Sunday, September 16, 2012

Tales from the 25¢ Bin!

This edition of Tales from the 25¢ Bin brings us quite the eclectic array of comics from the days of yore. Let's jump right in, shall we?

First up, we have Beowulf the Slayer #1! I probably already have this one. In fact, I'm almost certain of it. But it wa sa quarter, you know? Besides, just look at that helmet. Who can resist a helmet like that?



Next, we have the Freedom Fighters #13. I have exactly zero knowledge about this comic, but sometimes I'll grab something out of the 25¢ bin just because it's got a little age on it and the artwork looks absolutely classic. You just gotta love any superhero team that has Uncle effin' Sam on it! 'Merica!


How about a little classic JLA? Here we see Flash, Black Canary, Hawkman and Bats getting put in the looney bin by Supes. I can think of a myriad of ways that anyone of these heroes could escape a simple straightjacket and prison cell. But whatever. Good thing they didn't try to stick Mister Miracle in there. Also, I miss the days when they would list the heroes that were in the particular issue by stacking up their floating heads off to the side.


Finally! My Madballs comic collection is complete!


Man, this is the Spider-Man that I grew up with. What a classic cover. I look at books like this one and look at the garbage that's coming out now, with their absurd anatomy or shocking grim-dark costumes or gratuitous T&A and think that comics these days can never hold a candle to books of yore.


Speaking of Mister Miracle, this book is an epic score for me. Slowly, my Mister Miracle comic collection is stacking up, the gaps are slowly filling in. What an awesome hero. I know I've said it before, but if I could be any superhero, even as much as I love Batman, I'd choose Scott Free. Oh, and don't worry, I read this issue, Barda snaps out of it.


As a kid, I used to devour the various old ghost story comics and these Ripley's ones from Gold Key were some of the best. I remember getting a bunch of these on a trip to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin once and my parents being concerned that they would scare me too much. But they let me get them and I remember spending an evening in the cabin reading a stack of ghost stories while the adults in my family played cards or whatever they were doing. I hardly slept that night, waiting for the spirit of a drowned woman to crawl out of the lake and pull me into the black deep.


I couldn't pass this comic up, even though it has clearly been marred by a vengeful sister armed with a ball point pen.


Yeah, I probably have this one, too. But it's worth the 25¢ just in case I need it.


And finally, much like the Ripley's Ghost Stories above, I just love eating book like this Witching Hour #76 alive. This cover is especially creepy to me, because it taps into my personal fear of large bodies of water and the deadly things that live in them.



So, that's it for this edition of Tales from the 25¢ Bin! But don't worry, I'm sure there will be more soon. That's just how obsessed I am with cheap comics.