TEX's BACK-ISSUE QUEST 2.0 EPISODE 6

Hey, there!

Hi, there!

Ho, there!

      What's shaking? Eggs and bacon? :)

      Hello my brothers! As you guys know, I collect comics in every language that I speak, read, or am learning to speak. I have 1st issues and key issues in American, British, Spanish-language, and French-language comics, with a sprinkling of Italian Comics...because my Italian is pretty bad still. LOL. I love comics!

      So, let's see my last buy of 2015:

It's my copy of El Gato Negro #1 (The Black Cat), published in 1993 by Azteca Productions. El Gato Negro, created by Richard Dominguez, is Francisco "Pancho" Guerrero, a kind-hearted, civic-minded social worker in Edinburgh, Texas by day, and a fearless, unstoppable vigilante crimefighter by night. Francisco's best friend was brutally slaughtered by narcos, and it is this pain that drives him to push his mind and body past their limits to protect the innocent and bring criminals to justice. Crime-fighting is in Francisco's blood. His grandfather, Vietnam veteran, Agustin "Gus" Guerrero, first donned the mask of El Gato Negro in the 1950s. At first, Agustin was a successful luchador who fought for glory inside the wrestling ring; but soon his sense of justice would not allow him to stand idly by as criminals sought to ravage his community. Agustin would fight crime for over a decade, finally retiring the late 60s, and almost 30 years later, his grandson would take up the crime-fighting mantle of El Gato Negro.

Only about 5,000 were printed, and even less probably still exist. I was happy to find out that Richard was working on a live-action film starring El Gato Negro called, El Gato Negro: Prey.

Here's the crowdfunding site, if you want to help Richard realize this film: El Gato Negro Fund

FUN FACT 1: El Gato Negro is also called The Nocturnal Warrior

FUN FACT 2: El Gato Negro is an olympic-level athlete, an expert in several combative art forms, and a skilled detective.

FUN FACT 3: El Gato Negro eschews the use of guns, choosing to depend on his own skills and wits to defeat his enemies. He does use shuriken and batons when necessary. His mask is equipped with an array of gadgets to expand his effectiveness.

NEXT UP....EL PANTERA!!!


El Pantera is Gervasio Robles Villa, a native Mexican (Indian) with green eyes and cat-like features. He is an unofficial special agent of the police - a man who does whatever it takes to bring narcos, pimps, murderers and all types of criminals down hard. What El Pantera lacks in intelligence, he makes up for with loyalty, amazing luck and an iron-clad resolve. These, along with his uncanny ability to read people, attract the ladies (and the problems that come along with them), and his devastating, expert hand-to-hand combat skills, make El Pantera a nearly unbeatable, highly-feared street-level crime-fighter.

El Pantera was created by Daniel Muñoz Martinez (R.I.P. / Q.E.P.D.) in the early 1970s. He first appeared in EDPA's (Editorial de La Parra) comic, Super Mini #40 and in the early 80's El Pantera finally got is own title.

Next to Santo and Blue Demon, El Pantera is my favorite Mexican hero, followed closely by Kaliman, y Fantomas.

In 2007, El Pantera got his own TV show in Mexico, and it was a smash-hit, lasting for 3 seasons (and I own them all on DVD). Here are the opening credits for the 3rd season of the show:

In this version of El Pantera, Gervasio Robles, son of a white man and an indigenous woman, is framed for the murder of his  fiancée. In prison, he is taken under the wing of a shadowy, but lethal figure, El Indio, who teaches him Wushu and uses his connections to get Gervasio freed and returned to his life. The only catch is that he becomes and unofficial "problem-solver" for the police at the beck and call of the General of the Police Force, Porfirio Ayala, who soon becomes a father figure to Gervasio. I loved this show and was very sad to see it go.

Imagine my pure, unadulterated joy upon hearing that critically acclaimed writer of novels, comics and TV shows, Warren Ellis, is now adapting El Pantera for an English-language TV show with executive producer of The Walking Dead, Gale Ann Hurd, signed on to produce it!! YES!!!!Somebody in Heaven loves me!!

In light of this, I thought that I'd share my key El Pantera comics (historietas, tebeos o cómics) with you all today. First up:

These are my copies Super Mini #40, published in 1971, featuring the very 1st appearance of El Pantera. The other is Super Mini #98, published in 1973 - a later, but still very early appearance of El Pantera. It took me several years to finally find these comics. Collecting foreign comics is, in my experience, more challenging than collecting American comics due to the fact that not many people kept these around - more often than not, comics were read into oblivion, used for insulation or used for kindling. The comics collector culture never really caught on in Mexico, Latin America, France and many other places like it did in the United States. That's what makes amazing finds like these all the more sweet.

