Guardians of the Galaxy 26

Written & Drawn by Jim Valentino (One of the founders of Image), this was actually one of Jim's last on the series.

That said, you don't have to have read any other issue for this one to make sense.

This issue does a good job of explaining how the team got together in the first place. The story mines stories from the 60s, 70s and 80s to tell the tale, but as I hadn't read any of those before reading this and it all still makes sense.

For those that don't know, the Guardians of the Galaxy takes place in the 31st century of the Marvel Universe, where men from several of the colonized planets of the the solar system unite to defeat an alien invasion, then remain together to defend, well the Galaxy.

The best character, in my opinion, is Vance Astrovik (Major Victory). In this reality he is an astronaut from the 20th century that was supposed to be the first man to travel to another star. (The trip takes 1000 years, but when he gets there it is already colonized by humans as they had discovered faster then light travel during his journey). What I loved when I read this initially (back in 1992) was that Marvel was also publishing a comic called The New Warriors, which starred Vance Astro (AKA marvel Boy and later Justice), an alternate version of this Vance who had mutant powers. The two crossed paths in another issue, that was a very rewarding to me as a reader of both series.

Anyway, this first run of Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty solid for the first 30 issues (there is a new volume running by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning I haven't read yet).

This one is $1.00.

Pitt #5

Story and Art by Dale Keown.

Straight out of 1995 is Pitt. An alien monster protecting a little boy, this comic pretty much sums up the 90s with the art being far more important then the story.

That said it isn't the worst excesses of the 90s where there was no story (Newmen, I am looking at you!) its just a matter of Keown's art is far, far stronger then his writing abilities.

If you want to look at some pretty pictures and aren't needing to read "The Watchmen", this is comic is worth your 100 pennies.

JLA 34 by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter.

What can I say about Grant Morrison's JLA that most comic fans don't already know? Not Much. I did edit an interview with Morrison where he was pretty modest about his JLA run. Seems he thinks the idea of putting the "Big Guns" of the DC Universe on the team was pretty obvious, but he still had to fight to get Superman, Batman, WonderWoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash and Martian Manhunter on the team.

If you haven't read his JLA, it is pretty much gold from start to finish (Okay, maybe the Rock of Ages storyline didn't work so well).

If you haven't, this is a great issue to start with. only $1.00

Legends of the Dark Knight #19

Written by Dennis (Denny) O'Neil and Drawn by Trevor Von Eeden & Russell Bruan.

Okay. This is Batman Vs. A Shark.

Need more? Really? This is the infamous Venom story line where Batman ends up using and getting addicted to "Venom". Which was later re-introduced in the Batman mythos as the drug Bane used when he showed up in the epic Knightfall story.

This issue is a bit more beat up then most I am selling, seems like there is some wrinkling in the lower 1/4 of the comic due to some moisture damage (still completely readable, just makes the pages a little stiff) but it is only $1.00 and if you hadn't noticed it features Batman VS. a freaking SHARK!

Ghost Rider #5 & 6

GhostRider # 5 & 6 are written by Howard Mackie and drawn by Javier Sataries & Mark Texeira.

(#5 cover by Jim Lee)

Say what you will about Howard Mackie (and I have said a lot of negative things about him) his ghost rider was hugely popular in the 90s.

While I hate his run on Amazing Spider-man for its lack of originality (Arthur Stacey? Jill Stacey? The Squid?), his GhostRider is actually pretty good.

In these issues, Frank Castle a.k.a. The Punisher team up to take down Flag Smasher (yeah, the villain is definitely not the highlight of this story). That said, the interaction between these two characters is pretty fun, as Mackie seems to have them down pat (maybe neither character has much depth...that probably helped, but there I go "hating" on Mackie again).

Are the they greatest comics ever? Not a chance. But this story is a lot of fun, and worth $2.00. (Cause each issue, like everything listed here, is a $1.00 each)

Thor #364

This issue was written and drawn by Walter Simonson, who was probably the greatest creator to ever work on Thor. I've only managed to read about half his run on the title, but every issue I have has been worth the time and money.

