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.