The rumor mill churned the waters for Ghost Rider and Blade, sending their first appearances straight to eBay's best-sellers list.
One thing about the MCU, it never stops fueling speculation and gossip. Lately, there's been increasing talk of Blade and Ghost Rider arriving on the silver screen, possibly sooner than expected. Who knows if it's true? Hey, that never stopped a collector of investor from scouring the auction sites for those key appearances. At any rate it has those character's debut comics trending on eBay along with a few others.
One of the all-time favorites among Silver Age collectors came roaring back into the fold this week. With its iconic Jack Kirby cover art, this is one of the most popular Cap keys ever printed. Of course, when his Golden Age keys are ridiculously expensive, those early SA appearances become much more enticing. Here you have Cap's first self-titled SA series, making this a wonderful addition to any collection.
Once again, those Ryan Gosling rumors are making the virtual rounds. Two years ago, the A-lister commented in an interview that, were he to play a Marvel character, he'd most want to portray Ghost Rider. That sent buyers into a feeding frenzy for the Johnny Blaze Rider's first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5. In recent weeks, the gossip sites have been feeding the beast with talk that Gosling has been cast as the MCU's new and improved GR. However, The Economic Times reports that there is no substantial evidence to support the claims. Still, the idea of Gosling as Ghost Rider isn't at all farfetched, so it could someday come true.
Fans were stoked when Marvel Studios announced its forthcoming Blade reboot with Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the lead role. Five years later, the movie is still in development Hell with a revolving door of writers and directors. Normally, that would send buyers away from Blade's first appearance, but yet another Deadpool & Wolverine rumor could be fueling the market. There's hot gossip that Wesley Snipes will reprise his classic role and appear as the Daywalker in D&W. Whether or not there is any truth to that remains to be seen, but it definitely explains the uptick in sales for Tomb of Dracula #10.
The hit Amazon Prime series has returned for a fourth season, and it's pushed buyers to grab that ever-important first issue. While fans and critics agree this is not The Boys' best season so far, the show remains a hit with audiences. With that excitement and all those social media headlines comes a higher sales volume for Butcher and the gang's first appearances in The Boys #1. Judging by previous seasons, this key won't likely stay in the top 100 for long, but it's fun seeing it in the sandbox for now.
On June 23, the original Captain Marvel's first appearance in Whiz Comics #2, graded at a 7.0, sold at Heritage Comics for an impressive $288,000. For those of us without nearly $300k to spare, there's Shazam! #1. After DC Comics bought the rights to Billy Batson and his family of characters, his name began to shift towards Shazam to avoid confusion with Marvel's Captain Marvel. Shazam! #1 marked the titular hero's debut under the DC banner, and it remains a favorite among Captain Marvel collectors. What does the DCU future hold for Shazam? Only James Gunn knows for sure, but rest assured, he will be included at some point.
