Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 23, where we take a nostalgic look at six comic books I currently own, and one that I let get away. If you enjoying reading about my trip down comic book lane, consider signing up for my newsletter. There are perks to being a subscriber, and you’ll have the inside track to my writing projects.

For each of the comic books below, I list the current secondary market value. This is according to the listings at the website www.comicbookrealm.com. They list out the near mint prices, which are on the comic book grading scale of 9.4. If you go to the website to look up any in your collection, you can click on the price and see the value at different grades. Not all of my comics are 9.4. Some are probably better, and some are worse. But to simplify it, that’s the grading price I use here. And remember, a comic book is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I welcome any comments you might have, and hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 23…

Special message to my readers before you start!

I want to mention here that I’d love for you to join me at Cleveland ConCoction 2016 at the Cleveland Sheraton Airport Hotel March 12, as I’ll be hosting a panel on comic book nostalgia. Look for a blog about this event in the coming days.

Cool comics in my collection #155: Star Wars #1, December 1998.

“PRELUDE to REBELLION” Part 1 of 6 introduces us to a Jedi named Ki-Adi-Mundi, from the planet Cerea. He received his Jedi training from both Yoda and Master Micah Giiett. What’s really cool is that he proved to be such an awesome character that he made it into the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie in 2003. Whether you love or hate or just ignore the prequels, don’t let that keep you from seeking out comics with Ki-Adi-Mundi, and specifically this one, since it’s his debut. When Dark Horse launched this comic series, I thought it was going to be just six issues, as indicated by the “1 of 6” on the cover, but instead it was just this particular story, Prelude to Rebellion. They continued doing little series within the title, and ended up changing the cover title to Star Wars: Republic, with issue #46. The series then continued until issue #83 in 2006 and ended there. I picked this up at Kenmore Komics, in Akron, Ohio, off the rack. I stopped buying this comic at #28, in 2001, because I needed to cut back on how many I purchased each month. If you are a Star Wars fan and love the background stories not shown in the movies, you’d probably love this series. The back issues aren’t expensive at all, and you can also collect them as graphic novels if that is your preference. The cover price of Star Wars #1 is $2.50, while the current value is $6.

Cool comics in my collection #156: Star Trek: The Next Generation #50, September 1993.

“AND DEATH SHALL HAVE NO DOMINION.” You’ve probably noticed that over the last two episodes of Cool Comics in My Collection, I’ve been adding the titles of the issue from the cover. This one doesn’t have the title on the cover, but you can find it on the inside. Part of comic book coolness is the snazzy language used, so at least for now, it’s become a part of my blog. Continuing with Sci Fi week, we join the voyage of the starship Enterprise…okay, it’s not Kirk’s enterprise, but instead we pay a visit to the Next Generation crew who travel in space aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D (NCC-1701-D). The TV series started in 1987, the year my wife and I married, so it holds a special meaning. And while I didn’t collect Star Trek comics when they originally came out, I did start picking them up in the really cheap back issue boxes. If you’re a collector, you know the ones I mean. They always sit at one end of the long rows of boxes and have a price point of anywhere from 25 cents to $1. I think I bought most of my Star Trek issues for 50 cents. I also want to make mention that this issue is published by DC Comics, which you can see on the cover. The reason I say this is that unlike many of the superheroes I write about here, Star Trek isn’t owned by DC (it’s owned by CBS and Paramount Pictures). It’s all about licensing rights, and the following companies have published Star Trek comic books through the decades, dating back to the sixties: Gold Key (and their Whitman line), Marvel, DC, Malibu, Wildstorm, Tokyopop, IDW Publishing, and E.C. (if you count the Mad Magazine parodies). I bought this particular issue in Atlanta, Georgia, at Titan Comics in the mid-nineties. This anniversary issue is 64 pages of Star Trek fun, delving into an alternate universe in which Captain Picard faces his alternate self as Locutus. This issue happens to be part 4 of 4 in a story arc called “The Worst of Both Worlds.” If you are a Star Trek fan, you might find this intriguing enough to search this one out, and the three previous issues. The cover price of Star Trek: The Next Generation #50 is $3.50, while the current value is $5.

Cool comics in my collection #157: Quantum Leap #6, September 1992.

“A TALE OF TWO CINDY’S.” As you read this, you might be asking yourself, “What in the world is Gosney doing now by putting Quantum Leap into his Cool Comics blog?” And that’s okay to question it and even to disagree with my decision. Art and literature are subjective. While some people read nothing but superheroes, there are many more genres of comics to explore, and I made the decision that I will branch out at times and include things like Quantum Leap comics, because most of all, this blog is about the nostalgic feelings we get when reflecting on our comic collections. And in my opinion, Quantum Leap was a great TV show. Plus, it’s Science Fiction week, and anyone who can quantum leap belongs in this category! Probably everybody who has seen the show has a favorite episode, and for me, it was episode 3, Star-Crossed, which aired on March 31, 1989. The setting was June 15, 1972, and took place in my home state, Ohio. Plus, my alma mater, Ohio State, is mentioned, so how can I not like it? I love the seventies setting, and Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) finds himself as a literature professor. Plus, Teri Hatcher is in this episode and the song “Betcha By Golly Wow” by The Stylistics really sets the mood as it plays on the radio. And don’t miss out on the political scandal at the end. It’s really worth a watch. And the comic book is worth a read, especially if you’re a fan of the show. Innovation Publishing (which was headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, just across the river from where I grew up) did a nice job with this short-lived comic series. I bought this comic in a back issue box for 25 cents at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio, around 2001. The cover price of Quantum Leap #6 is $2.50, while the current value is $3.

