The Comic Bargain Thread

[MyPokerShirt]

Here's the deal:

A while back I picked up Giant Size Hulk #1 (During Planet Hulk), with two new stories and the classic PAD The Hulk: The End
Brilliant! Bargain! Amazing!

TODAY I picked up Giant Size Incredible Hulk #1 with two Roger Stern stories, one old and one new. Brilliant! Bargain! Sensational!

I also picked up Conan the Cimmerian #0 (the 99c issue) and it was an alright issue, stopped from being great because, well... nothing happened but stopped from being 'meh' becuase you can't go wrong for 99c!! (Actually I paid 75p, I'm British, but you get the point)

So why have I started a new thread simply to exclaim, explain and, well... bathe in my own glory and delight?

Because finding these cheap gems made me happy. And I wish to spread the joy.

So as and when you find them PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try posting any oversized issues, and any bargain gems as and when they come out or, if preferred, when you see them in the official solicitations.

That way we can spread the joy

OK, rules:

1) My main criteria is that the pricing has to be unusually low OR the comic unusually large AND the ratio of pages per dollar has reduced from a standard $2.99 or $3.99 23 story-page comic.

2) Any comic company is ok, not just Marvel. I mainly read Marvel so that is why the thread is here in Marvel-land, but note I bought a Dark Horse comic in my example above.

3) Quality does not matter. By all means post a review. Post ten. I don't care, but at least tell us the issue exists. That way you can have your opinion but other people can have theirs to. They can't if they've missed the issue at their local store, rarely get past their pull-lists or didn't see that massive 99c sign. The point of this thread is to spread knowledge (and thereby joy - wow I'm a hippy today)

4) The comics must be new, or new-ish. No 'bargain-bin' or sale stuff, unless its some company-wide sale (which doesn't happen in this industry so it's a moot point.)

5) I'm kinda crappy at keeping these things going but think this thread is a good idea, so by all means feel free to post away. Even though I've set rules I don't mind others being the major contributers. Heck, I'm gonna need you guys...


That's it! Unless I think of any more.

A short list to follow (hopefully)

 

[MyPokerShirt]

KING-SIZE HULK # 1
3 new tales and 2 old. Might have to go track this one down (for the old tales, not Loeb, I haven't gone insane)
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=8804

SKRULLS! # 1
64 pages, no ads, $4.99. That's a good dollar/ page ratio.
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9114

UNCANNY X-MEN # 500
Double-sized anniversary issue, $3.99
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9180

MARVEL ADVENTURES TWO-IN-ONE (currently at # 13)
This is an on-going, and is arguably not a bargain at $4.99 despite increased value on the $/page ratio compared to a standard issue. Therefore it shall only get a mention once.
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9143

HULK CHRONICLES: WWH (Currently at # 1)
Again this is a mini-series and is arguably not a cheap buy for the same reason at the 2 in 1 above. $5 is a lot of money for a comic.
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9115

THESE next two are good examples of why I think this thread is worthwhile:
I want to catch up on the new, controversial Hulk, but cheaply;
and I liked what I've read of Moon Knight but have never really got into it. Maybe an extra-large issue may help me do that. HOWEVER note that I cannot find the number of pages in this 'extra-sized issue' so the value of page/dollar may have actually gotten worse, breaking my very first rule! Maybe someone can help?

Hulk: Red Hulk Must-Have
This is more like it. The new, controversial series issues 1-3 collected inside for $4.99
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9455

Moon Knight # 20
Special extra-sized issue $3.99
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9458

 

[MyPokerShirt]

Coming soon:

August:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 568
NEW WAYS TO DIE PART 1
Double-sized! Venom! Woo. $3.99
Changed forever. Oh. Again?
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9436

KING-SIZE SPIDER-MAN SUMMER SPECIAL #1
2 stories and MJ is back. YAY! $3.99
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9297

September:
KING-SIZE CABLE SPECTACULAR #1
Self-contained over-sized, but $4.99?? Hmm... Jury's out on this one. Needs more info...
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9671

October:
MONSTER-SIZE HULK #1
More oversized Hulk! Yay! I finally get to read some Jeff Parker! Yay! Hulk fights monsters - puns galore! Yay!
$3.99 YAY!
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9946

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL # 25
Double size anniversary issue!
$3.99
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9963

GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #1
Classic material and guest stars and a Jeff Parker cover??
http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=10050

 

[Dark Victory]

a comic store about 5 miles away sells about every comic about 2 years and older for about a quarter. I spent about $60 the other day! Anyway I have to reccomend The Punisher kills the marvel universe. The X-Men are fighting off Skrull in Central Park and Castles family is killed and now he's out kill every superhero. It's a kind of short but still a great comic.

