Wednesday, June 15, 2011

New Old Comics

Here are a few new additions to the growing comic collection:

I managed to get a really nice condition copy of TUROK #18, which has a nifty and effective T-rex cover, and Turok wrestling a primitive caveman who is after his technologically superior weaponry.

I don't buy many Golden Age comics. When I do, I tend to stick to things like Disney books and work by Walt Kelly. But every once in a while I'll purchase an EC comic, if the price is right. This copy of FRONTLINE COMBAT #9 was in lower grade and I got it really cheap. It's in nice enough condition for me to read and it's packed with what you expect from EC--great artwork by some of the best artists ever to work in the industry, along with stellar writing from the likes of Harvey Kurtzman and company. This cover was by Mr. Kurtzman, who was probably the nicest comic book professional I ever met. Marvel had its house of ideas inside Jack Kirby's head. EC had its greatest achievements from the mind of Harvey Kurtzman.

Finally, I completed my collection of the Ditko run of BLUE BEETLE from Charlton Comics. This pair of books are in about very good condition, much lower than the other ones I landed. But good enough for me, since I read my books. It's nice to see what Ditko was doing once he'd left Marvel and was working for Charlton, for DC, and for Warren Publications (and others). His artwork was as good (in some cases better) as his Marvel efforts, but the lack of a keen editorial hand weakened his plotting and Lee's hip dialog is almost always missed.

BLUE BEETLE #2. Ditko pencils, but it doesn't look as if he inked his own work here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a FUCKING great dinosaur on the cover of Turok #18 Smith and I don't even give a damn. Truth be told I'm an 80's independent guy and my greatest love will always be Tim Truman(Scout, Grimjack)/Dave Stephens(DNAgents, Rocketeer) type illustrators plus the Judge Dredd(fucking love Judge Dredd and I have EVERY issue) Omaha the Cat Dancer, Axel Pressbutton, Mage, Cerebus, and from the mainstream I loved ROM, I just loved him.

When I read ROM Bob...I WAS FUCKING ROM. I was a humanoid/cyborg hybrid voluntarily enslaved into an existence with singular purpose that would not be denied. Dr. Strange too. Loved the Dr. and do you know what?...not a single issue from ANY of these serials is worth a goddamn plug nickel but try and take one and I will rip your balls off so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world.

Those comics PULLED me to the Va Beach shops each and every week and I dropped a good $20-$30 each trip on independents and my wife swore sometimes but, clearly, I was forgiven. It was well worth it.

Take care of that knee.


PS. Oh yeah, check it out.

http://bit.ly/jPuZSy

James Robert Smith said...

The painted TUROK covers were the best!

I was selling comics for a living during the 80s, so I was rather jaded about the output in those days. It was a good time for the comic book industry, though, with sales climbing toward numbers comics hadn't seen since the 1950s. Who knew it would all implode and that even Marvel would come close to folding at the new millennium?