“How Did You Manage to Drive A Station Wagon Across An Ocean, Charlie Brown?”
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Nothin’ says lovin’ like Hulk from the oven.
So it can be difficult to buy things at the shop at times when people bring items in that they’ve already “researched” on the Internet, particularly when they see prices like these:
Note: the “used” copies start at $150, and work their way up into the $500s.
Now, I know this is not a terribly common item, and that the 1970s Fireside paperbacks are usually in-demand collectibles. Even in pristine shape, though, the books in the line don’t sell for that much, at least to my knowledge. We had a copy of the Fantastic Four Fireside paperback in Near Mint condition that sold for about $60, and it took forever to move it. We also had a…rather well-read copy of America at War, the Fireside reprint of DC’s war comics (and, I think, one of the most sought-after volumes from this series, next to the romance book), that sold for about six bucks.
In the past, when we’ve had copies of the Marvel Superheroes’ Cookbook, they were usually in Good to Very Good condition, and, if memory serves, we usually sold them for around ten dollars or so. Or maybe it was the Marvel Strength and Fitness book…basically the same type of book, with about the same level of demand and desirability. Basically, it’s a book that’s an interesting novelty item, but not really comics as such, and not with an excessive value.
At least, that’s what we generally believed. A quick look at one online store lists a Mint copy as being in the $150 range (theoretically, as they don’t have any in stock). And a look at completed eBay auctions shows that a couple of copies have sold in the $40 range, which may be a more realistic assessment of this item’s value:
…since this is showing what prices people are actually paying, as opposed to, as shown in the Amazon image above, what prices that sellers are trying to get.
But I don’t know…maybe I’m wrong, and Amazon sellers are turning over copies of this book all the time at hundreds and hundreds of dollars. But we have to base our pricing and purchasing on what we think we can sell it for, and what we’ve sold it for in the past, and not on what high hopes others might have. And frankly, I would have zero confidence in getting prices like those on Amazon for this copy of the book. I doubt we would have even really approached those eBay prices, but it’s all a moot point since we couldn’t come to terms on the book with the seller anyway.
Ah, well, At least Chris wrote up this description of the Marvel Superheroes’ Cookbook we can all enjoy.
This is really more about Alan Scott being compared to Swamp Thing than you’ve ever wanted to read.
So Rich dropped this in the comments to yesterday’s post:
“I’m interested in Mike’s reaction to the new Alan Scott GL origin in ‘Earth 2.’”
And I have to admit, the first thing that came to mind was the whole “Alan Scott is gay!” hoohar that was in the media, until I realized that bit of business doesn’t have much to do with the origin really. Then there was the second thing that came to mind, the fate of his loved one which I think everyone with a pulse saw coming from a mile away, but, you know, it’s a superhero origin story, good chance someone’s gotta be the “tragic loss” part of it. But I didn’t get why my thoughts specifically were asked after on this particular topic, until I realized:
Oh, yeah, the whole “green” thing, with “green energy” being the embodiment of the Earth’s life force an’ all, like in the Swamp Thing comics, where it’s referred to as “The Green.” And it’s referred to as such in Earth 2, where some unknown entity states
“The Green has found its champion. And so I must awaken…in the name of the Grey I must rise.”
And if you recall your Swamp Thing comics of about, oh, 23 years ago, “The Grey” was an alien fungus-type thingie that Swamp Thing fought against, and you can read more about that on this page. I don’t believe there’s any connection between the Grey in Earth 2 and Swampy’s Grey, but there could very well be a minor connection between the expressions of the Green on both Earth 2 and, um, whatever Earth is the current version of Earth we’re dealing with in our post-Flashpoint DC universe. …I’m just going to assume y’all know what I’m talking about when I write all this stuff, because frankly, looking at it as I write it makes me feel like a crazy person.
Anyway, minor connection between the two, right. Well, we’re still dealing with “The Green” and I’m sure no one writing comics, particularly not James Robinson, is unaware of that particular nomenclature being used by Alan Moore to describe Earth’s life force during his Swamp Thing run. So I guess it’s simply an alternate take on the same sort of thing Moore was getting at, down to the Green choosing a champion to fight on its behalf when necessary.
Another small parallel that I’m inferring in this story is that, near the end of Alan Scott’s interaction with this green energy, he asks it
“…The way you speak. Were you…at one time…were you human?”
The question isn’t answered, but one possible interpretation is that whoever was speaking on behalf of the Green there was in fact a previous champion of the Green, who chose his successor in Alan Scott…who may someday also be absorbed into this life force of the planet, until he too reemerges to chose his own successor. It’s kinda sorta similar to previous Swamp Things retiring to the Parliament of Trees, where they guide the Green from sort of behind the scenes, while a more active champion is their avatar in the world.
Again, I’m sounding like a crazy person. I’m just trying to describe the comics, I swear.
