Monster Comics

[Rex fury]

I watch the market quite a bit even though I don't set up and sell at conventions any longer. I miss the magazine Comic Book Marketplace because they did a great job of describing regional sales. I agree with you that prices have been on the rise for Bronze age material, but I'm not sure that necessarily equates to sales? When you mentioned Savage Tales 1 ( a book I picked up for under 20.00 a few years back) I popped over to EBay to see what the book was going for there. Prices ranged from the ridiculous to the moderate, but I didn't notice a whole lot of folks bidding in any price range.  I found I can read 95% of the books I'm interested in online at sites like Comic Book Plus. So maybe internet accessibility is eroding sales? At any rate I became disenfranchised with the market when it became vogue to "slab" books and demand high prices rather than read, trade and reflect on the stories and artwork.

[horrorhunter]

I watch the market quite a bit even though I don't set up and sell at conventions any longer. I miss the magazine Comic Book Marketplace because they did a great job of describing regional sales. I agree with you that prices have been on the rise for Bronze age material, but I'm not sure that necessarily equates to sales? When you mentioned Savage Tales 1 ( a book I picked up for under 20.00 a few years back) I popped over to EBay to see what the book was going for there. Prices ranged from the ridiculous to the moderate, but I didn't notice a whole lot of folks bidding in any price range.  I found I can read 95% of the books I'm interested in online at sites like Comic Book Plus. So maybe internet accessibility is eroding sales? At any rate I became disenfranchised with the market when it became vogue to "slab" books and demand high prices rather than read, trade and reflect on the stories and artwork.

I've been in the trenches actually buying this stuff for the past several years and I can attest to the fact that comics from the '70s and earlier are actually selling for much more than they were just a few years ago. Competition is fierce in eBay auctions for nice older books. Sometimes better deals are had through BIN listings that are underpriced to sell quickly just because of the bidding competition. If you don't think people are actually paying some hefty prices for key issues then check out some "sold" listings. Some of the ridiculously priced books go unsold as would be expected, but collectors are paying a grand plus for high grade WBN 32s and FN/VF copies of HOS 92. Six or seven years ago you could get a FN HOS 92 for $150. Man, those days are gone. Wrightson's passing probably has a lot to do with price increases on that particular book. I bought my FN HOS 92 back in the late '70s for 6 bucks. I sure wish I had bought many more desirable books back then than I did. When I got into collecting in the mid '70s you could buy high grade AF 15s and FF 1s for $100! I was a kid and had very little money back then.

I don't own any slabbed books. The premium most sellers put on slabbed book prices makes it something I avoid. I understand paying extra for a professionally graded book to insure that it's in a certain grade range and unrestored if it's a book you can't personally inspect when you buy it, but I probably already own all of the really expensive books I'll ever own anyway. Now, I'm looking to complete runs with the nicest copies possible for the least expenditure. I'm not interested in slabbed books.

If you just want to read the stories there are many reprint volumes available as well as internet sources as you stated. I like to read them as well as collect the original issues. Sales are brisk on older material so evidently reading sources haven't influenced prices much.

If you want to check the pulse of the current comic back issue market then check out a few of the many related videos on You Tube. YT has thousands of "haul" videos as well as other related comic vids by wannabe experts and regular collectors. I don't think the market has ever been more popular.

[Rex fury]

I was buying the reprint volumes , but literally ran out of room to store them! The internet turned out to be the best solution for me. Glad to hear the market is healthy. I started collecting in 1965 and stayed with it until just a few years ago. I appreciate your in site as to why people buy slabbed comics, it just wasn't for me. Id be just as happy with a Pop Hollinger's rebuild that I can touch, read and smell (ha ha- only a true comic geek would say that) rather than a hunk of plastic which resembles the amber encased insects from Jurassic World. Thanks too for mentioning YouTube as a source. I hadn't thought to look there for back issue sales reports. Do you get the impression that they reflect national or regional trends in sales? Perhaps both?  I'll check it out.
RF

[horrorhunter]

