Archive for August, 2006

Comicazi Issue No.2 (Part 1) — Buying or Collecting Comics?

Thursday, August 17th, 2006

What’s your fighting style when it comes to buying and collecting comics? Is there a difference between a buyer and a collector? Are speculators turning the Comics industry on it’s head with their buying tactics? What advice did Marvel used to give to prospects interested in any type of Comics investment? Hang with Bahlactus and The Bad Kids for the first issue of this two part mini-series! Find out what has Bahlactus all FIRED UP in this latest podcast, Comicazi Issue No.2 (Part 1).

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Modern Day Library of Comics

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006

I’ve just come across a solid Comics resource called the Comic Book DB. The comprehensive database rocks an IMDB and wikipedia vibe and has over 50,000 Comics cataloged right now. Created in September 2005, the content is all submitted by users with free registered accounts and is browseable based on different content types such as by title, creators, publishers, story arcs, and more. This is truly a modern day library of Comics with the potential to be the de facto resource for Comics clue.

The search engine is extensive and the results allow you to dig deep with some granularity. As an example I quickly kicked off a search on the Black Panther and the database returned a decent amount of Comics clue on my favorite Wakandan warrior king:

Titles:
Black Panther (1977) (Marvel Comics)
Black Panther (1988) (Marvel Comics)
Black Panther (1998) (Marvel Comics)
Black Panther (2005) (Marvel Comics)
Black Panther 2099 (2004) (Marvel Comics)
Black Panther By Jack Kirby (2005) (Marvel Comics)
Black Panther: Panther’s Prey (1991) (Marvel Comics)
World’s Greatest Comics: Fantastic Four #52 (2006) (Marvel Comics)

Characters:
Black Panther
Falcon
Huntsman, The
Madam Slay
Venomm

Issue Names:
A-Next (1998) #4 - “Who Shall Be Worthy?”
Black Panther (1998) #14 - “Turbulence”
Black Panther (1998) #15 - “Smash”
Black Panther (1998) #2 - “Invasion”
Black Panther (1998) #3 - “Original Sin”
Black Panther (2005) #2 - “Who is the Black Panther? Part Two”
Black Panther (2005) #1B - “Who Is The Black Panther? Part One”
Black Panther (2005) #3 - “Who is the Black Panther? Part Three”
Black Panther (2005) #1C - “Who Is The Black Panther? Part One”
Black Panther (2005) #4 - “Who is the Black Panther? Part Four”
Black Panther (2005) #5 - “Who is the Black Panther? Part Five”
Black Panther (2005) #12 - “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”
Black Panther (2005) #1 - “Who is the Black Panther? Part One”
Black Panther (2005) #13 - “White Light, Black Heat”
Black Panther (2005) #6 - “Who is the Black Panther? Part Six”
Defenders (1972) #85 - “Like a Proud Black Panther…”
Excalibur (1988) #59 - “Enter… The Panther”
Fantastic Four (1961) #52 - “The Black Panther!”
Fantastic Four (1961) #119 - “Three Stood Together!”
Marvel Team-Up (1972) #87 - “The Razor’s Edge!”
Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #41 - “Voodoo and Valor”
Marvel Zombies (2006) #2 - “Marvel Zombies, Part 2″
Marvel Zombies (2006) #4 - “Marvel Zombies, Part 4″
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Avengers 2004 (2004) #1
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Marvel Knights 2005 (2005) #1
Solo Avengers (1987) #19 - “Desert Doom”
World’s Greatest Comics: Fantastic Four #52 (2006) N/A - “The Black Panther!”
X-Men (1991) #60 - “Night”

Story Names:
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #29 - “Lost Promises”
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #36 - “Panther’s Quest Part 14: Opponents”
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #37 - “Panther’s Quest Part 25: Dawn Reunion”
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #148 - “Triumph of the Hunter”
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #14 - “Forgotten Corpses”
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #21 - “Panther’s Quest Part 9 Justifiable Action”
Solo Avengers (1987) #19 - “The Vanities of Philip Whitehead”
What If? (1976) #34 - “”

Story Arcs:
The Death of the Black Panther
Enemy of the State (Black Panther)
Gorilla Warfare (Black Panther)
Prelude to the Wedding of the Century

Groups:
Avengers, The (Marvel)

Additional features include tracking your Comics wishlist, documenting your existing collection, and visibility into your contributions as well. According to the Comic Book DB blog, the number of issues is quickly nearing 54,000 (NOTE: this is closer to 58,000 Comics cataloged now) which is impressive and solidifies the site as a valuable Comics resource. Get down with this knowledgebase, browse the content, and submit your Comics-FU to the Comic Book DB.

SHOUT OUT! D collection

Friday, August 11th, 2006

A huge shout out to the Weeklydrop sneaker crew for turning me on to the WSJ article about a premiere Comics lot known as the infamous D collection. The mythos surrounding this Comics holy grail skyrocketed in the past twenty years and escalated their existence to a level of biblical proportions. It turns out the D collection isn’t a fabricated hustle crafted by Comics fanboys!

At the Comicazi shop, the article ignited an in-depth conversation on the science of collecting Comics that will be published as a two issue podcast mini-series. Be sure to get the lowdown with part one of our discussion when Comicazi Issue No.2 releases next week!

Hero Revelations

Sunday, August 6th, 2006

Some of the greatest stories told in Comics are the evolution of a hero. I dig the revelation of a hero’s destiny through their discovery and self-actualization. Many superheroes are not born with extraordinary abilities, but become unique from the time of their origin.

An ordinary man, woman, or child will encounter a scenario that challenges their whole comprehension of reality and manifests powers that expose their true identity. Absolutes previously based on acceptance of the grand design become suspect as transformation kicks in and the hero emerges. This September, NBC will attempt to escalate this traditional style of hero storytelling to the next-level in a new drama entitled, “Heroes“:

“Some people are born extraordinary. They thought they were like everyone else..until they woke with incredible abilities. In Japan, a lowly office worker can teleport at will. In New York, a struggling artist can paint the future. In Los Angeles, a discontented beat cop can hear the thoughts of others. Elsehwere, a highschool cheerleader discovers she is unbreakable and a single mom realizes she has a powerful alter ego. Heroes chronicles the lives of these people and the lives of others like them - whose destiny might be saving all mankind.”

When successfully crafted with a flavor that is undeniably on point, this prototypical hero metamorphasis will impact human sensibilities that each of us possess at our core.
Heroes has the potential to lend an Unbreakable style report on the defiance of commonplace perception and logic. Ultimately the true test of Heroes will be to provide solid entertainment and to motivate the viewers to challenge the unknown through discovery and self-actualization of the hero within all of us.

Comicazi Issue No.1 — Comics Movies

Friday, August 4th, 2006

It’s official! Bahlactus and The Bad Kids are back. In this issue the Comicazi crew lays down the truth on the best and the worst Comics films in this action-packed follow-up to our inaugural issue. Find out why Michael went to see Catwoman, TWICE! What would Aaron give to be the Jokers ace? Hear it all in Issue No.1! Bahlactus has spoken.

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