Marvel's Black Panther comic boasts Oakland-themed cover

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Comic book fans in Oakland lined up around the corner Wednesday outside Cape and Cowl comics for an exclusive copy of Marvel's newest Black Panther issue, boasting an Oakland-themed cover. 

Since the blockbuster movie's release a few months ago, the series is still riding high on a wave of popularity.

The store was the only place in the world fans could buy an exclusive edition of the special issue. 

Rebecca Beltz waited in line for over an hour. %INLINE%

"It was a great movie," she said. "It was great to see Oakland represented in a positive light. It was cool to see that they're giving a shout out to Oakland again, through the comic." 

What makes the cover unique is that it is all about Oakland. The cover was designed by Toronto-based artist Jamal Campbell. 

Adorning the the right-hand side are the iconic images of the cranes from the Port of Oakland. On the bottom of the cover, readers will find th%INLINE%e 'Welcome to Oakland' sign. An added bonus: Black Panther and Storm of the X-Men are gracing the special cover. 

Store owner Eitan Manhoff wasted no time when Marvel offered his store the chance to commission the special cover. 

"Every month, Marvel gives stores a list of different books they can make their own cover for. We've been waiting for Black Panther to show up on that list. As soon as they did, we wrote back to Marvel and said this is the one we want to do," he said. 

Manhoff had his choices of artists, but went with Campbell because he was familiar with his style.

"He nailed it," said Manhoff. "He gave us exactly what we wanted." 

Cape and Cowell took a risk and ordered 3,000 copies of the special Black Panther No. 1 with the Oakland-themed cover.

The store usually sells 50 copies monthly. "We put them up for pre sale three-weeks ago to the point that we had to stop taking pre orders," said Manhoff.

The movie grossed $1.3 billion worldwide and became the third-highest grossing film ever in the United States. Fans found value in the message of the movie and also with the special edition comic book flying off the shelves for a mere $4.99.

Fred Moore from Oakland began collecting Black Panther comics with this young son and daughter a year ago. "I want my kids to be able to see people that look like them and know that they have superpowers too," he said.

Eitan Manhoff says it's unfortunate that some fans won't be able get a copy of the comic book, but with 1,500 copies held for pick up, if fans don't pick them up in a week, the inventory will be available.

"We've asked Marvel if we can do more. It's kind of out of our hands. If they say we can do more we absolutely will", said Manhoff . 

He remains pleased with the overwhelming response and the opportunity to sell this special edition which is uniquely Oakland.