That old pulp paper is now more expensive than the new stuff because nobody uses it anymore. I grew up with that stuff too, and I have a buddy currently working in comics who told me this.
I thought some of the old coloring was very cool. They really maxed out what they had to work with. Especially when they used to use he old format for texture as in mangas. I saw alot of good stuff come from the old Amazing Spiderman titles in the late 80's. When some titles went to that new brighter coloring in the late 80's, it looked like crap. The new paper and coloring looks really good for the most part. Heck, coloring is what actually saves some of these comics that are out today.
Rob Liefeld still sucks! I see some of his stuff when I browse comic shops once in a while and realize how crappy the majority of his work was. I have no idea nor do I care what he is doing now. I think he just lived up to his 15 minutes of fame after he did that Levi's commercial back in the day.