In a surprise move, Marvel has announced that Phase 4 would be ending with Wakanda Forever instead of with Fanstastic Four as originally inteded and they revealed to us the line up for Phase 5 and part of Phase 6. A slew of new shows and films are coming our way so lets not waste any time!
Now that we are in a new Phase we aren’t looking to do a recap so lets open up the library and try and get as many issues as possible!
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Avengers #181 (1978) – The #181 holds a lot of significance in the comics world as many associate the number with Hulk #181 or first appearance of Wolverine one of the most significant Bronze Age comics to collect. Like the #12 is in soccer or #2 is on an album release those that bear the #181 often have some significance. In the case of Ant-Man, specifically Avengers #181, it is the first appearance of Scott Land the second man to dawn the name Ant-Man after Hank Pym. The comic itself has suffered from fans disinterest in the character and in all honesty it prolly wasn’t until Paul Rudd was cast as Ant-Man when fans actually realized there was a character named Ant-Man. Always remember as much as these articles are for the die hards they are for the people who have never read or collected comics before. Lots of fans today discovered Marvel through the films not necessarily through the comics which is a great thing. The films reach people the comics never could. To buy comics is difficult to find comics it’s difficult. There’s dozens of streaming apps and sites and only a few places you can buy and read comics. And if you want to hold on you’ll have to fight with a bunch of people to have the chance to.
I first bought this book back in 2014 at a 6.0 for under $20 before principle photography had begam shooting in August. By this time I was WAY late. I’ve tried to go backk to see what the book was worth in 2008 but it’s a bit difficult to find accurate pricing. I gave up on major priceguides like Overstreet back in the 90’s during the days of Wizard magazine that had it’s own price guide. Even trying to find an online pdf was impossible as the ones available on the Internet Archive do not come with the old guides. The prices in these guides never matched up to any prices you’d see at conventions or comic shops which always made collecting confusing and frustrating.
Not much has changed for Scott Lang’s first appearance as prices have barely moved. There was some fluctuation around Civil War till Endgame but the price remained relatively affordable. Higher grades were attainable and the comic has yet to really break out. That could all change now with just the law of averages. There are that much more people collecting, reading and buy comics every year and with every show and film Marvel premieres. But be forewarned, if the character doesn’t make it beyond a trilogy than so will the comic. It’ll stall out and never go anywhere until the character is resurrected.
Marvel Premiere 47 (1979) – The book to collect related to Scott Land is this one as Marvel Premiere series features some iconic first appearances in Iron Fist & Adam Warlock. Many try to collect the whole series as well as the key issues which makes it one of Marvels most coveted Bronze Age comic series. This one quickly became one of the top choices as it is the first appearance of Scott Land as Ant-man, his first solo story and cover appearance. The book used to float under $30 but now most mid grade to very fine got for near or over $100. Another very much underrated and undervalued book that will always flourish because it is part of Marvel Premiere but could also potentially be hurt if Scott Lang finds a way to the next dimension.
Look I don’t really trust Marvel right now. They are getting deep into the books and their track record is proving that not all heroes will remain. Look at how they killed off Natalie Portman and Elizabeth Olsen. No one is safe. If the character dies in the comics there’s a good chance that’s where they are headed in the MCU. Marvel is already started to plot out a future Avengers and with the recasting of Cassie Lang and the reveal of her new costume they want to bring Young Avengers into Phase 6.
Astonishing Ant-Man #6 (2016) – If you are able to scoop a Marvel Premiere #47 then you’ll also score the first appearance of Cassie Lang. The character is poised to make take a big upgrade especially from a recently released promotional poster that features her wearing her Stinger outfit. Because of this you can skip her first appearance as Stature in Young Avengers #6 (2005) and head straight for her first appearance as Stinger in Astonishing Ant-Man #6. Already starting to pop the book is cracked the $40+ mark and will get a nice jump once any live action shots are released. If the recasting with Kathryn Newton works out, she might find herself appearing in Disney+ shows like Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye. If she knocks it out of the park she could have her own show in Phase 6 or even the start of her taking over the Ant-Man series. There is a lot of potential with this book and confidence that it isn’t going anywhere during this saga so it’s gotta be on the top of many lists.
Hope Pym – The reason I didn’t pick a specific character is that there are a number of books associated with this character that are all up for debate. I always like to remind collectors and comic fans that the MCU primarily bases its material on the 616 Marvel Universe which is the main storyline that dates back to the start of Marvel Comics. For obvious reasons not everything is exactly how it is so you try and go for the next best thing. Hank and Janet Pym in the comics were the original Ant Man and the Wasp, and Hope Pym isn’t even a part of the 616 as she appears as the villain Red Queen in A-Next #7, a series about the next generation of Avengers first published in 1999. This incarnation which carries of the same name as the character used in the MCU resides in the Earth-982 universe. The only thing that really connects this issue is the name and I really feel like it’s not enough in this case. One of the rare times I would actually advice to collect another issue in The Free Comic Book Day edition of Civil War II released in 2016.
The book is the first appearance of Nadia Van Dyne, the biological daughter of Hank Pym of Earth-616 and his first wife that was killed by foreign agents. Raised in the Red Room she eventually became part assassin part genius after studying Pym particles when she learned of her heritage. She escaped to meet her father only to find he had been killed by Ultron. Wanting to live up to her father she dawned his gear and became the next Wasp after being accepted by her step-mother Janet Van Dyne.
While this character feels more related to Black Widow than Ant-Man the character feels like Hope Pym from the MCU if her background was ever to be further explored. Another key is that they character has a prominent role in not only the Kang Wars but also has ties to Hercules and Kamala Khan. We could also see Cassie Lang follow this characters path so it be best to scoop this issue since it’s very low cost and very hard to find.
