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The following are Tasteecat Comics annual market reports published in the Overstreet Price Guide: | |
- 2013 MARKET REPORT - 2012 MARKET REPORT - 2011 MARKET REPORT - 2010 MARKET REPORT - 2009 MARKET REPORT - |
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- 2012 MARKET
REPORT - INTRO: This year seemed to continue the downward trend in spending & prices realized for a majority of non-key books from most time periods. Other then Golden Age, which I actually saw a mild resurgence in, and early Silver Age superhero issues, there was almost no reason to even bring this stuff to shows, as even at trying to sell it at 50% off didn't get much interest at these larger shows. At the smaller, regional, or one day shows however, there is still a strong demand for these as often these customers have less opportunities to purchase these books in person at these prices. Now, things are not all doom & gloom here. I do see a slightly positive sign to this slow-down trend! More people do seem to be spending good money on VF/VF- copies as these are really nice books that can be had for usually 1/2 or 1/3 of their NM- counterparts. One of my big concerns, is how far off on pricing this price guide has gotten in recent years on quite a few books/titles. The guide used to be fairly close to the actual resale price of a book (when sold from a store/dealer that has the customers, as compared to your average person selling out of their garage or on Craigslist). Many titles/runs need to be adjusted 50% upward or downward to get close to their current market value. This would require a very thorough look at a large % of the titles in this guide, but things have gotten so far off across the board, that I think the time has come to embrace this, and not ignore it any longer. 2nd tier Golden Age titles in VG-VF should drop around 25%. Same is true for funny animal, Tarzan, Classic Comics and most westerns. Leave good & higher grades as that seems to be what's selling. Common Silver & Bronze Age filler books should drop around 25% in VG & Fine & remain flat in Good & VF & VF/NM, and maybe a modest 10% gain in NM-. This would be a good starting point. I do not think we should get too aggressive in dropping prices here, as the economy is finally starting to come around, and we also have natural inflation, and of course present comics are $3/$4 each. So do consider when a dealer is asking $5-$8 for say Witching Hour #20 in Fine for a book that's 35 years old or so, that seems like a realistic price given a new book that may never have any demand is already selling for 1/2 that. Key issues in particular need a major overhaul! I've stated before, and I am again. Key's in Good condition sell very quick almost always above guide, as they are always in demand. For keys only, I am hoping the guide will move away from the typical spread of 50% of VG (An example would be $10G, $20VG & $30F). I would rather see: $20G, $30VG & $40F. In many cases, keys in Good are selling 50-100% above guide, then a lower % above guide in VG/F conditions. Here's a perfect example: Incredible Hulk 181 actually dropped around 33% in last year's guide (42nd edition) in Good condition to $64 from just below $100 in the previous year!?? This is a book that regularly sells for $150-$250 in Good slabbed or raw, and from a liquidity standpoint, sells faster when I get them in stock then almost any other book from any time period. I'm suggesting this book be listed at $200 $350 $500 for G VG F in guide, and then probably go up from there next year. Same is true for other keys such as Iron Man 1 & 55. Iron Man #1 should be more like $75 for Good (presently at $37!) & issue #55 should be around $100 in Good (presently at $15! I'd pay double guide for these all day long!). Here is a list of keys that should go way up in Good (say 100%, then up around 50% in VG/F, and around 25% in VF to NM- conditions). This is by no means a complete/comprehensive list, but just ones that for me are particular points of interest or ones I regularly sell. Obvious keys that already have fairly accurate pricing and are on the guides radar are not listed here: Albedo 2, All Flash 32 (1st Star Sapphire), Amazing Spider-Man: 121, 122, 129, 194, 300, 361, 430 & 431, Archie's Madhouse 22 (1st Sabrina), Avengers 57, 93, 100 & 196, Batman 181, 189, 227, 232, 234 & 608, Batman Vengeance of Bane Special 1, Blue Beetle 54, Captain America 100, 117 & 241, Captain Marvel 1 & 25, The Crow 1, Cry For Dawn 1, Daredevil 16, 131 & 168, Deadpool 1, 54 & 55, Detective Comics 359, 400 & 411, Doctor Strange 169, Exciting Comics 9 & 39, Fables 1, Fantastic Four 52 & 112, Fight