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

 

Happy Friday!  If you are here for the first time, we are happy to have you with us.  If you are a return visitor, we encourage you to check out all that this site has to offer and look forward to discussing the comic book market with you in the future.  This is your Weekend Update!

Feige Speaks and Speculators Listen

 

The Big Kahuna of the MCU, Kevin Feige, commented during a recent event intended to hype Avengers: Endgame that our beloved X-Men and Fantastic Four characters won’t find their way into Marvel’s shared cinematic universe for several years.  He told Gizmodo that we wouldn’t see the X-Men for a “very long time.” Specifically, Feige indicated to Gizmodo, “It’ll be a while. It’s all just beginning and the five-year plan that we’ve been working on, we were working on before any of that was set.”  He continued, “[s]o really it’s much more, for us, less about specifics of when and where [the X-Men will appear] right now and more just the comfort factor and how nice it is that they’re home. That they’re all back. But it will be a very long time.”

Feige further indicated, “the slate that we’re building over the next five years [is] not apples to apples,” when asked to breakdown the similarities between the studio’s past and future. “It is two very distinct things and I hope they’ll feel very distinct. But there is a similar mentality going into it, which is ‘How can we continue to tell stories with some of the characters that audiences already know and love in a unique way, in a different way, in surprising way, of which we have a lot of plans and ideas and work already going into it?’ [Then] ‘How can we introduce new characters that even hardcore fans, comic fans, have barely known or barely heard of.’ That’s really exciting too.”

In a separate interview with IGN he indicated that any hypothetical reboots are “probably” a few years away.  Feige, explained, “Probably. Probably, only because, as you’ve heard me say before, until it was all done, we literally couldn’t do anything,” Feige explains, “[s]o essentially, it’s sort of Day One. But during that time, we have built and fleshed out our five-year plan of where we’re heading, the first few years of which we’ll be announcing, as I said, relatively soon, after these next two movies [Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home].”

It will be very interesting to see whether this kind of news slows down sales of X-Men and Fantastic Four key books which have been escalating in value progressively since the inevitability of the Fox acquisition became clear.  It is clear that the Marvel has taken notice of the excitement surrounding the Surfer who is receiving first class treatment from none other than Marvel hot shot Donny Cates. Cates will be penning a new Silver Surfer book titled Silver Surfer: Black.  The series is penciled by none other than Tradd Moore and has shot prices for NM raw copies of the 1st Black Surfer a/k/a the Fallen One in Thanos #15 (4th print) to the $30.00 to $40.00 price range.  This is generally well known on eBay, but I am fairly certain that these books are available from many retailers and LCS’s.

Also this week Feige, in an interview with Efe, confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be seeing a Latin super-hero in its Phase 4.  The reporter for Efe asked Feige, “So, will there be space in Marvel Phase 4 for a Latin super hero?” To which Feige responded, “Yes…I do not want to go into details, but the short answer is yes.”  Is Feige referring to Sam Alexander whose mother is Latina, America Chavez or someone else entirely? Some will wait and see others will buy everything they can get there hands on. If you have any thoughts, please provide them in the comment section.

Fraction Hawkeye adapted for Disney Streaming

Variety is reporting as we’ve speculated in the past that Disney streaming is adapting Matt Fractions highly acclaimed run on Hawkeye for the Disney streaming service.  The series will reportedly focus on Clint Barton passing the torch to Kate Bishop. If you haven’t secured copies of the relevant copies of the key books for your PC, the clock is running.  Remember that there is a ratio variant of the first issue of Fraction’s 2012 run and the ever elusive 2nd print of issue #9.  Kate Bishop also has a number of key books, including but not limited to: Young Avengers #1 (in all it’s variations, Wizard World, Toy Biz, Directors Cut), Young Avengers #10 and Young Avengers #12, as well as Young Avengers Presents #6.  It remains to be seen what the long term trend is with these books, but there are a number of books to keep an eye out for particularly if you reside somewhere these books continue to loiter in dollar bins.