If you aren't familiar with his run on the series, Mr. Simonson introduced two of the greatest characters in the Thor family . The first is Beta Ray Bill, an Alien who is worthy of carrying Thor's hammer (something no other mortal has been able to do before). Beta Ray Bill has gone on to be used over and over again and is a fantastic part of the marvel universe.

The second character (kind of) is Throg.

Throg, who has been updated a bit recently in Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, first appears in this issue.

And as the cover would suggest, Throg is Thor, as a frog.

The premise is ridiculous, but some how Walter Simonson makes it work, and work well. Beyond that, I am not saying anything. If Throg ain't worth $1.00, then you sir (or madam) don't know what a good comic is

DareDevil #119

Written by Ed Brubaker and Drawn by Micheal Lark & Stefeno Gaudiano, this is the penultimate issue of Brubaker's run on the series.

This is the most recent comics I have posted yet (It is dated Aug 2009, though I can't believe it is that old! Seems as if Mr. Brubaker finished his run just a few weeks ago...)

Regardless, if you haven't read DareDevil in a while, you've been missing out. Ever Since Bendis took over the title about 10 years ago, this title has been an amazing read. And the hand off to Brubaker was pretty damn flawless. (I won't go into details here, but I was shocked at how Bendis left the character and impressed with how Brubaker picked up the story and continued it)

This issue has the Kingpin back in New York and attempting to regain his lost power. He and Lady Bullseye (Who is a better character then the name would suggest) are at each other's throats on the cover there, but it is Matt Murdock that is on bit of a rampage. Add in his business partner Foggy Nelson, his former employee Dakota North (with whom he has just had an affair) and the Owl (Yes, the Owl) and you've got yourself one hell of a drama going on.

$1.00 will get you this issue, but if you can find the rest of the run I highly recommend it.

Detective Comics #652 & #653

Detective Comics #652 & #653 were both written by Chuck Dixon and Drawn by Graham Nolan.

I wasn't a big Batman fan when Chuck Dixon started writing the series. Something about the character just didn't appeal to me, so I stayed away until Robin got his own monthly series. I have no idea why I was drawn to that comic, but I enjoyed Chuck Dixon's writing so much I have tracked down about half his run on Detective (which he wrote for almost 100 issues #644-738)

Fast paced and visually exciting, Mr. Dixon's Batman is one of my favourites. I have no idea why these comics aren't worth more money (I guess being published in the 90's means there is hundreds of thousands of copies out there) but I'm kinda glad they are as cheap as they are. Anytime I see a Chuck Dixon Batman comic I buy it. I know it is going to be a solid story. Infact, I react so quickly, I've often bought comics I already own. Like these two.

This story takes place towards the start of his run on the series, and has The Huntress guest star for 2 issues. It's always fun to watch these characters interact. She is trying to do good, and he is judging her the entire time....and she is sure she isn't going to measure up.

If you haven't read Chuck Dixon, then this is a great intro to his style. If you have, then you know any Dixon Batman is a good comic. $1.00 each, might as well get both.

AnimalMan by grant Morrison

Animal Man #18,19,21,22 written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Chas Troug & Doug Hazlewood.

This post proves that I am not selling crappy comics I don't want any more. This is Grant Morrison's AnimalMan. One the best comics ever made. I read his entire 26 issue run in tradepaperbacks that I had taken from the library, and liked it so much I have bought most of those issues individually.

If you aren't familiar with this comic, then I implore you buy these copies. For $4.00 you'll get a taste of what this comic was all about. Finding these issues anywhere else will probably run you $3-4 per issue.

Mr. Morrison took a relatively obscure character in Buddy Baker and explored ideas of super heroics, environmentalism and vegetarianism. In fact, according to Mr. Morrison himself he was trying to sort through his own beliefs at the time, and ended up changing his mind about a couple of things.

