Gatsby77

Thank you. Daredevil has # 7, 131 & 158 (yes - first Miller still matters). Iron Man is arguably more keyless, despite 55 being such a monster. 2 keys out of 1-100, then a huge drop-off in value before the next 3-4 keys in 101-300 collectively.

Unpopular opinion: Warlock. That Marvel managed to do an Infinity Gauntlet adaption and a Captain Marvel movie - as well as two Guardians films, and the closest we got was a post-credits cameo of a female Warlock (what - was it literally "Her"?) means he's not gonna' happen. Stop trying to make fetch happen.

You joke, but Leap Frog is a major character in one of the best Daredevil stories I've ever read. "Wake Up" - Daredevil (vol. 2) # 16-19, Bendis's first work on the title. It's a masterpiece, and easily equal to - or better than - any of the stories from Miller's first run. *Highly* recommended, as the story transcends comic books -- and that Bendis reached all the way back to vol. 1 # 25 to feature freakin' Leap Frog is amazing in its own right. I could easily see this storyline feature as the B-plot of a Netflix (or Disney+) Daredevil storyline, although tonally it's more in line with Jessica Jones, WandaVision, or even Law & Order SVU.

My childhood buddy has a page of original art from this issue. No Spidey, alas!

Given there's only two episodes left and we haven't yet seen the Power Broker, I'm thinking it's

90% of the finished film was from Norton's -script. And yet a) Penn still was the only credited screenwriter (note the myriad sources that quote journalist Anne Thompson, who pointed out "The Writer's Guild tends to favor plot, structure and pre-existing characters over dialogue") and b) Norton believes Marvel effectively hired him under false pretenses because they gave him creative control in his contract and then cut 20 minutes of his -script - scenes that were shot and finished - in the editing room. Even if that's untrue (and knowing Norton - he could be embellishing to save face). But even if he didn't have final cut, it's double insult-to-injury when his -script is shot, he's denied any screenwriting credit and then it's not even his vision to boot. For someone who is so quick to lay the blame for the mediocrity or downright wretchedness of several DCEU misfires, you don't seem to hold Marvel to the same standards re. their studio interference. (A notable exception: I think you were among the legion of fans who were pissed at Marvel for firing Edgar Wright from Ant-Man.)

Umm...Edward Norton was a rising star in 2006? He was more than a decade into his career, had made more than 15 major movies in a decade (co-starring with the likes of De Niro, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Richard Gere & Anthony Hopkins) and had two Oscar nominations under his belt. He was easily a bigger star when he was cast than Robert Downey, Jr. at that point. And his well-known (albeit uncredited) re-write on Frida had helped Salma Hayek score an Oscar nomination just a few years earlier.

And yet, for all that, Marvel hired Norton to rewrite the -script, as well as star. Giving him only about a month to do so. Marvel shot Norton's -script, not Penn's. Producer Gale Anne Hurd acknowledged at Comic Con that Norton wrote it - hence Penn's going to arbitration for (and winning sole) screenwriting credit. And yet Marvel then butchered Norton's vision in the editing room, excising ~20 minutes of footage that added depth and characterization. Yes - Norton's a diva and a . But Marvel went with his page one rewrite over Penn's. Only to then go all Harvey Weinstein on the editing room later on.

Nope. It was pure fan-service and arguably not canon. Why? 1) Feige knew exactly what he was doing when he approved the theatrical Iron Man 3 -script - and this was validated by the critical reviews and worldwide box office success. 2) If it was *truly* important to the MCU (and canonical), it would have been included as a mid- or post-credits teaser in any of the next half dozen MCU films. Including it merely as a DVD extra means it's got all the weight of a deleted scene.

Weird take - that Edward Norton is somehow a lesser writer than Norton, given that Norton's genre is entirely different. Norton's style of dramas aren't blockbusters. Also weird because Zak Penn's written some true garbage as well (Suspect Zero, Elektra). And Half of Hollywood was involved in The Last Action Hero re-write, including not just Shane Black but also folks like Carrie Fisher and William Goldman. You really want to make the case for Zak Penn's writing over William Goldman? Good luck with that!

Spot on. I know a lot of folks here are still sore about the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, but if there's one solid screenwriting tip I know, it's: Don't mess with Shane Black -script.

