Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, published beginning in 1977. The magazine is known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica and steampunk comics.
As cartoonist/publisher Kevin Eastman saw it, Heavy Metal published European art which had not been previously seen in the United States, as well as demonstrating an underground comix sensibility that nonetheless “wasn’t as harsh or extreme as some of the underground comix – but . . . definitely intended for an older readership.
Heavy Metal #1 (April, 1977) CGC 8.5 Off-White to White Pages $179Heavy Metal January 1979 VF- $19Heavy Metal February 1979 FN-VF $16Heavy Metal March 1979 VF $19Heavy Metal April 1979 FN $12Heavy Metal May 1979 FN $24Heavy Metal June 1979 FN-VF $29Heavy Metal September 1979 VF- $19Heavy Metal October 1979 FN-VF $34Heavy Metal November 1979 FN+ $15Heavy Metal December 1979 VG-FN $8
When Lone Wolf and Cub was first released in Japan in 1970, it became wildly popular (some 8 million copies were sold in Japan) for its powerful, epic samurai story and its stark and gruesome depiction of violence during Tokugawa era Japan.
Lone Wolf and Cub is one of most highly regarded manga due to its epic scope, detailed historical accuracy, masterful artwork and nostalgic recollection of the bushido ethos. The story spans 28 volumes of manga, with over 300 pages each (totaling over 8,700 pages in all). Many of the frames of the series are hauntingly beautiful depictions of nature, historical locations in Japan and traditional activities done in the classical ukiyo-e style.
Lone Wolf and Cub was initially released in North America in a translated English edition by First Comics in 1987, as a series of monthly, comic-book-sized, square-bound prestige-format black-and-white comics containing between 64 and 128 pages, with covers by Frank Miller, and later by Bill Sienkiewicz, Matt Wagner, Mike Ploog, and Ray Lago. Sales were initially strong, but fell sharply as the company went into a general decline. First Comics shut down in 1991 without completing the series, publishing less than a third of the total series in 45 prestige-format issues.
Starting in September 2000, Dark Horse Comics began to release the full series in 28 smaller-sized trade paperback volumes, similar to the volumes published in Japan, completing the series with the 28th volume in December 2002. Dark Horse reused all of Miller’s covers from the First Comics edition, as well as several done by Sienkiewicz, and commissioned Wagner, Guy Davis, and Vince Locke to produce new covers for several volumes of the collections. In October 2012, Dark Horse completed the release of all 28 volumes in digital format, as part of their “Dark Horse Digital” online service.
Lone Wolf and Cub #1 NM $14Lone Wolf and Cub #2 NM $9Lone Wolf and Cub #3 NM $9Lone Wolf and Cub #4 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #5 9.6 White Pages $49Lone Wolf and Cub #5 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #6 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #7 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #8 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #9 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #10 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #11 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #14 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #15 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #19 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #24 NM- $5Lone Wolf and Cub #27 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #28 NM $6Lone Wolf and Cub #29 VF-NM $4
During the run of the television show Thriller, Karloff lent his name and likeness to a comic book for Gold Key Comics based upon the series. After Thriller was cancelled, the comic was retitled Boris Karloff’s Tales of Mystery. An illustrated likeness of Karloff continued to introduce each issue of this publication for nearly a decade after the real Karloff died; the comic lasted until the early 1980s. Starting in 2009, Dark Horse Comics started to reprint Tales of Mystery in a hard bound archive.
Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #7 VG $6Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #19 FN+ $12Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #20 FN+ $12Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #31 FN $10
Murdered by his sadistic parents, Obadiah Archer returns from the dead with uncanny physical abilities and a mission: to punish all evil-doers like his parents; Learning martial arts in the Orient, Archer soon becomes the world’s greatest fighter!; He soon encounters Armstrong, a free-spirited immortal with the strength of ten men!; They have just met when they are attacked by Armstrong’s foes, the Sect.; Can they survive their crazy friendship?