As a side note, in the same interview, he mentioned how stupid some people are when they said things like "I hope any scientist experimenting on an animal comes back as an animal that is experimented on" because, as he put it "How do you know that hasn't happened? that the animals being experimented on used to be scientists?" (I am paraphrasing)

Anyway, this is comics at their absolute best as written by one of the masters of the art form.

$1 each or all four for $4.

Ka-Zar #4 & #5 by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert

I am going to level with you, when this comic came out I avoided it completely. Ka-Zar? From the Savage Land? As an ongoing comic... Seriously? Well, I've since learned to just trust Mark Waid. The man knows how to write, and even characters that seem b or c list become fascinating.

And when I finally started grabbing back issues of Ka-Zar whenever I could find them, I ended up grabbing doubles of these two issues.

If you don't know anything about Ka-Zar or this series, then your best bet is to read Pipeline. Augie De Blieck Jr writes a great column on it, and to be frank, he does a much better job of it then I could.

This is a great series, and I can't recommend it enough. It is one of those comics that is way better then it sounds like it is going to be. And while Waid may have left the series after 14 or 15 issues, Christopher Priest took over for a while and kept up the quality.

Sad that I missed it when it was originally released, i am glad I have it now. And so can you....or at least issues 4 & 5 of it.

Project Superpowers #0

Project Superpowers #0 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, Doug Klauba & Stephen Sadowski.

This is a bit of a cheat. Unlike the other comics, which I paid a cover price of 2-4 dollars on, this comic only cost $1.00 when it came out in 2008.

It is the prologue to a grand story that Alex Ross and Jim Krueger came up with. Basically, they took a whole bunch of comic book characters that had fallen into public domain and bring them together in present day with an explanation as to where they have been since their stories were last published.

It's a pretty epic tale (the whole thing, not just this issue). Worth noting is that there is a complete story here. It isn't just 3-4 pages of story and then sketches like a lot of preview/prologue comics tend to be. There are 28 pages of story and then 4-5 at the end that are pinups/sketches.

I grabbed a couple of copies to give away (I tend to do that when I see discount comics....like the time I gave away 70+ Fantastic Four comics) but some how managed to bag and board this one with my own copy.

Well worth a $1.00 for the cover, let alone the story. So even if you don't get it from me, get it if you see it.

The Incredible Hulk, Drawn by Todd McFarlane

The Incredible Hulk # 336 & #337. Written by Peter David and Drawn by Todd McFarlane.

This is the first post where I am questioning the wisdom of every comic for a dollar rule I have imposed on myself. Surely any comic from Peter David's legendary run on The Incredible Hulk is worth more then $1.00? And drawn by Todd McFarlane? If you know who that is, you know this is worth a couple of bucks at least. And if you don't, google him, trust me this is a deal! So why am I selling it? Well, for one, I have doubles of each. And secondly, not every comic I am posting up here is going to be the greatest comic, but I want to make sure most are at least worth reading. And this two part story is definitely worth more then just reading. If I went to the bother, I could probably get 5-10 bucks for each of these in a store or e-bay. But I want sell quality here, not quantity. (The hope is you'll spend like $10 on 10 comics even if you aren't familiar with 5 of them, because you trust I am selling stuff worth owning)

The Grey version of The Hulk (it is still Bruce Banner, just a different manifestation of The Hulk) faces off against X-factor (back when X-factor was made up of the original X-men Cyclops, Jean grey, Iceman, Beast & Angel...though the last two don't seem to show up here) and while I am selling the comics separately, unless you are filling in missing issues in your collection, I recommend spending the $2 for both.

Peter David wrote this series for something like 10 years, and while each issues contributed to a long term story, it is nice to be able to grab something like these 2 issues and get a complete story. The best part is probably McFarlane's art but like the Madrox comics I posted about earlier, this is Peter David when he is at his best.

A McFarlance comic for $1.00? What the hell am I thinking.....i guess you could say I Have Issues.

Venom The Madness #1

Venom The Madness #1 by Ann Nocenti and Kelley Jones.

As you can see from the embossed cover and the "Ultra Cool First Issue" in the top right corner, this comic is straight out of the 90s.

