Action Comics Number One, featuring Superman was released in June of 1938 and sold for 10 cents. Yesterday, in a private  internet auction sale, a copy of the comic in Very Fine condition sold for a whopping one million dollars! For all of you whose mom threw away your boxes of comics when you went to college, it’s okay to feel incredibly pissed off.

Comicconnet.com orchestrated the record deal between an anonymous buyer and seller. No one before has even paid half that price, but the condition is excellent and there are only about 100 known copies left in the world, making it extremely rare.

“It is still a little stunning to see ‘a comic book’ and ‘$1m’ in the same sentence,” said Stephen Fishler, the co-owner of the site. “There’s only one time a collectible hits the $1m threshold.”

Good God, talk about return on investment. I personally collected comics for a number of years and always dreamed of some old broad at a garage sale unloading Fantastic Four or Spiderman number one, while I haggle her down from 50 cents to a quarter. Back in the early 80’s I owned a copy of Marvel Comics Avengers #1 in Near Mint condition – with both penciler, Jack Kirby and inker Dick Ayers signature on the cover. Sold it back then for $125. I think it’s in the $10,000 range about now.

Dayum.

-ZMan

Marvel was always so bad-ass and rebellious. Spiderman was a wise-ass, gloating little bastard who always kicked villain tuckus. Captain America was thawed from an ice block he fell into during WW2 and came back alive to fight for justice! Ironman was high-tech robotic; Thor, with flowing golden locks and the hammer of all ass-kicking hammers, he was the mighty god of thunder; Namor, Prince of the Deep, aka the Submarnier, and the Incredible Hulk whose bad hygiene alone could wipe out an army, had those pants that always turned purple and grew along with him. “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” Now these guys were super f@#king heroes! Don’t forget the mega-teams of the Xmen and the incomparable Fantasic Four: a rubber dude, a guy who turns to flames, an invisible hottie and a fella made of rocks. Can you imagine when he would go for a massage with the happy ending? Hey Ben, is that Stonehenge in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Super hero comics were a very cool escape for me as a teen, and I loved to draw the characters so much that I actually went to school for cartoon and comic illustration at the Joe Kubert school in Dover New Jersey. Not sure how the progression to cigar blog writer happened, but hey, I’m happy. I even had a massive collection of very early Marvel comics that were worth a fortune over 25 years ago, and I sold most of them to attend my final year of school, including Avengers #1 in NM condition with both artist Jack Kirby and inker Dick Ayers signatures. Back then I sold it for $125. I bet that son of a bitch is worth ten grand around now. At least it’s not the old story that my mother threw them out while I was at college.

One of the coolest memories from comics as a little kid was the corny, bullshit advertising inside it’s pages. Remember the 98-pound weakling who got his ass kicked and his chick stolen? Yeah, Charles Atlas turned you into a man. In today’s politically correct version, the wimp would beef up and return to the beach just to walk off with the other muscle dude. FABULOUS! The best were those pages filled with little display ads for Onion Gum, the Two-Man sub, X-Ray specs, Black Face Soap, and the 7-foot Glow-in-the-Dark Monster, guaranteed to make any child soil his Underoos.

First off, X-Ray Specs was the ultimate weapon for a horn-dog little MILF Hunter like me. Damn, the thought of checkin’ out my pals cougar moms unmentionables was worth any price! All I would have to do was strap on a pair of these inconspicuous, gigantic plastic-framed, red lens glasses and I would instantly turn into a super little pervert within seconds! Yeah, that’s EXACTLY how they worked…NOT! All they did was turn stuff to shadow leaving a young and spunky Zman, very high and irritatingly dry. But hey, a Two-Man Sub for only three bucks? Man, we could navigate the world’s oceans and go on the most gnarley adventures…NOT! The bogus sub was nothing more than a flat, one-sided cardboard cutout with a little porthole window. Another blatant rip-off as Captain Zmoe, I was not to be. My friend ordered the 7-foot monster and it was a thin plastic poster of a pseudo Frankenstein. I did not soil myself as promised by the manufacturer. I never got to order the onion gum or the black face soap, but there’s still plenty of time to accomplish my life’s goals and dreams.

The biggest con we all may agree on were those little ads that simply asked you to draw Winky, or Tippy the Turtle, or the emotionally disturbed Pirate. It was the Famous Artist’s Institute that asked you to draw this inane little character then send it in for evaluation by the school’s leading illustrators and design professionals. Yeah, it was bogus as you received a big-ass packet telling you that you didn’t win a scholarship, but they would love you to take the mail order course that wasn’t free. And worse yet, they called you on the phone three times a week for months with all kinds of incentives to join. I got so god damned annoyed at these bastards that I went and drew up Wonky, the Angry Penis Head and sent it in to the Institute. Wonky was a shiny little helmet with beady eyes and a nasty disposition. I even included a note that read: Evaluate THIS you f@#king frauds! Thankfully I stopped receiving letters and calls from the Famous folks, but was repeatedly contacted by Oui, Juggs, High Society, and Cherri for the next few years. Guess them people knew talent when they saw it.

