Redartz: Good day, everyone! Here's a quick and easy start to the work week. Two questions, and nothing too deep...
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| Young redartz helping at the grill... |
1. As Summer has arrived, cooking out is a commonly-enjoyed indulgence. Have you any good grilling stories, or at least a good recipe to share?
2. What were some of the best bargains you ever got when purchasing a comic?
For my answers, you need not wait:
1. Kind of amusing, but not too appetizing: One summer day I was helping my Dad on the grill (I was about 8 years old at the time, and 'helping' mostly amounted to watching). As he was busy fetching the hot dogs, I was busy monitoring the coals. Suddenly a grasshopper, of all things, hopped past me, and actually jumped up and right into the coals! It immediately jumped right back out, but to my amusement/horror, it instantly crumbled to ash upon landing on the ground. It didn't affect my appetite, but I never forgot watching that bug vanish...
2. I've had many good deals, but one purchase that stood out was at a flea market dollar box. I picked out about five books for five dollars, and upon getting home, realized that two of them were signed copies: a Donald Duck book signed by Don Rosa, and a DC Secret Origins issue signed by Dick Giordano! Pleasant surprises, both.
See, quick and easy. Now you take a shot...
9 comments:
1. Quote of a lifetime. Ribs are off the grill and on the serving platter for guests inside the house--- HBWife: "Well. . . blow that last one out. Some of them might still be edible. . . "
2. For all the zillions of comics I've acquired, I can't think of a single Holy-cow-what-a-steal instance for any particular back-issue at the time when I acquired it. The read-to-death Silver Age Marvels in my collection weren't worth anything at the time when they were coming my way via childhood trades and such. I suppose the truest "bargains" were issues that I bought off the racks and/or acquired from friends shortly after they came out, that much later went on to become landmark issues. ASM 121/122; ASM 129; HULK 181; GS XMEN #1; several Neal Adams issues of the AVENGERS; that whole early run of the Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne X-MEN; Frank Miller's WOLVERINE mini; 1st printing of WATCHMEN #1. Ha! The one shocker along those lines is the first in-color appearance of Rocket Raccoon in HULK #221 or 222 or so-- truly a NOT good issue for any Hulk fans. . . but because of the GotG movies, that particular issue has spiked absurdly in asking price.
Actually-- upon reflection, there was another instance, closer to the real subject. Summer of 1983. An extraordinarily strange and deeply personal set of circumstances had me driving down to Louisville, KY over a very long weekend to assist someone in a crisis. Middle of a HORRIFIC heatwave (106 degrees on the streets, in the early evening). On the last day I was there, we happened across a teeny little LCS in a quaint mostly-residential neighborhood, and she suggested I take a quick look. Although I already had my Hulk run completed from #102 on up at that point, I quickly discovered that this place had a veritable stockpile of the Tales to Astonish run-- with prices ranging from $.70 to maybe $1.20. (Mostly 80 cents and 90 cents--). I had to do some wicked-fast math on the spot-- 'cause I was an under-funded college student, with no credit card, and had to make sure I had enough gas money to get back to Michigan. I'm sure I looked like I was in some sort of fugue state as I stood there, hands trembling slightly, sweat trickling from my temples, lips moving as I did the mental arithmetic. . . I already had a few TtA issues, and by golly, I had JUST enough cash to complete that run (from #61 on up) on the spot-- and still make it home.
HB
1. When I was a kid my dad built this really big BBQ grill out of bricks and concrete. It was very nice. (My dad has always been a master craftsman). We mostly used it for grilling food, but once in a while my dad would burn trash in it like old newspapers and stuff such as that (this was in the days before recycling was all the rage). Well on one such occasion he threw a bunch of trash on the fire and didn't realize there was an old aerosol can in there, and a couple of seconds after he went back into the house it exploded. The blast blew the metal lid off the grill and high into the air. When it hit the ground it was completely warped out of shape. I remember him saying if he'd stayed outside for a few more seconds he may have been killed.