It's my copy of El Pantera #1 published by Grupo Editorial VID (EDAR) in the early 1980s. I am so glad to have it!

FUN FACT 1: In the comics series, El Pantera is an indigenous Mexican, in the TV show, El Pantera is of white and indigenous Mexican ancestry; however, the actor that portrayed El Pantera, Luis Roberto Guzmán, is actually Puerto Rican.

FUN FACT 2: El Pantera usually eschews the use of guns.

Comics have many fun and interesting genres - it would be a shame to limit yourself to just one. Comics also have such a long and rich history in many places all over the world - it would be a shame just to confine yourself to comics published here in the U.S.A.. Branch out, and taste that diverse comic book goodness, and have some fun.

You never know what you might find that could change your mind, and change your world for the better.

ENJOY!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Klaus #1 Review

Klaus #1 from BOOM! Studios -

     A very, very long time ago, Klaus is a man who lives alone in the snow-tipped mountains, deep in the forest with his white wolf, Lilli. A good-hearted hunter, a woodsman and a trapper, Klaus' chief concern is trading his skins, furs and meat for the provisions that he and Lilli will need to get them through the harsh midwinter cold. Klaus journeys to the town of Grimsvig to trade, and there expects to see the Yuletide Festival that he loves so much - men on holiday from working the mines, women singing, children playing in the streets - Grimsvig was a place of merriment and cheer during the Yuletide days. But something has changed. The men are breaking their backs in the mines. There is no singing, and the children daren't play in the streets, or at all, because of the heavy-handed rule of Lord Magnus, his wife, Lady Dagmar, and their little hellspawn, Jonas. When a soldier violently lays his hands on an innocent child, Klaus has had enough; he leaps to the child's defense, only to find himself beaten, robbed of his wares, and stripped of his garments that hold the bite of the midwinter cold at bay. Wounded by the soldiers, Klaus escapes, knowing that to return to Grimsvig to help save the families would mean certain death for him. What can one lone wild man do? The answer: plenty...With a strong sword-arm, and the right help...MAGICAL help.

    Watch out Grimsvig. Santa Klaus is coming to town.

    Grant Morrison is back with this original, sword and sorcery-style retelling of the origin of Santa Claus. The story is tight - a bit bloody, a bit violent and totally humorless - but I think that's how it was meant to be at the outset. This is not the Santa we know...Yet. He's a bit of a big-hearted, but wary loner. He's a mountain-man, a hunter, double-tough, with an unshakable sense of right and wrong, and a huge soft spot for children. He seems to be a product of his world, a bitterly cold and unforgiving place, and yet, his character has an inner glow, a gentleness that makes him seem like a man out of place. I actually balked at buying this comic, but now I'm glad that I did because the truth is that I do not want to miss out on the journey this rough mountain-man will take that will ultimately lead him to become the world's most beloved legendary bringer of joy and light. If the first issue is any clue, the road will be paved with danger, and a good bit of blood in this Santa Claus meets Conan the Barbarian mash-up. Dan Mora's splendid art and colors make every single panel of this book pop, and pop HARD. Mora's work is a bit reminiscent of Romita Jr's, but more polished and much less blocky.  Morrison did a rather splendid job on this first issue, and despite my former skepticism, I NEED to see this journey through to the end. Awesome.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10. Klaus slides down the chimney right onto my monthly pulls.

ENJOY!!

Thanks for reading.

                     GILGANDRA'S BACK ISSUES 2.0...2

Tex asked for it for it...thus it shall be done. 

Behold (Lol) Dr, Strange CGC 9.4 it is good.

It's not the best pic, Although i have Tex's copy in the background :)

I bought this some years ago for $35, Wanting to know what the hub bub was with slabbed books. It was a wise buy...didn't know that at the time. i have already showed it to my mates on the CPG forum. But this is for all those others that are watching.

Dr, Strange #1 (Marvel) CGC 9.4

Maybe i'll show my sweet copy of ASM #129 next Hmm. 

This time though...

Secret Origins (DC) 1961

This is one hard to find book, Yep it has the first reprint of The Flash (awesome T.V. show) among others of course. 

Picked it up for $40 back 3 years ago. 

Till next time...Enjoy!

Jack the Ripper (Dark Horse) Originally published by Editions Soleil.

One of the best HC books i've seen in many a year. Absolutely beautiful...Stunning artwork (Jean-Charles Poupard). Story by (Francois Debois). Best first page start to a book ever...Wow.
An alternate what if Jack the Ripper. New characters & suspects, Hypnosis & MO's.

If your a fan of Gothic Victorian horror then this is for you, No...there are no classic monsters to be seen, Don't need any. They are the people, The filth that lives & roams the city streets of London in 1888.