Back when Eddie Brock was still Venom and Venom was a hot property for Marvel, they spun him out of Spider-man and into a series of mini-series. Though to be completely honest only the first of those (Lethal Protector) was actually worth the cover price.

That said, this isn't a bad comic (though it ain't a great one either). Venom/Eddie has taken to protecting a bunch of homeless people who live underground and falls in love with a lawyer. The plot is better then it sounds, but the dialogue is a bit clunky in spots, when characters are clearly telling the reader what they need to know, as opposed to talking, y'know, naturally.

As the Cover suggests, Venom takes on The Juggernaut in this story, but there is also an environmental subplot going on. Seems all the toxic waste in the area has created...something.

I can't say this is Ann Nocenti's best work (See the adjectively Spider-man #17 for that, where she makes a company wide cross over for The Infinity Gauntlet work brilliantly) and admittedly, this comic does fall victim to what ever it was that was 90s mainstream comics, but still worth a look at as there is a story behind the pretty pictures.

So keeping with the 90s feel: you should TOTALLY BUY this #1 COLLECTORS EDITION, EMBOSSED COVER comic that can only be described as "ULTRA COOL". It is only $1.oo, how can you go wrong?

Azreal Agent of the Bat #86 was written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Serio Cariello.

Azreal, for those who don't know, was the guy that took over being Batman during the huge Knightquest/Knightfall crossover in the 90s when Bruce Wayne had his back broken.

This story takes place much later,as Azreal had graduated to his own monthly comic after that story ended (and Bruce returned to being Batman)

This issue is towards the tail end of the comic's existence (It ended with issue 100) and while it isn't ever going to end up on anyone's top ten comics of all time list, it is a solid Denny O'Neil tale. The man was pretty reliable for quality as far as I have ever read....except maybe his Wonder Woman (and even then, I only say that cause he has said it wasn't his best work)

This is one of those comics that I wouldn't pay top dollar for, but well worth a buck or two (and as luck would have it, I'm selling it for a buck here!) As with most comics here, I am only selling it cause I have 2 copies of it for some reason.

Bullet Points

Bullents Points #1, written by Joe M Straczynski (Or JMS as he is often called) and drawn by Tommy Lee Edwards.

I don't recall it getting much buzz when it came out in 2007, but having just read this recently, I was throughly impressed. (I some how managed to grab 2 copies when buying a pile of comics, so I am keeping one and selling the other)

The basic story is how 1 bullet could change the entirety of the marvel Universe. I hate spoilers but there is a minor one in the next line, so skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know anything else. On page three JMS presents the change: What if Dr. Erskine (the guy that made Steve Rogers Captain America) was shot 24 hours earlier?

The story is a really, really good What If tale. Where one relatively minor change has a huge impact on a lot of key characters from Marvel. The ripple effect is surprisingly well thought out and a great read. The art a pretty good mix of modern day storytelling with a 1960's feel (as the story seems to take place in the 60's, which makes sense as that is when most of the Marvel universe came into existence)

The only negative I can really give this comic, is to truly appreciate it, you need to be familair with the comic book origins of the big Marvel comics (If you have only seen the movies, this probably won't have as big an impact on you) I'm a big fan of JMS' run on The Amazing Spider-man, which is why I grabbed this in the first place. So if you liked those comics, you'll probably like this one.

So I have Madrox #1 and Madrox #5 for sale. Both, like most of the comics I have posted here I would consider "Very Fine" but lets be honest here, if you are thinking you are looking for a financial investment, this is not the comic for you.

If you however, you want a fun/film noir type comic this is the choice for you.

It was written by Peter David, who I think swings between being a brilliant writer and a mediocre one. He has a lot of talent, but I have a read enough of his stuff to say he does, at time, seem to phone it in. (thought to be fair, I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, maybe some editors don't get him and change stuff) Regardless, Madrox is one of the times he is hitting all cylinders.

It is drawn by Pablo Raimondi, who I am completely unfamiliar with, but quite like here.