Anyway, yeah, Rich, there are some interesting parallels between what’s going on with Alan Scott in Earth 2 and the saga of the Swamp Thing. I don’t think the twain shall ever meet, but I do think Robinson is writing a knowing reinterpretation of what Moore had put down.
Speaking of Swamp Thing, Swamp Mark popped in with some swampy news in yesterday’s comments, noting that in addition to the coming Animal Man crossover, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. will be part of the fun for issues #13-#15. And that there will be a small tie-in with Ravagers #5. So, thanks, Swamp Mark, for letting us know. I realize that, as Swamp Thing’s Best Friend, I probably should be a little more on top of reporting what’s going on in Swamp Thing’s world, especially since we now have an ongoing Swamp Thing series again and I shouldn’t just take it for granted. But, you know, I get distracted easily and sometimes I forget. So you all keep nagging me about keeping up with Swamp Thing news…sure, I might grumble a little, but I know it’s only because you folks care. I hope.
Also, as for my being crazy…at least my pal Tim doesn’t think I am. “Probably sane” is very likely the nicest thing I’ll hear about myself this week. Or month. Or…well, I’d better stop there.
There’s gold in them thar funnybooks.
While the Valiant Comics collectability heyday of the 1990s is now a distant memory, along with most collectability of ’90s comics for that matter, there still remains some market desirability for certain Valiant releases: the early “pre-Unity” issues (Unity being Valiant’s line-wide crossover event series), the last issues of some of their series (with their smaller print runs, you see), the early video game comics (Captain N, Super Mario Bros.), some of the #0s and mail-away/promo books, and the gold logo/gold foil variants of some of their regular issues.
Now, it’s been a long time since I’ve thought about how these gold variants were distributed to retailers…I don’t think it was like how variants are doled out by the big publishers today, where you get one special variant for every 10, 25, 100, whatever regular covers you ordered. I suspect, at least in some cases, that the gold editions were just mailed out to retailers for us to do with as we wish. In any case, in recent years these gold variants have been selling for a pretty penny on the eBay, and the few we’ve acquired in collections over the last few years turned over some sizable profit via the online auctions.
However, I suspect we may experience where the line is drawn vis-à-vis Valiant gold-logo collectability with this recently-acquired golden edition:
It’s probably a bit hard to tell, but that’s a gold corner box and a gold foil logo on that Turok #1. Now, as I’ve written before, Turok #1 was, if not a cause, at least one of the primary symptoms of the ’90s market crash. Hot collectable company produces what should be a hot collectable #1, every retailer on the planet orders a royal assload of said #1, #1 comes out, nobody cares. So all those retailers end up with a huge ol’ turkey that they try to blow out in their bargain bins in the subsequent decade or two since.
Now, it’s possible that someday we’ll experience the Shazam! effect, where the greatly-anticipated release of Shazam! #1 in 1973 resulted in a huge abundance of that comic in the marketplace, with many copies going straight to quarter boxes. There they sat, thumbed over and exposed to the elements, until suddenly…oh, hey, it’s awfully hard to find mint copies of that comic nowadays, and now price guides have mint copies of Shazam #1 at, I don’t know, $40, $60 maybe? I don’t have my guide in front of me, but you get the idea. But if that happens to Turok #1, ever, it may not be until after I’m long dead, so, you know, in ten years or so. But basically what I’m saying is that Turok #1 is not seen as a desirable collectable by pretty much anyone, and I suspect even having a gold logo may not make that much of a difference. This site, which has been monitoring online Valiant sales, notes the market value at about $12, but ain’t too bad, I guess, but not really a patch on some of the money we’ve made on other gold Valiant variants.
But still, that gold edition Turok is nice-looking. And I do like Turok comics. Maybe I’ll just keep it.
Speaking of gold editions…this strictly isn’t just a variant, as such:
…but a second printing, which DC indicated by
Warning: things get totally depressing at the end of this post.
So y’all know Matt Digges, right? The artist of Awesome Hospital? The guy who drew me this?
Well, the man is in need of a little extra scratch, and thus is now taking commissions to draw your favorite character…and if you ask nicely, he might draw characters other than Swamp Thing or Sluggo, too. You can read all the details on his Tumblr-thingie. But in all seriousness, Matt’s a swell cat and well deserving of your dollars, so go give him a few and get a wonderful drawing in return.
In other news:
- Hey, have I mentioned I’m doing a little lite-blogging on this site for my place of employment? We needed a new blanket site to cover both stores, I ended up doing a quickie WordPress install, and voilà, suddenly I’ve got another blog to maintain. It’s mostly a lot of “hey, look at this stuff we would like you to buy!” but we’re having fun with it. It’s just starting out, and I need to slap another coat of paint on it, but I think it looks nice, though I’ll have to beat Employee Mark if he uses another emoticon in a post again.