It's a fictional theory as to who the ripper is, A man hiking up in the mountains towards an old hut for shelter. Finds a skeleton clutching a journal with the statement that he is Jack the Ripper.
3/4 of the way through the story takes us to Paris after the ripper killings in London. They are by a murderer dubbed by the press "The Baron" whose murders are similar to the rippers. At this point in the 104 page book it starts to get a little slow. Not quit the ending one expects or wants. It almost gets their...but not quite. Worth a read though.

But...the start of the book right through till that point is a roller coaster ride, Just what one wants & more. Reminded me of a "Penny Dreadful" episode which coincidentally is mentioned in the book.

I recently saw a doco as to who they now think Jack the Ripper was (It was good watching). It just added to the mytho's of what really happened way back 127+ yrs ago. This book keeps that alive, As horrible as the 5 murders were, They weren't the only ones that happened before or after them. So why is Jack the Ripper remembered...He did it under there nose & this book cements that!

Rating 7/10.

Double D Book 1 (GN) Review

Double D Book 1 (GN) from Image Comics -

   Alexander's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day was a cake-walk in comparison to the day that Danny Carter's had. Overweight, under-appreciated, and generally ignored, Danny is a teenage social outcast. His only friend is Ben, loyal, but easily Danny's equal in social ineptitude. Danny has caught stray shoes to the noggin, ripped his pants, and he's even been made to wear a skirt by his sadistic gym teacher...The day can only get better - and it does, sort of. Danny soon discovers that he has the power to use his extra body fat to fuel great deeds of derring-do, from feats of super-strength, to fleet-footed feats of flabbergasting speed. So what's Danny do with his newfound gifts? Just what any other normal teenage male would do...He ceaselessly shows off. Danny's having the time of his life, but now he's on the radar of some very dangerous people. Some might want to exploit Danny's gifts, others want to explore the reason for those gifts...Some have their own secrets to keep, and Danny's antics are making that very difficult. Danny and Ben will have to grow up fast and make some wise decisions, or they may not get the chance to grow up at all. 

    Eddie Argos, the lead singer of Art Brut, does a pretty bang-up job writing his first outing in comics. The beginning is pretty slow, and full of rich character development. In fact, the first issue seems like the beginning of any earnest teen angst story: uncool boy with his one uncool friend, in a cool school filled with cool dudes and pretty girls, and of course, the uncool kid's arch-nemesis backed by his cool posse. I mean, even the teachers give Danny no love. Then at the very end of the first chapter, there's a super-powered punch, and things get WAY more interesting for Danny, and the reader, from there. From here it becomes a page-turner for sure. It's got well-developed characters, action, a big helping of humor, and a Teen Wolf-like protagonist (Micheal J. Fox's Scott Howard, not the new TV show) - a kid who has a lot of hang ups, and just wants a little taste of glory...And his powers give him that chance. It's fun to watch. Another great thing about this book is that no one is who they seem to be - there are twists and turns galore, and the character shifts and background reveals can send you on a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. One second, you love a character and the next second they are lower than pig poop. Steve Horry's art is more than adequate for the telling of this story: his art is a bit stiff, but uncomplicated, and straight-forward, which, at times, can turn out to be quite beautiful. This is especially true when Horry is drawing the faces of women. 

    This book was well worth the money. I did not expect to enjoy this so much. I can't wait for Book 2. Double D is double dope.

RATING: 8 out of 10.

And for your listening pleasure, a taste of Eddie Argos' music with Art Brut - it's called Emily Kane:

ENJOY!!!

Thanks for reading.

TEX's BACK-ISSUE QUEST 2.0 EPISODE 5

Tis' the Season to be forgiving,

Fa-la-la-la-laaaa, la-la-la-la!

    And that's what TEX needs to do.

    You see, the summer before last, TEX had taken a semi-break from comics. I wasn't really visiting the ComicsPriceGuide.com Forums, nor keeping up to date with comics news. In fact, I wasn't buying many comics, nor reading them either. I was even thinking about selling my prized collection to help my son out with his college expenses. It was the perfect set up for what happened next...