Archer and Armstrong #0 CGC 9.8 SS White Pages $189Archer and Armstrong #0 NM $6Archer and Armstrong #2 NM $5Archer and Armstrong #8 NM $6
The English language version of the Dragon Ball manga is licensed for North America by Viz Media. Viz originally published the first 194 chapters as Dragon Ball and chapters over 195 as Dragon Ball Z to mimic the names of the anime series, feeling it would reduce the potential for confusion by its readers. They initially released both series simultaneously, chapter by chapter in a monthly comic book format starting in 1998, before stopping in 2000 to switch to a graphic novel format similar to the Japanese tankōbon.
Vampirella is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and costume designer Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing‘s black-and-white horror comics magazine Vampirella #1 (Sept. 1969). Writer-editor Archie Goodwin later developed the character from horror-story hostess, in which capacity she remained through issue #8 (Nov. 1970), to a horror-drama leading character. Vampirella was ranked 35th in Comics Buyer’s Guide‘s “100 Sexiest Women in Comics” list.
The series is set between 2006–2008 in a world where superheroes exist. However, most of the superheroes in the series’ universe are corrupted by their celebrity status and often engage in reckless behavior, compromising the safety of the world. For this reason, a superpowered CIA squad, known informally as “The Boys”, is charged with monitoring the superhero community; the name is Butcher’s contribution, a reference from his neighborhood that those in power would send “the boys” to handle anyone causing trouble.
Ennis has said that the series would “out-PreacherPreacher“, presumably referring to the extreme violence and sexuality that were that series’ hallmark, and that the series would end with its seventy-second issue.
The Boys #7 VF $9The Boys #11 VF+ $6The Boys #12 VF+ $6The Boys #15 VF-NM $4The Boys #16 VF- $2The Boys #17 VF- $2The Boys #18 NM $4The Boys #19 NM $6The Boys #20 VF- $2The Boys #21 VF+ $4The Boys #22 NM $6The Boys #23 NM $7The Boys #24 NM $24The Boys #25 NM $6The Boys #26 NM $7The Boys #27 NM $6The Boys #28 NM- $4The Boys #29 NM $6The Boys #30 NM $6The Boys #31 VF+ $6The Boys #32 VF-NM $4The Boys #33 VF+ $4The Boys #34 NM $6The Boys #35 NM $4The Boys #36 NM $6The Boys #37 NM $4The Boys #39 NM $4The Boys #40 NM $4The Boys #41 NM $6The Boys #42 NM $6The Boys #43 NM $6The Boys #44 NM $6The Boys #45 NM $6The Boys #46 NM $6The Boys #47 NM $6The Boys #49 NM $6The Boys #50 NM $9The Boys #63 NM $6The Boys #64 NM $6The Boys #65 NM $20The Boys #72 NM- $12
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was first published by Mirage Studios in 1984 in Dover, New Hampshire. The concept arose from a humorous drawing sketched out by Kevin Eastman during a casual evening of brainstorming and bad television with Peter Laird. Using money from a tax refund, together with a loan from Eastman’s uncle, the young artists self-published a single-issue comic intended to parody four of the most popular comics of the early 1980s: Marvel Comics’ Daredevil and New Mutants, Dave Sim’s Cerebus, and Frank Miller’s Ronin. The TMNTcomic series has been published in various incarnations by various comic book companies since 1984.
The Tick was created by cartoonist Ben Edlund in 1986 as a newsletter mascot for the New England Comics chain of Boston area comic stores. He is an absurdist spoof of comic booksuperheroes. After its creation, the character spun off into an independent comic book series in 1988, and gained mainstream popularity through an animated TV series on Fox in 1994. A short-lived live-action TV series, video game, and various merchandise have also been based on the character. IGN‘s list of the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time ranked The Tick as #57.
Moore created a new, teenaged Youngblood group that was financed independently by millionaire Waxey Doyle, formerly the WWII superhero Waxman. The team was led by Shaft and was augmented by new members Big Brother, Doc Rocket, Twilight, Suprema, and Johnny Panic. Moore said he wanted Youngblood to be a “less sprawling, more dynamic team” and that “if you have more characters than [six], the action gets cluttered and it becomes increasingly difficult to establish each character as a real and solid person in their own right”. All of the new team members and most of the villains featured in this series, including Jack-A-Dandy, were Moore’s creations.
EHT Comics 