Tales of Suspense #94 (1967) – With rumors of Darren Cross’ return and the reveal that M.O.D.O.K. will be making his official MCU debut many are speculating that Cross will actually be returning as the mechanized floating head designed only for killing. This has caused Tales of Suspense #94 the first appearance of MODOK, which for all this time been a rare under $20 Silver Age comic, to explode to a near $100 issue.
I was buying and selling the comic back in 2014 as even then there were rumors of the character appearing in Agents of SHIELD. Many speculated that Arnim Zola could return as MODOK but in the end everyone was wrong and the closest incarnation to MODOK was a Patton Oswalt lead animated series. Now that is probably one of the great casting of the MCU it seems Peyton Reed has decided to take the character in another direction. With the experience we have of seeing what Marvel does to villains it’s pretty evident that MODOK will not have a prominent role and end up being just another name scratched off the Marvel kill list. My advice is take advantage now that the comic is hot to sell. I would steer away from buying unless you can get it cheap as this book will more than likely crash after the film’s release.
Astonishing Ant-Man #12 (2016) – If you want to double your Darren Cross a better bet might be getting his first appearance as Yellowjacket in the Marvel 616. Yellowjacket was originally another alter ego of Hank Pym but after the MCU villainized the character Marvel made it official in a 2016 issue of a new Ant-Man volume made to follow up the film release. The book is still under the radar but it is a cheap buy that many seem to be reselling with #6 to try and lure buyers. But if Darren Cross appears in Quantumania as Yellowjacket and not as MODOK, this book may jump significantly before the film’s premiere.
Incredible Hulk #156 (1972) – This $1 bin bronze age issue has suddenly gained a lot of attention ever since the SDCC Marvel Studios panel revealed clips from Quantuimania and fans got a brief glimpse of Bill Murray supposedly as Krylar. The boards and social media has been running with this casting of a character that only has one appearance in this issue and his eventual death. Would Marvel and Reed bring Bill Murray in for a quick cameo to just kill him off? I actually can totally see it happen which has me reluctant to put anything down on this book. Plus it isn’t confirmed as the crowd that saw the clip are the only ones that can really tell and this seems like a reach and while Murray is listed on the films ProIMDb he is simply listed as Actor. It makes me wonder would you rather see Corey Stoll as MODOK or Bill Murray? Which makes me then think could those people who saw the clips have gotten it wrong. Who knows what they were shown other than it was definitely not indented for anything of them to easily figure out the plot. But I’ve been wrong before so who knows only Marvel.
Avengers 8 (1963) – A mentioned in the previous articles the first appearance of Kang has been one of if not the hottest book that collectors have been looking for post Infinity War Saga. The book was very collectible for new collectors but as the last ten years of Marvel wrapped up many speculators looked to the next best big villain and while Dr. Doom was in the air with the Fox right people leaned toward Kang. Since Marvel got the right back to Fantastic Four the book started really heating and then went nuclear once Jonathan Major was announced as Kang. His appearance on Loki has made this book a new grail as fans are looking forward to seeing him pop up through the next phases. With the announcement of the Kang Dynasty (which related books will be covered later) it’s a sure bet these comics will the centerpiece of many collections.
If you can’t get your hands on a low grade copy to cherish and hand it down to your kids maybe consider getting into NFT Comics on Veve? I myself have been a Veve collector since it’s inception earlier this year and slowly the app is becoming a force in the NFT collecting community and now with verified accounts and withdrawals finally becoming available, Marvel and Veve have slowly been cornering the market on digital comic book collectibles. With limited mints (copies) of each digital comic released and 3d augmented reality collectibles Veve gives collectors and comic lovers something new to obsess over. The popularity of Veve hasn’t even left the womb left alone been determined human and already it is near impossible to score many of these NFT issues on release day. It’s a gamble as members wait on their phones as the time clicks to 11:00 am EST and the comics drop and are sold out virtually at the same time. Many cry hack and conspiracy but the reality it you just gotta be refreshed and on the same clock as the app and hope you finger tap faster than the next collector. If you’re lucky you’ll get a beautiful digital copy of classic keys being released monthly and can display them in your own display case.
Each release comes with a specific number of variant covers and each are limited in copies/mints and each variant in tiered in rarity from Common, being the original comic cover, to Ultra Rare being a minimalist variant only made expensive simply by the number of available mints and not necessarily the art. Thankfully Veve has gotten a lot better and instead of offering a 5 minute photoshop they are bringing in custom Veve variants made by top Marvel artists as well as offering nothing but classic golden, silver, bronze, modern and millemium age keys. It be smart to join Veve just to see which comic they release next because usually it’s also an important key you’d want to collect in print as well.
You can also resell your comic in the marketplace since each digital copy has a unique number and signature. This is the most important aspect of Veve and what makes it legit and ahead of the game. Before you couldn’t withdrawal and gems were no different than some of these cryptocurrency scams but was withdrawals were made available and member had to become verified as well as Veve fixing the gem system which had become as inflated as GTA with members selling and buying comics for thousands of gems which each gem equating about $1 US. It was crazy but even nuttier after the system was fixed and withdrawals made available the Veve gem still literally equates a US $1 making it a powerful currency. How eventually Veve handles this in the future will be interesting to monitor but for now many are taking advantage of a stable crypto/NFT system while the rest of cryptoland continues to burn.
As much as I’d like to give you all everything putting these together is crazy time consuming so I appreciate your patience because I want to do the same thing for every upcoming title in Phase 5! Next we will dive in Secret Invasion, GotG and more!
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