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Monday, June 12, 2017

Black Panther Trailer: From Panel to Screen!


Man, that's an odd thing to call it "From Panel to Screen" for a trailer. Hasn't hit the big screen yet, but you know semantics.

So The Black Panther trailer has finally hit the net a few days ago. You probably already seen it before, but if you haven't or you liked it so much, here it is again below for ya.



Pretty cool. Looks like it will be a fun ride for sure! What do I think? I think it's a pretty standard comic book trailer for sure but it's still good. 

What else more can I say? I suppose I could continue with all the generic praise, but I'll be blunt: My interest level went up a notch.

So what and who we see from panel to screen? Lots of stuff from the actual comics.

Ok, here's the thing: I'm not droppin' specs, not pumpin' or "talking up" comics. I'm just talking about comics and how they inspired or connect to Black Panther's cinematic world that we know of so far from this trailer.

Most of the comics I've already talked about in the Black Panther keys list and some I haven't or have but missed on some characters. Hell, not like I don't need a refresher sometimes too.

Also, here's where a disclaimer comes in: If you don't care to know about the comics or a little back history of these characters because it might spoil the movie for you, stop reading. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.


THE WORLD OF WAKANDA!

We're finally going to be exploring the mysterious world of Wakanda in the film, and it's going to be a nice world building process that we get to witness. Klaue even links this nation as having hidden the real El Dorado.

The visuals do impress. All the costumes and looks of this Wakandan world and culture have me intrigued for sure. 

For now, the trailer doesn't reveal too much. It does reveal that Wakanda is shrouded in mystery and that the misconception of it being an underdeveloped country is false and a front. 

I'm gonna guess that this is the bad ass and futuristic capital city of Birnin Zana where the royal palace resides and Wakanda has been hidin' from the rest of the world. Probably for good reason too.



Fantastic Four #52 holds the first appearance of Wakanda and Black Panther also. Here's the first look at Wakanda in that comic, and how readers first see T'Challa.



In the comics, it's established early that Wakanda is a mix of the "old and new", as Reed Richards points out to Sue in Fantastic Four #53. This concept even bewilders Reed in Fantastic Four #52 when this Wakandan emissary reveals to have some pretty impressive tech.


Looks like we'll be getting a large taste of this "old and new" concept in the film too. Not really sure when the capital city of Birnin Zana first debuted in comics. Might just be Fantastic Four #52, but not quite sure about that.

I'm guessin' that T'Challa will return to Wakanda to find his nation in a bit of trouble after the death of his father. He is now king but there are those out there in the nation moving to challenge that. Pretty much a no-brainer.




THE VILLAINS


We knew early on that Andy Serkis would return to the role of Ulysses Klaue in this film. We've already seen him in Avengers: Age of Ultron and it may look like him and Erik Killmonger might be teaming up to spread chaos for T'Challa and the country of Wakanda.

Okay with that out of the way, we all know that Ulysses Klaeu is a baddie that is tied to Black Panther and Wakanda from the trailer. He's the only one to have supposedly seen this isolated nation.

In the origin of Black Panther in Fantastic Four #53, we do learn that Ulysses Klaw is tied to the origin of the Black Panther and the baddie did travel to Wakanda. In the pages of this comic, he was there to steal Vibranium, and I'm guessing he may be trying to do the same in the cinematic world also. 

Although he didn't create any Batman-style revenge plots in the movies, Klaw ends being responsible for the death of T'Challa's pops in the ole comics. Ulysses Klaw is purely in his civvies in that issue. He's not suited up in his iconic costume.

He does not suit up until his 2nd appearance in Fantastic Four #56, but whether that happens in a future movie is beyond me. So far he doesn't even have his iconic sonic convertor/blaster yet, but I have a feeling they are building up to it. 



Michael B. Jordan has a great career ahead of him, and I think he's gonna be one of the greats. This will be the first time that I see him play a heavy, and Erik Killmonger is no joke when it comes to the history and rivalry he shares with T'Challa.

