The following article has been written by Comic Book Speculation Dot Com writer, Nico. Read more articles from Nico here.

This is your Weekend Update!

Marvel’s adult Hulu

The work week started off with a bang when the Hollywood Reporter confirmed that adult animated series based on popular Marvel Television characters MODOK, Hit-Monkey, Tigra & Dazzler and Howard the Duck had been ordered to series.  It looks like Kevin Smith and Dave Willis are attached to Howard the Duck, Will Speck and Josh Gordon are attached to Hit-Monkey and Erica Rivinoka and Chelsea Handler are attached to Tigra and Dazzler. This news was reported here on Wednesday and I encourage you to check out that detailed article if you haven’t done so already.  After the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, there is little doubt that all of these characters will receive heavy interest leading up to the release of their respective animated series.

 

Red Sonja film on hold

Millennium Films has placed Red Sonja on hold.  As was reported several weeks ago on the Comic Book Wars Podcast, the Atlantic published an investigative piece documenting multiple new allegations from persons who maintain that Singer raped them when they were underage.  Expect prices to cool down on Conan #23 and #24 which are the key early Red Sonja appearances that have seen the most action as a result of her prospective return to the big screen.

 

Disney driven speculation continues

As we continue to approach Disney’s acquisition of Fox, speculators and collectors scurry to secure copies of X-Men #1.  Two big eBay sales on February 10th and 11th continue the strong trend for this Silver Age gem.  On February 10, X-Men 1 CGC 3.5 with OW pages sold for $5,639.99.  The following day a CGC 2.5 copy sold for $4,225.00. In other Disney MCU news, Bree Larson told fans that it would be her dream for Kamala Khan (a.k.a. Ms. Marvel) to come into play in a future film.  This is of course in no way evidence of anything, but is something to be mindful about when we hear an unverified report (rumor, fantasy, conjecture) about Kamala Khan appearing in the Captain Marvel sequel.

 

Hulking Sales

As many collectors are drawn to the Immortal Hulk iteration popularized by Al Ewing.  Sales of Immortal Hulk #2 continue in the $50 range with some outliers while sales of the 1:25 variant continue to trend in the range of $150.  Interestingly, there is continued interest in the Professor Hulk iteration of this character who many speculate we will see in Avengers 4: Endgame.  In that regard a CGC 9.0 copy of Hulk #377 sold for $399.99 this week.

 

 

Who is Preying on Who

Harley Quinn and other Birds of Prey related books continue to sell well.  I was shocked to learn that one of the top trending items on eBay this week is Harley Quinn #58.  It has approximately 7,000 views and 2,500 clicks. Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1 CGC 9.8 sold this week in a live auction for $370.00.  While the voices of critics of the Birds of Prey film have been loud it appears that fans are willing to quietly show there support in the way that is heard best in the collectors market – with their dollars.  The Detective 1000 Jeehyung Lee virgin variant trade dress combos have been pre-selling between $200.00 and $250.00 on eBay.

 

Casting, Filming and Start Dates

    A number of big announcements regarding a number of much anticipated projects were revealed this week.  Production Weekly reported tat the Masters of the Univerise movie will begin production mid July from the directing team of Adam and Aaron Neem.  This project has been in the works since Sony took over the rights in 2009. It’s also being reported that the Eternals will start filming in August in Atlanta, and major Hollywood scoop sites are reporting that we will see Karen and Piper in Avengers 4.  Also, this week it was announced that the 2015 IDW/ DC series Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is being developed into an animated film. Deadline also reported that Netflix will tell the origins of the battle between Autobots and Decepticons in War for Cybertron, an original animated series that will premiere worldwide in 2020.

 

It is increasingly difficult to use bright line rules for buying and selling TV and movie related spec.  Where it was once well accepted that casting news was an opportune time to buy and first trailers were an opportune time to sell, we see more and more disparity in the market price for key issues arising out of media deals/projects.  While I will refrain from tired advice to “buy what you like” as if someone is “buying what the don’t like,” I will not refrain from my recurrent message that well informed, deliberate decision making regarding purchases are rarely regretted.

