Tales from the 25¢-50¢ Bin!

Hello fellow Hordytes! And welcome to another edition of Tales from the 25¢ Bin, or what we may be forced to rename Tales from the 25¢-50¢ Bin due to the fact that my favorite local used bookstore has seemingly decided that their cheap-o bins weren't making them enough scratch, and so what were once piles of comics for a measley quarter each, are now piles of comics that vary from 1/4 to 1/2 a buck. 

I guess this was inevitable. But it does make me a little sad. It won't stop me from buying comics from them, but I will be a bit more choosey from here on out, because I'll buy just about anything remotely interesting for a quarter, but for some reason, as soon as it hits the two-for-$1 range, I get all stingy like a Great Depression baby. 

Anyhoo, that didn't stop me from bringing home a pretty epic haul the other day. I actually snagged a bigger stack than this, but I thought today we'd just take a look at all the comics I nabbed from the much-loved (by me, anyway) and long-gone Gold Key comics.

First up we have The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan. I have vague memories of this cartoon which was basically the cartoon version of a somewhat racist portrayal of a Chinese detective from a series of 1940s movies, but if he had a buttload of kids. You know, just what kids love.

Next up are a couple of issue of Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery. These sort of weird tales had nothing to do with Boris Karloff, he didn't write them or draw them, nor were the stories even about him, but his picture was on each cover and a little drawn version of him introduced each story like a dapper Crypt Keeper. Odd as all of this sounds, I used to love these comics when I was a kid.

Next we have two issues of The Funky Phantom, which was about a gang of mystery solving teenagers (really, Hanna-Barbera?) that hung out with a colonial-era ghost in a tri-corner hat. You know, just what kids love.

 Here we have an issue of Walt Disney Showcase featuring Mickey Mouse playing the Watson roll in a Sherlock Holmes-like story. I bought it because I love Mickey Mouse, and I may be crazy, but I swear I had this very issue when I was a kid.

Next up are three issues of a comic I loved to death as a kid. I adored Ripley's Believe It or Not collections of the classic newspaper strip and the mega-creepy show hosted by Jack Palance when I was a kid and the few issues of this comic book, which focus solely on "true" ghost stories, that I had back in the day were especially treasured. 

These classic Scooby Doo issues are like gold to me! I've long been a fan of the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You? animated show and these comics, which came out around the same era (pre-Scrappy Doo, pre-Pup Named Scooby Doo) still have some of that classic spooky vibe.

And finally, I picked up this issue of Turok - Son of Stone, which is about a Native American who still lives in a land of dinosaurs, because like I mentioned before, I'll buy just about anything for a quarter.

That's it for this haul, kids! Check back for more Tales from the 25¢-50¢ Bin!

One Seriously Awesome 25¢ Bin Score!

I have found some gems in my day in the 4-for-a-buck bin, but today's find deserves a post all unto itself.

There I was, flipping through the usual unwanted issues of X-Factor and anything from valiant comics, when I found myself staring right at this particular comic book...

I thought, "Oh cool! An early issue of Swamp Thing! I'll take that for 25¢!", but then I noticed something scrawled across the cover...

That, boys and ghouls, is the one and only Bernie Wrightson's autograph. In ink. On the cover.

KA-BOOM! You just don't find stuff like this in the cheap-o bins! I have been a massive fan of Wrightson since middle school when I first got my hands on a copy of the Creepshow movie adaptation. heck, the only reason I read Stephen King's Cycle of the Werewolf was because it was illustrated by Bernie.

I would have bought this comic anyway, but the fact that it was signed just blew me away. Someone stood in a line, possibly shook his hand, said hello to the man and then got this well-read issue of Swamp Thing signed, and somehow it ended up in a use book store cheap bin.

Well, it's mine now, and will take a place of honor among my collection.

Besides, I'm excited to read about Swampy and Bats' meet-up!

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.

Tales from the 25¢ Bin! Groo the Wanderer!

I think I have told of my discovery and instant love for the classic Sergio Aragones character Groo the Wanderer. But to recap: When I was 12 years old and really starting to become a serious comic book collector (along with a couple of other friends), I discovered Groo in a stack of cheap comics at a flea market while on a trip to my friend's family's cabin. I picked them up and we spent the weekend in our room (it rained the whole trip) reading and re-reading our recent comic book haul, and it didn't take long to decide that the Groo comic I grabbed were some of the greatest comics we have ever read.

