Now originally, Comics I Bought Today was supposed to be a quick snapshot of comics I bought on the day I wrote the entry. But then I went and bought some back issues at the comic book store and then yard sale season hit, so I got way behind.
So, this entry is an attempt to catch up on all those trips plus a regular Wednesday… wish me luck!
Teen Titans No. 71 —The latest issue of the Teen Titans saga features Ravager, a character I’m not terribly interested in. I got it just to keep up the collection. Purchased at Comics Store West.
Amazing Spider-Man Family No. 6 — This had Jackpot on the cover. I only read the first Brand New Day story, and I wanted to see what happened to her. From a brief scan, it looks like she died, but this explains a little more about her. Purchased at Comics Store West.
Astro City Dark Age Book Three No. 1 — It’s been so long since an Astro City book came out, I have no idea where this takes place in the series. Are these any good? Purchased at Comics Store West.
The Magician’s Wife — Bargain bin purchase. Originally published in 1987, it’s the creepy story of a magician’s hold over his assistant. It’s creepy in the interpersonal way, not in a horror way. This was OK, but not as good as I expected. Although it was written by an American, it’s a very “French”-style of a comic. Purchased at Comics Store West.
Roxanna & The Quest for the Time Bird 2: Temple of Oblivion — A while back, I picked up No. 1 in this graphic novel series, and I must not have remembered how bad it was because I picked this up as well. I’ve tried reading it several times now, and I just can’t get into it. Illustration style is wonderful though. Purchased at Comics Store West.
Roxanna & The Quest for the Time Bird 4: The Egg of Darkness — I bought this when I bought No. 4. My mistake! Purchased at Comics Store West.
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck No. 8: Carl Barks Library — Among comics’ historians, Carl Barks is one of the greatest illustrators. This is my chance to find out. Purchased at Comics Store West.
The Mercenary: The Cult of the Sacred Fire & The Formula — Over the years, I’ve picked up a few of these and I always love the gritty machismo of these books. They’re basically Conan stories with the serial numbers filed off. And, of course, painted comics instead of pencilled. Purchased at Comics Store West.
The Thief of Bagdad — When I read this was illustrated by P. Craig Russel, I picked it up without looking. Whoops! This is a novelization of the “Thief” story, with spot illustrations by Russell. Oh, well, should be good nonetheless. Purchased at Comics Store West.
True Story Swear to God — I’ve always heard good things about these. A bargain bin purchase was my opportunity to try it out. Purchased at Comics Store West.
The Art of Mitch Byrd Volume One — I always liked Mitch’s art in his cool book Cat & Mouse. I was very impressed with his fantasy and sci-fi work here. If he produced a monthly comic with art this good, he’d be a big seller. Purchased at Comics Store West.
Robert Silverberg Nightwings — I’ve picked up a few Silverberg books here and there, and always liked them. This is the DC Comics adaptations of one his books. They did fantasy and sci-fi adaptations for a while in the early 1980s, and every one I’ve picked up has been quite nice. I wonder how many of these they did? Purchased at Comics Store West.
Transformers: End of the Road — Another Ollie’s Bargain Outlet find. This is another reprint from Titan. I don’t know if I’ll like these, but at $2.99, it’s hard to refuse. Purchased at Ollie’s
Flash Gordon: The Ice Monster — I found this for 25-cents. It’s a paperback version of Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon comic strip. Great deal! Purchased at a yard sale.
The following books are invdividual issues that I mostly got at yard sales. Sorry, I’m not looking up a link for each one:
The Defenders No. 124 — I very likely alread own this, but this issue featured a wonderful cover showing two of my favorite Defenders: Valkyrie and Gargoyle. Too bad the stories in this era were so crummy. Purchased at Comics Store West.
The Mighty Thor No. 265 — Thor versus Destroyer. That’s gotta be good, right?. Purchased at Comics Store West.
Nights into Dreams No. 1, 2, 3, 4 — Looks like some video game comic. It’s from Archie comics. Any ideas?
Purchased at a yard sale.
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Giant-Sized Annual No. 7 — I loved this with all my heart. It proves, once again, that the Puma is a very interesting foil to Spider-Man. And I think he’d do just fine without Spider-Man in the picture. Can we get a Puma miniseries or something? Purchased at a yard sale.
Steve Rogers Captain America No. 2 — I probably have this, but I purchased it in big pile of other comics. Purchased at a yard sale.
Captain America Sentinel of Liberty No. 6, 8, 9 — I very likely alread own these too, but I’m not so sure. A few of these feature the falcon in a reall bad uniform. Purchased at a yard sale.
Aquaman No. 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 1000000 — Issues from the 1990s, which are probably my least favorite Aquamans. The beard and harpoon just didn’t work for me. Purchased at a yard sale.
Thunderbolts Distant Rumblings No. 1 — Strange, here’s a T-bolts series I never heard of. It appears to show some 1940s era activities of Zemo, Hydra and Namor. Purchased at a yard sale.
Thunderbolts No. 3 — Whoops, another accidental purchase. I definitely own this one. Thunderbolts was a damn good comic. Go out and buy them. Purchased at a yard sale.
Superman Red, Superman Blue — I kind of thought these costumes were pretty neat. I’ve been meaning to buy some of the recently released action figures of them. Anyway, one thing I didn’t like was the hype surrounding this change. What a bunch of baloney! Same with cutting Wonder Woman’s hair and other silliness. Of course they’re going to go back to the status quo. Purchased at a yard sale.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow No. 9, 11, 12, 13 — I’m really hoping these prove to be interesting. I like Superman’s enemies, friends and cast much more than I like Supes himself. Purchased at a yard sale.
Adventures in the DC Universe No. 3, 4, 12, 19 — The animated style of DC Comics has always appealed to me. These should be quite cool since they’re all “Done in One Comics” and are kid-friendly. That’s my type of comic! Purchased at a yard sale
Daydreamers No. 1, 2, 3 — Wow, these look really neat. A rigellian, Howard the Duck, Artie, Leech and Franklin Richards. Should be fun. Purchased at a yard sale.
Secret Files & Origins: Superman No. 2 — While I generally didn’t like these, I’ve picked many of them up because they were the closest thing DC had to character guides. Unfortunately, each had a story or two and just a few pages of data. Purchased at a yard sale.
Team Superman No. 1 — Three tales of Superman’s pals. Cool. Purchased at a yard sale.
The Superman Madman Hullaballoo No. 1, 3 — Mike Aldred brings Madman to the DCU? Hmm, I’ll try that! Boy, remember when company crossovers were the thing to do? You don’t see that much anymore! Purchased at a yard sale.
Whew! I’m all caught up. Now, what will I buy on Wednesday?!?!
Might be working reverse here, but whatever.I got the Superman/Madman comic when it cam out, but I don’t remember anything about it. I love Allred’s art though.Man, do I miss the Adventure in DC Universe series. It was so good.Aquaman, I tried it, and didn’t like it.Mitch Byrd: I’ve seen his art in other places that I have I liked it, but man I hated his art in the Guy Gardner series.Astro City: I’ve always enjoyed this series, but it has been so long since the last one it is hard to remember what was going on.