Wait - so people are now blaming The Incredible Hulk's box office mediocrity on Norton's rewrites? I call BS. Yes - Norton's a diva and its well-known his behavior on that film got him not only recast as Banner but also largely blacklisted by Hollywood. But everything I've read indicates Norton's -script changes actually *improved* the -script, adding actual character development at the expense of a few action scenes, and having it align more closely not only with the Bruce Jones "Return of the Monster" run that started with Incredible Hulk # 34 but also the thematic tone of the 70s TV show. And I've yet to meet anyone who has seen both Hulk films who thinks Ang Lee's is the better one. The bigger issue is it's *really* hard to make a Hulk solo film compelling.

Fair. My “average 8.0” is a generous estimate, but I thought it necessary because that photo gets re-posted anytime someone brings up Marvel Team-Up 1, and yet we *know* it’s an incredibly rare book in high grade. That photo may indeed contain 500+ copies of the book - but there are (still) only 100 copies (max) total in 9.4 or better. Given that it’s now a solid $1,000 book in 9.4 (up from $800 last summer), you’d think there’d be far more high-grade slabs.

It went from being a $250 book to being a $100 book - that’s a pretty steep drop for an established key. This was after all three monthly series were cancelled and the Wrightson mini (1998?) bombed. Even Overstreet’s dropped their top value for the book to $100.

Might have been. I was going to monthly conventions at the Holiday Inn in Philly. For reference, the 1989-1990 Overstreets lists FF # 48 in $35 in VF and just $48 in NM. So it stands to reason that $60 for VF copies in 1991-92 isn't much of a stretch. But the point is...the bulk. Like - these were just normal regional Philly shows, but multiple tables had literal piles (again 20-40 copies per) of books like FF 48, Iron Man 1, and Conan 1. All were out of my price range, so instead I bought from the Kamandi # 1 pile, an 8.0 copy for $8. None of those books are rare, just like Marvel Team-Up # 1 isn't rare...except in very high grade.

Sure - if you take into account those are likely 8.0 copies. and I’m not sure why folks keep comparing today’s prices to those of the 90s, some 20+ (but more likely 25-30) years ago. Hell - I remember conventions in the early 90s with piles (like, 30-40 copies) of FF 48 in clean 7.0-8.0 for $60 per. I also bought my 9.0 copy of ASM 129 in the late 90s in between Punisher series when the character was out-of-favor for only $90 Has exactly zero relevance to prices or availability today.

Put another way - that photo shows 500+ copies of the book. Today it’s a $1,000 book in 9.4, yet the CGC Census shows just 100 copies total graded above CGC 9.2... out of 1075+ submissions.

We discussed this photo earlier in the thread. The book is only rare in truly high grade. The vast majority of the copies on this photo are likely 7.0-9.0, and the lack of an explosion in graded 9.2+ copies in the decade since it was taken bears this out. As with another tough black cover - Marvel Premiere 1, there’s a world of difference between a 9.0 and a 9.4, let alone 9.6 / 9.8.

Reflagging this gem now that last GPA on a normal ($.30) CGC 9.8 Star Wars # 1 is $6,200, and a copy on Comiclink has surpassed $6,200 with 48 hours still to go.

The original Astro City miniseries was *amazing.* And I know it’s “Samaritan” but Astro City # 1 is one of the best standalone Superman stories I’ve read. ”In my dreams I can fly...”

This post actually proves my point. Yes - Marvel’s had some turkeys (cough - Thor 2, Guardians 2), but DC first announced its solo Flash film in July 2013. 7 years later we haven’t even had a casting announcement. Meanwhile in that time we’ve seen two films each featuring such D-list characters as Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy. And you really want to argue average quality of the respective films that have been released? The biggest tragedy here is that DC started so far ahead of Marvel - with the Nolan Batman trilogy and even Man of Steel (easily the best Superman film since Superman II). We deserve better.

Loved Sharon and the cameo at the end. But it was weird seeing Madripoor - I grew up on the early Wolverine ongoing, so my my entire association with the place is Logan (ahem - Patch) and Jessica Drew.

A tale of two Jack Kirby cosmic epics:

Thanks, @paperheartbut I actually predicted this here - two years ago. Once A Wrinkle In Time bombed, this project was doomed.

Or...that movies do very little to boost the sales of new books. We saw this (consistently) with the Spider-Man films - At least since the release of the original Spider-Man 3 (aka, the last five solo Spidey films) have had nearly zero effect on new issues. Movie / TV show speculation drives Silver Age - Copper Age first appearances. Full stop. They're totally different markets.