It had harrowing adventure, thrilling battles and piping hot cheese dip!

So, to this day, I can't pass up a cheap copy of Groo (and am seriously courting the idea of trying to collect the entire run again) whenever I see them in the 4 for a dollar bin.

Here's my latest haul...

 

 

 

 

Tales from the 25¢ Bin! Battlestar Galactica Edition!

I have been having so much unbelievable luck at the 25¢ bin lately, that I'm going to have a hard time catching up blogging about them all. But that won't stop me from trying. 

Today, we're talking about a score that's practically bubbling over with late-'70s awesomeness, issues #2-#5 of the Marvel Comics adaptation/continuation of Battlestar Galactica!

As a kid, Battlestar Galactica was always sort of a dopey cousin of Star Wars, but back then, when we were starving for more intergalactic battles and freaky aliens, Battlestar Galactica would do in a pinch. I had a few of the toys (I've often described the integration of my Cylon figure into my Star Wars action figure adventures, playing the role of Darth Vader's long lost son), and would watch the TV show when I could, but I was never a mad fanatic of the Star Wars knock-off.

I don't recall reading any of the comic s as a kid, but now, thanks to the cheap-o bin at my favorite local used book store, I can give these babies a whirl and see how they hold up. Actually, I think I need to find issue #1 first, but I think I may have it in my long boxes somewhere.

I better get to digging. I've got some retro reading to do.

Tales from the 25¢ Bin! Superman Edition!

I've talked about my life-long distaste for Superman several times here on the blog, and I've also gone into how over the past year or two, that distaste has somewhat dissipated. I think it has something to do with getting older. I've noticed that as I age, my dislikes have lost a lot of their venom and a small voice has begun to whisper out from the back of my mind things like, "But why don't you like it? Have you given it another chance recently? What could it hurt?"

I've done the same thing with shrimp and NFL football. Getting older is weird.

Anyway, I've dipped my toe into the world of Superman a little in the past year and my latest trip to the 25¢ bin seemed to me like a message from the comic book gods that it is time again to go a little deeper into the pool when I spotted these vintage Superman books. And since I do my best to pay close attention to what the comic book gods are telling me, I snapped them up.

First up is this issue of Superman Family from 1976. I love this issue because it reminds me of the era and style of the few Superman comics I remember having as a kid (often procured in batches from garage sales). Also, I was always a fan of these "family" books, especially the Batman Family ones, since you got several stories, often starring one of the more obscure characters.

Next up, we have a copy of a Superman comic from the time period when I really started hating the character. This came out when I was in 8th grade and by then I was a full blown Batman fanatic and as you know, when you're an 8th grader, everything is all or nothing. So I got it in my head that if I was a Batman fan, I had to hate Superman. Weird. But I will say one thing, I love the heck out of John Byrne, so this issue shows promise.

Next up is probably one of the greatest Superman covers I have ever seen. What romance! What elegant art! I'm gonna read the heck out of this one!

Here we see Supergirl being a douche. Whatever.

Now we're talking! This next comic has one of my favorite villains ever, Bizarro! I always thought that the concept that there is a twisted, backwards, evil doppelganger out there for everyone captured my imagination as a kid. I always want to read (and I have a vague memory of this) a comic where every DC superhero had a Bizarro of their very own. Imagine a Bizarro Batman! I wonder if I have a Bizarro me out there somewhere.

Ummm... I don't have much to say about this one. It was a quarter.

And finally, I grabbed this issue of Superboy. Can you believe that this is 100 pages of comic book for 50¢? Now we get, what? 22 pages? For $3.99? What a joke.

I never really understood Superboy. Is he just Clark Kent when he was younger? Then when did he start being super? I mean, there's a story here where he's a baby in a red cape, for cryin' out loud. Wouldn't people all over the world know about this Super Baby? And wouldn't they know he lived with the Kents in Smallville? It completely destroys his whole alter ego. And for that matter, when he was a boy, he didn't wear glasses. So he just had the same face whether he was Superboy or not. I'm so confused.

Anyway, that's it for this edition of Tales from the 25¢ Bin! Now I'm gonna curl up in my reading chair and catch up on some serious Superman action!