Against Crime 20, Four Color 74, Ghost Rider 1, G.I. Combat 68 & 87, G.I. Joe 1 & 21, Green Lantern 7, 16 & 87, Grimm Fairy Tales 1, Hero For Hire 1, House of Mystery 175, House of Secrets 81 & 83, Incredible Hulk 180-182 & 271, Invincible 1, Iron Man 1, 55 & 128, Journey Into Mystery 84 & 85, Justice League of America 1, Kick Ass 1, Little Dot 1, Marvel Premiere 47 & 48, Marvel Spotlight 2, 5, Marvel Super Heroes 12 & 18, NYX 3, New Mutants 87 & 98, Nick Fury 1, Night Nurse 1, Our Army At War 81, 83 & 84, Pep Comics 1, 22, 26, 36 & 41, Phantom Lady 23, Punch Comics 20, Sgt. Fury 1, Silver Surfer 1 & 4, Strange Tales 110 & 135, Strangers in Paradise 1, Suspense Comics 3, Tales of Suspense 1, 52 & 57, Tales To Astonish 44, Terrific Comics 5, Tomb of Dracula 10, Weird Chills 1 & 2, Werewolf By Night 32, X-Men 101 & 266 & Y The Last Man 1. Here is a list of Keys that I think should go up in all grades: Action Comics 252, Aliens 1 (1988 Dark Horse), All American Comics 61, All American Men of War: 28 & 67, Amazing Spider-Man: 50, 101, 252, 36 (vol.2), Archie's Girls, Betty & Veronica #1, Brave & the Bold 28, Daredevil 1, 7 & 158, DC Comics presents 26, Dennis The Menace 1, Detective Comics 225 & 233, Eerie 1 (1947), Fantastic Four 25, 26 & 48, Four Color 62, Ghosts 1, Green Lantern 1, Hellblazer 1, House of Mystery 1, House of Secrets 1, The Jetsons 1, John Byrne's Next Men 23, Journey Into Mystery 1 & 112, Mad 1, Marvel Premiere 15, Marvel Spotlight 32, Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars 8, New Mutants 1, New Teen Titans 1 & 2, Nova 1, Phantom Lady 17, Punisher 1 (limited), Rai 0 & 1, Richie Rich 1, Sonic The Hedgehog 1, Spawn 1, Sub-Mariner 1 & 8, Sun Girl 1, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 1 & 134, Superman Man of Steel 18, Tales of Suspense 40 & 50, Tales to Astonish 1 & 27, Thor 126, The Tick 1, Transformers 1, Weird War Tales 1, Now, as for these bigger ticket early Silver Age Keys, especially the Marvels (J.I.M. 83, A.F. 15, AMZ 1, Hulk 1, Avengers 1, X-Men, F.F.4 1, T.T.A. 27 & T.O.S. 39 as well as others), another trend I've noticed these last few years, is slabbed 1.8's, often sell for more than 2.0's, and sometimes even 1.5's outsell 2.0's! My guess is that the people buying these lower grade copies do not have access to the GPAnalysis sales data, and do not realize they could probably get a slightly nicer copy for a little less. Heck, even slabbed 1.0's are often selling for 75% of Good, not � of good, and the difference in condition between a 1.0 & 1.5 is usually huge. These trends are not with all sales, but surprisingly a decent % of the time. Let's see if this trend continues or will correct itself these next few years. ARTWORK: Original artwork pages are selling for big money by big time artists with Silver Age Kirby's leading the way overall, but with specific pages by Todd McFarlane, Frank Miller, Neal Adams, and other artists selling for just as much if not more. This segment of our market I still feel is completely wide open with record prices being set what now seems to be weekly. If you're looking to begin collecting in this market, then an easy thing to do is buy what you love (sound familiar), as placing a value on artwork is usually an intangible thing. Now, if you're looking to invest in this market, that's a whole other concept that warrants some serious research before spending big money. Safe bets do seem to parallel comic collecting, with Kirby's Silver Age Marvel superhero characters or Neal Adams Bronze Age Batman/Green Lantern a good place to start (if you can afford these). If this seems too rich for your blood, you could try current established series like Walking Dead or Deadpool, as this title & character respectively seem to only be increasing in popularity. Covers, splash pages, and battle/action pages, or pages with key characters/storyline plots are also a logical place to start. If you're budget is say >$5000 I'd go the Kirby route or maybe a Romita Amazing Spider-Man cover/splash page, if you're in the $1-$4000 range, there are quite a few amazing covers from the Bronze & Silver Age that are available online. The $3-$500 range, has some great pages/covers/splashes from artists like Perez, Toth, Colon, and Adlard. Some of the newer artists in this price range I've purchased pages by include: Tony Moore (Walking Dead, Masters of the Universe, Deadpool), Charlie Adlard (Walking Dead), Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth) & David Peterson (Mouse Guard). The work from these artists I enjoy, do not cost too much at present (covers & early Walking Dead pages excluded), are high quality, and from very young, promising artists who could