The recent news from San Diego Comic-Con 2019 has Blade returning to the MCU. They have not confirmed if that will be a movie or small screen series as of yet. But it is happening. Apparently, they have already chosen the actor who ably played Cottonmouth in the phenomenal Luke Cage series on Netflix. Mahershala Ali was deadly as a poisonous snake in the series. An incredible actor with an Emmy and an Oscar to his credit he knows how to play a bad guy. The Blade character will be taken to a new level with this actor, simply a great choice. With Ali, there will be no crazy Wesley Snipes antics on or off-screen. Simply his solid acting and an ability to portray both good or evil and make you believe it. He is the perfect fit for Blade.

With this particular news, everyone is dusting off their Blade keys again. The hunt is on for Tomb of Dracula #10 Blade's fearsome first appearance. However, are there alternatives to this issue? How does ToD #10 stand up to other keys like for instance, Blade's second appearance?

 

 

Tomb of Dracula #12-Recommend a buy

Blade is probably the best character to come out of the Tomb of Dracula series. His second appearance was fighting Dracula with the aid of the Harkers in Tomb of Dracula #12. Can this second appearance comic book bring us to the promised land of profit or will it suck the marrow from our financial bones? This issue was created in August of 73' by Frank Brunner, Gene Colan with an incomparable script by Marv Wolfman. Dracula is written stoically in this comic, the way only Marv Wolfman can. Since this latest revelation is hot of the presses, most of the prices on these books are unaffected short-term. We are going to focus on long-term returns. But give it a month or two and or any additional information on Blade and these books will have some great short-term numbers as well.

 

 

Long-Term

  • Grade 9.8 $900 FMV returns positive +48.2%: sales 6
  • Grade 9.6 $230 FMV returns positive +88%: sales 4
  • Grade 9.2 $160 FMV returns positive +86%: sales 5
  • Grade 9.0 $100 FMV returns positive +74%: sales 5
  • Grade 8.0 $75 FMV returns positive +120.1%!!!: sales 5

About 88% of all grades looked at for Tomb of Dracula #12  were positive with strong returns. This comic has great sex appeal, "fang-tastic" returns, good sales, and consistency returning positive numbers. The one negative grade of 7.0 was too skewed to really consider but I counted it anyway for an honest assessment. After all, it only had two sales and the last sale was three years ago, hardly conclusive. What we have here folks is a "failure to communicate" (FB if you know this quote's origin) on a very strong secondary key.

 

Tomb of Dracula #10 -Recommend a buy

The first appearance of Blade the Vampire Slayer was inTomb of Dracula #10. This boasts the art by Gil Kane and Gene Colan with a horrific action and adventure story by Marvin Wolfman. When comparing first vs. second appearances, remember the amount of risk involved is important. If you can make a similar return on a secondary key and not have to sell the family car, why not? How does the first appearance of Tomb of Dracula #10  compare? The price is obviously higher as Tomb of Dracula #10  is the primary key for Blade and we are talking 1000's of dollars here, not hundreds.

 

 

 

Long-Term

  • Grade 9.8 $9000 FMV returns positive +135.1%
  • Grade 9.6 $3300 FMV returns positive +154.3%
  • Grade 9.2 $1350 FMV returns positive +122.1%
  • Grade 8.0 $650 FMV returns positive +76.8%
  • Grade 6.5 $475 FMV returns positive +58.2%

These returns are nothing to shake a sharpened stake at! Blade is popular and these Tomb of Dracula #10  results cement his status as a huge superhero in Marvel and big key from the Bronze Age. That being said you can get almost the same return at a greatly reduced price; simply buy the second appearance of Blade in Tomb of Dracula #12.

The Cottonmouth Catalyst

One thing I learned from watching the first season of Luke Cage; this new actor Mahershala Ali's gives an exceptional performance. His acting has a bite like a Cottonmouth snake, real and deadly believable. This Ali will create a glorious adaptation of Blade; the inevitable boost to all things Blade especially key books is simply fait accompli.