 

Jupiter’s Legacy

Mark Millar’s Netflix series, Jupiter’s Legacy, is cast and set to debut on the streaming service.  Josh Duhamel (Transformers) will play Sheldon Sampson, aka the Utopian. Leslie Bibb (Iron Man) will play the part of his spouse, Grace Sampson, aka Lady Liberty.  Ben Daniels (The Crown) was cast as Walter Sampson, aka Brain-Wave. Sheldon and Grace’s children, Chloe and Brandon, will be played by Elena Kampouris (Sacred Lies) and Andrew Horton (How to Talk to Girls at Parties).  Mike Wade and Matt Lanter will play Fitz Small/The Flair and George Hutchence/Skyfox, respectively.

 

The TV we couldn’t imagine as children

Today marks the release of the much anticipated Doom Patrol and Umbrella Academy series on the DC streaming service and Netflix.  Both shows have all-star casts and are aimed at more adult audiences. Perhaps neither of the aforementioned titles have received the kind of mega-success than some speculators had fantasized about when these shows were announced, but all of the these books have enjoyed increased sales.  For example, there were two big sales of Doom Patrol’s first appearance in My Greatest Adventure #80 on Wednesday of this week. A CGC 4.0 copy sold in a live auction for $430.00 while a BIN of a CGC 5.0 copy sold at a $525.00 price tag. Similarly, there were big sales of the 1/1000 Umbrella Academy Variant.  A CGC 9.8 copy sold for $550.00 and a CGC 9.8 SS copy signed by Gabriel Ba and Gerard Way sold for $1,400.00.

 

InTrenched

    After raking in more than a billion dollars at the box office, It appears that Aquaman will receive royal treatment with both a sequel and a spinoff.  The spinoff title is being described as a horror film, and the Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Warner Bros. has hired screenwriting newcomers, Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald to pen the film.  A handful of copies of Aquaman #2 traded hands in the $20.00 earlier this week following the announcement.

 

 

Cosmic Ghost Rider and The Batman Who Laughs

    Despite some continued naysaying and some amount of controversy the Cosmic Ghost Rider and the Batman Who Laughs continue to reign supreme as the hottest non-cinematic characters at Marvel and DC respectively.  Fans of the characters call them fresh and unique and champion gorgeous artwork and entertaining stories, vocal opponents suggest that both characters are indicative of the laziness of the mainstream comic publishers who are utilizing mash-ups to play it safe and avoid creating new characters.

Regardless of what may be said, big sales continue to roll in.  The Thanos #13 variant CGC 9.8 sold twice this week, once in a live auction and once as a BIN.  Both sales were over $700.00. Meanwhile Teen Titans #12 CGC 9.8 is routinely selling around between $300.00 and $400.00 dollars with the A cover generally seeing a premium over the B cover.  Both characters have big titles that are forthcoming and appear to be cemented into the foreseeable future at their respective publishers. .

 

Marvel’s first villain

    As we approach the close of the Disney-Fox acquisition, speculation continues surrounding the future direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Most speculators have observed that Marvel is going to space and concentrated their attention on the Silver Surfer, Galactus, Annihilus, Kang the Conqueror, the Eternals and other cosmic related entities.  Others, relying in large part of the Russo brothers public statements that they will return if and only if they get to do Secret Wars, have turned their attention to Doctor Doom. Most would agree that Doom has never received the proper treatment by Hollywood and his first appearance in Fantastic Four #5 is unquestionably a major Silver Age key.  This week we saw a CGC 6.5 “conserved” copy sell for $3,651.00.

 

EC rolls forward

 

    Fans of Golden Age horror comics continue to snatch up key books for their private collection.  This week we saw two slabbed copies of Mad #1 sell. A CGC 7.5 copy sold for a $2800.00 best offer and earlier in the week a CBCS 3.5 copy sold $640.00.  There was a minor uptick in sales of Weird Fantasy and a number of high grade raw copies of Weird Science that also sold this week on eBay in the wake of the announcement of the forthcoming EC Weird Fantasy TV series.  Information is limited regarding the specifics of show, but rest assured that comicbookspeculaiton.com will provide you with up to date information as it is confirmed.

 

Valentine’s Day belonged to a Battle Angel

Alita Battle Angel topped the box office on Valentine’s Day with 8.7 Million in revenue.  Sales of her book were strong all week. Collectors snatched up high grade copies with haste, including two sales of her Alita Battle Angel #1 CGC 9.6 for $600 and $449 respectively.  Raw copies by contrast have been moving between $50 to $100 in the VF to NM range.

 

 

“Happy hunting! You bunch of savages!!”
– Nico, Esq.

Read more articles from Nico here.