   As a comics enthusiast, I really haven't had the pleasure of meeting any one important in the comics industry face-to-face. Sure, I've spoken with a few awesome comics creators on the phone, and via e-mail or websites, but never in the flesh. The aforementioned summer, a big-time comics seller contacted me by phone to set up a meet to buy my collection. I was very pleased to find out that he was not only an important buyer/seller, but he personally knew, or had known many of the legendary comics creators that I hold near and dear to my heart. So, he visited, and we talked of Gil Kane, Bill Sienkiewicz, and others. He was welcomed into my home, and given free access to my collection. He expressed interest in nearly everything I had, but he wanted an ice-breaker deal. He pulled out my Strange Tales #110, the first appearance of Doctor Strange, and tells me that we'll start there. He shows me the most recent Overstreet, that says that my comic is worth about $400, so we settle at about $350. I thought it was a good deal with more to come. He left for the night to return in the morning to seal "a few thousand dollars worth of deals." There was, however, an itch in the back of my brain that I just had to scratch. I checked eBay that night, and ST #110 in conditions lower than mine were selling for over $1000! The reason? A new Doctor Strange movie was in the works with Benedict Cumberbatch attached to play Stephen Strange. As you can imagine, I was fuming - not really at the buyer, but at myself for not having been correctly prepared to sell. Even still, I've never misrepresented anything to anyone to make a buy - I've even shown people the prices that their comics were garnering on eBay just so they would know for themselves (of course, buying on eBay is different - bidding is controlled not by any particular value save how much the bidders want the book).  I have never been dishonest in a deal - it is my belief that those those will come back around to you.

  So, the downside is that I lost one of my prize comics. The upside? It sparked a new vigor in me that led to more buying, and a newly cultivated habit of keeping up to date on comics news, and the value of my collection. And boy-oh-boy, did the value of my collection skyrocket! Through some great, available and strategic buys, I more than quadrupled my loss on Doctor Strange.  I got back to reading my moderns and having a good time with my brothers on the now-defunct CPG Forums.

  So, I'm letting the hate flow through (and out) of me. LOL. And to celebrate, let's get STRANGE!!

It's my two copies of Doctor Strange vol 1, #169 - this issue begins the first solo title for Doctor Strange. Marvel had just launched a new printing deal in 1968 that allowed them to print more titles, so Doctor Strange got his own, continuing the numbering from Strange Tales. This book gives the most in-depth treatment of origin Doctor Strange up to that date, extending the origin story first given in ST #115.

FUN FACT: Strange Tales would be revived in the early 70s, starting with #169, featuring the 1st app of Brother Voodoo / Doctor Voodoo, Jericho Drumm.

Here is my copy of Doctor Strange vol 2, #1, with a stunner of a cover by Frank Brunner, published in June of 1974. This book features the 1st appearances of Agamotto's Dimension, and Silver Dagger, Strange's enemy.

Finally, here are my two Doctor Strange action figures. The second figure comes from the Marvel Legends line from Toy Biz. It's from series 9 (Galactus Series), done in about 2005. The first figure comes from the Marvel Select line, from Diamond Select Toys. This figure was released this year...And it is THE COOLEST Marvel Select figure ever. With my discount on my monthly pull list from my lcs, this action figure ended up being absolutely free!! Can you dig it, baby?

Here's a video review of the new figure, if you're interested:

   So, what's the moral of the story? Forgive and live. More than likely, there'll be something better waiting around the corner for you. Don't worry. Don't fret. Life's not over yet.

   HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!


Thanks for reading!

TEX's BACK-ISSUE QUEST 2.0 EPISODE 4

HEY!!!

   TEX is back again! 

   Check it, respect it...LET'S Begin! 

   Come on comics-lovers,

   And make some noise,

   EL TEX is in the house,

   Jump-jump for joy!! 

             In this thrilling episode of TEX's BACK-ISSUE QUEST 2.0, we detach ourselves from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Cinematic Universe for today, and look at my back-issues, just for the thrill of looking!!

             You like?

             You like!

             Let's ROCK!

         

            It's Our Army At War #151, published by DC Comics in 1965. This comic marks the very 1st appearance of Hans von Hammer...The Enemy Ace!! Enemy Ace was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. Kanigher, himself a veteran during WWII, used for inspiration one of the greatest pilots of WWI, the legendary ace of aces, Manfred von Richthofen...The Red Baron. Just as von Richthofen was the scourge of our Allied pilots, von Hammer was the scourge of the Allied pilots of the DCU's WWI and WWII (although the character wasn't created until 1965). Von Hammer's only friend was Black Wolf, a black-haired wolf that he met in the Black Forest, with which he would sometimes hunt. Eventually, von Hammer would come to believe that the Nazi regime was criminal, and he would voluntarily surrender to the Americans, but not before gaining fame as a killing machine in his Messerschmitt Bf 109F, Bf 109G, and later, the jet-powered Me 262.

       FUN FACT 1: Both von Richthofen and von Hammer flew Crimson Red Fokker DR1 Triplanes during WWI.

       FUN FACT 2: Both took trophies from each of their downed enemy aircraft.

       FUN FACT 3: Both were aristocrats.

       FUN FACT 4: Only von Hammer lived to an old age. Von Richthofen was downed and killed before the end of WWI. 

       FUN FACT 5: Enemy Ace appeared on the hit tv series, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" in an episode entitled "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure":

       ENJOY...And thanks for reading!

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