And Now...For Something New

I consider myself extremely fortunate that I have accumulated a sizable collection of Silver, Bronze, Copper and Modern Age comic books.

God has truly blessed and I give Him all the credit.  Trust me when I say that there was no way that I could have stockpiled such a collection on my own--I’m not that smart or wealthy.

Remarkably in all the years I’ve been collecting I’ve never paid more than $5 for any old comic book, and that was only once.

The balance of my collection I either bought the issues at cover price when they were published, had issues given to me, traded for them, found them or paid practically nothing for them at yard and garage sales.

No brag-just fact.

Scoffers may say that God had nothing to do with it.  I beg to differ.  I’ve seen and experienced things that by human standards would be considered impossible.

I see no reason why as a child of God that He wouldn’t grant me the enjoyment of collecting comic books-as long as He comes first.

My entire life is a testimony of the grace and goodness of God.  If it were not for Him I would not be here to enjoy His generosity and kindness.

Yes, there have been some rough times, but He’s always been there for me, even when it felt like He wasn’t.

To the point. 

As a comic book collector going on sixty years I consider myself fairly well versed on the hobby.

I’ve witnessed its highs and lows, its fads, the speculator fever pitch and the escalating prices for old comic books.

Everyone, it seems, who collects comic books is looking for ‘hot’ and ‘key’ issues.

That’s all well and good, but most are missing lesser ‘key’ issues.

It is my desire to start writing articles on a semi-regular basis that spotlight what I consider some ‘key’ issues that every collector should have in their collection.

I plan on picking out books from my own collection and briefly spotlighting what makes those particular issues important.

Most of the books are currently relatively inexpensive as compared to the ‘big’ ‘key’ issues, but they are important nonetheless.

Not quite a year after DC Comics instituted its Crisis On Infinite Earths maxi-series, the DC Universe was settling into its new streamlined continuity.

While Crisis set a base point by which DC characters restarted from, many of the finer details still need to be ironed out as far as character dynamics were concerned.

In Action Annual #1 writer John Byrne and artist Arthur Adams (some of his first DC work) collaborated on an unusual supernatural tale involving Batman and Superman.

Many consider this the first post-Crisis ‘World’s Finest’ teaming of the Dark Knight and The Man Of Steel.

In the annual the key differences between the characters are point one.

Superman was a glorified Boy Scout and Batman was the bad boy.

The two did not necessarily get along together or agree on crime-fighting techniques.

But, as the story progresses both Batman and Superman agreed to disagree and ultimately learned to respect each other.

Batman also saved Superman’s life.

The story centered on the activities in a small town where both Batman and Superman wind up investigating some mutual murders.  Batman arrived by intent, Superman (as Clark Kent) arrived because Jimmy Olsen’s car broke down.

Eventually the two heroes come across a young woman named Skeeter who was not what she appears to be.

It seems the murders involved her and her kin.  Fortunately Batman and Superman put a stop to her activities before she put the ‘bite’ on them.

I consider this a key issue because: it’s the first (or one of the first) post-Crisis team-ups of the two heroes, it features excellent art by Arthur Adams and sets up the dynamics between Supes and Bats for stories to follow.

My other ‘hot’ pick is 1978’s The Incredible Hulk Annual #7.

In this issue the Hulk teamed up with Iceman and Angel, took on the Master Mold and even bumped into Doc Samson.

The reasons I consider this a pivotal issue is that it showcases some of artist John Byrne's early X-Men and Hulk art and brings back the threat of the Sentinels.

Keep an eye out for some other ‘special’ appearances.

Both annuals feature early artwork by two of comicdom's premier artists, great stories and some important moments that would reverberate in the DC and Marvel Universes for years to come.