Marvel Team-Up #13

 

Comic: Marvel Team-Up #13

Where Purchased: Most Excellent Comics & Gaming in Enfield, Connecticut

When Purchased: September 26, 2024

When Read: November 2, 2024

I've never been a huge Spider-Man fan.  Only one series ever was in my pull list and that was 2019's  Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.  And that I picked up because of the writer...which I am pretty sure I told him on social media when it was coming out and had a pleasant back and forth with him.  

Marvel Team-Up is another one of those books that I had picked up issues here or there...when a character I liked would guest star or if I needed a sympathy buy at a store I stopped in.  And then it reached the point that I had enough of them to justify adding the missing ones to my Want List in an effort to complete the series.

Which brings us to issue 13.  This was a fun little romp.  I like the way the story unfolds in that Spider-Man comes across some bad guys who exclaim "No...not him!  Not him, too!?!" when they see him.  I like that, in theory, there could've been a whole other comic running parallel to this that meets up at this point (ala Avengers Annual #14 and Fantastic Four Annual #19 in 1985) as Spider-Man finds out a few panels later that Captain America is fighting them.

I am not sure why I didn't pick this up sooner in my collecting history.  Avengers were my go to group (despite not collecting any of the solo titles) and the villain of this issue is the Grey Gargoyle who was the baddie in some of the first back issues I ever bought.

All in all, a story indicative of the time and a way to show the interconnectedness of the Marvel Universe.  I gave it a 7 out of 10 in the database.

I bought it at a cool little store in Connecticut called Most Excellent Comics & Gaming.  I first visited the store on Nan's birthday in 2019, at which time I picked up 15 gap filling comics.  I went back in November 2022 while Nan attended a photography class in Brattleboro.  I grabbed 33 gap fillers on that trip (and more at three other stores the same day!).  I am pretty sure I snagged a few action figures, too.

When we moved last year I was closer and able to go again in October after giving blood nearby.  The shop had changed a bit...back issues were a little less organized and a little less robust.  I was still able find some comics I wanted.  And when I stopped in around a work trip this past September, I found this issue along with some other issues on the want list.

As of today, this was the most recent issue of the title I have purchased.  With being able to check this off my list, I am only missing issues 2, 3, and 15.  All are obnoxiously hard to find at a reasonable price right now.  But my fingers are crossed.

Marvel Two-In-One #90

 

Comic: Marvel Two-In-One #90

Where Purchased: Richie's Comic Cabana in Waterbury, Connecticut

When Purchased: May 4, 2024

When Read: October 29, 2024

For the longest time, for series like this or Marvel Team-Up, I would get the issues that either had characters I liked as guest stars or featured a creative team that I enjoyed.  And then titles like this became easy books to snag if I visited a shop that didn't have much to offer me but I wanted to buy something to support them.

Then I'd assess my collection and recognize that I was getting near a full run so the missing issues would end up on my want list so that I could complete the run.  This series is now on the "Need to Complete" list so when I found this in the wild it was an easy pick up.

This is a fairly standard, straight-forward comic from the era.  Basically, Spider-Man and the Thing team up to fight a medieval wizard that possess a Renaissance Fair magician. Written by Jan Strand who also wrote a mini-series about the Atom for DC around this time that I really liked and have been hankering to reread for a while now.

I gave it a solid 6 out of 10.

I picked it up on Free Comic Book Day this year.  One of the benefits of our move is the proximity to so many comic shops.  I'll save the big story about this year's adventure for another time.

One of our stops was at Richie's Comic Cabana.  I had ordered a few comics from Richie's via eBay the previous August.  I'll share all about that purchase sometime soon, too.

But I knew about the physical location and we made it one of our three stops.  It was delightful chaos.  So many great books and such great prices. 

And after a few other recent purchases, I am only missing issues 2, 3, 6, and 8 of this series!  Nothing too crazy so I should stumble across them any day now!

She-Hulk #11

 

Comic: She-Hulk #11

Where Purchased: Earth Prime Comics in Burlington, Vermont

When Purchased: May 6, 2023

When Read: October 27, 2024

When I first started reading comics, She-Hulk was new to the Avengers.  I didn't know much about her but she fit into the group well.  I was intrigued when she joined the Fantastic Four and thought Byrne did a great job using her in that group's dynamic.  Her second solo series by Byrne was a delight.