 

Secret Wars hype continues

 

If you are a return reader then you already know that the Russo Brothers have repeatedly commented about their desire to pen a Secret Wars film.  Now Screen Rant is reporting that Avengers: Endgame writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus are indicating that they would be onboard to write the screenplay for a Secret Wars movie. As recently as April 10th the Russo brothers continued to discuss the inevitability of this project,  “We will get there,” Anthony indicated before Joe chimed in with, “We’ll get to Secret Wars one day.”

 

If you are interested in Secret Wars speculation, there are a number of opportunities, including, but certainly not limited to: Secret Wars 2 #2 (the 1st appearance of the Beyonder as an entity), Secret Wars 2 #3 (the 1st appearance of the Beyonder as a person), and  Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #10 has many collectors favorite Dr. Doom cover. If Secret Wars is inevitable, as the Russo Brothers seem to indicate, it may make a lot of sense to pull all of these books out of dollar bins and to start making sets of both series.  It also makes a lot of sense to tuck away high grade copies of key issues.

Disney Investor Day

Disney offered lots of details about the upcoming Disney+ streaming service during its Investors Day live stream.  Among the already discussed animated What If series and the live action Wanda Vision (Scarlet Witch and the Vision), Loki and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier television series, we can expect Marvel’s 616 an anthological documentary series that according to a press release “explores the intersection between Marvel’s rich legacy of stories, characters and creators and the world outside your window. Each documentary will dive into the rich historical, cultural and societal context that has become inseparable from stories of the Marvel Universe.”  There was no discussion of the aforementioned Hawkeye series which would not be confirmed by Marvel before the release of Avengers: Endgame so as not to spoil the direction of the films plot.

    

Guardians 3 and the coming of Him a/k/a Adam Warlock

Now that James Gunn has returned to Guardians of the Galaxy 3, collectors and speculators alike are trying to decide whether there will even be a clear winner in the debate about Adam Warlock’s 1st appearance.  The three books that are competing for the top spot are Fantastic Four #67, Thor #165 and Marvel Premiere #1.  Fantastic Four #67 has long been considered the 1st appearance of Him (1st cameo), Thor #165 has been considered the 1st full appearance of Him and Marvel Premiere #1 is the 1st appearance of the Adam Warlock incarnation of Him.  Following Guardians 2, Fantastic Four #67 enjoyed a spike but many attribute that solely to the appearance of the cocoon in the film.  Also it is generally well accepted that only in the last 20 years has there been any real debate about this issue. In the past, Fantastic Four #67 was the clear winner, but that certainly does not resolve the debate today.  While I don’t have any hard or fast opinions one way or another, it should be substantially certain that Gunn will introduce Warlock into the MCU. Initial reports have indicated that Gunn will not be filming Guardians 3 until after he finishes Suicide Squad.  Therefore not may be the opportune time to pick up copies of Warlock books before the price bump that is generally associated with casting decisions and the initial trailer release. Right now Thor #165 is the most expensive book, followed closely by Fantastic Four #67 and the least expensive of the three is Marvel Premiere #1.

 

Silver Age Keeper

 

Arguably the biggest key of the Silver Age is the Incredible Hulk #1.  Unlike many other Silver Age books this book is not only scarce it is rare. While Amazing Fantasy #15 is a more expensive book, there are approximately half as many copies of Hulk #1 on the CGC Graded comic census.  This book is hard to find for sale in any condition. Copies are coveted by serious collectors whenever they become available and move with haste back into private collections. This week a copy sold for $3,749.99 with a copy in comparable condition moving in this range back on March 11th at a price tag of $3700.00.  Both of these figures are a significant jump from the price secured at a live auction back in January where a CGC .5 copy moved for the sum of $2,650.00.  To put these numbers into perspective, in the same calendar year a complete low grade CGC .5 unrestored copy of The Incredible Hulk #1 sold for about 2 ½ times what a CGC 9.8 copy of the 1:25 Zaffino variant of Immortal Hulk #2 sold for on eBay ($999.99 on April 5th).   