The trailer clearly shows that Wakanda is in danger, and I think Killmonger is behind the coup. What's his deal with Klaue though?



We clearly see that Killmonger is the one who busts Klaue out. For what, I am wondering? I might have a good idea what Klaue wants, but what does he have that's useful to Killmonger?

Okay, enough of that. So Erik Killmonger is a nemesis of Black Panther in the comics and was created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler.



1st debuting in Jungle Action #6, Killmonger is N'Jadaka and a native of Wakanda. Klaw and his mercenaries pressed N'Jadaka's father into helping them in that raid that ultimately took the life of T'Challa's father.

N'Jadaka's father also died in the raid, and he and his family were captured by Klaw's men (I think Klaw's men) to be used as slaves. N'Jadka would escape and develop a deep rooted hatred for both T'Challa and Klaw. 

Since Seth Carr is listed as playing a young Killmonger on IMBd and Atandwa Kani is playing a young T'Challa, the movie most likely will shed some light on the back history of these two. Maybe or maybe it won't be exactly the same as in the comics since T'Chaka's death isn't connected to Klaw's raid on Wakanda in the movie-verse.

So Killmonger's very first origin is told in Jungle Action #7. In the comics, he usually tries to take control over Wakanda, so I'm sure he's trying to do that in this film. Of course, being a king of an entire nation, Killmonger isn't the only powerful force in the land seeking the throne and threatening T'Challa.



Man-Ape! Looks like he may just have his crew the White Gorilla Cult with him too in that scene. I have yet to talk about this character on here and it's a key I admittedly long missed.

Man-Ape is M'Baku, and this fellow Wakandan was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. Wait! Stop, you're "talking up" this one too much already!


Pretty obvious that Killmonger isn't the only one in this movie plotting to usurp T'Challa as king of Wakanda, but comic fans know this and most of the general audience probably could care less. Whether all three villains are working together, the trailer doesn't overly reveal, but given Man-Ape's reputation in comic books, we all can safely assume he seeks the throne also.

In the comics, M'Baku is a ruthless warrior, and in some comics and to some writers, he is considered the 2nd greatest warrior in all of Wakanda.

With the help of the White Gorilla Cult, an outlawed rival cult from Wakanda, M'Baku also tried a coup to gain the throne.  Winston Duke as the Man-Ape was just confirmed that he will be in Infinity War, so this villain will hang around for awhile. 

I hope Killmonger hangs around in the franchise for a while as well. No, not because I own Jungle Action #6. I don't own that comic, but because he is a great Black Panther villain and I like Michael B. Jordan as an actor for sure.

Here's the panels of M'Baku in his debut comic and immediately shows his desire to covet the throne. If did say I'd spoil some things if you had no clue about Black Panther. Then again, if you've read this far, I can safely assume, you're not worried about spoilers.




Man, the king sure has a lot of enemies. Man-Ape debuted in Avengers #62. It also has the debut of N'Gamo, Man-Ape's aide, but I do not see him credited at IMBd. May be an unnamed henchmen until the DVD or blu-ray credits him.




DORA MILAJE & ZURI


We've already seen the Dora Milaje in Civil War, and in case you forgot or didn't know, they are the personal guard to the kings of Wakanda. In Wakanda, not just any woman is deserving of a king, and these warrior women have to be able to kick ass.

One of the Dora Milaje had a brief and rude encounter with Black Widow in Civil War and told Widow, “Move. Or you will be moved." While the Dora Milaje characters went unnamed in Captain America Civil War, there will be some specific characters of T'Challa's personal guard in this flick.

So we get the first named Dora Milaje seen in this trailer played by Danai Gurira. Her character is Oyoke, and in the comics, she is a Dora Milaje and one of the "wives in training".


Apparently, it seems that she is the leader of the Dora Milaje in this flick and will have a pretty substantial part in the film. Well, at least, we'll finally get to see how badass these Wakandan warrior women are finally, and the trailer does have them in action.

