Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 31, where we take a nostalgic look at six comic books I currently own, and one that I let get away.

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.

Have you considered being a guest host for Cool Comics? You can do a theme or just pick any of your comics for inclusion (this blog is for all ages, so please keep that in mind), as long as there are seven comics in your episode (you can still own all seven, or do it like me and include one you no longer own). Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

Special Announcement: Anyone going to Oddmall in Akron, Ohio, this weekend? If you click on the link and then go to the Panels page, notice that on Saturday at 3 p.m. I’m doing a panel on comic book nostalgia! Oddmall is free, so come to the John S. Knight Center and stop by to see me. I’ll be giving away goodies while we talk about our comic book memories.

If you have any questions or comments, please scroll to the bottom of the page to where it says, “Leave a reply.” I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I do writing about them. And now, Episode 31…

Cool comics in my collection #197: The Amazing Spider-Man #132, May 1974.

“THE MOLTEN MAN STRIKES AGAIN!” This is the second Spider-Man comic I bought directly off the newsstand rack when I was a kid. When I saw the cover, I thought the Molten Man looked like such a cool bad guy, so I couldn’t dig a quarter out of my pocket fast enough! The thing that boggles my mind today was how I ever let six months go by without buying another issue (I think I bought a few Marvel Tales, and didn’t realize they were reprints) until this one came out. And because of that childhood blunder, I missed out on #129, the first appearance of The Punisher. What was I thinking? My best buddy who lived across the alley from me had that issue, but at the time, neither of us knew just how important it was to become. Who knows why an eleven-year-old does what he does? Regardless, I enjoyed issue 132, and that’s what it’s really all about. The cover price of The Amazing Spider-Man #132 is 25 cents, while the current value is $80.



Cool comics in my collection #198: Thor #216, October 1973.

“THIS IS IT! THE FINAL BATTLE WITH THE 4-D MAN!” This is the first issue of the regular, ongoing Thor that I purchased, way back in time, just before I turned eleven. The month before, I bought Marvel Spectacular #2, and thought the reprint story with Thor and Hercules together was awesome, so I wanted more Thor. Plus, I’d been watching the old Marvel cartoons with Thor and liked the funny talking Asgardian. Things look bad for Thor on the cover, and I had to find out how my hero would get out of this jam. Just a few blocks from where I lived in Martins Ferry, Ohio, there was a little newsstand/party store called Slicks. For a kid, it was the ultimate, because they had great candy, awesome drinks, and comic books galore! And they carried fantastic monster magazines. If you happened to go past it in the seventies, you’d often see a number of bikes parked on the sidewalk, and the store would be full of kids unloading change from their pockets in exchange for these wonderful memories we have today. The cover price of Thor #216 is 20 cents, while the current value is $26.

Cool comics in my collection #199: Captain America #188, August 1975.

“THE ASSAULT OF THE ALCHEMOID!” I bought this issue in the summer when I was twelve years old. I’d be entering the seventh grade in the fall, and soon after become a teenager. As we get older, we often tend to attribute a certain magic to that age. And I think I know why people say this: no bills to pay; less chores than we have as we get older; not as much homework; and lack of the awkwardness we face in our teen years. When I think of the summer of being twelve, I think of Little League Baseball, Fireworks in July, riding bikes with my pals, and going to the little store where we bought our comic books and monster magazines. It was a good summer, and just seeing the cover of this issue of Captain America floods my mind with visions of the past. I can smell hot dogs being cooked out on the grill, feel the juice from a freshly bitten piece of watermelon running down my chin, and hear the boom of firecrackers going off around my neighborhood. As enjoyable as the interior stories of these comic books are, I also appreciate how they launch me backward through time and let me once more experience the magic of being twelve years old. The cover price of Captain America #188 is 25 cents, while the current value is $16. The memories it invokes are priceless.

Cool comics in my collection #200: Omega the Unknown #3, July 1976.