be with us for the next 30+ years. I highly recommend searching Ebay, Heritage, Comic Connect, Comic Link, Splash Page, Romitaman & Nostalgic Collectibles inventories/auctions to get a sense of what things are selling for before diving in to any large investments. GOLDEN AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Action Comics #29 is NOT the first Lois Lane cover. It is Action Comics #27. Our price guide needs to change this information. Issue #29 is the 2nd Lois Lane cover. Lois appears behind Superman on #27 in a yellow dress (ironically she is also wearing a very similar yellow dress on the cover of #29). There are only 2 woman in the Superman story, one is a retirement age woman who is a villain, and the other is Lois, who is wearing a yellow dress and is called by name, so you know it's Lois. I brought this information up several years ago in my market report, but was not changed, so I�m stating this again, so that hopefully our guide will be corrected. Now, for the Golden Age, I would say that Good girl books, romance & crime books all need to come up, as well as early Archie�s/Pep�s. Many of these need a 25% upward adjustment in Fine & higher, as they are scarce in these grades. After doing the 3 biggest shows in the country this year, I�ve come to realize that there just aren�t that many of these books around anymore in these grades, or dealers with huge inventories just have stopped bringing them to shows, and are mostly just bringing super hero, classic covers, pedigree books (Mile High�s, Crippen�s, etc..) or super high grade which for Golden Age would be 8.0�s & higher. Early runs of such titles as My Love, Shocking Mysteries, Jo-Jo, Planet, Daring Mystery, Terrific, Suspense, all seem quite low in guide in any grade, and unless you�re at a major market show, most collectors won�t even be able to see a copy of these in person, let alone more than one book from the run, or have a choice of grades. Archie�s under #50 & Pep�s under #100 all need a large bump up in guide across the board, and especially in VF to NM- (25% increase in lower grades & 100% in high grade). Also, Archie�s need more attention given in the price guide, as there are very few line listings or key issues given credit. The major keys all need to go WAY up in guide: Pep 22 & 26, Jackpot 4, Archie 1, Jughead 1, Reggie 1, and Betty & Veronica 1 in all grades. Recently Heritage auctioned a CGC 7.5 copy of an Archie giveaway that for years was thought to not exist Archie Your Official Store Club Magazine #NN. This lone copy sold for $1912 in February. Guide currently lists it in the promotional section under Archie Comics "Official Boy Scout Outfitter" with a line listing between $48 - $725. This book described above is actually the Boy Scout Outfitter comic listed in guide. The Boy Scout Outfitter is actually a comic that does not exist, as it is actually the name of an ad on the back of this comic. I suggest a line listing of: Archie Your Official Store Club Magazine #NN (Very Rare) $300 $600 $1000 $2000 ---- -----. At this point this is the only known sale/copy of this book. How about Classic covers? Good Girl covers (Anyone else think about how many Betty & Veronica covers there are?)? For example, should Archie Comics #50 with Betty on the cover be considered a classic headlight cover? OK, sure, it�s not a Phantom Lady #17 (as she�s wearing a sweater), but still, that�s a headlight cover, and this book sells at multiples of guide in all grades when it rarely comes to market. What about Archie #101? I�d consider this a classic Archie cover, as it�s the only one from the 1950�s or earlier that has a close up of Archie & Veronica and nothing else. One of the most minimal Archie covers from any time period, and one could even make the case of it being a headlight cover! Another example is, Everything�s Archie #137 has Archie editor Victor Gorelick appearing in a story with writer Rich Margopoulos referencing himself. These types of references are listed in this price guide for the Marvel/DC universe, so why not list them in the Archie�s. When I compile my sales after conventions, Archie (including all the misc. titles) books are my #2 selling behind Amazing Spider-Man & ahead of Batman/Detective! As for books/titles/genre�s, let�s start with Good Girl books� First off, talk about UNDERVALUED when compared with other genres. Many of these titles are extremely scarce in any grade. Some of these may be the scarcest books from this time period. The Fox Wood/Kamen/Feldstein books in particular are very difficult to track down. Titles like My Love Memoirs (formerly Women Outlaws & becomes Hunted), My Love Affair (becomes March of Crime), My Life (Formerly Meet Corliss Archer), My Past (formerly Western Thrillers), My Love Story (Check out the cover of #4), and My Love Secret (formerly Phantom Lady and becomes Animal Crackers). The Fox �Yellow� & �Red� covers are some of the toughest books to track down, as they are often just a few issues. Many have only 1 or 2 graded copies, often with a 4.0 or 5.0 being the highest graded, and with many individual issues having none graded. The My Love Memoirs title has NO GRADED COPIES OF ANY ISSUE! Now, granted, this is only 4 issues, but still. $15 to $30 for lower grade copies or $150-$300 for NM- all just seems flat out REDICULOUSLY CHEAP for how scarce these are. The Fox Giants are all tough books to find in any grade, as is Crimes By Women, the later of which I picked up a rare VF copy of an issue that sold via my site in 2 days! Other titles to check out include the very much undervalued Junior Comics (all issues are classic good girl covers!), Murderous Gansters, Nellie, Tessie, Mopsy & Torchy. Fiction House�s have heated up including Planet, Jumbo, Jungle & Rangers. So many gems here I�m not even sure where to begin. ALL (other than the Planets), are way under-valued, especially in VF or higher! Then there are titles like Rulah, Zoot, Zegra, Zago, and Jo-Jo that all have classic covers, and all should come up in guide, especially in VF and higher. And how about those air brushed Wonder Comics cover! Wow, let�s bring those up in guide, especially in higher grades. Hitler covers & stories have been hot sellers above guide. All Star Comics 13 has a book length sci-fi story with Hitler in the beginning and end of the story, and should have a separate line listing in guide noting his appearance. Marvel Mystery 63 is also a classic Hitler cover, and should come way up in guide, as is the issue from this title with Hitler riding in the car. SILVER AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I�m not going to talk too much about this time period, I�m hoping the rest of the world starts buying books from other time periods. Great books, great stories & artwork, and tons of movies being made from these. Marvel Silver Age keys are all still great investments, with Strange Tales 110 & Tales To Astonish 27 both heating up considerably, as is Our Army At War 83 & Sgt. Fury 1. The war books are still undervalued, but catching up fast. Wonder Women is a consistent seller in all grades, as is Iron Man. Later Silver Age Spider-Man�s have really cooled off. Incredible Hulk 1 continues to sell for considerable money in all grades. I sold a restored #1 raw 1.0 copy from my website in less than 24 hours! The 2 books showing the most gains annually are Incredible Hulk 1 & AF15. BRONZE AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Selling well in high grade, and great in the $2-$5 price range for filler issues. Quite a few books could explode in this time period as Iron Man 55 has, and Green Lantern 76 did. John Stewart�s first appearance could explode when they introduce him in a movie down the road. Fantastic Four 112 is simply my best selling book in this title. Detective 411, Talia�s first appearance, and her father�s in Batman 232 sell as fast as I get them. Werewolf By Night 32 sells way above guide in all grades. Horror outsells superhero for me here, with cheap romance in the $1-$5 range close behind. Tomb of Dracula could maybe use a few more line listings including #43, which is a Blade cover by Wrightson & is a Blade app. This one should have a separate line listing slightly above issues 41-45 & 30. Also, issue #45 is the intro to Deacon Frost, an important player in the Blade/Dracula universe & should also have a separate/higher line listing. Although uncredited, Weird Mystery Tales 16 appears to be a Neal Adams cover, and if so, warrants a separate line listing. While processing a collection I noticed Kamandi issue #58 featuring the Karate Kid (Legion of Superheroes) is not a 44 page issue as the price guide indicates, it is a normal size issue, and should be included on the line listing of issues 41-57 (now 41-58). COPPER/MODERN AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Copper Age I�m now buying heavily from, as there are so many gems here I can�t begin to list them. Many great & high grade books can be had for $.25-$1 in blow out boxes. Buy them up now, as these will most likely be going for $2-$5 (that�s around a 500% gain!) in the next 5 to 10 years or so, which is comparable to the Bronze Age books at present. Vertigo #1�s from the 1990�s/2000�s seem quite low to me in guide, and all sell at a brisk pace when I can get them in. Fables #1 should be $50 in guide, Hellblazer 1 should be $25/$30, 100 