She was on the Avengers again when I started collecting again in 2002 but her solo books didn't hit my radar again until a few years ago.

I am pretty far behind on a lot of books, hence this one sitting on my shelf for over a year.  Which is a shame because it looks like I was really enjoying this series when life got a little out of hand and reading new comics wasn't a priority. 

Which is a bummer because this issue reminded me of how much I've missed it.  Rainbow Rowell has a good grasp on this character and the supporting cast.  It is a lot of fun, there is a little bit of mystery, some romance, some fighting.  I gave it an 8 out of 10 and will be back before too long!

I have more comics in my collection that were purchased at Earth Prime Comics in Burlington, Vermont than any other store.  About 1 out of every 6 comics I won came from Earth Prime.  It was the first comic store I ever visited, shortly after they opened in 1983.  When I was growing up, the folks at Earth Prime would hold direct sales only books (like Dark Knight and Watchmen) for me and my two best friends that my grandfather, who lived in Burlington, would pick up and hold on to until I visited.

I had a pull list once I moved to Burlington to attend college but when the two owners had a falling out, I followed one to their new venture (Crisis Comics) across town.

I stopped collecting for a while even before Crisis closed down in the late 90s.  When Nan convinced me to start getting books again in 2002, I went back to Earth Prime and started back in.

Early on, Earth Prime was great for back issues.  When I went back in 2002, it was for new books.  Back issues weren't their thing.

And there were some rough years.  It wasn't always inviting to "others"...especially women and kids which was...odd.  But through a host of managers and employees, I always liked shopping there.

The last year before we moved was harder, as employee turnover and changes to the business made me start to feel like an outsider.  But the place is ingrained in my DNA...even if I'll probably never visit it again.

The post script for this story is that Chris Farrell, one of the two original founders, passed away recently.  It was a poorly kept secret that she had a complete collection of every DC Comic ever published.

I wrote her a letter before we moved and I hope the employee I gave it to sent it to her.  While she would have no idea who I was, she was a very important person in my life.  From the kindness she showed my grandfather all those years ago up to providing me a place to keep up with my love of comics, I will forever be indebted to her.

Here are a few links about the store (https://sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/origin-story-how-burlingtons-earth-prime-comics-helped-unite-vermonts-comics-lovers-35006000), about Chris (https://vtdigger.org/2024/10/11/with-a-massive-comic-book-collection-up-for-sale-fans-remember-the-woman-behind-it/), and about her collection (https://www.sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/a-look-inside-christine-farrells-rare-comics-collection-42069251)

Mystique #1

 

Comic: Mystique #1

Where Purchased: Comic Kings in Virginia Beach, Virginia

When Purchased: October 21, 2024

When Read: October 26, 2024

Whenever I travel, I try to find a comic shop to stop in and visit.  There is a little method to my madness.  I'll search around an area with Google and Google Maps.  Take a look at the pictures that are available.  Do they have wall books?  Can I see prices?  Too many Pops?  Can I see the size of their back issue area?

We needed a stop on our way to the Outer Banks to break up the drive and stretch our legs before we found some lunch.

Well, Comic Kings had a lot going for it.  They have price tags on their wall books that you can clearly see via Google and things were reasonably priced!

So while Nan wandered a nearby Food Lion, I explored this cool store.  Back issues were reasonably priced and I filled a little gap in my Daredevil collection.  I also snagged an early Star Lord appearance in Marvel Preview.  

I also saw this issue of Mystique and grabbed it.  I am a sucker for variant covers these days.  And I do like Mystique.  So even thought this wasn't on my radar, I picked it up.

I miss the X-Men but couldn't crack the recent Krakoa era.  I have been picking up books from the new "From The Ashes" but this is the first one I've had time to read.  

I gave it a 7 out of 10 in my database.  This is a decent jumping on issue and I like the art.  Not a huge fan of using '90s creation Maverick, as I really don't know anything about him and not sure why I should care.  I'll come back for another issue, as the ending intrigued me enough to give it one more try...especially if I can find a cool variant cover.

