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.