Lupita Nyong'o is playing the character of Nakia from the pages of the Black Panther comics. Don't remember if I ever mentioned this character either. 


Nakia was a former member of T'Challa's personal guard and wives in training. T'Challa had no real interest in her on that level and even told her that her role was purely "ceremonial." Well, least he didn't string her along.


In the comics, she was close friends with Oyoke, but even though T'Challa had no interest, Nakia was obsessed with desire to marry the king. Nakia eventually abandoned the Dora Milaje and became the villain known as Malice and an ally to Killmonger.

She looks to be a Dora Milaje instead of an ally of Killmonger in this film, so she may not have turned yet. She might not either. Just throwing that out there for the hell of it because the character goes that route in the comics. 

Not entirely sure about the cinematic universe just yet. I think her debuts as Malice are in Black Panther #23 (cameo panel at end) and a full in Black Panther #24.

Both Oyoke, Nakia, and Zuri first debuted in the first issue of the Black Panther 1998 comic series. 



Zuri? Forrest Whitaker is playing the character of this trusted Wakandan warrior and confidant to T'Challa. I surely hope this is not a bit part since I do like Forrrest Whitaker as an actor and have admired his talent since The Color of Money, and he played a small role in the film. Made an impression though.

As if T'Challa didn't have enough warriors hanging around him, Zuri is a Wakandan war veteran and a respected companion and attendant to both T'Chaka and later T'Challa. Like Oyoke and Nakia, Zuri was created by Christopher Priest and Mark Texeria.

Not quite sure how significant Zuri's role will be in this movie. In the comics, he did end up befriending Thor. He also admired Monica Rambeau and told T'Challa that he should have married her instead of Storm.


EVERETT ROSS

The first scene in this trailer also has the character of Everett K. Ross played by Martin Freeman, and we already saw him in Captain America: Civil War. I don't think I've talked about this character comic-wise or at all.

Alright, so Everett Ross debuted in Ka-Zar #17 from the series that started in 1997. He works for the U.S. State Department and was tasked to escort foreign diplomats.

This character is tied to the Black Panther comics and played a pretty big supporting role in the Black Panther series written by Christopher Priest back in 1998. Then again, he was also co-created by Priest with Kenny Martinez. However, he was also a supporting character in the 2005 Black Panther comic series as well.

That 1998 series does see how he meets T'Challa and is submerged into the strange world of Wakanda culture and crazy Black Panther super-heroics from Everett's perspective. At least, the series starts off from his perspective and it's quite humorous. 

Everett Ross debut in Ka-Zar #17


In the Marvel/Disney world, however, he is a CIA operative and the Deputy Task Force Commander of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre as seen in Captain America: Civil War. I haven't a clue about what his role is or what he's there to do in this Black Panther flick just yet. 



THE ROYAL FAMILY!

Love Angela Basset ever since seeing her in Strange Days. Anyone remember that movie?

Anyway, Angela is playing Romanda, former queen of Wakanda and T'Challa's adoptive mother. T'Challa's mother died during childbirth and his father remarried this lovely gal.


I doubt the movie or movies will go the route of the comics that Romanda went through. It might, but it's pretty dark and really wouldn't make sense.

So in the comics she was abducted by white supremacist Anton Pretorius and sexually abused in his mansion for years. See what I mean?

Of course, T'Challa did find this out 'cause he's driven, and after finding and freeing her from Anton Pretorius, he invited his stepmother back to Wakanda with the honorary title of Queen Mother. She did accept his offer.

She is the biological mother of Shuri, and in the comics, T'Challa really doesn't remember her. As told in the Panther's Quest story line which ran from issue #13 to issue #37 in Marvel Comics Presents series, T'Challa has little recollection of her and sets off on a journey to seek her out. Later comics reveal that N'Yami is T'Challa's real mother.

She had cameos in Marvel Comics Presents #13 and #14 and may have fully appeared in present time in an actual story in Marvel Comics Presents #37. She shows up in #36 as well and in present time in two panels looking out a window and from a distance.