As for the store, Comic Kings is worth a visit.  The owner was so nice and he shared that the price tags used to be hand drawn by his father until they decided to scan every number and print them out moving forward.  There is also some really cool art on the packages of bags and boards (which I am kicking myself for not getting, as they were also reasonably priced) all done by a younger, female employee who has a knowledge of older comic characters which wowed me.  Apparently, she has had some letters published in Saga giving Brian K. Vaughn the business!  I'll have to keep an eye out!

Cinema Sunday: Man of Steel and The Wolverine

I entered this weekend with a very short "To Do" list and nothing heavy on my portion of the family calendar.  It seems I've been non-stop since Thanksgiving.  I'm not complaining, just stating how it feels.

While school is going well, we've had 12 school days since the holiday break and we've had 10 days with inside recess.  And due to illnesses and vacation, my entire teaching team was intact only twice.

So given all of that, Logan and I pledged to chill this weekend and get in a couple of movies we've been wanting to see.

#129 on my flickchart

While I love the work DC has done with animated television shows and direct to DVD movies, I've not been a huge fan of the DC Movie Universe.  Haley and I went to see "Superman Returns" when it came out in 2006.  While there was parts of it that I liked, I just didn't understand some of the choices they made.  I've seen the first two Nolan Batman movies on DVD but that's it for mainstream DC flicks.  I did go see "Watchmen" its opening weekend but that is its own beast.

"Man of Steel" was a good flick.  I understand some of the criticism level at it.  Part of me is bothered by the things that were done to change the story enough to keep the Siegel and Shuster families at bay.  But all in all it was enjoyable.  As for the whole "Superman doesn't kill" brouhaha, now that I've seen it, I think it fits in with the story.  I'm eager for the sequel and to see where the expansion of the movie universe goes next.

#96 on my flickchart

While I enjoy the Marvel Movie Universe, I seem to be selective about what I go see in the theater.  I skipped the Iron Man movies and watch them on DVD.  I missed the first "Thor" but have seen "Thor: The Dark World" twice already.  I've already got "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" lined up.  As for the Fox side of things, I think I've seen them all in the theater or at the drive-in, with the exception of "X-Men: First Class" and both solo Wolverine movies.

I'm not sure why I sat this one out.  Probably financial reasons last summer.  I love the source material for this story and really like Hugh Jackman's interpretation of the character.  This one is a little heavier than most of the X-Men franchise.  Even if I wasn't already all in on "X-Men: Days of Future Past", this movie would have cinched the deal.

We also watched "Despicable Me 2"...but I dozed off for some of it.

Happy January!

January starts with me still having 8,781 total comic books tracked in my software.  While I have made a few purchases, I haven't had time to sit down and enter them into the computer.

Here are a selection of comic books I own with January cover dates.  Two I purchased when they were published, one was a back issue find and one holds special distinction in my collection.

1961

This is currently the oldest comic book in my collection.  We recently cleaned out Nan's grandparent's house.  There were some comic books involved.  After the cousins took what they wanted (I believe only one of her cousins took any comics), I thumbed through the remainders and ended up with 26 books that are tagged in my software as "The Riley Collection."

1976

My most recent "Holy Grail" comic.  It took me nearly 30 years to track down an affordable copy.  This one features the first appearance of Superman's alternate Earth cousin Power Girl and usually commands a hefty price.  I try to avoid paying more than $5.00 for any individual comic book.  In my whole collection, there are only 66 individual comics that cost more than this book. (I've only paid more than $10 for a comic 26 times).  I snagged this in March at my favorite comic shop, That's Entertainment in Worcester, MA.  I had won a $10 gift certificate for answering a trivia question, so snatching this up at $6.95 was a no-brainer!

1983

I was raised Catholic and have a strong Polish heritage.  Picking this up back-in-the-day was another no-brainer.  I mean, what 12 year old boy wouldn't be excited to find this on the stands!

1984

Two of my favorite things in the same comic!  And one of the first issues I got via subscription.

Challenge Accepted!

Recently, on his wonderful blog, Comics Make No Sense, Adam ran this Avengers cover.