Bullets 1 & 100% 1 should both be at least $15/$20, Sandman 1 & Preacher 1 can both go up as well to name only a few. Walking Dead is the hottest title on the market from any time period, and should have line listings from at least issues 1-75. I recommend guide pricing around for NM- listing at: #1 $750, #2 $300, #3 $250, #4-6 $200, #7-10 $75, #11-15 $40, #16-18 & #20 at $30, #19 $400, and listings for #27 1st Governor, #53 1st Abraham, #92 1st Jesus. etc� Indie/Smaller print titles continue to be in demand. One to keep an eye on (which isn�t in guide for some reason?) is Knights of the Dinner Table on Alderic Group. Raw NM sales of #1 have been going on Ebay for $150-$200 with very low census #�s & GPAnalysis figures. The print run what I�ve heard for #1 was 3000. Could this be the next Bone? Another Modern book commanding big money if you can find it, is Hellboy: The Fury #3 retailer incentive variant, which is the end of a 3 part series in which he dies. Raw copies are going for around $200, and I saw a CGC 9.6 go for $500! Rocket Raccoon is hot due to speculation on an appearance in the Guardian�s of the Galaxy movie. His 1st appearance Marvel Preview (magazine) #7, 2nd appearance in Incredible Hulk #271 & his own 4 part limited series are all selling quite well. Marvel Preview #7 doesn�t even list this is his 1st appearance in the current guide, so this should be added along with a suggested NM- listing of $50. Incredible Hulk #271 should be listing on a separate line listing in guide as his 2nd app. With a NM- listing of $25. OK, I think it�s long overdue to this price guide to have a more accurate Copper Age top 10, so I�m suggesting a TOP 25 COPPER/MODERN AGE section. I feel this section warrants 25 issues listed, as it is the longest time period (30 years approx.), and has the largest share of the market from a buying/selling standpoint. So, one would think logically speaking, this section warrants a top 25 if these 2 time periods are combined, and maybe eventually 2 different top 10�s over time as these 2 periods are more clearly defined.. Here are my suggestions for the spreads in this new/expanded section for the NM-/9.2 price range based off of raw & slabbed sales throughout the past several years of online & convention sales. Please realize this list is just a starting point as I�m sure I�ve overlooked some important books: 1. Gobbledygook #1: $6000 2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1: $3000 3. Gobbledygook #2: $2500 4. Miracleman #1 Gold Edition: $1200 5. Albedo #2: $900 6. Walking Dead #1: $750 7. Bone #1: $650 8. Miracleman #1 Blue Edition: $600 9. Vampirella #113: $500 10. Batman #608 Retailer Incentive Edition: $400 11. Chew #1: $350 12. Walking Dead #2: $300 13. Walking Dead #19: $275 14. Walking Dead #27: $225 15. Walking Dead #3: $200 16. Amazing Spider-Man #300: $175 17. Knights of the Dinner Table #1: $175 18. Primer 2: #$170 19. Grendel 1: #$160 20. Walking Dead #4: $150 21. Y The Last Man #1: $130 22. New Mutants #98: $125 23. The Goon #1 $120 24. Cry For Dawn #1 #110 25. Hellboy: The Fury #3 Retailer Incentive Variant: $100 Others: Batman Adventures #12 $150, Peter Panzerfaust #1 $150 Thanks to everyone that�s read my market report, visited the website, and said hello at one of the cons. I look forward to meeting more of you, and another year in the hobby! |
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- 2011 MARKET
REPORT -
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- 2010 MARKET
REPORT - INTRO: Other then the early record sales of Action 1 & Detective 27, which many advisors talked about in our 40th guide, my overall feeling was 2010 was worse then 2009, and this is due to several reasons. First off, the economy! Unemployment is still around 10% nationwide, we�re still at war, and the housing market is flat at best with interest rates at an all time low. Does this affect you folks out there who buy your couple books a week to read, probably not, but for those of you that have a box at the local shop and normally bought 5-10 titles each week, you may now be buying 2-5. Oh yes, and that $4 cover price is ridiculous. Remember when cover prices, if they went up, went up $.10 or $.25, but to go right from $3 to $4? How about $3.25? Cheers to Vertigo for having a $1.00 cover price on some of their new first issues (even if it�s only a few). Other than economic related reasons, I saw less quality material come to the marketplace this past year, I feel this was not only locally in the Pacific Northwest, but nationally as well from my travels or weekly searches on the internet. On Ebay, I�m also seeing more comics coming up for sale as �Buy It Now�s� only, instead of as