- We got in a copy of the Infinite Crisis Omnibus hardcover, and I sort of wish I remembered to take a picture of it, because this thing is just goofily thick. I mean, physically thick, not, you know, thick as in “not very bright,” which I suppose some of you would mention if I didn’t. But this thing is a real bullet-stopper, the kind of book you’d use to knock out a moose prior to surgery. It has purt’near every tie-in and mini-series to Infinite Crisis, and it’s like four inches thick, and it’s just amazing.
…Now, there have been similar books, like those Omnibii that Marvel has been doing (for example), so it’s not as if this kind of tome is anything new. But while big ol’ Gutenberg Bible editions of Fantastic Four, Watchmen, and even Howard the Duck sort of receive the “yeah, sure, we get it” reaction, this special Infinite Crisis: Overkill Edition tends to get The People’s Eyebrow and the occasional disbelieving “Really? They made one of those for that?” and all I can say is “hey, I got a dude who wants it, and that’s good enough for me.”
Of course, that there is not yet a Swamp Thing Omnibus with every 1970s appearance of the character is a crime that comics will pay for someday, oh yes.
- Pals Dor and Ken have another look at trailers for forthcoming movies…I always really look forward to each new installment of this column!
- Pal Andrew has another installment of “Nobody’s Favorites” and this time he takes on The King! Yup, one of Kirby’s latter-day creations gets Andrewified, and you can read the results right here. …A few years back, I had a brief discussion on this site about fandom’s contemporary opinions on Kirby’s later output (here and here) which generated some lively discussion (link goes to old commenting system…don’t post new comments there, please!). I only bring those posts up, not just to complement Andrew’s post, but to point out a certain realization I had about fandom’s reaction to that period of Kirby’s work:
“Okay, we look back on that stuff now and we can appreciate it for what it was. I don’t know if it took us 30 years to catch up to what Kirby was doing, or if it’s just nostalgic fondness for the comics of yore, or if it’s ‘ironic’ appreciation, or just admiration for Kirby’s energy in producing just pure ‘comic-booky’-type comics with no pretense at being anything other than what they were: escapist entertainment for kids. And I’m sure part of it is an unwillingness to take any portion of Kirby’s output for granted, since, obviously, there ain’t no more comin’”.
“There ain’t no more comin’.” I put in sort of a fake-folksy way, but it doesn’t make that thought any less depressing, and it’s sort of stuck with me all these years since I originally wrote it. Looking at that Witchfinder series John Severin drew last year, and thinking “no more Severin art.” Or “no more Gil Kane drawings.” Or “no more Steve Gerber stories.” The fact that there are still some stories and art from departed creators in the vaults, as it were, such as that Infernal Man-Thing mini featuring Gerber’s previously-unpublished scripts, simply serves to remind that we can only look forward to unearthed archived material, and That One Guy/Gal You Really Liked Who Just Passed Away isn’t sitting at his/her typewriter or art table and working on something brand spanking new at this very moment.
…Sigh. Sorry. “People die and it sucks” is today’s lesson, apparently.
Speaking of which…so long, Andy.
Happy Fourth of July, where applicable!
If you’re among the folks who celebrate the Fourth, I certainly hope you have a fun and relaxing day. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be celebrating Independence Day in that most patriotic of t-shirts:
…while speeding around city streets and hanging with your pal Huggy Bear, as our country’s forefathers intended.
Happy Fourth of July, or happy Wednesday for you international types, and I’ll see you…Thursday? Friday? One of those days.
I’ve never heard of this book, and I used to be a children’s librarian.
So here’s a thing that popped up at the shop the other day…a 1982 children’s book called The Superkids and the Singing Dog:
The story involves a group of young friends who enjoy dressing up as their favorite all DC Comics-published superheroes — pictured here rushing into action with their “Batmobile”:
…and their chance encounter with rock star Huckleberry Jam:
…who is looking for his missing dog, Chocolate. …And the kids of course help out, canvassing the neighborhood and getting into hijinks before (SPOILER ALERT) finding the dog and reuniting him with his master.
It’s a cute book, with some nicely-expressive illustration: there’s a good bit in one of the images where, while “Batman” is working on the Batmobile and everyone else is tending to the dog, “Flash” is just running around in circles in the yard.
A quick Googling also seems to show this was the only book with these characters, at least by this author. Of course, I’m just conditioned, I suppose, into thinking everything has to be part of a series, and that there’s nothing wrong with a book like this only being a one-off. But, still, it feels like this is the sort of thing that would have lent itself to a follow-up or two. Ah, well, such are the vagaries of publishing.
Anyway, I was trying to decide what my favorite entirely-out-of-context quite from the book was, and while this one was an early contender:
…I think the winner is clear:
Also, as a reminder…in addition to all the superheroes represented in this story:
…Huck and Chocolate are also property of DC Comics, so keep your fingers crossed, and maybe they’ll get their own “New 52” book soon!