Adam then wondered "Now just imagine how awesome that would be if you got rid of the dialogue, the sound effects and the "The Coming of Red Wolf!" blurb."

Well, I only have an old Paint program, but this is my quick and dirty version....

You can see where I had trouble blending and fixing things (especially Thor's helmet wing!) but all in all it was kinda fun...Makes me wish I had a decent editing program!

Happy Valentines Day!

via

This Date in History: January 1984 Assistant Editors' Month

via comicvine:

Beware: It's Assistant Editors' Month! Don't Say We Didn't Warn You!

In 1984, Marvel Comics had Assistant Editors' Month under the premise that the editors were away at a convention and the assistant editors had free reign to do as they pleased. This resulted in some memorable, wacky or just plain terrible stories.    

The comics were cover dated January 1984.  

Here are the ones I own....plus the black and white, pencil version of one of my favorites.....

During the fight in this story, there are 5 pages without any drawings, as it takes place during during a snow storm... just thought balloons and sound effects.

"Hey Guys, I know it's Assistant Editor Month, but let's not do anything too silly on the cover - 

Okay?

Hugs & Kisses

John"

via Marvel Comics of the 1980s

My Birthday Haul!

I think I may have neglected to mention my birthday was this past weekend...and this was what I got!

Three new Marvel Eaglemoss mini-statues:

Black Widow 

Invisible Woman

Medusa

Plus 100 comic bags and boards!  SCORE!

Blogging From A To Z: N is for

No-Prize

According to Wikipedia, "A No-Prize is a faux award given out by Marvel Comics to readers. Originally for those who spotted continuity errors in the comics... As the No-Prize evolved, it was...only awarded when a reader successfully explained why the continuity error was not an error at all."


The above book, published in 1982, collected some of the best, straight-up errors from Marvel Comics up to that point...some are better than others....the book is "narrated" by Stan Lee....the little yellow boxzes highlight the errors...

30 Songs in 30 Days: Day 15 – A song that describes you

I can't say this song describes ME per se, but it allows me to repeat a rather cool story I had heard recently.

When I first discovered "Magneto and Titanium Man" by Paul McCartney and Wings, my mind was blown. How could the two greatest things (at the time) in my life come together in such an incredible fashion?

Recently my favorite Friday destination (Comic Book Legends Revealed) shared the story.

"COMIC LEGEND: Jack Kirby had a special meeting with Paul McCartney in 1975.

STATUS: True

In case you were unfamiliar with the tune, on Paul McCartney’s 1975 Wings’ album, Venus and Mars…

there is a song called “Magneto and Titanium Man.”

It is a cute, fun song where three Marvel villains from the 60s commit a robbery.

Magneto…

Crimson Dynamo…

and Titanium Man…

The inspiration for the song came from the fact that while McCartney on vacation in Jamaica, he had to keep his kids entertained. So he and his wife Linda would buy them a bunch of comic books every Saturday. McCartney had been a comic book fan as a kid and now he found himself interested in these modern comic books (it is probably a bit of a stretch to say that McCartney was a “fan,” though) and they inspired him to write the above song when he got back to recording the album.

Later in 1975, Wings went on an international tour to support the new album. In June 1976, they made their way to California. Gary Sherman, brother to Jack Kirby assistant Steve Sherman (and therefore, friend to the Kirby family) thought that Kirby and McCartney should meet, so he came up with the story that Kirby had a drawing that he wanted to give to McCartney. Eventually, McCartney’s people agreed and Gary then, of course, had to tell Jack that he had to now do a drawing for McCartney!

Kirby being his typical awesomeness, he whipped up a great drawing of Magneto, Paul, Linda and the band in less than an hour.

Paul thanked Kirby for the drawing and thanked him for helping to entertain his kids during the vacation. He gave Jack, Gary and Jack’s daughter Lisa tickets to the show that night.

At the concert, McCartney introduced Kirby, “In the audience tonight we have the creator of Magneto and lots of other comic characters, and I’d like to dedicate this song to Jack Kirby” and then played “Magneto and Titanium Man.”

What’s awesome is that the Jack Kirby Museum actually has the drawing AND photographs of the meeting!

