Confession time...my interest in the weekly deluge of new comics has been on the wane for some time, with more titles falling under the ax every month, it seems. However, my interest in collecting older comics remains undiminished. In fact, if anything, it's stronger than ever...especially with a great marketplace like eBay around. So, instead of jumping on the bandwagon and talking about the new comics I bought this week, I thought I'd brag up some of my eBay winnings over the past couple of days. I mean, like proud grandparents flashing around photos of their grandkids, collectors love showing off their prizes, right?
Okay, here's the latest and greatest (click on the images for a larger look):
1. A nice trio of Bronze Age Marvel Team-Ups. These issues were published right about the time I started collecting comics (1975). In fact, the middle one is the very first Spider-Man comic book I ever purchased new (being a recent Electric Company convert). Considering the seller only wanted 1¢ each for them (that's right....one cent!), and only $1.75 shipping for all three, this one was a no-brainer. Heck of a deal and three solid stories (including the one where Hercules pulls the entire island of Manhattan with a giant chain)!
2. Amazing Spider-Man #115 (1972)
Reasons to buy the issue:
(A) I absolutely adore this era of Spider-Man (late Silver, early Bronze).
(B) Doc Ock is one of my favorite Spidey villains.
(C) John Romita Sr. (a.k.a. "Perfection Personified") not only did the pencils but the inks for this issue...and believe me, you haven't experienced a Spider-Man story until you've seen him on both.
(D) Aunt May's packing heat.
(E) It was only $5.00...with Free Shipping! Who wouldn't buy this?
3. Amazing Spider-Man Annual #9 (1973): I've been after this companion piece to the magazine-sized Spectacular Spider-Man #2 for some time (which I blathered on about here). It features the same interior story (minus seven pages), and a line art version of one of my favorite cover images...and at only $3.00 with reasonable shipping, I was compelled to make a bid. Surprisingly, the bid held up and I won it!
4. The Lone Ranger #76 (1954): What a fantastic cover, huh? I actually owned this issue for quite some time before I decided to give it to my dad for Christmas one year*, and I've been looking to replace it ever since. It's somehow reassuring to know the Ranger was on the right side of the Civil War (pity the Confederate soldier in his crosshairs). Throw in an American flag, and this cover is pushing all the right buttons with me. Better yet, the "Buy It Now" price was exactly the same as the opening bid price (which normally doesn't happen), so I scooped this one up no questions asked.
* Yeah, my dad's always claimed he never owned a single comic book as a kid, so I figured I'd give him his official "first comic book". Since he was a western fan as a kid and I'm a superhero fan, I thought the Lone Ranger was the perfect synthesis of the two genres. Dad got a big kick out of it.
5. Fantastic Four Annual #2 (1964): Like the Lone Ranger issue, this is another replacement. I foolishly sold my first one on eBay five or six years ago when I was still in the grip of "E-Z Sell Fever". When I was getting decent money for sought-after comics, it became easier and easier to justify selling many of them. For the most part, I made good decisions on which ones to part with, but this is one of them I've regretted selling. So much so, that when I saw it for under $10 yesterday evening, it was as good as mine. I mean, when you're as big a Doctor Doom fan as I am, owning the issue that first revealed his origin story is a given. Plus, I've always been a sucker for those symbolic "looming supervillain with heroes in his grasp" covers....so come to papa!
So there you go. All great additions to the collection. Be sure to drop me a comment on some of your own "recent acquisitions" as well!