Cool comics in my collection #158: Logan’s Run #1, January 1977.

“PART ONE.” Ugh! Part One? How boring is that? I guess I have to forgive it for not having an exciting title, as this was part one of the official adaptation of the movie. This was a pretty popular movie, and besides spawning this comic book, there was also a short-lived TV series. I guess we were both fascinated and horrified at the thought of living in a world in which once you turned 30, you had to go to Carousel, hoping for renewal, but the reality was death. William F. Nolan and the late George Clayton Johnson co-wrote the slim novel pretty quickly and had Hollywood calling. Only to see Hollywood make many changes. For example, the age limit in the book is 21, and the settings are about 150 years apart. In case you are interested, this blog by Julie Israel showcases some of the differences. I’m sure there are others you can find on the web, maybe some with even greater detail. The movie had stars like Peter Ustinov, Michael York, Jenny Agutter, and Richard Jordan, but for anyone who remembers watching this on television when it used to be shown almost every Saturday for about 5 years, was how inane it was that they would always bill it as, “Logan’s Run, starring Farrah Fawcett.” Did she even have five minutes of airtime? What was that all about? I bought this issue at Kenmore Komics around 1999 for not more than $1 in a back issue bin. The cover price of this issue is 30 cents, while the current value is $12.

Cool comics in my collection #159: Battlestar Galactica #1, March 1979.

“ANNIHILATION!” Back in the late seventies, TV saw the birth of a new science fiction show on the heels of Star Wars. Battlestar Galactica certainly didn’t have the same level of success, but it did prove popular with many fans, and the series was even reborn in the 21st Century. The original series featured stars such as Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict, while the updated series had Edward James Olmos, Jamie Bamber, and Katee Sackhoff. Between the two, there have been sequels, prequels, books, games (handheld, board, cards, online, etc.), action figures, and other toys. Still, it’s never reached the popularity of Star Wars or Star Trek, but people do love it. This issue is the first in the franchise history, which certainly makes it a cool comic. The humans and Cylons are coming together to broker peace, but then a sneak attack by the Cylons ruins everything, millions are killed, and the humans must find a new home. I didn’t buy this comic when it first came out, and this is my first issue of it, which I recently bought at Kenmore Komics in Akron, Ohio, in the back issue boxes for $2. The cover price of Battlestar Galactica #1 is 35 cents, while the current value is $8.

Cool comics in my collection #160: Star Trek: Planet of the Apes, August 2015.

“THE PRIMATE DIRECTIVE” is a trade paperback collection of a five issue mini-series that combines two of the greatest science fiction universes of all time…at least in my mind! When I saw an advertisement that this would actually be happening, I knew I had to have it, and the collected edition ended up being the best deal for me because the Science Fiction Book Club carried it and I got a nice discount. I have great memories of growing up in the seventies watching classic Star Trek reruns, Star Trek: The Animated Series on Saturday mornings (wow, those Saturday mornings used to be really special during that decade, didn’t they?), Planet of the Apes movies, The Planet of the Apes TV series, and Return to the Planet of the Apes, which also happened to be a Saturday morning cartoon. I had some Star Trek toys and lots of Planet of the Apes (POTA) toys, such as the Mego figures, along with the Treehouse and the Action Stallion that actually walked…very slowly. I also remember a plastic POTA mug and bowl set. I still have the mug, but I ate out of the bowl so much it got a crack in it and had to be thrown into the forbidden zone (my mom just called it the trash can). I bought all the POTA novelizations and absorbed them, and read my sister’s Star Trek log books. Our memories love to reflect back on happy times and the things we loved; hence, it was a no-brainer to buy this comic book. And of course it has them all, from Spock to Taylor to Nova to Kirk to Doctor Zaius. The cover price of Star Trek: Planet of the Apes TPB is $19.99, while the current value is $20.

Cool comics in my collection #161 (One That Got Away): Marvel Special Edition: Star Wars #1, November 1977.

“THE GREATEST SPACE-FANTASY FILM OF ALL!” Do you remember those Treasury Size comics from the seventies? They were pretty awesome as a kid, but not at all easy to store with your collection. And that’s pretty much why I no longer own any of them. I had a number of these giant comic books, but no place to put them, so I sold them at a garage sale. In some ways I still wish I had them, but they were so big I didn’t know what to do with them. This issue was definitely a cool one because it reprinted the first three issues of the Marvel Star Wars comic book, which was great for all the kids who missed out the first time around. I always bought these Treasury Size comics at SupeRX Drugs in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where my father was a pharmacist, and got the employee discount. Marvel Special Edition: Star Wars #1 has a cover price of $1, while the current value is $18.