DC Comics Timothy Hunter Books of Magic

DC Comics Timothy Hunter – Books of Magic Issue 1

DC Comics Timothy Hunter – Books of Magic Issue 1 1024 585 Craig Coffman

Let us talk about Timothy Hunter – Books of Magic #1 Prestige-Format and why you might be interested.

And Now, Timothy Hunter

1990, before Harry Potter, DC unleashed the young boy Timothy Hunter to be the most powerful magician in their universe. A young British boy with messy hair, bespectacled, oh, and an owl…sound familiar?…our protagonist embarks on an fantastic journey with everyone from the history of DC’s magical universe.

And it was glorious. This four issue prestige-format story was huge for shoring up the fabric of the DC magical universe. If you find yourself without a copy, you might want to secure one of these easily obtainable books, or even the collected trade. Let’s dig in and discover why.

NOTE:  Before reading more, I need to acknowledge that I own multiple raw copies of this book as a full disclosure.

Timothy Hunter is a BOSS, even if he doesn’t want it

Similarities continue to pile up as inspiration for the snitch-grabbing Hogwartsian wizard, but enough of that. This is more of why you should take note of young Timothy Hunter. Again, fated to be the most powerful of all the DC sorcerers is a pretty big deal. If nothing else, DC kills it with their occult offerings and topping that list is no small feat. But there it is.

As a young child, he is taken on a tour of sorts through the weird and dense expanse of DC’s occult. Shown everyone and experiencing all the peculiar and imaginative offerings. But he is offered a choice to accept his fate or not. The whole series is designed to entice and draw in the young magician. It is a great ride and to see so many characters in one small series is terrific. But it is best served read and not told.

DC Comics The Books Of Magic Prestige-Format Issue 1

Oh, and the art is amazing.

After this, there is a hiatus before he lands a solo series. A fun romp which spans 75 issues starting in 1994 (again, still before Harry Potter), and another series followed in 2004 running 15 issues. The important thing about all of this is not so much the individual books and stories, though they are really quite good if you are into this genre, but much more about what is represented with Mr. Hunter as related to the larger DC universe.

In another post, I mention that there are a few things you want when looking at a book for investment or speculation. Access to first appearance at reasonable cost (subjective to everyone), ties to many other paths in the respective universe, appeal and marketability among other factors are things to look for. Timothy Hunter is dripping with motives.

Timothy’s Cast of Characters

Firstly, he is already connected to the entirety of the DC magical universe. They all know him, and he has direct connects to a few major players, all of whom come with murmurings of future appearances on screen and are being worked into current print issues.

Who, you ask? Well let us just list three and see if they are folks you would consider heavy hitters for DC: John Constantine, Zatanna and Morpheus (more popularly known as the Sandman). Not too shabby, right?

Fortune Telling

DC Comics The Books Of Magic Series Issue 1

Timothy Hunter Dreams Big

But that is the obvious side of things. For the real meat, let us explore a little deeper. Keeping connected, Hunter is tied to the Sandman Universe. There is a new series starting October, 2018. Reportedly there will be an ‘updating,’ or something, his character.

That has been seen with characters before or just after announced in larger media roles (movies). Not a promise, but a trend. With a push for expanding and re-introducing the Sandman Universe, stir in the perpetual promise of a silver screen appearance of Morpheus (Sandman) and a dash of chronic hints of a Justice League Dark, you have potential for an on-screen bump.

NOTE: Keep an eye on this new Hunter as well as there is potential value in re-working of characters.

The Hits Keep Coming

But it does not stop there. People keep wondering about the ‘next big thing’ from these comic houses on the big screen. In my personal opinion, DC would be foolish to not jump into the magical / occult sphere. It has been some time since HP dropped his final movie, while their might be visual similarities the movie would be quite different. But pull from the same audience pool. That is a _very_ deep pool.

However, let us push further.

Swords and Sorcery. What? Yeah, there is a connection and one that could be massive (in only Disney had this). Conan is coming (yay!) and I think it will re-open the interest in that genre.

Timothy is a Faerie

Where this takes a tweak is the Realm of Faerie. Timothy Hunter is a child of Faeire. Not just any faerie parents, but important parents. His lineage stems from Tamlin the Falconer and Titania the Queen of Faerie. Not bad! This is how they tie Hunter to The Merlin mythos. If they go towards chainmail bandits, Tim could help them bring in Faeries. Big with LotR fans. Big with young girls. Oh yeah, remember the importance of brining in young as well as female readers? Double check!

PS, do not forget Hunter’s ties to demons. So pulling with Constantine is also on the table and still backtracks to the Faeries.

Tying the Fiscal Knot

How This Could Succeed

Now let us draw a path to success. Popular character tied to a very popular ‘universe’ (Sandman) which is getting new life breathed into it. If the movies want to push forward, they could use JLA > JLD > Timothy Hunter > Sandman Universe AND/OR Sword and Sorcery with Faeries. He could be a massively interesting character with deep connective tissues to the future of DC capes and cowls to the wands and wizards for both print and screen.

The Books of Magic 1 (Prestige-format) is not hard to find. It is hard to find in high grade due the the printing and paper choice, combined with the book not being immediately sought after. That just means it might not have been stored properly.

In the wild you ought to be able to secure a high grade copy in relatively short order for $10-20, and likely less. Be sure to check the corners, back (shows scraping easily) and the ‘opening crease’ down the cover. Those are the main areas I find are ‘passes’ in back issue bins.

What You are Buying

What you are getting is a late Copper first appearance of a character who stands to be the connective linchpin to many future avenues of DC properties. Timothy Hunter can flow seamlessly between so many different genres and teams without feeling ‘forced’ it is crazy. For comparison, he holds the Doctor Strange role for DC.

Merch options are plentiful as well. Pretty much anything they did for HP could apply here. They could go with Timothy Hunter solo, the JLD route or Faeries. Should they lean JLD magic or Faeries, well we have seen how those items work in popular culture. That could parlay into a larger fan-base for the character and then a bigger boom.

Hunting for Timothy

I personally think they could introduce him, not spoil that he is connected to all these other properties. Then slow roll the connections and build a whole different archetype in the comic book movie space. Not sure they will go there, but there is potential and with him coming back to the printed page it is possible. Especially as you now have the lens of fiscal success in movie properties drawn from comic books.

The Final Spell

Enough of my conjecture. In the end, you have a chance to get in on a character with deep connective ties to currently active properties and many ways to grow. With the added bonus of a very cheap entry point, it makes Timothy Hunter at the least an interesting speculative add to your collection.

Again, if you want to read more about Tim and his exploits, which I do suggest, pick up a copy of the trade and see if this fits your investing and speculating criteria. In the end, that is what we are after!

This information is presented as of 10/23/2018

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