Old Comics Never Die …
Like soldiers, old comics never die … they just fade away.
Unless you have amazing comic book friends, that is!
Once again, the mysterious and unfailingly-generous Mars Will Send No More has bequeathed me a care package of comics!
Mars has done this in the past, but opening a package from one of my oldest blogging pals is always a delight. I had a sense that some Defenders books were in the offing, thanks to a comment Mars had left here at the blog, but this thick package promised four-color treasures unknown!
Within … a note!
Sgt. Rock! Yes! I’ve written of Rock with affection, but had only a few Sgt. Rock books in my Accumulation. No longer!
In addition to Sgt. Rock, Mars’ marvelous missive contained a couple Charlton books, an early Shade the Changing Man by Steve Ditko, and a well-loved copy of Marvel Feature #1 — the debut of the dynamic Defenders!
By the weekend I had everything bagged, boarded, entered into my computer database, and filed away in my new longboxes. Yes, my Accumulation is very nearly a Collection, and rather than going atop a stack for later consideration (as has always before been the case), new arrivals of old comics here at Longbox Graveyard Secret HQ are now processed in the blink of an eye! Quite a departure from the jumbled mess of comics I found so burdensome when I started this blog, nearly three years ago!
And so these old comics, about old soldiers, will not fade away, but instead reside in eternal glory at Longbox Graveyard! My sincerest thanks to Mars for his ongoing support and generosity, and to all the many readers who have accompanied me on this comics blogging odyssey! More to come!
Posted on April 16, 2014, in IT COMES IN THE MAIL and tagged Defenders, Mars Will Send No More, Sgt. Rock. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
dangvozden
Paul O'Connor
Kris (not Chris)
markginocchio
miloapama
Dean Compton
Moya
ryanmcswain
Longbox Graveyard 
That rascal! I recognize those issues of the Defenders and Beyond the Grave!
Good guy, that Mars.
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He may be an Angry Red Planet, but he’s welcome in my orbit any time.
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Awesome! That one Defenders looks like from about when I started collecting comics, though I don’t have any of the issues pictured. I never got into war comics, but the othe stuff looks cool.
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My affection for Sgt. Rock is a relatively recent thing, but it has taken deep root. Looking for the third Rock Archive at WonderCon this weekend, and trolling for Enemy Ace, too.
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I fondly remember Enemy Ace, because he was in the first issue of the Justice League of America that I ever bought – #159. If only Sarge Rock had appeared in that issue as well…
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I’m fascinated by military aviation and I have a late-blooming love for Joe Kubert, so Enemy Ace is a natural, and firmly in my sites!
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Good luck at WonderCon! We always enjoy a Longbox/Mars cross-over, and these books deserve a good home. Hopefully you won’t mind if we post a few specific links here. If any readers want to have a look at some of the gems inside these books, they can!
That Charlton ‘Haunted’ issue has a Ditko story in it, too. Guess who scanned it for Ditko fans? http://marswillsendnomore.wordpress.com/2011/02/13/the-evils-beyond-our-gates-cannot-touch-him-here/
We also scanned, from this set, at least one Robert Kanigher story of Sgt Rock and a host of backups by Steve Bissette and Rick Veitch: http://marswillsendnomore.wordpress.com/tag/sgt-rock/
You got those first two issues of Men of War due to a positive comment you left on our scans of the first half of Gravedigger’s origin story in MoW #1: http://marswillsendnomore.wordpress.com/tag/sgt-rock/
Now you have the second half, too, and can see how it turns out!
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Sorry, the Gravedigger origin is at http://marswillsendnomore.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/men-of-war-1/
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Thanks for the links, Mars (and thanks, again, for your kind gift). I plan to get reacquainted with Gravedigger soon!
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Awesome haul.
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It’s good to have friends.
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Especially ones who send you comics.
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Would love some good old Kubert Sgt. Rocks right now. Seems no one these days are ever able to capture the magic of Sgt. Rock or G.I. Combat! There’s even a issue if Haunted Library!! How come Satellite fans never send me gifts like these!! LOL. Great post Paul!
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Added an Enemy Ace Archive edition to my DC war comics bookshelf thanks to this weekend’s WonderCon — it is nice to have these late-developing adolescent obsessions.
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