2. I have a tie for the best deals I ever got on old comics. They are Amazing Spider-Man #17 and #19. Sometime around 1982 I was in my local comic shop and was thumbing through ASM back issue bin when I came across a #17 that was priced at $4.00. I couldn't believe it was so cheap, so I pulled it out and asked the owner if it was an original or a reprint, and he said it was an original. So, I immediately snapped it up. It was actually in very good condition. It was complete with decently white pages, no major creases, clean staples, and just a very small tear in the front cover. It was also my very first Steve Ditko Spider-Man acquisition.
About a year later I was in another comic shop and saw an ASM #19 on the wall marked at $4.75. So, I asked to see it, and it was in fantastic shape. It had a white cover, white interior pages, no rips or tears or major creases anywhere. I couldn't believe it. So I of course bought it. Later when I was looking through the Overstreet price guide, I noticed that a "very good/fine" copy of ASM #19 was going for $14.75 at the time. So, I assumed that they just probably missed priced the issue and forgot to include the "1".
Those are great stories - nothing like exploding grills and completing classic comic runs to get my blood flowing!
For me, the one grilling story I always recall was from back in 1980. I loved my parents bbq ribs; my mom would make a special sauce and my dad would grill them to perfection. At the time, my older sister was due with what would be my parents first grandchild. Well off to the hospital she went while my dad hung back to take care of the kids and make dinner. The ribs that day were burnt to a black crisp as he was excited and worried all at the same time. Best tasting burnt offerings I ever had. Happy times always mitigate the senses!
As far as best comic bargain - it would probably be when my friend traded me the first appearance of the Punisher in ASM for a mediocre Flash issue. He needed the book to help fill his Flash run, and I didn’t care that much. Funny thing is, I thought I was getting the short end of the stick because I thought the Punisher was kind of silly and probably a one-off character while I was trading a fairly entertaining Rogues issue. In retrospect, that was a really good deal.
Best grill idea I've experienced in a few years is thick slices of zucchini in lieu of hamburger when making a hamburger. Really, really good and satisfying.
No unexpected comic bargains for this dude... It's been a slog since day 1, LOL.
No real amusing grill stories; I agree with Charlie about grilling zucchini, and would also suggest eggplants - esp. if marinated a bit with olive and garlic. Another suggestion: if you have any wood from an apple tree, like from pruning, add it to the charcoal, especially when grilling poultry. Adds a nice flavor to the meat.
Similarly, I don't have any great bargain stories from back in the day - more recently, though, I've often come across some good deals on eBay.
Thanks for your responses, all!
HB- Nice score on those TtA issues. What a bonus, to be able to complete your run in one big find...
William- wow, that explosive grill tale wins the day! Sure beats disintigrating grasshoppers, anyway. And, those were two fine issues to pick up so cheaply. ASM 19 in particular has always been a favorite; and a favorite cover as well.
Marti- one wonders if your friend later had second thoughts about the wisdom of his trade. But then again, any time you make a trade and both parties are happy, it's all good.
Charlie- Hmmmm, zucchini? In lieu of the burger itself? I'll have to give it a try. What do you top it off with?
Red - cook just like a burger an add cheese, tomato, grilled onion, maybe a little tangy sauce as you bbq it.
Toast the buns as you like them
My dad cooked it up a few years ago. Awesome. Plus at my age, I'm trying to get my cholesterol down and the only sure way (without chemicals) is to stop eating animal products and their saturated fats (cheese, meat, dairy, etc.)
It just occurred to me, that as a young lad of around 10, the most biggest bang for the buck I got was buying Captain America 144-ish in which they had included the 4-page, full color insert for lingerie and diamonds.
I've googled it before and apparently Marvel took the ad $ and the comics were supposed to be destined for US military bases and Vietnam. Somehow, they ended up in grocery stores in the USA, LOL.
Wish I had thought of that about 14 hours ago, lol.
Around 1984, at a little used book store in Northridge, Ca. The owner had one long-box of comics squirreled away amongst the Readers Digest Condensed Books, Harlequin Romances and whatnot. It was mostly typical “Quarter Box” stuff, stuff that nobody would think of as “collectible”. I’m flipping through Casper the Friendly Ghost and Jughead and Omega the Unknown and right in the middle of the box is a short run of Tales of Suspense from 1966, seven or eight of ‘em, in yellowing bags, all in about G/VG condition. A buck apiece. Grabbed ‘em all. At the time, they were the oldest comics in my collection, thought they were pretty darn cool.
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