I was buying the reprint volumes , but literally ran out of room to store them! The internet turned out to be the best solution for me. Glad to hear the market is healthy. I started collecting in 1965 and stayed with it until just a few years ago. I appreciate your in site as to why people buy slabbed comics, it just wasn't for me. Id be just as happy with a Pop Hollinger's rebuild that I can touch, read and smell (ha ha- only a true comic geek would say that) rather than a hunk of plastic which resembles the amber encased insects from Jurassic World. Thanks too for mentioning YouTube as a source. I hadn't thought to look there for back issue sales reports. Do you get the impression that they reflect national or regional trends in sales? Perhaps both?  I'll check it out.
RF

You Tube is an avalanche of chaos but if you check a few of the comic book videos you can get a very broad idea of the popularity of the back issue market. It's mostly collectors bragging about their latest "haul" but occasionally you run across some solid content and good info. With the popularity of eBay and dealers websites I doubt if regional has much to do with sales trends these days. Sales and pricing trends seem to be more national or even global now. However, probably on a small scale some regional trends persist.

From what I gather from some You Tube videos it seems that the best deals on cheap books are still at conventions in bargain boxes. It's a little difficult to sort out the truth though because of people bragging about the unbelievable deals they got on valuable books by finding them in the cheap boxes. Probably only a few of those reports are actually true. I find it hard to believe that you could find a $50 book in a 3/$1.00 box. As expensive as things are these days I even find it hard to believe dealers still have 3/$1.00 boxes. I live in the Southeast so there aren't many cons to check out around here. I have to get my books online, mostly through eBay, these days. And, let me tell you, common issues have gotten fairly expensive on eBay, especially when you factor in shipping costs. I mostly buy cheap lots and accumulate duplicates to sell in the future. Big dealers' single issue BIN prices are generally too high for me to accept.

The touch of a comic and the smell of old newsprint are a big part of the charm for veteran collectors. I store my books in Mylar and acid-free boards and boxes to preserve them, so I'm current in that regard, but I don't care for plastic slabs. I might buy a slabbed book if it were the same price as an unslabbed copy, but I'd probably crack it out pretty quick. I also don't trust the pro grading on very high grade books. A CGC grader might call a book a 9.8 one day and a 9.6 the next, and with the ridiculous price spreads between the two grades I certainly wouldn't sink money into it. I'm perfectly okay with a strictly graded FN (6.0) to VF (8.0) that I'm not afraid to read, touch, and smell. CGC grading standards are looser than Overstreet standards anyway. I'm surprised so many people put stock in professionally graded books to be honest. And, BTW, I think current prices on books in higher than VF are overblown anyway.

Good conversation. I'm actually a little surprised that someone posted interesting responses. One of the reasons I don't post here much anymore is because of the lack of actual conversation. One of the other reasons is the BS involved with posting photos and expecting them to stay up long enough to make it worthwhile.

[John Pertwee]

 I was extremely lucky to have bought most of the issues I wanted in the 80s and early 90s. I bought every issue of Tomb of Dracula for a buck or two each, spending about $3 for #1 and only $4 for #10. A year ago I bought a Tomb of Dracula #1 signed by Neal Adams at a show for $50. The dealer said as I was paying "I probably under priced that"

Tomb is by far my favorite Comic Book series. Seeing what these go for now makes me wish I had held on to my older copies. I would systematically upgrade books and trade off ones that were deemed to be in worse condition.
The two I never needed to upgrade were #1 and #10, lucky for me, but I passed those up years ago when I could have bought them cheap.

[horrorhunter]

I was extremely lucky to have bought most of the issues I wanted in the 80s and early 90s. I bought every issue of Tomb of Dracula for a buck or two each, spending about $3 for #1 and only $4 for #10. A year ago I bought a Tomb of Dracula #1 signed by Neal Adams at a show for $50. The dealer said as I was paying "I probably under priced that"

Tomb is by far my favorite Comic Book series. Seeing what these go for now makes me wish I had held on to my older copies. I would systematically upgrade books and trade off ones that were deemed to be in worse condition.
The two I never needed to upgrade were #1 and #10, lucky for me, but I passed those up years ago when I could have bought them cheap.

