This week we're going to look at something a little different. I was going through a closet at my house and I came across a stack of old comic books that I had collected (in that brief couple of years when I thought comic book collecting might be a cool hobby...naw, rockets are better...) Anyway, as I went through the stack that I hadn't looked at for about a decade, I noticed that most of them were science fiction related (go figure). There were plenty on Star Trek and stuff, but I pulled three out that I really wanted to share with you today. First, we have this:
Yep, it's the most promising show to ever stink quite that bad, "Space 1999!" Now, don't get me wrong. I loved the Eagle ships and the other props, but the show just made no sense. The comic book doesn't either.
First of all, the explosion that sent the moon scooting out into space apparently happened "on the dark side." This fact would have, of course, been more likely to have sent the moon scooting into Cleveland. While there are some who would consider that appropriate, it would have made for an awfully short show.
Secondly, the explosion was caused, apparently, by nuclear waste that had been stored on the moon that went ka-boom. Now, ignoring the fact that nuclear waste is mainly just a non-ka-booming toxic substance, why the heck would they store it on the moon anyway? Why not just launch it at that big, hot thing in the center of the solar system?
Thirdly, what's up with my birthday? This is the second time in as many weeks that it gets mentioned....Weird...
Anyway, it's a fun comic. It came out in 1975, and it's not in the best shape, but I like it...and it's the number 1 issue, so it's got that going for it...
Next we have this:
The Comet Man! These are actually numbers 1 and 2, which to comic collectors is kind of a big deal. Also comic collectors like it when they are signed by the writers, which these are (I got them signed at a comic book convention) But what is really interesting is who the writers are!
First we have Bill Mumy, who, as anyone who knows sci-fi can tell you, was Will Robinson of "Danger, Will Robinson!" fame. Yes, once he was no quite so "Lost In Space" he took to writing!
Second we have someone that might be harder to place, Miguel Ferrer. He is also an actor, and I remember him best as the bad guy in Robocop. He's been in tons of other stuff too, though. You can Google him...
As I was writing this, I thought it might be fun to see what these comics go for now. The Space 1999 comic goes for between 10 and 20 bucks. The Comet Man goes for actually a bit less....unless it's signed, which brings the value up to about to the 100 to 150 dollar range. What????? I gotta start taking care of these things! (they are in acid free bags, so that's good).
Anyway, my point here (and yes, I do have one) is that we all need to be taking care of our rocket and sci-fi collections because they can be worth a lot more than you would think!
Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!