 

Walk Hard

 

The Walking Dead television show continues to languish with series low numbers.  Television stars Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohen have both departed the flagship Sunday night show.  Now AMC has indicated that it is going forward with a new spinoff series as reported here several weeks ago.  The new spinoff will feature two young female protagonists and focus on what the network said in its official release is “the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it.” The hook, according to the description, will be to see who remains good and who turns evil.  It is unclear whether there is any speculative investment opportunities left for Walking Dead comics. The price of many Walking Dead keys are at a multi-year low. Once highly sought after books and key covers are being scooped up by Walking Dead collectors for next to nothing. Walking Dead #33 2nd prints are selling for around $125.00 raw and CGC 9.8s are sitting unsold at a $350.00 price point.  Similarly, the ultra rare Walking Dead 100 Lucille variants (the Retailer Incentive cover and the Red Foil cover) are selling for a fraction of what they once sold for.  The regular Lucille retailer incentive cover was a diamond giveaway that was given to select retailers as a gesture from the distributor to show its appreciation for the incredible number of copies of this book that were ordered.  The foil variant cover was sold at a $250.00 price point directly to the public. There’s been one copy of the retailer incentive cover that’s moved on eBay in the last month and it sold for less than $200.00. A CGC 9.8 copy of the red foil variant sold in a live auction for $750.00.  This is a fraction of the price that these books once commanded in the open market and there is no sign that any of these books will return to their former glory any time soon.

In other AMC related comic book news, AMC has opted not to renew Preacher for a fifth season.  This cult classic was transformed from page to screen by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who imparted news of the series cancellation on the public via social media and it is unclear when season four will debut.  Many of you remember the roller coaster ride experienced by Preacher comics as they were championed by many vocal and influential speculators only to fall flat around approximately 25% of their high mark. The last Preacher #1 CGC 9.8 sold for $239.50 on March 18th in a live eBay auction.  It is unclear whether there is any room to go but up after falling from price tags well above $1,000.00.

 

Dark Knight, Arkham Knight & White Knight

 

This July we’ll see the second installment of Sean Gordon Murphy’s White Knight Saga titled Batman: Curse of the Whit Knight. This series is reportedly going to feature Azrael in a prominent role and has many fans of the original series hoping that Murphy is building his own Batman world.  If you are a fan of Murphy’s White Knight you should be aware that he is selling copies of a special black and white sketch variants of his gorgeous cover of Batman: White Knight #1 on his website.

In other DC Dark news, Batman: Damned issue #3 has been delayed another four weeks.  The issue is now scheduled to be released on the 19th of June. Most of you will recall that the second issue of this series was originally slated to depict Harley Quinn in the nude and outsold the first issue with printing numbers well over six figures.  Following the mainstream media controversy surrounding issue #1 (a/k/a Batawang-gate), DC censored issue #2 and removed all nudity from the issue. Additionally, the second issue disappointed many readers for a variety of other reasons (plot, pacing, story development, etc.) and now the third issue has been delayed for more than three months from its originally scheduled release date.

 

Harley Quinn still rules supreme

 

Two monster sales of Batman Adventures 12 CGC 9.8 in the past week.  On April 6th a seller accepted a best offer of $1,933.36 releasing one of the few remaining copies of this book priced under $2,500.00 into a private collection.  On the following day, a copy moved for $1,949.00. This book was downwards of $1,500.00 at its low point in 2018 and many collectors are asking whether we will see sales above $2,500.00 this year.  As I have repeatedly stated in this article, there are no newsstand editions listed on eBay in 9.8 condition and there is no telling what a 9.8 newsstand edition would sell for in this bull market.

 

I hope you enjoyed this segment of  Weekend Update. I’ll be back next week with more news and original content.  In the interim, “Happy hunting! You bunch of savages!!”
– Nico, Esq.

Read more articles from Nico here.