I Visited Ollie's and Got Some Random Comics

Ollie's is a popular chain of overstock stores. They get stuff cheap from other places that went out of business, had too much of something, or other random liquidations of stuff. This includes books and graphic novels as well as assorted packs of comics. I love comics and writing about random stuff so when an Ollie's opened not too far away I checked it out. Samii and Gibson came with me while Clarkson was at school. Walking into the store felt a little like going into a Big Lots without the (relatively unfair) stigma Big Lots has. There are a lot of random items for sale in various pretty well-organized sections. You've got foodstuff--a lot of seasonings--shampoo, office supplies, rugs, bedding, and just a big variety of items. I--of course--was interested in the comics.

There were packs that advertised they had only random DC and Marvel titles from decades ago to the present. Some packs advertised having indie publishers too. Other packs just emphasized the comics were random and some were, "PG-13," in content lest parents buying these for kids get offended by the content. All the packs--regardless of initial distributor--were $5.99 for five comics. Considering some of the newer titles in packs were $4 or $5 a couple of years ago that's a pretty nice price. The comics were all in quite good shape too. This wasn't like digging in a dollar bin full of worn-out titles. I was impressed with the variety and condition I saw within the packs and bought some to open up too. What was the actual content/quality of the packs, however?

I believe I got my money's worth from the comic packs I purchased. The most notable comic was probably a Halo preview comic that trends for $12-$15 online, so these are by no means an investment. That said, there were some cool first issues of everything from the recent BOOM! political-thriller series, "Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body," to the first issue of a Doctor-Doom comic from a while ago, some random Image/Top Cow series, and even a whole little manga comic. For someone who is dipping their toes into comics or wants to get something for a kid/teenage loved one who likes comics, these are actually pretty good options. Should you already be a huge comic reader or someone who likes to speculate on comics for profit, these are of little interest to you. Folks just trying out comics or who want a nice little gift, however, should be pleased. Plus, if you go to get one or two of these at Ollie's there is tons of other cool stuff to shop for there too, so it's a win-win!