I had $15.00 to spend at Things From Another World in the form of coupon codes, and after spending a good twenty minutes being very indecisive, I chose to do something completely out of character—I ordered from the grab bag. There are a few different grab bags to choose from, and each comic ordered is fifty cents. Shoppers can order as many as they like. Since my coupon codes (one for $10, one for $5) couldn’t be combined, I placed two orders for combined total of 30 comics from the DC Comics grab bag (which also includes the Vertigo imprint, as you’ll see). I’m quite happy with the results! Continue reading for the full list and a picture or two.

Here’s the breakdown. Only six (marked with a *) of the books were in my collection prior to receiving them today – not bad at all!

1. Air #7
2. Black Lightning: Year One #6
3. Bang Tango #3
4. Action Comics #875
5. Action Comics #876
6. Superman/Batman #57
7. Superman/Batman #58
8. Superman #686
9. Strange Adventures #1
10. Strange Adventures #2
11. Unknown Soldier #6
12. Vigilante #4
13. Green Lantern Corps #25*
14. Green Lantern Corps #35*
15. Green Lantern #39*
16. DMZ # 41
17. Booster Gold #17
18. Booster Gold #19
19. Identity Crisis #1 Special Edition
20. Batman: Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon #1
21. Batman: Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat #1
22. John Constantine: Hellblazer #253
23. House of Mystery #12
24. Justice League of America #27*
25. Justice League of America #28*
26. Justice League of America #29*
27. Justice League of America #31*
28. Outsiders #16
29. The Mighty #3
30. Billy Batson & The Power of Shazam #4

Not bad, huh? It’s a really good mix of A-List titles (Justice League, Superman/Batman), titles I’ve never even heard of (Air, DMZ, Bang Tango), and titles that I’ve been interested in but never budgeted for (Booster Gold, Outsiders). I’m also happy they threw in a kids comic – and so is my daughter. I placed the order on January 25th and they arrived today, which is a nice turnaround time.

There are two downsides, neither of which should be surprising for books priced at fifty cents each. First, these are reading copies, not collecting copies. Oh, I’ll bag & board ‘em anyway because they’re in no worse condition than most of the books I get at the local shop. There might be slightly more wear on the spine or a small scuff here or there, but by and large, these books are in Very Good to Near Mint condition. Second, and this is a big second… they have stickers on them. Each book has a small green sticker on the back cover. They are easily removed and don’t leave behind any trace of having been there, but purists will surely balk at having any kind of sticker on their books (then again, what purist is buying 50-cent grab bag books?).

I’m stoked to have a batch of new comics to check out, and I’m now a fan of the grab bag model. Since I haven’t read Marvel books in about a decade, maybe I’ll try for a Marvel grab bag next time I get some coupon codes to spend. Check out Things From Another World, you won’t be disappointed.