Shuri is T'Challa's half-sister and a bad ass herself. She is played by Letitia Wright. Those panther like gauntlets? Thundercats, ho!

In the comics, she even took on the mantle of the Black Panther. Most likely won't happen in this movie and definitely didn't happen in the trailer, so I'm getting ahead of myself here. T'Challa's sister, Shuri, first appeared in the 2nd issue of the 2005 Black Panther comic series.


The comic character of Shuri was created by Reginald Hudlin and John Romita, Jr. In the comics she supposedly the youngest child of T'Chaka and the only daughter.



So this is basically a refresher or for those who want to learn a bit more about these characters. I am not sure if W'Kabi was in the trailer or not. He is a character in the movie and credited in IMBd.


Daniel Kaluuya is the actor who will be playing W'Kabi, and this guy is the second-in-command to T'Challa. W'Kabi also debuted in Avengers #62 in the comics.

Once again, just talking about comics in relation to what's seen on trailer. Looks like T'Challa returning home and finding his nation in disarray may largely be taken from the Jungle Action comics. 

Directed by east bay area's own native son Ryan Coogler, this trailer is sure getting some media buzz. What did you guys think of the Black Panther movie trailer?



Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Undervalued and Sleeper Comics Part 15


When it comes to the choices in Part 15 of this series, they can be suspect. They definitely are not sleepers as the key issue goodness is widely known for at least the first two.

In short, they are known for and desired accordingly. However, there are certain aspects about them that aren't well-known or misconstrued.

I'll give you a hint and it has to do with key issues tying for a debut of a certain black costume. Of course, the tie goes by "cover date", but there is Library of Congress copyright date and/or newsstand date to consider as well.

Also and despite the fact that it pisses some collectors out there, these keys do have different "editions" as well that aren't that widely known as well. Hmmm...either they're not that widely known or just not cared about for the most part currently.

Either way, I figure it's better to cover all bases so you can make an informed decision. As usual, click this Part 14 link in case you missed it, but if not, here's the next batch of comics.




AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #252
1st appearance of black costume


Behind the scenes I am picking at the Spider-Man Copper Age section of the Spider-Man key issues extended series, so I'm just gonna pluck some of the text straight from what I've already written.


I have to admit that I'm not big on ties when it comes key issue comics.1st Marvel x-over ties with blah, blah blah or 1st black costume ties with blah, blah, blah, and blah, blah, blah.

I friggin' hate that shit. Sometimes it is very true that an issue does tie with another issue by more than just cover date. However, sometimes, just sometimes, an issue may have an earlier copyright date than the other issue or issues that tie with it.

Hey, we can go by the cover alone that states "introducing the new Spider-Man", but the issue does clearly show the return of Spidey and Curt Conners from the adventure that was going on in Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars. Funny thing is that Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 was not on sale yet when this comic hit the stands. Here is the scene that shows Spidey returning to good ole planet Earth in this very issue of ASM #252.





Marvel Team-Up #141 also recaps Spidey's return with ole Doc Conners. The recap is in the past tense but only by a mere minutes after Spidey's return, recapped by news reporter Sheena Rogers.

Ah, heck, okay, I'll show the scene in Marvel Team-Up #141 that references Spidey and Doc Conners return to Earth. It is shown below just for the heck of it, and it does look like this listing will be somewhat different than what will be shown in the Copper Age Spider-Man Key Issues section, but not much different. 

Marvel Team-Up #141 recap of Spidey's return

Marvel Team-Up #141 recap of Spidey's return

So that segment is told in flashback and that particular event depicted in Marvel Team-Up #141 happened very shortly after Amazing Spider-Man #252, even if the events going on in the beginning of MTU #141 may run simultaneously with ASM #252 in terms of continuity. I know it's confusing as all hell.

Regardless and even though the three issues do intertwine their stories and play with continuity, Amazing Spider-Man #252 should be considered the 1st appearance of Spidey's black costume and/or the symbiote that eventually becomes Venom during the Copper Age. Pretty under-valued comic, and not sure if it's because of the "tied with" confusion that Overstreet and the third party grading companies went along with.

