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”!
Lou Mougin has written quite a few comics mostly for Hero’s titles like Flare and the Champions. He got a letter printed in Destroyer Duck #7 (cover date – May 1984).
On Ebay: Destroyer Duck | Lou Mougin
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!
Paul Jenkins got to meet his comic creations (the Sentry & his wife) in New Avengers #10. A rare opportunity!
On Ebay: Paul Jenkins
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.
Here’s a neat cover swipe by 2005’s G.I. Joe sourcebook.
 G.I. Joe Yearbook #1 March 1985 |
 G.I. Joe Data Desk Handbook #1 October 2005 |
On Ebay: G.I. Joe
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: Karl Kesel
Artist: Paul Smith
In 2000, Marvel published a series of one-shots that revealed what Marvel Comics would be like in the Marvel Universe.
During a picnic in the park, the ground opens up underneath the Fantastic Four, revealing a machine that will continue to create earthquakes intended to drop Manhattan into the ocean. The machine belongs to the Mole Man, who’s always waging war against the surface world. But, this time he’s got help – it’s a regular, old-fashioned super-villain team-up! That’s right, Mole Man and Namor the Sub-Mariner have joined forces to strike a blow against the surface dwellers. Naturally, it’s up to our heroes to defeat them … cue up Ben Grimm’s “It’s Clobberin’ Time!” battlecry.
I suppose the concept of imagining what Marvel Comics would be like in the Marvel Universe is kind of unnecessary, when it comes to the FF. After all, they’re extremely public figures. I’ve found that the most fun comes from this concept when it’s about a character that the public doesn’t know too much about (Spider-Man or the X-Men, for example). So, how did Marvel make up for the fact that this story could easily be set within the mainstream Marvel Universe? Well, they took the pitchline of “World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” and put an accent on the magazine part. Interrupting the story are some neat, one-page “articles” focusing on things like a guide to Unstable Molecules, Ben Grimm’s exercise routine, Sue’s photo album, fan art, and more. These fun little shorts add much more appeal to this one-shot than the actual story but not enough to make me excited enough to give it a strong recommendation.
On Ebay: Marvels Comics | Fantastic Four | Tony Isabella | Karl Kesel
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: Marvel Comics
Number of Issues: 8
First Issue: December 1997 ($2.99)
Last Issue: July 1998 ($2.99)
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Liam Sharp
The Nexus Of All Realities has been shattered and if it’s not reassembled soon, the converging realities will tear apart the very fabric of our universe (and every universe). To solve this dilemma, Dr. Strange charges Ellen Brandt-Sallis with the heavy responsibility of locating and gathering all of the Nexus shards before the end of the world! Along for the ride is her former husband, the Guardian of the Nexus Of All Realities – the Man-Thing.
On their quest to gather the Nexus shards, Ellen and the Man-Thing enter unique locales and encounter interesting beings (including Devil-Slayer, Howard the Duck, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and the Silver Surfer). But, it’s not just as easy as finding a shard and taking it with them. They quickly find that gathering the shards leads them into morally ambiguous decisions. Is saving the entire universe worth it if you have to defile someone’s religion? What if it requires destroying an entire planet full of life? Making the journey even more difficult is an ancient immortal named Mr. Termineus who actually wants the universe(s) to implode upon themselves, causing the end of everything! And to make matters worse for our protagonists, he’s kidnapped their only son, Job.
The Bad: This series was all too prematurely canceled and the final issues went unpublished.
The Good: Liam Sharp’s artwork is well-suited to the flavor of this series and, J.M. DeMatteis continues to cement his place as one of my favorite writers. He uses this story to present tough moral choices, spiritual jouneys and tales of redemption.
The Verdict: This series was the flagship title of Marvel’s ill-fated Strange Tales line of horror comics. Unfortunately, at the last minute, Marvel decided to make this line code-approved (it was originally intended to be published without consideration of the Comics Code Authority) and delayed publication of half of the first string of titles. So, this title was left without much support from Marvel and did not sell well. It was combined with the other poorly-selling title, Werewolf By Night, into the double-feature Strange Tales anthology. This series featured the stories that would have been Man-Thing vol. III #9 & 10 but it was canceled after the second issue and the concluding chapters of the story were left unpublished (although they had been written).
Aside from the sad affair of an unfinished story, this series is one of the most unique tales set within the mainstream Marvel Universe. Even though it’s constrained by the CCA, it’s certainly written for adults. Make no mistakes about it – this is no basic super hero story. DeMatteis presents age-old dilemmas and makes our heroes face them with no easy way out. I’ve now read this story twice and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it both times. Sharp’s pencils are superb and extremely fitting for this story – at times he manages to create illustrations that are both grotesque and beautiful at the same time. DeMatteis works in guest-stars in nearly every issues but they don’t feel forced at all and actually play important roles in the story. His style of writing is poetic in this title and touches on important questions and spiritual journeys. I really can’t recommend this title enough and I think you’ll enjoy the ride enough to overcome the disappointment of a story without an end.