 

[THANOSRULES]

The ultimo Comic Bargains of All-time are What If? comics...

Some of the best reads in Marvel history there....non of them are worth or sell for jack and can be had cheap.

Also, as usual Night Thrasher comics are the best..

 

[Manic]

If you've got a Half Price Books store in your area, they usually have some old comics for ridiculously low prices. Just yesterday, I spotted what had to have been every Cable and X-Man comic printed during the late 90s.

The only real problem is that their comics are all used. You have to take whatever the comic guy before you sold to them. If you came to the store nearest me, you'd probably find a bunch of worthless OYL comics by DC. Not to mention that god-awful 2006 Heroes for Hire series I wasted so much money on.

 

[Bubonic]

Was this a good deal, I went to a random French Canadian "bd" store which mostly sells hardcover tintin and asterix and obelix stuff, but they had a small section dedicated to American comics.

I spotted a lot of good things, but what caught my eye was a four pack of Deathloks original mini series... I had scans of the reprint, and it had pretty bland covers.

But the ones I found today are dated 1 year before this "Deathlok Special", the contents are the same but all four covers are great... These pictures suck, but you get the idea... And its four different artist, all the books are paperback and in quite good condition.

Anyways I got all four for 6$ plus tax, so is that just about what I should have paid for them, more, or did I stumble onto a great find?

 

[Sugarculted]

My recent superb bargain? Four TPB's for £8. Some of those TPB's used to be sold for £16.

I freakin' love Forbidden Planet :heart:

 

[Phaedrus45]

Was this a good deal, I went to a random French Canadian "bd" store which mostly sells hardcover tintin and asterix and obelix stuff, but they had a small section dedicated to American comics.

I spotted a lot of good things, but what caught my eye was a four pack of Deathloks original mini series... I had scans of the reprint, and it had pretty bland covers.



But the ones I found today are dated 1 year before this "Deathlok Special", the contents are the same but all four covers are great... These pictures suck, but you get the idea... And its four different artist, all the books are paperback and in quite good condition.

But, you did get a lot of bang for your buck. It's nice when we get to pay lower than a comic should be worth, especially these old Deluxe Editions Marvel used to put out quite a bit in the early nineties




Anyways I got all four for 6$ plus tax, so is that just about what I should have paid for them, more, or did I stumble onto a great find?

Nope, you paid for them what they are worth. You can get each issue for 1.49 on mycomicshop.com in NM condition. I've also seen them in halfpriced books quite a bit, and if I remember right, I got them for about a buck a piece a couple years ago.

 

[Phaedrus45]

I found four copies of Watchmen yesterday at a lcs in Seattle, and only paid five bucks an issue. That's good, because on ebay, Watchmen prices are skyrocketting, where a full set of the series often goes for a bit under two hundred bucks.


Now, I just have to get six more issues to have the complete set.

 

[venom892]

www.Talesofwonder.com Has awesome deals on both hardcovers and softcovers.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I had a feeling I wanted to go to Half Priced Books the other day, and I was on the search for some Civil War comics from Marvel... as I missed that boat. I got there and found tons of Civil War comics (Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Young Avengers/Runaways, X-Factor, Wolverine, etc.) and bought them all. It was about 20 or 30 comics at $1.50 each. I filled a large chunk of the gaps I was missing. I think that's a great deal!

 

[Dark Victory]

I also just got every Marvel Knights: Punisher for like $25 they ranged from a quarter to a dollar. And any other old punisher stuff (War Zone, War Journal, etc...) were a dime each.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Yeah, Half-Priced Books is an amazing place to find some great deals. (But, you also notice the price you get on comics depends on which store you visit. There are 3 I go to within 30 miles of each other, and each one is different than the other. One wants WAY too much for their older comics...and, they have no idea how to price them in regards to their condition; while another can have some of the older, 40-60 cent comics in their normal half-off bins. I do hate when they put a sticker on the 25 cents ones, though.)

I have found a lot of the old Marvel Graphic Novels at Half-Priced Books, something that is nigh impossible to locate in a LCS. Recently, I got 3 copied of Avengers The Vault, which would cost you over 60 bucks online...If you can find any place that has a copy. Each one was half off the cover price.