auctions, which I feel takes away from the purpose of an auction site. There seemed to be very few interesting collections that came up for sale this year, most were Silver � Modern age superhero. Where are the horror, Archie, jungle, or sci-fi collections? Locally I saw one large EC collection come in for the first time in almost a decade, and one superhero collection surfaced which another local dealer purchased, other than that, not much new in the Pacific Northwest. After the economy and lack of quality material, I also saw some disturbing new trends arise in the value of some blue chips (even in high grade!). Incredible Hulk 181 in CGC 9.8 has consistently sold between $15,000 $25,000 for years now, with an average around $20,000. This year at present there have been 5 copies sold in this grade with 3 selling for $12,600, $13,351 & $11,950, that�s 3 record low sales for the same book at its highest grade in the same year. Also, Silver Age Blue chips have finally stabilized for the first time in years almost across the board. Tales of Suspense 39 CGC 9.2 sold for $49,750, and in 2009 a 9.2 sold for $50,000, even Amazing Fantasy 15 has been flat in most grades this past year. So, demand is still there for this great investment books, but buying and flipping these books in a year or two, may not happen again for some years down the road. From what I�ve seen a book will get hot, sometimes doubling or even tripling in price, then cool off for 4-7 years, then get hot again, although who knows if the returns will be as large. In summary, now is a great time to buy, if you can find the right books to buy. When will that T.O.S. 39 CGC 9.2 will hit the $100,000 sales mark? 2012? 2015? 2020? You be the judge, but my bets are sooner than later. Below are some thoughts about specific time periods, some books I�ve purchased, some books I�ve sold, and some basic thoughts on pricing in our beloved price guide.
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- 2009 MARKET
REPORT - INTRO: First off, I would not call 2009 �Another Banner Year� as it seems is published by many dealers in this guide year after year. Global economic problems, a continued collapse in the housing market, and high unemployment are putting strains on everyone regardless of their income level. Heck even Amazing Spider-Man isn�t invincible. In August, a CGC 9.4 sold for $83,650, down $20,000 from its previous sale. Ebay still continues to move huge amounts of books, and represents a pretty good market value. Most books unless they are high grade, keys, or scarce books are not only selling below guide, but often well below. I�ve actually purchased some great high grade Silver Age books on Ebay this year at well below guide, so�. if you have money, now is a GREAT time to buy! I�m also noticing an increasing trend of more people entering the hobby due to our beloved books hitting the big screen. Yes, books often soar in value 2 years to six months before the film is released, then the bottom falls out of those books (300, Watchmen, etc..), or the movies due little to increase sales (Spider-Man 3, Transformers 2, etc..). What I am noticing though, is that these movies are creating an overall resurgence in people returning to collecting. Many of my customers are in their mid 30�s, and have children 1-5 years old, and are now buying cheap $.50 books for their kids to read. This is easing my worries about new comics disappearing (say like our newspapers) or if there will be a �Next� generation of collectors. I was also worried that comics could suffer the same fate as the music industry where teenagers have all but abandoned purchasing cd�s or lp�s, and are just purchasing mp3�s/downloads. Will today�s pre-teens purchase paper comics and not DVD�s in the future, my current thoughts are Yes. GOLDEN AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Record sales this year include Action Comics #1 CGC 6.0 $317,200 (the highest unrestored, certified copy to sell on the open market with only 4 higher, the highest being an 8.5 which is easily a million dollar book at this point), Walt Disney�s Comics & Stories CGC 9.4 $116,513, Detective Comics 27 CGC 1.5 $83,650, Action Comics CGC 1.8 $94,001, and a Captain America Comics #2 CGC 9.2 $103,099. Some of my sales include: Four Color 8 5.0 $250, Prize Comics Western 26 5.0 $18, and Treasure Comics 4 1.0 $10. In general I saw less Golden Age books at shows, on the web and in shops this past year. Books that have sat in our local shops for the last few years are now gone. On a regional level I attribute this to a few things, more collectors in the NW entering this market and the market catching up to the prices on these books