Wonder Woman #239

 

Comic: Wonder Woman #239

Where Purchased: HasBeen Collectible Toys & Comics in Wilbraham, Massachusetts

When Purchased: November 16, 2024

When Read: December 4, 2024

For most of my collecting history, it has always been about getting MORE comics.  It has always been a rare occurrence for me to part with any.  I recently shared with Nan about having to sell Amazing Spider-Man #129 during my first year at college to pay for a phone bill.  I remember an online connection losing their collection and several of us sent them books to help rebuild.  I know I sent some Legion of Superheroes issues.  I also donated some for a tax break a few years back.  And during the early days of the pandemic I would mail some to my friend Tyler but as he never mentioned getting them, I am not sure what happened to them.

Moving a collection of over 13,000 books last year made me realize that it might be time to do some thinking about all of this.  I am part of several online forums devoted to collecting and I often read stories of people selling or trading some books to work towards getting a grail or higher priced item.  Since we've moved, I have been able to trade a few hundred books for store credit at a couple of locations.

My current favorite place to do this is at nearby HasBeen Collectible Toys & Comics in Wilbraham, MA.  Located next to the famous Frame & Picture Shoppe, HasBeen opened about 6 months ago.  We discovered it on our way home from the Big E this past summer.  From the first visit, I knew I would like this store. Rik runs the place like I think many people of my generation would do so, even if he is about a decade younger than me.  He is affable, funny, and fair.  He doesn't do new books but his selection of toys, comics, and the like can't be beat.

I'm currently turning a critical eye on my collection in the hopes of trading for some early Avengers and X-Men he has in the shop.

My last visit was to bring in a small amount of books to test the waters.  I grabbed several smaller items and gap fillers, including this issue of Wonder Woman.  The cover reminded of one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes so I grabbed it and added to the pile.

Wonder Woman just misses the top ten of characters appearing in comics I own, coming in 6 issues behind The Thing to claim the 11th spot (788 appearances to 782 appearances).  She is the highest ranked female and third highest DC character.

This is a tale from Earth-2, set during the early days of World War II.  It is a part of a larger story arc, but it does a really nice job of bringing the reader up to speed through dialogue and editor's notes.  It is a little heavy-handed regarding equality but considering the era it was written, I'm impressed they tried tackling it.

It ends with a cliffhanger which I dig and has me adding the previous few issues to my want list.  I've got the next issue in my collection but I think I want to get and read the entire arc before moving on.