 

[SonOfCthulhu]

If you've got a Half Price Books store in your area, they usually have some old comics for ridiculously low prices. Just yesterday, I spotted what had to have been every Cable and X-Man comic printed during the late 90s.

The only real problem is that their comics are all used. You have to take whatever the comic guy before you sold to them. If you came to the store nearest me, you'd probably find a bunch of worthless OYL comics by DC. Not to mention that god-awful 2006 Heroes for Hire series I wasted so much money on.

The Half-Price in my area has been selling bags of 30 comics for $6-$10. I got a pretty good run of Perez's Teen Titans and some neat stuff like Desolation Jones. On the bad, how many copies of Ravager 2099 #1 did they make and not sell?

Most of the cast-offs end up being reviewed in my comic crapbox, below.

 

[Phaedrus45]

The Half-Price in my area has been selling bags of 30 comics for $6-$10. I got a pretty good run of Perez's Teen Titans and some neat stuff like Desolation Jones. On the bad, how many copies of Ravager 2099 #1 did they make and not sell?

Most of the cast-offs end up being reviewed in my comic crapbox, below.

I have gotten two excellent deals from one of my half-priced books that sold a small box of comics for $25.00. The first was a Robin package, that included the miniseries and all the Robin comics, up to issue 102. The second was a Conan and Friends box, that had Conan issues as far back as issue 45, and included similiar comics, like Red Sonja from Marvel Feature and Kull The Conqueror.

 

[Bubonic]

Nope, you paid for them what they are worth. You can get each issue for 1.49 on mycomicshop.com in NM condition. I've also seen them in halfpriced books quite a bit, and if I remember right, I got them for about a buck a piece a couple years ago.

I'm still very happy with the purchase, I really liked Micheal Collins's Deathlok, and the format of these 4 books rock.

 

[Phaedrus45]

That's what I thought when I got those books. I love getting classic Marvel comics, especially those old deluxe format issues, for under $2.00.

BTW, my best deal I ever got was through ebay. I had bought a large collection of Superman comics, and noticed the guy lived about 50 miles from me; so, to save money on shipping and handling, I asked the guy if I could just meet at a location that was near where he lived. He said yes, and I got off work, and met him at the Tacoma Mall. I thanked him, and let him know I would keep on eye on future auctions he had.

Sure enough, he was selling two auctions that interested me, including a large collection of Silver Surfer comics. We did the same thing, I got off work, and drove out to the Tacoma Mall. When I got there, he told me if I wanted to come back to his house, he'd sell me a box of comics I wanted for a good price, basically $100.00. I said, "Sure, I'd love to see what you have," and off we went. He said he was going to be moving, and had to get rid of his comics to make the move easier. When I got there, he had 19 comic boxes with a whole lot of DC and Marvel comics from the 80's to current (at the time). I had no problem picking out a box of comics, and really wanted a whole lot more.

The next day, I get a call on my phone at work. The guy says, "I just want to get rid of my comics fast, and wonder if you'd like to buy the whole collection?" I told him, "Oh, man...I don't really have a bunch of money, so I"m not sure." He told me, "I'll sell you all 18 large boxes for $500.00." OF COURSE, I said yes. The guy even helped me out, and while I had my truck full of comics, he loaded up his car and followed me with the rest.

There were a lot of treasures in that collection, including "Y The Last Man" 1-12, "Fables" 1-12, "Crisis On Infinite Earths," "Marvel Superheroes Secret War," and just a ton of DC books I never had, like Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Young All-Stars.

 

[SonOfCthulhu]

Both your finds sound like awesome bargains, Phaedrus45!

Grab-bags (or boxes) are really cool because you get books you wouldn't spend cover-price money to find out if you like them. I'm now a fan of several series including Manhunter and Exiles that I wouldn't have looked at twice in the comic shop.

 

[Bubonic]

Wow what an amazing find Phaedrus45!
I don't think I'd even have enough space in my whole apartment for 19 comic boxes!

That's why I'm really hoping that Marvel and other comic companies put more time and effort into digital preservation and instead of making people subscribe to view it from their site, that they should put it on DVD or make it downloadable.

I know they have something similar for some of the comics, but from what I've heard they are done worse then what Minutemen and DCP can do.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

I got New Mutants Classic Vol.1 for US$ 7.18..when it normally costs $24.99.....