Comics Values Annual 2008

Just like the swallows returning to Capistrano, so too do the funnybook fans return to their comicbook shops (except funnybook droogs do it weekly instead of annually, but you get the point).

At any rate, this is a good thing, because once a year (for the past 14 years or so) I get to contribute to the Comicbook Values Annual (the past decade or so as the features editor, and one of the three co-authors, along with Alex Malloy and Stuart Wells). Well, this year is no different than previous years, because I contributed again, and have been rewarded with my copies of the annual tome.

That’s right folks, CVA 2008 is now out and you can rush out and pick up your very own copy (or, if you want an autographed copy, let me know, and I'll see what we can arrange).

This time out we have a wonderful cover by Mark Sparacio (who has done the last couple of covers for us), of This year’s hot Marvel Comics film, Iron Man. Plus we have an interview (conducted by your humble narrator), with None other than the Award-Winning SF Novelist, Orson Scott Card (who wrote both Ultimate Ultimate Iron Man and Ultimate Iron Man II.

Whelp, that’s it for now. Enjoy

Comics Values Annual

Not quite here yet, but on the way, is the Comics Values Annual 2008 edition. As some of you may already know, I’ve been contributing to this annual comicbook price guide since the ‘93/‘94 edition (I’ve been the features editor and co-author on it since ‘97 or so). The book, published by Krause Books, is an annual listing of comics and their prices.

CVA provides some 94,000 individual listings with special sections devoted to specific publishers (Marvel, DC), notable eras and areas in the industry (Golden Age, Color Comics, Black & White and Undergrounds), plus a grading guide, along with market reports, and tips for buying, selling and preserving your comics. Whether you are a well-seasoned comic book collector looking for reliable details and data, or a box office junkie just discovering story lines behind big screen heroes, this book will take you into the collecting world armed with expert information.

Oh yeah, it also has a couple of articles written by yours truly. Most notably, is an interview I conducted with award-winning SF author, Orson Scott Card who is many things to many people, Funnybook readers probably know him best as the creator/writer of Marvel’s Ultimate Iron Man, and for his work with the Dable Brothers on Red Prophet and Wyrms (also from Marvel) while Science Fiction Fans know him as the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (making him the only author to have won both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years).

Personally, I found the interview enlightening (and, well, fun), hopefully you will as well. One more thing, you might have noticed that the cover is Iron Man, and the person interviewed writes (Ultimate) Iron Man, so I guess it is no secret that we are attempting to patch into the hype surround the New Marvel Comic Flic, staring, well, you guessed it, Iron Man.