CBCS Hip-Hop Variants: Astonishing Ant-Man #1
I’ve noticed a theme over the last few CBCS Hip-Hop Variants pieces. I’m sticking to early 90s albums. More specifically, I’m hanging out in 1993 and ’94. I’m not surprised though. I’ve always heard that the music that you loved when you were a teenager will be the music you always love. So, Dr. Dre, Nas, and A Tribe Called Quest were almost second nature to me. However, there is nothing second nature to me about The Notorious B.I.G. No, Bigs was, is, and always will be one of a kind. Now, let’s get started with the CBCS Hip-Hop Variants: Astonishing Ant-Man #1 edition.
Ready to Die
What can you say about a 6x Platinum album that hasn’t already been said? Not much. In fact, if you are a child of the 90s there isn’t really much you would say. Ready to Die is almost a perfect album. It was received with widespread critical acclaim and saw great commercial success as well. Toping out on the Billboard 200 at number 15, the album has a hard left turn from other East Coast Hip-Hop albums.
Much like Nas’s Illmatic, Ready to Die was pure storytelling from beginning to end. In fact, its almost autobiographical feel gave listeners the chance to experience a day in the life of a street criminal turned successful hip-hop artist. The was nothing fake about Biggie’s lyrics. All the pain, joy, heartache, and excitement poured out of the bars he was spitting.
If you listened to this album, you loved it. The three singles released from Ready to Die each had their own success as well, earning Biggie a Grammy Nomination with Big Poppa. The final song on the album, Suicidal Thoughts, feels almost like an ode to Kurt Cobain who died in April of ’94. It’s dark, real, and haunting. Sadly, this would be Biggie’s only studio album during his lifetime as he died just 16 days before Life After Death was released. Here’s to the greatest to ever do it.
The Astonishing Antman #1
Hitting your LCS shelves in December 2015, the Astonishing Ant-Man #1 hip-hop cover by Mark Brooks may have been slept on. To further that, after taking a look at the CBCS Pop Report and finding there are only 7 copies reported, I know this cover was slept on. Especially, if you take a look at what he has been able to do since then.
From his work on Star Wars: Kanan, Darth Vader, Astonishing X-Men, and many other titles, Brooks is an incredible assist to any studio’s art team. Let’s not forget the BRZRKR #1 variant either. So, grabbing this Astonishing Ant-Man #1 for around $40 seems like a steal. It’s a perfect homage to a perfect album and one any hip-hop head has to have.
That’s going to wrap up this week’s CBCS Hip-Hop Variants: Astonishing Ant-Man #1 edition. Let us know what you think about the Astonishing Ant-Man #1 cover in the comments, as well as the Illmatic. Finally, make sure you use code CBCSID10 for 10% off your next CBCS submission during the 4th of July sale.