“BURN WHILE YOU LEARN!” While my comic book collecting started slowing down a bit by 1976, I was hooked on the mysteries going on in the pages of Omega the Unknown. Somehow there was a connection between the earth boy, James-Michael Starling, and Omega, an alien construct. Unfortunately, not as many fans appreciated the comic book as I did, and the title lasted just ten issues. Issue 10 came out in October of 1977, and for some reason I didn’t buy it. Maybe the store didn’t order it, or maybe it ran out before I got there. I just can’t recall. And I really didn’t buy as many comic books anymore, opting instead for monster magazines, books, and hanging out with my friends, and geez, weren’t we all getting a little too old for comic books? How many things would we change if we could step into yesteryear, from simple things like buying certain comic books and baseball cards, to more complicated issues such as decisions we made that we regret to this day? But our choices of the past formed who we are today. Some might be willing to make that exchange, but I’m pretty happy right where I am. We all make mistakes, and just like Omega the Unknown, sometimes you have to burn while you learn. The cover price of Omega the Unknown #3 is 25 cents, while the current value is $10.



Cool comics in my collection #201: Marvel Team-Up #22, June 1974.

“SHOCK FOLLOWS SHOCK! WITHIN THESE PAGES LURKS – – THE MESSIAH MACHINE!” This issue of Marvel Team-Up features Spider-Man and Hawkeye trying to stop the plans of the living computer, Quasimodo. I loved Marvel Team-Up in during the seventies. It was always fun to see what heroes would be pitted together to face off against the forces of evil! And this had such a different feel from traditional team comics, like the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Justice League of America, because those heroes were typically used to being together. But in Marvel Team-Up, you’d often get unlikely pairings. But in my neighborhood in 1974, we didn’t have unlikely pairings. We were more like a team who’d been training and fighting together for a long time. We played baseball, football, kick the can, ride bikes, go to the city swimming pool, explore the hills, and sneak down to the river, all as a special kind of team-up. We’d act out superhero roles together, too, and even take turns being the bad guy. We all watched those goofy Marvel cartoons from the sixties and Super Friends on Saturday morning. I have great memories of playing with my friends in those days, and buying comic books with them, too. The cover price of Marvel Team-Up #22 is 25 cents, while the current value is $13.



Cool comics in my collection #202: Marvel Triple Action #14, October 1973.

“VENGENCE IS OURS!” I was just short of turning eleven when I bought this comic, and I had no clue it was a reprint. And I don’t think it would have made a difference to me. I didn’t own the original and certainly hadn’t read it. All I knew was that Captain America was being thrown off a building, and I had to see if he survived! I was clueless as to the other characters on the cover (Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver, Hawkeye), but they are pretty famous today, especially with all the Marvel movies. And they seemed to be just as upset as I was that Cap was in such great danger! That makes me think of the buddies I had while growing up. We certainly had our share of arguments, fights, and silly antics, but when it came down to it, we watched out for each other and stuck together. I’m blessed to have lots of great memories from my childhood days. Sometimes I like to step back in time and just enjoy the memories of certain sights, sounds, tastes, and colors that I shared with my friends. Though we didn’t fight crime like the Avengers, we did have some super adventures. I guess that’s why so many of the stories I write have kids and young teens. The cover price of Marvel Triple Action #14 is 20 cents, while the current value is $6.



Cool comics in my collection #203 (One That Got Away): Fantastic Four #168, March 1976.

“REPLACED BY POWER MAN!” Due to excessive gamma ray exposure from the Hulk, Ben Grimm has reverted to his previous form as an ordinary human being. So he gets what he always seemed to want, his normal life back, but at the same time he also loses something. The Fantastic Four have always been more of a family, rather than a team. But in life, things change. And at the time I bought this comic, things were changing in my life. My neighborhood pals and I were getting older, new kids moved in to our lives, others moved out, parents and grandparents faced health issues, and we had to decide if it was still cool to buy comic books or not. Well, we kept reading them a little longer, but it wasn’t the same. When I reflect back on my childhood, I tend to reminisce in an optimistic fashion. Why do I want to think about fights, and friendships coming to an end? Yet looking at the cover of this issue, I can’t help but remember that things don’t always turn out the way we want them to. Nevertheless, with change comes growth, helping to form and shape us—prepare us—for the life we must eventually face as adults. It’s rare when I reflect back on my childhood and ponder the negative, because I have so many bright spots of memory to keep me smiling. The cover price of Fantastic Four #168 is 25 cents, while the current value is $12.

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