Hulk :219 - 221

I've not quite got to issue 224 and the end of 2 years worth of Hulk issues. I got to the end of issue 221 and it was a good place to pause whilst I read a novel (the first in a trilogy). I might read the last 3 in-between book 1 and book 2.

This particular issue has an extra bit of nostalgia for me as I remember reading the UK reprint in Mighty World of Marvel. That comic got thrown out long ago.

New Purchases: Prophet Vol 1

The last of my purchases for the moment (I always do my main order just after the day my credit card clicks over) is Prophet Vol 1.

Funny enough this reprints issues 21 - 26 but in effect it's a re-launch or so I'm led to believe from the reviews. It was less than £6 for the trade so it's not too expensive to see if all the good reviews are right.

Added to my collection. Lots!

 It was a bit like Christmas today with so much arriving in the post. Iron Man Masterworks bought from the Book Depository, approx £5 cheaper than Amazon, kicked off things but I also got what was a massive ebay win/parcel. It was all won from the same seller over a couple of nights.

 This win was so big, I'm not going to post all the covers. First off a Marvel Two-In-One run from 20 -31 in VFN condition. A bargain at £6.17.

                                                    
Then there was a run of Chris Claremont's New Mutants 1-15, 18, 19 and Special #1 by Art Adams. £9.50 to me!

I've a few issues of both of these runs but they are still both worth it. The duplicates will go back on ebay.

And finally The Ballard of Halo Jones by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson in the original over-sized Titan Editions from the 1980s reprinting the 2000AD strip. Vols 1 - 3 set me back £13.02 but as they are now unavailable and are in great condition I'm glad my high bid was high enough. This is supposed to be good early stuff from Moore so I am looking forward to reading it.

Very happy with all this!

Added to my Collection: Marvel Team-up 73

My complete Team-Up run draws ever closer with this nice VFN- copy of issue 73 for 99p.

Just 4 to get (3, 8, 92 & 97) for the complete run to from 1-100 which is the priority on this title.

Hulk 213 - 218

Just finished the next six issues of the Incredible Hulk by Len Wein and Sal Buscema.

Still enjoying this much more than previous runs. Len's use of sub-plots and the use of Doc Samson as an ongoing supporting character helps too. Hulk smashing for 22 pages can get a bit repetitive.

However, issue 218 sees the start of Roger Stern's tenure on the book. He may be only scripting Len's plots for the first couple of issues but Stern is one of my all-time favourite writers and his Hulk, although some of his earliest work, is still very good!

Hulk 207 -212

I've finished reading the next 6 issues of the Incredible Hulk which means I'm halfway through the 2 years worth of issues I plan to read at this time.

These issues continue the entertaining run by Len Wein and Sal Buscema.

I absolutely love this cover. I'm sure it's John Romita but the Grand Comics Database guesses Ed Hannigan who was doing a few of the covers around this period. This is much better than those so I still think I'm right.

It's a good run so far. I'm enjoying this much more than older issues. Len's scripts are easy to read. He's got more variety in his storylines and Sal's Hulk is a joy to behold.

Added to my Collection: Daredevil 107

This might seem a bit random as I don't ordinarily buy Daredevil back-issues but this particular one and the issue 106 tie-in to Jim Starlin's Thanos War over in Captain Marvel. And this FN grade copy was going for 99p so why not? Problem is I now want 106 as it is a two part story.

Incredible Hulk 201 - 206

 I've been (slowly - it's been a busy week) reading some Hulk back-issues. I might of read bits of these issues way back when, but on the whole, this is a first reading of this Bronze Age title. I'm going to read it in 2 year (24 issue) chunks in-between all the other stuff but it would be nice to at least get towards the end of the Peter David era. At the time of writing I have all the issues up to 290 and then from 313.

I'm also aware that I was reading the Spidey titles (as evidenced from earlier posts on this blog) and I will read some more Spidey soon.

These 6 issues were good with Len Wein and particularly Sal Buscema on form. They feature the dealth of Jarella in issue 205 and I honestly can't remember her coming back to life, but I'm sure she does. This is comics after-all.

Some awesome covers too. I've always liked Hulk covers and 203 and 206 above are excellent examples!

Added to my Collection: Defenders!

Whilst I'm collecting The Defenders, I'm not wanting to spend much so the condition of some of the issues I end up buying is probably not the greatest. Issue #8 is a VG condition and is perhaps on the borderline of what I consider acceptable as a collection standard.

No. 30 surprised me as it's written by Bill Mantlo not Englehart or Gerber. It's drawn by Sam Grainger and is a done-in-one issue. I like the cover!

I'm please to have aquired these as they fill a couple of gaps and just a handful left to get.

Added to my collection: Two x Two-In One

It's funny how last month I was getting Marvel team-Up. Well I've started this month with a couple of 2-in -1s from 1976. The Annual is quite rare and is the middle part of a three parter. No. 22 I got for 60p!