Welcome to Cool Comics in My Collection Episode 93, where we take a nostalgic look at comic books I currently own, and in some sad cases, ones that I let get away.

For each of the comic books I include in this blog, 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), with a maximum of seven issues. Repeat guest hosts are permitted and encouraged. Send your completed blog to edgosney62@gmail.com.

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 93…

Cool Comics News!

Though DC and Marvel dominate in the comic book market, Cool Comics likes to add fun to the mix from time to time, so this week is all Archie comics, from regular sized to digest sized to digital. And for those who can’t get enough of the superhero set, next week I’ll be starting coverage of yet another collection of eight different Walmart 3-packs that contain variant covers. Approximately every other week I’ll update you on each of the sets (and the first pack I opened this week had a doozy of a surprise!).

Cool Comics

Cool comics in my collection #451: Riverdale #3, July 2017.

Riverdale is a nice companion piece for fans of the CW TV series. And like the TV show, it’s definitely an edgier Archie cast of characters. Having read the exploits of everyone’s favorite teenager while growing up, it’s interesting to see him and his pals done a different way. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica from the past. Along with the comics, they had a few Saturday morning cartoons I loved to watch, and I even learned some history from the gang on “U.S. of Archie.” But the world is a different place, and now, so is Riverdale. At least in this iteration. The next season of Riverdale is a long way off, and this comic will help you get through those many months of waiting. The cover price of Riverdale #3 is $3.99, while the current value is $4.

Cool comics in my collection #452: Afterlife With Archie #10, October 2016.

And talk about Archie done differently! This series really ups the ante, with Riverdale facing a zombie apocalypse, and no one—I mean no one—is safe. This issue takes a look at some characters we hadn’t yet met in this alternate Riverdale: Josie and the Pussycats. So would these innocent girls fall victim to the monsters wandering the streets and woods? That’s yet to be seen. Instead, we are given a look at how the band formed. This comic starts off with Josie being interviewed, and when the reporter asks her to start at the beginning, she goes back to her birth…in 1906! What? Yes, Josie and her musical cohorts are more than meets the eye. By the end of the comic, the three are on an airplane bound for Riverdale. When warned that the town is undergoing mass riots and other unknown problems, they insist on landing. Looks like things are really going to get interesting now! The cover price of Afterlife With Archie #10 is $4.99, while the current value is $5.

Cool comics in my collection #453: Riverdale Digest #1, June 2017.

Following the success of Afterlife With Archie, the teen from Riverdale got a facelift in his own “Archie” title, modernizing both his look and the way the stories were told. Next up was his best pal, Jughead, and soon Betty and Veronica, Josie and the Pussycats, and even Reggie himself were all sporting new titles for the 21st Century. And with the advent of the Riverdale TV show and the Riverdale ongoing comic series, Archie Comics packaged together the five new titles into a nice little comic digest series, calling it Riverdale Digest, with a subtitle to attract TV viewers that states, “Stories that inspired the new show!” Comic books aren’t cheap these days, and for new readers, this is a great way to follow these stories for just $5.99. Not bad for all five of those titles. If you have old eyes like me, it can be a bit of a challenge due to the small print (maybe I need to invest in a magnifying glass). But I grew up reading Archie digest comics, and even though the stories are so different, just holding it and knowing what I’m reading brings back great memories. The cover price of Riverdale Digest #1 is $5.99, while the current value is $6.

Recently Read Digital Comics

For years, Betty and Veronica competed for Archie’s attention. Then in 1982, Cheryl Blossom made her debut, and Archie added a redhead to his possible love interests. In December 2013, in Archie #650, his band, The Archies, is on a world tour, and he meets Bollywood star Amisha Mehta. And it seems that Archie is in love yet again. This is the first of a four-part series, which was free via the Archie Comics App, so I have no idea how things end up for Archie. While I appreciate that Archie Comics offers the app and digital comics (especially some free ones, which allows consumers to give them a try), it isn’t nearly as user friendly as the comiXology app. I really don’t like using it, but I wanted to have an Archie comic to go with this themed week. You can read Archie comics through comiXology, but not the issues they offer free from their own site. I can only hope they update the technology sometime in the near future.