If you liked Peter David's X-factor in the 90s (and if you haven't read it, you should) then you will love this comic. Mr. David takes Madrox, the X-man known as The Mutliple Man and casts him as a private investigator in a film noir comic, set in the Marvel Universe. He then brings back some of the cast from the 90s X-factor and basically takes a great premise, and runs with it, clearly having fun the entire time. The dialogue is great as phrases are turned on their ear and you will find yourself amused constantly (maybe not laughing out loud, but doing one of those nose breathe/snort things you do when you read something funny)

Anyway, I won't spoil anything here, but this is a fun, fun comic. And went over so well it spawned a ongoing X-factor comic that is just as good. If you don't buy it from me, then keep you eye out for it elsewhere. Trust me, this is a good time.

(so why am I selling it? I lucked into find a hardcover version of it cheap, and couldn't resist)

So Why do I Have Issues?

A couple years back I formally started my own production company.

I'm a television editor, so decided I would get my poop together and actually treat my career as well, a career.

I knew what I wanted to do, I had the experience and the tech to do the job, all I really needed was company name. And considering production companies are a dime a dozen, I wanted a name people would remember.

After about 5 weeks of stressing, the best I could come up with was "Pumpkin Eater Productions" (playing on the Peter, Peter pumpkin eater crap I have heard all my life) and even that was a suggestion from a friend.

Then April, the love of my life, suggested "I Have Issues Productions". Which is a great play on the fact that I have tens of thousands of issues of comics, not mention my general lack of mental health.

And while I love the name for simple fact that people tend to remember it (which is gold to a freelancer), they best thing about the name is it lead me my dream job.

With all due respect to my current employer (and I really do love my current job), the greatest gig I ever had was on a Comic Book documentary series called Ink: Alter Egos Exposed.

I was asked to interview for a reality series (I think it was going to be called "Who's your Nanny") I introduced myself, we made small talk and they commented on my company name, which lead to the topic comic books.

And about 5 minutes later I talked myself out of the job.

As much as I love editing, I also know my strengths and weaknesses, and it was clear very quickly that the show they wanted, on the system they had, and in the time framed they needed it was not playing to my strengths. So I told them so.

I'm good at what I do. Actually, I'm really good at what I do, and part of that is knowing what is best for any given project. So I told the producer, I would gladly take the job (I was a freelancer, so you never turn down work), but I was not the best editor for them.

So I didn't get the job. But apparently the producer walked out of my interview and handed my I Have Issues Productions business card to another producer who had just started filming Ink: Alter Egos Exposed and told him "You have to meet this guy"

It was a 10 part documentary series about writers and artists that make comic books. And not just local people I had never heard of. It was the some of the best in the business. Brian Michael Bendis, Grant Morrison, John Bryne to name but a few. I worked my butt off on it, and spend many lunches just watching the raw footage cause I was so into it.

It aired on IFC Canada, SKY Tv in the UK and apparently in Russia!

I'll tell write more about it later (If you thought it was odd that the company name lead to the interview, wait till you hear what actually landed me the job)

For now why not take a look at the comics I have listed on this site.

$1.00 each, how can you go wrong?

Do I do it Right or by popular consensus?

Okay,

So this here is pretty much my ramblings about comic books.

I've been collecting for so long that I have far too many.

Too many in my collection and too many in my head.

I guess you could say, I Have Issues. (I'll explain the capitals later)

So I am selling off some of my comics for $1.00 each.

Not looking to get rich, just looking to make some space and to help fund my need to get more.

So the question is, as I figure out how to do this (I have never blogged before) do I do it right or do I do it by popular consensus?

I mean, Spider-man has a hyphen in it, but most people don't note that. So if I list a Spider-man comic for sale and some one does a search for "Spiderman" instead of "Spider-man", am I going to lose a sale? And this isn't a hypothetical question either. The first comic I listed here was Spider-woman Origins #2.

Then again, is it worth worrying about $1.00?

I dunno.

This is going to bug me for a while

My name is Peter and I Have Issues.