as they continue to look like better values compared with modern $4.00 cover prices. People who might have spent $20 on a hot new variant are now purchasing older books. In demand: Timely, Nedor, DC, Fiction House, Dell, MLJ. Not in demand: Classics Illustrated, Boy Comics, True Comics. ATOMIC AGE: An often overlooked and still very affordable portion of the market from the end of WW2 presents tons of great artwork and stories that are not that common. EC�s, Star, St. John, Allen Hardy, Avon One Shots, the boom of romance books (which are less common then most think, especially in grade), Good Girl artwork, War Titles, Charlton�s numerous titles, the list goes on. This period to me parallel�s the Bronze Age where publishers were trying many things with crazy stories and pushing the (pre-code) boundaries. Ton�s of great artwork from Baker, Feldstein, Ditko, L.B. Cole, Wolverton and many others. L.B.�s romance books in this period are awesome! Prices across the board here are affordable with many titles and keys within reach of those without deep pockets. In demand: High grade, horror, romance, and artwork from key artists. Not in demand: funny animals. SILVER AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Amazing Fantasy 15 continues to be the best book to invest in. It is more affordable and available then the Golden Age keys and shows large returns in short periods of time. A CGC 8.0 sold for $70,500! The only Golden Age books at 8.0 or lower to sell for this value are: Action 1, Dectective 27, Batman 1, and Marvel Comics 1. This book sold at an average of $1,200 in 2002 in CGC 2.0 and now, 8 years later, sells at an average of $3,200 at CGC 2.0. That�s doubling at the good line listing every 3 years! Some of my sales include: AMZ 19 4.0 $42, Avengers 1 5.0R $335, 57 $70, Batman 181 7.0 $80, Daredevil 37 9.2 $75, FF4 52 8.5 $85, 75 9.0 $110, Iron Man 1 8.0R $100, and World�s Finest 176 8.0 $30. I�m seeing increased action in DC�s like Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman. High grades of these books are scarce and sell above guide almost always with little resistance. Green Lantern #7 (origin/1st Sinestro) I think is going to explode as this book is scarce in any grade. I looked on Ebay, Comiclink Mile High, and Metropolis�s websites for this book, and there was only 1 copy for sale, a VG on Ebay, with heavy bidding, selling well above guide. Increased interest also I�m seeing in Mystery In Space, Hawkman, Aquaman, Showcase, Teen Titans, and Brave and the Bold. Finding these in VF or higher is difficult, forget NM- or higher. On the Marvel side, Avengers prices have skyrocketed with the movie in the works. #1 is pretty common compared with Incredible Hulk #1, but is selling above guide in all grades. Tales of Suspense Iron Man appearances are moving steady in all grades and Thor�s/Journey Into Mystery are hard to find anywhere in VF or higher. Although AMZ outpaces all other titles in sales by a large %, sales on many books have been flat or need to be discounted a little to move unless they are true NM- or higher. Also, Detective Comics 378 has an ad for Angel and The Ape in it which predates their first appearance in Showcase by a month. I know this makes a difference for the TMNT in the modern age, should it for other periods/titles/characters? In Demand: High Grade Marvel & DC, Marvel�s starting at VF/NM 9.0 and DC�s starting at VF 8.0, early horror magazines like Creepy and Vampirella #1. Avengers $.12 issues are very hot, as are 9.4 Green Lantern�s. Not in Demand: VG-VF on non keys. BRONZE AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() My favorite period due to its diversity of genres, it�s still a great time for investment, but time is running out, as more people begin to realize this, and are cleaning out shops of books that have sat for years. Some of my sales include: AMZ 101 3.0 $14, 129 9.0 $400, 135 9.0 $70, 194 9.2 $60, Beyond the Grave 1 9.2 $30, Champions 1 8.5 $20, Daredevil 168 9.4 $175 & 9.0 $75, Ghost Rider 1 7.5 $62, Incredible Hulk 181 8.5 $600, Inhumans 1 9.4 $30, Spider-Woman 1 9.2 $20, and Uncanny X-Men 136 9.4 $55. Great titles include: Werewolf By Night, Luke Cage, Conan, Night Nurse (yes, Night Nurse!), Tomb of Dracula, New Gods, Iron Fist, Bryne X-Men, Neil Adam�s Green Lantern, Batman, Cerebus The Aardvark, Astonishing Tales, House of Secrets, Ghost Rider, Forrever People, Shade The Changing Man, Firestorm, the list goes on and on� Some crazy sales occurred this year including Green Lantern 76 CGC 9.6 $30,500, Incredible Hulk 181 CGC 9.8SS $32,001, Batman 227 CGC 9.8 $13,000, Cerebus 1 CGC 9.4SS $7,754, Night Nurse 1 CGC 9.8 $3,850, and Marvel Spotlight 2 CGC 9.6 $3,000. Many books in this period have doubled in only 5 years or close to that. Tomb of Dracula 10 (1st Blade) went from $175 to $350, Marvel Spotlight 5 (1st Ghost Rider) from $220 to $450, Marvel Spotlight 2 (1st Werewolf By Night) from $230 to $375, Wonder Woman 179 (1st issue without costume) from $65 to $115, Green Lantern 76 (first N. Adams) from $500 to $1200 (and may I add selling well above this presently!), Conan 1 from $270 to $400 & 23 (1st Red Sonja) from $40 to $80. Then you�ve got the price variants like Iron Fist 14 $.35 which went from $400 to $1200 (selling well above this), and Star Wars #1 $.35 variant which just finally got a line listing in guide and had a CGC 9.0 sell this year for $3,000 (2x guide). Many non keys though are also going up faster percent wise then other time periods such as Werewolf By Night, which has increased about 60% as a title in 5 years, same as Bryne�s X-Men run. Trying finding high grade 9.6 or higher copes of Firestorm #1 or Shade The Changing Man #1? Trying finding a Ghosts #1 in 9.2 or higher? I haven�t even seen that book in Portland in the six years I�ve lived here (in any grade!). Tough books like Batman 227 are selling for crazy multiples above guide in 9.6 or 9.8�s. What�s up with Heavy Metal not being in guide? This is a well read magazine. Also the Brittish Magazine Warrior isn�t in guide and should be as it features the first appearances of Miracleman and V for Vendetta. In Demand: High Grade of almost any title/publisher and Good copies for $.50 to read. Not in demand VG-VF unless in the $.50-$1 range. COPPER/MODERN AGE: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() There are many opportunities to find key issues here, but large print runs, and plenty of high grades still floating around keep prices down. Some of my sales include: AMZ 225 9.6 $33, 238 9.6 $125, 245 9.8 $38, 252 9.0 $40, Fables 1 9.4 $45, John Bryne�s Next Men 9.4 $45 & $35, Ms. Marvel 17 9.4 $40, New Mutants 1 PGX 9.9 $120, 98 9.4 $62(2x), Preacher 1 9.2 $25, Sandman 1 9.4 $45, and Transformers 1 9.2 $25. I�ve noticed an increase in demand for $.50 & $.75 cover price books. Moon Night #1 $.50 cover is getting harder to find in NM-, as is New Mutants 1, and Alpha Flight 1. Ghost Rider (�92 series) is in demand again, as are Valiant�s, especially Solar Man of the Atom, Rai, and Harbinger. Now is the time to put complete runs together of 9.6/9.8�s of these books while they are cheap, cause these books that are $6 in guide will be $15 in guide probably sooner then you realize. Solar Man of the Atom 10 CGC 9.8 sells for like $500, but watch for 9.8�s of issues 4 & 5, both tough to find in grade. The new House of Mystery series is a great read and has awesome mini stories within most issues by some great upcoming writers & artists. Mouse Guard first printings are hard to find and a great read/investment. Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 8 sells well, although the story is beginning to drag. Walking Dead CGC 9.2�s & unslabbed NM- books are selling between $100-$150, which makes it one of the most valuable modern age books (could someone tell me why?). I know Kirkman is doing good work, but why this series and not Invincible or Marvel Zombies? Buy all 3 of these though, all great reads/artwork and valuable books. Miracleman continues to sell well in all issues with later issues scare in grade. Trying finding a 9.8 of issue 23 or 24! There is only 1 recorded sale of a Miracleman 23 CGC 9.8, which happened in 2008 for $823, where issue 15 sells every year in this grade for less. NYX 3 has cooled a bit, but I think over the long run is going to be an important modern key book as this character develops. The entire 7 issue series is a great read with awesome artwork. Small indie�s are available all over the place, many not in guide such as Continum and Panda Khan. Micronauts #1 should have a line listing now as it�s from 1979 and is a 59 issue series. Vertigo, Dark Horse, and Image seem to be paving the way on the modern front with great stories/artwork, and Marvel/DC seem more and more predictable. Older Vertigo #1�s are high in demand and sell at or above guide consistently. New Mutants 87 & 98 are very in demand (is there any reason why 98 does not have a line listing of at least $35 for NM-??). Fables 1 is a hot book and the entire series sells well, as does Grimm�s Fairy Tales. Transformers and GI Joe are both selling well and good investments. In Demand: Vertigo #1�s, Kirkman (Invincible, Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies), Kick Ass, Chew, New Mutants 1, 87, 98, Green Lantern, and Buffy season eight. Not in Demand: $3 back issues & $4 cover prices! TOP |