Still on the Shelf #13 - Bargain Bin Love Part 1

Originally published June 17th, 2003 on www.ComiXtreme.com. This work is, of course, © Craig Reade.

In every comic store, there is a long box, or a bin, where comics are stuffed. Hell, they may not even be granted the courtesy of a box in some of the seedier stores- they could be strewn across the floor, used as a door-stop, or scattered on a table. You would be lucky to find them in bags and boards. But from anywhere between 2 bits and a half-dollar a piece, these unloved books can be yours. Welcome to the Bargain Bin.

Mind you, whether you think your local comic-shop owner is a swarmy retard, or if you think highly of him; they all know their trade. You know you are not going to come across a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 accidentally marked at $.25. Nor are you going to stumble upon anything that has the potential to be valuable. Even if the title is completely worthless, if your comic merchant feels that he can convince some sorry sap that it will be worth something, it will not be in that lonely box. No, books in the bargain bins are the untouchables of the comic hierarchy.

So why give them a look? Quite frankly, it is entertaining. In a cruel way, these stories, which some writer thought was great, and some publisher thought highly enough to print, are nothing more than hysterical. Not in a highly scientific way, of course, but in that completely unintentional way that is often times even more satisfying.

The bargain bin is the ultimate in “Still on the Shelf.” These books are very much priced to move, and still they often stay right there. So I took it as my duty to pillage a few of these lonely boxes and let you know all about some of the gems I found.

Ebony Warrior #1 – Ania Press, 1993 $.50

As near as I can tell, Ania’s mission statement was to bring Malcolm X’s philosophy to comics. This book had me rolling from the very beginning, where we are treated to a conversation between two affluent black women having a conversation almost completely in ghetto Ebonics. I guess Ania’s philosophy was that if you are a highly successful black person and you STILL speak ghetto-slang, then you have it all.

Ebony Warrior #1 made very little sense story-wise, and seemed to me to be nothing more than a lecture about how blacks who get an education and leave the “hood” are nothing but sell-outs. Our hero here is a highly accomplished engineering graduate (From Tuskegee University, of course) who turned down several lucrative offers from various Fortune 500 companies to go and work with his father in a bookstore back in “the old neighborhood.” Where, of course, he decides to fight the menace of “black on black” crime as the “Ebony Warrior.” I’ll bet none of you can guess what race the “head crime-boss” is in this book!

Call me crazy, but I think there are better ways to include a more fair representation of black heroes in comics. The comic audience in general thought so too, and this book ended with issue #2.

Batman: Gotham Nights #1 (of 4) – DC, 1992 - $.59

Avengers Spotlight #23 – Marvel, 1989 - $.25

The next short story is a little ditty about Vision (I had no idea Vision was ever white, but then again, I never followed the Avengers all that closely) who encounters a trio of bank robbers who call themselves Smog Alert. See, they are covered entirely by protective gear, and they have these guns that spew out smog. Get it? Smog Alert?

Apparently this is one of the first issues with a newly constructed Vision, as no one else recognizes him “white” either. Vision makes a little jaunt over to the Tonight Show studios after his encounter with Smog Alert, to reintroduce himself to the people. Vision drops in on Johnny Carson, and his guests Charo and Pee Wee Herman to tell the world he is back. He even tells Johnny that he will forgo dropping in on Arsenio, if it will “facilitate the prompt airing of this program.” Ah, Vision, you kidder you.

This issue hams it up with some of the cheesiest villains around, and a Vision who is more like an early “Data” from Star Trek: The Next Generation than I think they would care to admit. Not much in the way of quality storytelling, but definitely good for a chuckle. Ah, how far Marvel has come in 14 years…

Bottom Line

The Bargain Bin is hit or miss, or course, but for that price, who is complaining? For a mere $1.34, I got the first part of a great story, a corny chuckler, and a stink bomb so bad it was funny. And that is money well spent.

If anything, it is a good insight into comic history. It does take more than a great story to stand the test of time, and things as they are today, it is more than likely that copies of Slingers, Mutant X, and a good chunk of the Marvel Icons- minis will turn up in the Bargain Bins 10 years from now. Along with many other books we think are cutting edge today.

As many of you know by now, I am big on good comics with little or no value as collectibles. Bargain Bin books may not all be classics, but there are a great deal that are worth the read to be found in there. And you can eat a big greasy cheeseburger while reading them too. And that is happiness.

So what about all of you. Any "Bargain Bin" stories?

Check back next week for a few more Bargain Bin gems, and back in 2 weeks for a return to a more “regular” Still on the Shelf.