Now with all the super movies – Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Four, and most recently Ironman and the Hulk, and… with a Captain America, Thor, and Avengers flick in the works – it really makes me feel like a kid again and nothing is cooler than sharing these gnarley heroes with my kid.

Nuff said.

- Z

I saw it opening knight, I mean night, with my 13 year-old son, Tommy, and amidst the hype, the cost, and the massive throng of movie goers, this flick did NOT disappoint. It did over 155 million in sales the first weekend. In a nutshell, this is one action-packed, ass-kicking, mutha of epic proportions.

There are a lot of things to talk about when it comes to this movie, but I’ll first start with the cinematography, which was visually stunning throughout. The cityscape shots are breathtaking, the vehicle chases are heart stopping, and there are enough electrifying fireworks and explosives to give a pyromaniac an instantaneous happy ending. A lot of revolving cameras were used, circling the action for dramatic effect. And of course the lighting was dark and ominous which is the signature for all the Batman adventures. This was also one of the first films in a long time where I consciously noticed the musical score throughout. Every piece echoed the mood of the moment incredibly well, building upon each scene, keeping your auditory senses tingling – and with the big screen surround sound coming at you from all angles, you really felt as if you were right there in Gotham amidst the chaos and the anarchy.

And chaos and anarchy is what this story seems to thrive on. Gotham City has been overrun by drug dealers and warlords – only succumbing to the fear that the Dark Knight will spring from the shadows and lay upon a beat-down of superhero proportions. And with the same plight that Spiderman also lives with, much of the public views the caped knight as a menace to society, as opposed to a purveyor of justice.

Enter the Joker…

The Joker is evil personified, times a thousand. He doesn’t care about money or physical possessions whatsoever – he gets his jollies f@#king up the delicate balance of the world as we know it, and he admits that only one entity stands in his way. While crashing a meeting of the cities most notorious crime family heads, the scarred and painted faced psycho proposes that there is only one thing they can do to gain control of the city once again, “It’s simple…kill The Batman.”

Of course this leads me to the gripping performance of the deceased Heath Ledger. If you’re wondering about the hype, well, this time you can believe it – Ledger has created one of the most spine-tingling villains in the history of cinema. While he seems lucid and rational with his thoughts and words, his actions and his lust for hate and destruction are that of a madman who simply cannot be allowed to run loose in this world. Ledger’s portrayal of a sociopath with zero redeeming human qualities is so brilliant – so fascinating – that you become mesmerized by his lack of regard for anyone or anything. His character portrayal makes you think that this is a guy who definitely got his lunch money stolen everyday as a kid. Christopher Nolan on Ledger’s performance – ‘It’s stunning, it’s iconic, it’s going to just blow people away.”

Of course the movie is entitled Batman, even though many have said it could be called the Joker. But I feel Christian Bale plays a great billionaire in Bruce Wayne, and a terrific crime-fighting vigilante who throws on a deep and mysterious voice to keep the public fooled. Michael Caine is an excellent Alfred, Morgan Freeman plays Lucius Fox, the inventor of the bat suit and its ancillary fighting gear. Aaron Eckhart is Gotham’s district attorney, Harvey Dent who is lauded as Gotham’s “White Knight. ” And Gary Oldman is a convincing Commissioner Gordon. For the most part I think the casting was right on, except for the part of Rachel Dawes played by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. I know this may seem a bit shallow on my part (and it won’t be the last time, I assure you) but this chick is just not a babe – not at all. You would think if a billionaire and a powerful DA were going to be in love with a woman, she’d be a major-league hottie, oozing with unbridled sexiness. She’s just not and it took a something away for me. But I’m an admitted sexist man-pig, and if you are too, then you’ll agree with me upon seeing this flick.

Last but not least, this film has some gargantuan special effects and electrifying techno-gadgetry. The armored Bat car gives way to the Batpod, a girthy-tired motorcycle that sends our hero screaming through the city streets while hunting down Gotham’s evil oppressors. This machine is so bad-ass that in one scene he does a spin turn against a building wall that had the entire theater yell out “cool!” all at once. There are many wicked fight scenes, which in reality would produce a venerable bloodbath on screen. But unfortunately to keep the film a PG rating there is no blood at all and the Joker takes one hell of a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’. But I kind of just passed that off to his schizophrenic insanity. The guy is so f@#king nuts that even violent pain doesn’t cloud his ruthless visions.

Two and a half hours is a little long, but I really enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. In fact, it’s also the first time since I can remember where the theater’s audience clapped at the end. Now I don’t do “thumbs up” or any of that crappola, but I certainly recommend this flick to those who love wild action and great a truly memorable acting performance. Yeah, The dark Knight rocks.

- Tommy Z.

The Full Screen trailer that’s a must see> http://www.whysoserious.com/happytrails/trailer.htm