Here, courtesy of Rand Hoppe’s blog, is the actual drawing…

And here, courtesy of Rand Hoppe’s blog (via Lisa Kirby) is a photograph of Paul and Linda with Kirby….

Go the Kirby Museum here to see two more photographs!

Thanks to Steve Sherman for the scoop on the meeting (which he relayed in Jack Kirby Collector #8) and thanks to Rand Hoppe and the Kirby Museum (and Lisa Kirby) for the drawing and photos. I was planning on doing this bit for a couple of months now, but I should note that commenter mrclam suggested I do it a few weeks ago.

And thanks, of course, to Gary Sherman, who passed away a couple of years ago, for making the whole thing possible!"

Enjoy!

Magneto and Titanium Man by Wings

Dollar Bin Comic Finds!

Today was technically day one of vacation.  Homemade pizza for lunch, a round of indoor golf (my Valentine's Day present) and dinner at Moe's.

In between, we hit the mall and I raided the Dollar Bins.

Once again I grabbed some books for the kids.

Haley got a Batgirl story....

I picked up two Superman milestones for Logan, the John Byrne relaunch and "The Death of Superman"...

I continued my current John Byrne kick with these two...

...and my nostalgia kick with these two....

But tonight's mother lode included these two:

 

Batman #427, part of the infamous Death of Robin storyline, where his fate was decided by fans calling a 1-900 number to determine if he lived or died (SPOILER: He died.).  I know the story fairly well, but have never read it as it originally was printed.  I guess I'll be adding the other three parts to my Want List!

But tonight's jackpot comic....

One of my five favorite comics of ALL time!  I already own a copy, but I could not pass up a reading copy for $1!  And this way Nan can read it.  She has seen the EXCELLENT adaptation DC did in a Justice League Unlimited episode in 2004.

If you do not already know, this issue is entitled "For The Man Who Has Everything".  Essentially, the story has Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman visiting the Fortress of Solitude with gifts on Superman's birthday.  They arrive to find him him in a vegetative state with a large alien plant stuck to his chest. Shortly, the alien warlord Mongul is revealed and tells the heroes that the "Black Mercy" has put Superman into a coma, feeding him an extremely realistic dream based on his "heart's desire".  Interspersed with the scenes in the Fortress are pages of Superman's dream of living a normal life on his long-destroyed home planet of Krypton, happily married with two children.

What happens throughout the rest of the issue is one of the best examples of what comic books CAN be....

The Last Wishes of Mark Gruenwald

Bleeding Cool is reporting that on Wednesday at 9pm, Investigation Discovery's The Will: Outrageous Final Wishes will have a segment on the last wishes of Mark Gruenwald.  Gruenwald was an editor at Marvel Comics from 1978 until his death in 1996, at age 43. His will dictated that his ashes would be mixed in with a print run of the Squadron Supreme trade paperback. Even though I had bought the series when it first came out, that trade paperback was the first collection I ever bought!  It is on my bookshelf upstairs!


His Wikipedia entry reveals quite a few things that I did not know:

The Amalgam Comics book The Exciting X-Patrol #1 is dedicated to his memory. In the DC Universe, a building in Gotham City was named the Von Gruenwald Tower.   In the novel Captain America: Liberty's Torch (written by Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll), the lawyer kidnapped to defend the similarly kidnapped Captain in a mock trial before a militia is named Mark Gruenwald, and is described with the same general physical attributes and personality as the real Gruenwald. The lawyer acts heroically throughout the story.

In the pages of Fantastic Four, writer/artist Walt Simonson created the Time Variance Authority, a cosmic bureaucracy that regulates the Marvel Multiverse. Simonson paid homage to Gruenwald by having the TVA's staff all be clones of Gruenwald; no one could keep track of everything but him.

In volume four of Nova from Marvel Comics, the new director of Project Pegasus is named Dr. Gruenwald.

In 2006, Gruenwald was officially named the "Patron Saint of Marveldom" in the new "Bullpen Bulletins" pages.

My Birthday Haul

Nan and the kids got me these two AWESOME t-shirts from Target for my birthday last week.

And a new toothbrush!