The original Tomb Of Dracula is a great series, no doubt about that. And, yeah, $50 is way underpriced for a TOD #1 signed by Neal Adams even if mid grade. If it's a nice copy then you got a real steal. I finished my TOD run back in the '90s along with most of the other Marvel Monster titles. I bought TOD issues 40-70 off the rack and bought the earlier ones, including the GS issues, from dealers for cheap in those days. I have a high grade #1 I paid $5 for and my #10 is FN/VF and was bought for a couple of bucks just like the other issues. Those were great days to collect comics. You could finish runs without spending much. Nowadays it costs a small fortune to get high grade runs of most books from the '70s and earlier. Keys like TOD #10 are usually slabbed and are very expensive in any grade, ridiculously so in high grade.

[creaturefan95]

[geezer butler]

Great selection as usual cf95. We have alotta the same books.

[Wicked Lester]

Comic prices usually go the way of the economy. One thing I have noticed is that B/W comic mags such as those from Eerie Publications and Skywald,when in higher grade go for some pretty good $$.







For most Eerie pubs it was usually about the crazy violent covers that was the selling point.
The stories were usually weak with sub standard artwork.

However,if you had bought this book,(which I HIGHLY recommend) you will see that certain issues revamped Precode horro and usually made it all that much more.



Unfortunately I sold my runs of titles for maybe $3-5 each and now in same higher grade condition are going for 4-5X that and then some

[horrorhunter]

Comic prices usually go the way of the economy. One thing I have noticed is that B/W comic mags such as those from Eerie Publications and Skywald,when in higher grade go for some pretty good $$.

For most Eerie pubs it was usually about the crazy violent covers that was the selling point.
The stories were usually weak with sub standard artwork.

Not just high grade copies. It's hard to find Eerie Pubs, Skywalds, or even Stanleys, for less than $10 each on eBay even in low grade. Since sellers commonly call a FAIR a GOOD, or a GOOD a VG, that ends up being VERY low grade sometimes. Those things usually get bid up to that in auctions now. High grade examples usually get priced in the $30-$50 range for BINs, and what passes for high grade with some sellers is really around a FN. True high grade examples sell for what we would have considered stupid money 20 years ago- like $60-$75 or more for early or key issues.

I'm always on the hunt for these rags on eBay and occasionally I do get lucky. I bid low on an auction for 6 Eerie Pubs that are actually in properly (Overstreet) graded FN and FN/VF for around $5 each- I felt like I got a steal the way prices are now. I used to buy this stuff and most Warrens and Marvel/Curtis for a buck each back in the '90s in any grade (of course I cherry-picked the nicest copies I could find), and I bought similar nice mags for around $5 each in the early 2000s. Man, those days are gone and the cheap prices with them.

Some of the highest priced monster mags these days are the Australian Gredowns. Check eBay and prepare to be shocked by the crazy prices for copies ranging from FAIR to GOOD, and rarely as high as VG. The covers are new but the interiors are reprints from various mags and comics. Some of those things are so ragged out it would be painful to put them in the collection and those sellers are asking $30-$75, and sometimes more, on BINs...and then you have the freakin' ridiculous shipping charges. I have a few Aussie monster mags in my collection and only one Gredown. At those prices and conditions they can keep them. I do have a collection of pics of the covers though. The covers are the real attraction to the Gredowns, and swiping a pic is free.

The covers are the best part of the Eerie Pubs, but even with somewhat weaker stories and art the Pubs and the Stanleys have that '60s/'70s charm that makes them desirable. I just wish I had sought out all of the Eerie Pubs issues back when they were dirt cheap. I only have 86 issues and that's only around a third of all they published. Completing all the Eerie Pubs titles now would be a daunting task even if you had thousands of $$$ to spend on it...just finding them all would take several years.

Skywalds are just plain good- stories, art, and covers. I think they rival Warrens. The Marvel/Curtis mags are on that level too. My favorite monster mags of all are the three issues of Web Of Horror. Too bad Sproul wasn't interested in continuing the book after Terry Bisson flaked out and joined his hippy commune. Wrightson and Bruce Jones could have made the mag legendary if they were allowed to take over editorship. Now we just have those 3 WOH issues from '69-'70 which are largely unknown among many comic fans, even though #3 features the first Wrightson pro cover.

[horrorhunter]

Here's a scan of my House Of Secrets #92.