The black costume was designed by comic fan Randy Schueller. He got $220 bucks, and this costume design would inspire the look for the second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter, and Venom as mentioned before. 

To be honest, the black costume is still my favorite look for Spider-Man. Some like the original better, but I dig the black costume best.

This is definitely a pretty well-known Spidey key issue and I'm kinda hard-pressed to call it a sleeper. However, what I do think is not that well-known is that this issue does not tie with Spectacular Spider-Man #90 and Marvel Team-Up #141 as the first appearance of the black Spidey costume.

According to Mike's Amazing World, Amazing Spider-Man #252 has the copyright date of January 10th and the on sale date of January 31st referenced by several sources such as Comic Reader #216, Marvel Age #11, and Amazing Heroes #40.

Marvel Team-Up #141 and Spectacular Spider-Man #90 both have the copyright dates of January 24th with the on sale date of February 14th. Sources used for this information are still Comic Reader #216, Marvel Age #11, Amazing Heroes #40, and the good ole Library of Congress.


CGC GOCOLLECT EBAY 2 YEAR SALES


9.8 NS | 9.8 DM

60 | 61

9.6 NS | 9.6 DM 

104 | 82

9.4 NS | 9.4 DM 

94 | 49

9.2 NS | 9.2 DM 

73 | 34


For those not familiar with NS and DM, they mean newsstands and direct market editions. The 1st cover above is a newsstand. The one to the left of this paragraph is a direct market edition as most know.

Looks like we finally have the reverse when it comes to newsstands. Instead of looking more rare or scarce, it seems like slabbed Direct Market editions have less sales on eBay in a 2 year period than slabbed newsstands of Amazing Spider-man #252. 

Pretty strange findings here concerning U.S. newsstands and definitely wasn't expecting this outcome. If you're worried about rarity for this issue, there's always the 75 cent price variant Canadian Editions and here's how the two look and compare to each other in the CGC Census.

U.S. REGUAR DIRECT & NEWSSTAND CGC CENSUS


 CANADIAN EDITION CGC CENSUS


Canadian edition cover is to the left there, and they are 1st prints and virtually the same as regular U.S. newsstands except the price difference of 60 cents to 75 cents.

I still find it strange that they call it "Canadian Editions".

Quite a few are predicting that these 75 and 95 cent pirce variant "Canadian Editions" are going to be the next 30 and 35 cent price variants. I'm not against that and do actually think it's appropriate.

So, this key issues is an outlier here with more newsstands that sold on eBay in the last 2 years than direct market. Don't know what to make of that or how to explain it.

Not even gonna try and just report what I found. Take from it what you will. Cover date for Amazing Spider-Man #252 is May, 1984.






MARVEL SUPER-HEROES SECRET WARS #8 NEWSSTAND
1st origin of black costume as alien costume
1st appearance Venom as alien costume


Hell, since Sony randomly announced a Venom movie for 2018 in what seemed like out of the blue, I might as well talk about some cool Spidey Copper Age key comics. Definitely not a sleeper or not under the radar for sure concerning this comic.

Well, sort of. Depends on what edition you're talking about.

This is the 1st origin of how Spidey got his new black costume. Amazing Spider-Man #252 did hit the stands before Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 for sure, and for a while, Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 was actually the 1st chronological appearance of the new black costume.

Unfortunately, in a move to include Deadpool in a landmark event since he's so darned popular currently, it was retconned in Deadpool's Secret Wars #3 that the Venom symbiote bonded with Wade Wilson and became Venompool before latching onto Spidey before the events in this issue of Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8.

This issue also came out years before the retconned origin in Deadpool's Secret Wars #3. Not a big fan of retcons but Deadpool's new importance in the Venom mythos is officially considered part of canon now.

Regardless, Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 is a classic story from a classic limited series Marvel Comics' event. The issue is plagued with the perception of too many copies printed, and while over-all that could be true, there are different editions for this comic.