On Ebay: Man-Thing | J.M. DeMatteis | Liam Sharp
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”!
Eric Yarber wrote a couple of stories for horror-oriented anthologies in the 1980s and 1990s. He got a letter printed in Destroyer Duck #6 (cover date – March 1984).
On Ebay: Destroyer Duck | Eric Yarber
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: 1,751,086 (.37% decrease from last month)
Number of those that are Cyberspace Comics listings: 7,049 (18.9% increase)
My “market share” of comic listings on eBay: .40255% (19.37% increase)
Number of eBay comic listings that are auctions: 109,224
Percentage of eBay comic listings up for auction: 6.24%
My current eBay feedback (unique): 9,575
My current eBay feedback (total): 20,707
My positive eBay feedback score: 99.9%
| Position | Dollar Sales | # of Current Listings |
| First | Bad Girls | Bad Girls (1,129 listings) |
| Second | Image Comics (↑) | Marvel Comics (938 listings) |
| Third | Marvel Comics (↑) | Image Comics (706 listings) |
| Fourth | Other Indies (↓) | Other Indies (573 listings) |
| Fifth | Undergrounds (↓) | Movie/TV Comics (363 listings) |
Number of listings on Atomic Avenue: 1,248,855
Number of those that are in the Cyberspace Comics Store on Atomic Avenue: 15,045
My “market share” of comic listings on AtomicAvenue: 1.2047%
My estimated “market share” of AtomicAvenue orders: 5.40%
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.
Pitting the Hulk against the Fantastic Four has always been legendary. #25 is one of the earliest battles although the first was in #11. Decades later, the Trouble With Girls did a fun job with this cover swipe.
 Fantastic Four #25 April 1964 Jack Kirby |
 the Trouble With Girls vol. II #18 August 1990 |
On Ebay: Fantastic Four | Trouble With Girls | Hulk
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: Howard Mackie with James Felder
Artist: Salvador Larroca
When the DC and Marvel Universes merged in Marvel vs DC, a new one was created: the Amalgam Universe. This one-shot combined Ghost Rider with Etrigan the Demon.
Night Spectre‘s nefarious goal of collecting the Souls of Power is nearing its fruition. His plan to gather humans of great purity or corruption have stolen Blaze Allen’s girl, Iris, from him in the past. This led Blaze to bond with the demon, Etrigan, to become the Speed Demon. Now, he’s out to stop Night Spectre from collecting the last Soul of Power from Harvey Osborne, the Green Goblin! To make matters a bit more interesting, to help Blaze, Merlin has created a new Speed Demon in Blaze’s nephew, Wally. But, who’s the demon bonded with Wally?
This is a pretty fun supernatural super-hero storyline although it’s a bit heavy on the exposition at times. The artwork is superb but Speed Demon’s rhyming dialogue gets annoying quickly. The addition of a second Speed Demon was a nice tribute to the “legacy hero” nature of both Ghost Rider and the Flash (who’s mythos is also heavily involved in this amalgamation). Two things have me intrigued here: (1) Etrigan’s past is hinted at having some neat importance (2) The question of which demon is bonded with Wally is also interesting. Especially since it’s suggested that it might even be the Night Spectre, himself.
On Ebay: Amalgam | Howard Mackie | Salvador Larroca
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: Devil’s Due & Dynamited
Number of Issues: 6
First Issue: July 2004 ($2.99)
Last Issue: December 2005 ($2.99)
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Jim Starlin
Ray Torres is a teenage orphan who feels that suicide is his only way out. That is, until he finds himself imbued with the Cosmic Guard power. Along with the power comes a dead super-hero’s spirit who speaks with him inside his head. This hero is the Dark Paladin, who despite being the previous holder of the Cosmic Guard, was unable to stop the Genociders from destroying his home planet. Now they’re headed towards Earth and the Dark Paladin has to train Ray Torres so that he is capable of defeating this deadly alien force. Ray’s first mission? Destroy the Genociders’ Z-10 Kilbot herald.
The Bad: This is the beginning of a much larger story that has yet to be told …. and unfortunately, hasn’t been continued for the past 5 years.
The Good: Jim Starlin knows how to tell a cosmic hero story.
The Verdict: Jim Starlin is the master of cosmic super hero stories … and here’s another one! Sure we’ve seen some of these concepts before – in fact, the Cosmic Guard power brings to mind Marvel’s Uni-Power – but Starlin always manages to keep it fun and exciting. I wish this story would have had more of a threat than just a robotic probe but as I mentioned earlier, there’s a much bigger story waiting to be unfolded here. However, since that bigger threat has yet to be realized, there’s nothing here that puts this series over-the-top in terms of cool concepts, designs or action.
On Ebay: Cosmic Guard | Jim Starlin
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