scburdet Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) Something a little different tonight. I first learned about this "Black Panther prototype" sometime when Boseman's T'Challa appeared in the MCU. I recall the auction prices went a little nuts. I lurked around for a long time, and grabbed this one when prices came down. Wish I could remember what I paid. I think that I got a "store stamp" discount b/c this is a pretty nice copy. I looked around a little and all/most of available copies/recent sales are pretty ugly. Maybe people are sitting on the good ones waiting for Wakanda Forever. Not sure I buy the prototype here. The name and costume are similar, but there doesn't see to be anything in the Lee/Kirby kerfuffle over creation credits about this character published a year before, and there's no overlap in creative teams on this and FF52. And the character is white and in the whitest comic I can imagine. Of course, I am willing to indulge in the prototype narrative if it increases demand for this book. Edited July 18, 2023 by scburdet grendelbo and Galen130 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Sacamano Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 On 7/26/2022 at 8:40 PM, scburdet said: Something a little different tonight. I first learned about this "Black Panther prototype" sometime when Boseman's T'Challa appeared in the MCU. I recall the auction prices went a little nuts. I lurked around for a long time, and grabbed this one when prices came down. Wish I could remember what I paid. I think that I got a "store stamp" discount b/c this is a pretty nice copy. I looked around a little and all/most of available copies/recent sales are pretty ugly. Maybe people are sitting on the good ones waiting for Wakanda Forever. Not sure I buy the prototype here. The name and costume are similar, but there doesn't see to be anything in the Lee/Kirby kerfuffle over creation credits about this character published a year before, and there's no overlap in creative teams on this and FF52. And the character is white and in the whitest comic I can imagine. Of course, I am willing to indulge in the prototype narrative if it increases demand for this book. Looks cool. Get a few more copies then really hype it up. Haha scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grendelbo Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 (edited) I dig the store stamp. Gives the book an unique and specific history. I think about a 6.0. Certainly no lower than a 5.5. (Tough one to grade by pics with a white cover.) Prototypes are fun. Thanks for sharing. Edited July 27, 2022 by grendelbo scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scburdet Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 On 7/26/2022 at 10:41 PM, grendelbo said: Gives the book an unique and specific history. I tried to figure out if this place was still around. Best I can find is a closed place in Ohio by the same name. My Dr. Strange 169 stamp had a full address that as I recall is now the location of a upper scale suburb. A current Google Street view of the Mark Jewelers address shows a vacant warehouse, so yes, a lot of embedded history that is tangential to the comics themselves. I've turned the corner on these stamps. The white cover is remarkably clean for a book this age IMO. Pretty glossy still (compared to other silver age white covers I have like the Avengers 48). The foxing isn't that bad again for a nearly 60 year old book. One of my 2 Golden Age books is a western. Definitely a bygone era in terms of subject matter. grendelbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Sacamano Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Looks to me like 6.0 is a good guess. This copy presents very well. grendelbo and scburdet 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRoboto Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 Possibly 6.5 scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Design Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 6.56 date/store stamp love scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojohand Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 6.0 scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen130 Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 6.0 scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scburdet Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 Expecting this one to take a while, check in around 2024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars76 Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 6.5, good luck🍀 scburdet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scburdet Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 On 3/17/2023 at 9:24 PM, Mars76 said: 6.5, good luck🍀 I file this under the category of books where I care less about the grade, and more about the aesthetic appeal. I think it will look nice slabbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars76 Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 On 3/17/2023 at 5:27 PM, scburdet said: I care less about the grade, and more about the aesthetic appeal. That's like 90% of my collection! This will definitely look great in a slab. I agree with @grendelbothat the stamp gives this book some character. scburdet and grendelbo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scburdet Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 They definitely noted somethings I didn't see. I'm not sure where the stain is. I'll have to study it again. I can't decide if they dropped it a grade for the readers crease, or went a little easy on it b/c the offset staple location is the direct cause. light readers crease full left of front coverlight shadow full right of front coverlight stain right bottom of front coverlight, multiple spine stress lines breaks colorlight, multiple wear front cover breaks color grendelbo and Galen130 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen130 Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 scburdet and grendelbo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...