"Post No. 616"

Went by the local flea market yesterday during my lunch break and saw some comics in one cardboard box on the ground. The seller first said everything in the box was a dollar each, but then said the comics were 2 for a dollar. Notice there was several and asked how much for everything and got a lot of 40+ comics and magazines for $6.

Obviously he bought them during the time that "the death of Superman" got some folks back into comic book interest, and after pulling at least 10 books from this stack to consign to my yard sale quarter box, I still ended up with approx. 30 comics and 3 MAD Magazines from the 1990's.

Now, the 1990's had some interesting titles published. Unfortunately it also had some of the worst stuff imaginable by both DC and Marvel. DC glutted the market with everything they could with Supes, and Marvel flooded it with Wolverine, Punisher, Ghost Rider and X-Men crap that it was hard to really find anything decent to read back then. But this stack did show just a little of the highlights.

Within this stack was copies of DC's Impulse #'s 1 & 2, an enjoyable character now "dead" in the DCU after taking up the mantle of The Flash for a while. These issues were written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Numberto Ramos. Even though this series didn't last too long I wouldn't mind having some other issues in the run since they're sort'a fun. (Geez! There were actually 90 of those things published?! Unreal.)

There was a copy of Batman #528, illustrated by Kelly Jones, whose work I like on everything "but" Bats. I never did like the way Jones did those way too long and ponted ears on the cowl. But I'll admit I did like some of the covers he did for that character along the time of Bats getting his back broken.

Several early issues of the Image Jeff Smith Bone, which are always a good read, and two Bongo comics: Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Terror #1 containing stories by Mike Allred and Jeff Smith, and my pick of the lot; a copy of The Radioactive Man 80 Pg. Colossal #1, which had a great parody of "Grodd the Super-Gorilla, Detective Chimp, Congo Bill", etc. (illustrated I think by Scott Shaw).

There was a Hulk 405, by Peter David and Gary Frank, from that horrendous time when we had a handsome Hulk, and even a Beavis and Butt-head #14 with a slight "Beatles mention" that I listed over on the "you-know-what" site. Haven't read the MAD Mags yet, but I expect the usual silliness from those.

I did also get in that set of those first 10 color editions of the 1984-85 Eclipse Comics' Zot! and re-read those, which are still as fresh and great as I remembered them from now 23 years past.

Went back down to the market today but all I found was one of those 1985 Marvel "Bendies". This time I found Spider-man, which stands along with others of Wolverine and Captain America on my shelf (I think I only need one of The Hulk to complete a set of those, actually).

Yes, the 1990's were certainly not the most inspired time of comics to me. What with "The Death of Superman", the Batman/Bane thingy and the Spider-man clone series, topped off with all of those Marvel "Heroes Reborn" titles and just a ton of one shot titles that I can't say I cared for 90% of, but as with every decade it gave us a little light in the way of comic book entertainment.

And today after taking my mom to do a few errands I came back and dug up the weeds from her garden, getting that ready for Spring. Already her tulips and lilies are beginning to sprout and bloom. Killed me a nice, big, female Black Widow spider while I was at it ("regular" spiders, Da! Black Widows and "Fiddlers", Nyet!).