While Amazing Spider-Man #252 had a surprisingly larger amount of slabbed newsstands sales than direct market sales on ole eBay (2 years), it is the opposite for Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8. Well, at least, for CGC 9.8s in the last 2 years, and it is pretty shocking at the disparity between newsstands for  and direct market editions for this issue.

9.8 NS | 9.8 DM
 13 | 370

9.6 NS | 9.8 DM
  23 | 289 

9.4 NS | 9.4 DM
 24 | 116


Once again, take what you will from the data above. There are also Canadian Editions for this comic issue and they're supposedly even more rare than U.S. regular newsstands. Price on the cover is a whopping $1.00 instead of 75 cents! 

You can click the image to see for yourself if you don't believe my ass. Once again, more of these Canadian Editions are comin' out of the wood work, but they aren't exactly easy finds over-all as of yet online, and I do mean "over-all" as in "Canadian Editions" and not just this issue alone.

"As of yet" are key words for this issue as well. CGC does have some recorded Canadian Editions in their census currently. Here's how those bastids look so far:





Okay, so Amazing Spider-Man #258 came out before and is the issue where they find out that Spidey's new black costume is a living thing. Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 explains how Spidey first came into contact with this living thing and bonded with the symbiote costume on Battleworld.   
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 has the cover date of December, 1984.







AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #265
1st appearance of Silver Sable


To be honest, I'm not sure if this one is well-known by speculators or comic investors or if it's under the radar or what? The market just may be wary of this 1st debut of Silver Sable even if it was recently announced that a Silver Sable and Black Cat flick is in the works with Christopher Yost writing the script.

Not entirely sure why Amazing Spider-Man #265 hasn't caught on yet. The news is recent but it's not that fresh.

Perhaps some skepticism is in play here as the market is anticipating whether Spider-Man: Homecoming will be an epic comeback for Spidey or an epic disaster. It does seem that Sony wants to create or develop a cinematic Spider-verse.

Silver Sable and Black Cat though? In actual comic book source material, it is an odd pairing. I can see it working though, and it could be an interesting heist-type of comic book flick.

Silver Sable is a deadly mercenary and Black Cat is a renown thief. Definitely a lot of exciting action and suspense to work with there for a movie dealing with the duo.

Once again, not sure if this is a sleeper or not or if the market in general could care less about the debut of Silver Sable. CGC Census for this key 1st appearance has a pretty low submission total so far but quite a bit of 9.8s and 9.6s already.





Dang, already two 9.9s for regular Amazing Spider-Man #265? I wonder if they be newsstands?

Once again, this comic has newsstand editions and Canadian Editions as well. Canadian Edition has a 75 cent cover so not all that difficult to spot.

Judging from the amount that #252 has comin' out of the woodwork so far for Canadian Editions, I wonder if how #265s will compare. Then again, a new black costume?

I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel printed a boat load of Amazing Spider-Man #252s - newsstands and direct market editions both. Anyway, debut of Silver Sable in this issue of Amazing Spider-Man #265.

Either this one is still under the radar despite movie news or the market has had enough and dismissed this Spider-Man key issue. Cover date is June, 1985.





So, whether these are under-valued or not, I leave it to you to make that call. There are different editions that are considered 1st prints and currently under the radar for even well-known key issues that are coming out of the woodwork. 

Whether they get more recognized in the near future by the majority of collectors is another story. In terms of Amazing Spider-Man #252, I only consider it a sleeper on the account that most collectors still think it ties with Marvel Team-Up #141 and Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #90.

I believe it doesn't and that issue was copyrighted before and hit the stands earlier than the MTU #141 and PPSS #90. Also, the CGC Census lumps both direct market and newsstands in the same census, but I heard that CBCS is going to start differentiating the two on their labels.

If that is the case, CGC just may be forced to follow suit sometime down the road. Regardless, they are there and do exist whether you wanna pretend they don't or not. Purely up to you.

Happy Huntin' or dumpin' and see ya for more comic goodness comin' up in the next part!