Did anyone catch any interesting news from the weekend's Disney conference? Here is something I gleaned, and it's quite relevant to last week's post. Maybe I'm just on a one-track mind.
(Dr. Strange in next year's film of the same name) Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't there, but he pre-recorded a video for the attendees of the Marvel Studios presentation. Many news sources have quoted him as saying in the video that the film is going to deliver "girls, cars, explosions, and a bit of astral projecting into multiple dimensions."
Girls.
Could he be referring to these girls?
I don't know and I don't care, because I like these characters. I think they are insanely marketable and their first appearances look very cheap with a lot of upside.
Marvel's Princesses?
Topaz debuted in Werewolf By Night #13 in 1974. She has some strange daughterly/submissive relationship with a sorcerer named Taboo (also first appearance) who found her in India as a child. The two capture Werewolf by Night in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of some magic books.
We already know that in Phase 3 we're getting the darkforce (intro'd in Agents of SHIELD next season, I believe), other dimensions and magic - in other words, we're getting the whole kit-and-kaboodle.
Topaz was portrayed in the series "Witches" with her looks having reverted back to their original (Asian) Indian appearance. "Witches" united three little-used magic-users into a team inspired by TV shows that were popular at the time such as "Charmed." Dr. Strange was envisioned as a mentor - a Charlie to their Angels. I think the Marvel film brain trust hasn't forgotten it and will give it a second chance. With the Edward Norton Hulk reboot, they showed they aren't afraid to take second chances on failed concepts. With Guardians of the Galaxy, they demonstrated their success in bringing good storylines from second-tier characters to a bigger stage.
What about Clea?
I think Clea will be around too. It will be a foursome. You can't ground a movie around a girl who looks human but lived her whole life in the "Dark Dimension". She'll get rescued or wrapped up in the adventure at some point, but the other girls will be the early focus.
Finally, just to point out that for Topaz WBN 13 book is a nice "key trifecta":
First appearance
This means no doubt, no hemming and hawing and no debates when these characters inevitably hit the big screen. Collectors will want this book and want it hard.
Guide values for this book in FN / VF / VFNM / NM- are $6 / $18 / $28 / $38. I don't see much deviation from that in the market.
I'm going to close out this post with the original pen & ink artwork for the splash page , which some lucky soul picked up last year from Heritage.
Two down, one to go...
http://www.heronext.com
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