The high res scan is tough on that black cover. It looks pretty nice in person and is in FN condition by Overstreet standards. I bought it in the late '70s at a Brunswick Ga. comic shop during a family vacation for $6. Bernie Wrightson is my favorite artist so this book is one of my most prized possessions. It isn't Wrightson's 1st pro work (that would be House Of Mystery #179), but it is perhaps Wrightson's most iconic comic book and the one Wrightson fans covet the most. BTW, to non comic collectors it's the first appearance of Swamp Thing.

[horrorhunter]

Received my Zombie #6 (Soundtrack Edition) from Eibon Press the other day.



The Eibon Press comics come with an insane amount of extras and they're all shrinkwrapped inside a cardboard slipcase with alternate cover art called an Eibon sleeve. They would be rated R mostly, hard R for some of them. The Zombie title is a fave. Zombie 1-4 adapted Fulci's classic with some extra scenes added, and starting with #5 they continue the story past the movie.

https://eibon-press.myshopify.com/

[geezer butler]

Here's a scan of my House Of Secrets #92.



The high res scan is tough on that black cover. It looks pretty nice in person and is in FN condition by Overstreet standards. I bought it in the late '70s at a Brunswick Ga. comic shop during a family vacation for $6. Bernie Wrightson is my favorite artist so this book is one of my most prized possessions. It isn't Wrightson's 1st pro work (that would be House Of Mystery #179), but it is perhaps Wrightson's most iconic comic book and the one Wrightson fans covet the most. BTW, to non comic collectors it's the first appearance of Swamp Thing.

Man thats awesome HH!! And what a great story to go along with it. I hope one day to own a copy, but wont be as satisfying as how you obtained your book.

[horrorhunter]

Man thats awesome HH!! And what a great story to go along with it. I hope one day to own a copy, but wont be as satisfying as how you obtained your book.

Thanks, geezer.

Yeah, man, HOS 92 has been on fire since Wrightson passed. FN copies are breaking through that $1K wall these days. I've been bargain hunting buying eBay lots of Monster comics from the Bronze Age and before. Working on DC and Charlton mostly, while finishing up the odd Marvel title and grabbing Gold Keys and others when a good deal can be had. I'm scrambling to complete whatever runs I can because I fear older comics prices may really increase in the next few years and I'm gettin' 'em while the gettin's good. 

[horrorhunter]

After 55 years of reading, then later collecting, comics, I finally picked up a copy of the Gold Key King Kong Giant. Here's the eBay pic:



I've been meaning to buy a copy for decades but it somehow eluded me. I bought this copy in G/VG (3.0) from an eBay seller (who graded it accurately...surprising!) for $4 plus cheap SH. It's a solid, low-grade, copy and for that amount I couldn't pass it up. I was going to BIN for $5 and I noticed the seller had "Make Offer", so I offered $4 and it was accepted. This is somewhat of a Monster Kid key and copies have gotten expensive in the last few years.

I don't mind mid-grade, or even low grade, copies in the current marketplace because I feel they're undervalued when compared to high grade examples. Since most sellers over-grade anyway it just makes buying high grade even more precarious. There is very little difference between the appearance of a VF/NM (9.0) comic and a NM (9.4) comic, but the difference in cost is substantial. A little over-grading results in a lot of money on high grade books. Since grading is somewhat subjective anyway (though not as much as some sellers would contend) it's a risky proposition buying high grade nowadays unless it's marked well below full retail. Since slabbing became popular the cost of high grade books have become extremely expensive compared to lesser condition books, and I think in the current comic book marketplace mid and low grade books are a good value. Of course it really depends on your tolerance for different defects. I very rarely collect anything below G (2.0). I shun any book missing coupons or Marvel Value Stamps (which are really in FAIR (1.0) regardless of seller BS). I avoid books with nasty staining, soiling, or water damage...a little goes a long way to drop the grade. I'm fine with normal wear or chipping on low-grade copies but I don't want unusual defects like tape, rusty staples, or lots of writing.

Low/mid grade books that are structurally sound with good paper quality are a bargain these days. They have the advantage that you're not afraid to actually read them. My sweet spot is the FN (6.0) to VF (8.0) range, but I'm okay with books all the way down to G (2.0) if they're solid with good supple paper and they just have regular wear. A comic with normal wear has character all it's own. It was enjoyed, probably by some appreciative kid or two, and it bears the look of a well loved comic.