & Thor), he’s probably served the most time on Avengers teams. His first appearance has been swiped a number of times since then, including Avengers West Coast vol. II #45, which featured a dramatic change in the character when his emotions were unwillingly removed.
 Avengers #57 October 1968 John Buscema |
 Psychoblast #5 March 1988 Robb Phipps |
 West Coast Avengers vol. II #45 July 1989 John Byrne |
 Cyberspace 3000 #6 December 1993 |
 Mighty Avengers #14 July 2008 Marko Djurdjevic |
Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!
Publisher: Amalgam Comics
Cover Date: April 1996
Cover Price: $1.95
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dave Gibbons
When the DC and Marvel Universes merged in Marvel vs DC, a new one was created: the Amalgam Universe. This one-shot combined Superman with Captain America.
After a space rocket landed in 1938, the government scavenged the alien corpses within. They added their findings to the Super Soldier formula, and created America’s top-performing WWII hero: Super Soldier! Fifty years later, the Super Soldier has returned to defeat the one villain he could not defeat: Ultra-Metallo. This time, Lex Luthor has planted a bomb within Ultra-Metallo’s chest and set him on course for the Oval Office. Once he reaches the White House, the bomb will automatically trigger, devastating Washington, D.C. But, how can Super Soldier hope to defeat the mechanical powerhouse, when it’s also equipped with a large portion of Green K (aka Kryptonite)?
Mark Waid’s crafted a morbidly-interesting fuse between the origins of Supes & Cap with this book. Unfortunately, the rest of the story isn’t all that engaging. Sure, Super-Soldier has to stop a seemingly unstoppable villain from reaching the White House but, besides the action, not much room is given to the main hero’s characterization. I think it’d be more interesting to spend some story-time on what it’d be like to wake up in a world that’s 50 years more advanced than you last knew it. Besides that, there’s no real sub-plot that needs a conclusion – so, even if there was an issue #2, I wouldn’t be all that enticed to pick it up.
On Ebay: Amalgam | Mark Waid | Dave Gibbons
On AtomicAvenue: Amalgam Comics
With years spent reading single issues here and there, juggling storylines of dozens of titles, I decided it was time to find a better way to read comics. So, it was off to the back issue bins armed with the longest want list you’ve ever seen! Putting together series after series and reading them in their complete goodness, I was reborn as the Retro-Reader!
Publisher: Epic Comics
Number of Issues: 8
First Issue: April 1988 ($1.25)
Last Issue: June 1989 ($1.50)
Writer: D.G. Chichester with Margaret Clark
Artist: Cenys Cowan with inks by Bill Sienkiewicz (#1-4), Brett Ewins (#5), Dan Spiegle (#6-8), Gary Kwapisz (#8)
Doctor Zero was the first series published in Epic Comics’ Shadow Line Saga. The Shadow Line was a shared universe that focused on an Earth very similar to ours – inhabited by billions of normal humans. Similar to ours except for the existence of a second race of powered humans that evolved over the centuries. This race is much smaller in numbers than the humans, so they’ve chosen to hide in the shadows – referring to them as Shadows seems appropriate, doesn’t it? Over time, some of the Shadows have slipped up and had encounters with humans. These events have led to sightings of mythical creatures like yetis, vampires, and djinns.
In the late 1980s, one of these Shadow Dwellers stepped forward into the public spotlight as the world’s first super hero. This do-gooder named himself Doctor Zero and began saving humanity from itself. He stepped in to help defeat threats produced by Muslim terrorists, nuclear weapons, deadly diseases, nuclear meltdowns and more. With such great accomplishments, how could the public do anything but embrace this new-found savior of humanity?
Well, if they knew the truth, it’d certainly affect their feelings toward Doctor Zero. It turns out that he’s been behind the scenes – manipulating these events to happen and then stepping in to squash them or direct them elsewhere. It’s becoming clear to us, the readers, that he’s following his own motives and they’re not necessarily in humanity’s best interests. But, what are his motives? Well, that’s the fun of the book – trying to figure out what grand scheme he’s putting together.
The Bad: Nearly 25 years later, the threat of terrorism and nuclear annihilation haven’t changed for the better. As for the comic, it was unfortunately canceled at issue 8 (even though plans were underway up to #13) so we miss out on any kind of conclusion showcasing what the series was actually building to.
The Good: Moody inks by Bill Sienkiewicz and an interesting story concept. Great covers by Sienkiewicz, Jon J. Muth, Kevin Nowlan, Gray Morrow, Kent Williams and more!
The Verdict: The concept’s great! Everyday people think he’s a true hero but, what they don’t know is that he’s orchestrating the events he saves them from. That leaves the question: what is he building towards? And, that’s where the rub is – the series was canceled before it was revealed (now, perhaps more is seen in the final Shadowline Saga title, Critical Mass – but, I’ve yet to read it). The first four issues are great: the story is clearly building towards something and Bill Sienkiewicz’s inks add a moody, seedy feeling to the book. The final four issues shift more of the focus on to the less-interesting government team hunting Zero and the art becomes more typical 1980s super-hero fare. So, as much as I enjoyed the initial build-up, the lack of any solid conclusion says “skip it”.
On Ebay: Doctor Zero | Shadowline Saga | D.G. Chichester | Bill Sienkiewicz
On AtomicAvenue: Doctor Zero
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