Comic Book Collecting

[The Cantankerous Collector]

I picked up a few issues of Werewolf by Night when I was a kid in the 1970s based on the cover art alone. That's usually how I chose my comics. Looking at the link below which lists the comics that came out the same month as the Werewolf By Night #32 I can almost guarantee I didn't buy that comic that month. My funds were certainly limited but there was much cooler cover art on so many of the other titles out that month. Even the reprint titles would have appealed to me more as I was a new comic collector at that time and hadn't read any of the older stories. I'm not a fan of that Moon Knight cover and really never became a fan of Moon Knight at all. There were some real boss Werewolf By Night covers in the early years. If I had picked up that particular issue it would have been worn and torn and sold with the other 150 1970s comics I sold for about $100 on ebay two years ago. They were real low grade and some were mising the Marvel Stamps...lol

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Category:1975,_August

[horrorhunter]

The House of Mystery - DC HORROR Comics HISTORY micro-documentry (Pt.1)


https://youtu.be/ZYpnHEciMXE

[horrorhunter]

Good article featuring DC Comics Horror Titles of the '70s:

https://mercurie.blogspot.com/2008/10/dc-comics-horror-titles-of-seventies.html

[horrorhunter]

Good article featuring Marvel Bronze Age Horror Comics:

http://www.wymann.info/comics/007-SuperheroesFromTheCrypt.html

[horrorhunter]

I bought a reprint of Eerie Comics #1 (1947, Avon Periodicals), which was the first stand-alone Horror comic book, and is credited with starting the Horror comics genre.



I have a few pre-code Horror comics, but I never could afford to pursue that area of comic collecting to any great extent due to the prices. But, I decided to grab a nice reprint of the first Horror comic due to it's significance. The reprint is printed on heavy paper with glossy covers and is square-bound like a trade paperback, and 8 1/2" x 11". The entire 52 page comic (incl. covers) is reprinted, so you get all of the ads and the text story. It's a nice book and is sturdy enough to be stored on a bookshelf. It was $7 + shipping, and was sent bagged and boarded in a large envelope.

Here's the one copy of the original currently for sale on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Eerie-Comics-1-CGC-2-0-Avon-1947-1st-Horror-Comic-Key-Golden-K10-cm-clean/293284236059?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649



I prefer originals like most collectors, but a comic of this stature is out of my price range. When a low grade issue is over $4K it's time to settle for a reprint as far as I'm concerned. Much respect to anyone who has a copy of the original in their collection. For collectors like me who focus on Horror in their comic/magazine collections it doesn't get any more important than the comic that started it all.

[Hepcat]

For whatever reason I'm not compelled to the pre-code horror and crime genre that's so popular with many collectors.  Aesthetically they don't appeal to me though I'm drawn to certain specific artists such as Jack Davis and Lee Elias. I'm glad to leave their prices to others.

[horrorhunter]

For whatever reason I'm not compelled to the pre-code horror and crime genre that's so popular with many collectors.  Aesthetically they don't appeal to me though I'm drawn to certain specific artists such as Jack Davis and Lee Elias. I'm glad to leave their prices to others.

I focus on the Silver and Bronze Age books I grew up with. I do appreciate the Pre-code Horror books though. If I could afford them I would have more, especially work by Jack Davis, Graham Ingels, and many of the other great EC artists.

Some Bronze Age books have risen in price so rapidly that Horror comics from the '50s seem to be bargains by comparison. One can purchase several average EC issues for the price of one copy of Werewolf By Night #32 or House Of Secrets #92 in similar grade. In the '70s that was the reverse when you could find HOS #92 for cheap and WBN #32 in the quarter bin, and the average EC issue might cost $10-$20 or more.

It still amazes me how the market has changed on some of these books. I believe these price separations will continue to become more pronounced as the older non-key books slowly fall out of favor and the newer books become more popular. But, with more and more books becoming so-called "keys" due to upcoming movie/TV show character appearances it's hard to tell what will remain just a "run filler", or average non-key issue. I collect whole title runs so all of this key chasing has no effect on me...I buy them all.

[John Pertwee]

Now that WandaVision dropped, people are buying Fantastic Four 94. Yet another "Key" book is born. As long as Marvel keeps pulling these characters into shows and movies there will be high demand for "Key" books. If Mephisto is the big bad in this season as some speculate, there will be yet another book pushed out of reach of casual readers.

[horrorhunter]

If Mephisto is the big bad in this season as some speculate, there will be yet another book pushed out of reach of casual readers.

Silver Surfer #3 is already expensive, and, as you say, if Mephisto plays a big role in the MCU (including TV shows) then the cost will push it out of reach for many collectors.



I finished my Surfer run many years ago when they were much more affordable. I remember in the late '70s we used to stop at a comic book store in Brunswick Ga. on the way back from Florida vacations and they had a complete run of Silver Surfer in high grade for $100. You could buy a nice FF #1 or Amazing Fantasy #15 for that back then, so the Silver Surfer issues weren't really cheap compared to other books even just a few years after they came out. SS #s 1, 3, & 4, were always relatively expensive as back issues. They're pricey now, and poised to become hard to afford for most when the Surfer shows up in the MCU. As much as I love some of these books I'll probably just tap out on the really expensive ones I don't already have. I never dreamed back issue prices would get this high this quick. 

[horrorhunter]

Thought I'd check eBay for the helluvit, and asking prices for Silver Surfer #3 are already about twice what I thought they were:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-Surfer-3-CGC-7-0-White-Pages-1968-Marvel-First-Mephisto/333844148452?hash=item4dbaa970e4:g:TPwAAOSwaFRf756h



FN/VF (7.0), over a grand, 33 Watchers. And this seems to be fairly representative of most listings in higher mid grade. Wowzers.

[Hepcat]

Now that WandaVision dropped, people are buying Fantastic Four 94. Yet another "Key" book is born. As long as Marvel keeps pulling these characters into shows and movies there will be high demand for "Key" books. If Mephisto is the big bad in this season as some speculate, there will be yet another book pushed out of reach of casual readers.

Did more collectors suddenly want these comics for their collection? I suspect that it was simply the case that speculators started to snap these comics up thus pushing their prices higher. But to whom are the speculators now going to sell? Ultimately the "value" of comics depends upon collectors' interest and if the collectors weren't interested previously at lower prices, why would they be interested now at more inflated prices?

The bubble will burst. I'll shed no tears for those left holding the bag.

[horrorhunter]

Did more collectors suddenly want these comics for their collection? I suspect that it was simply the case that speculators started to snap these comics up thus pushing their prices higher. But to whom are the speculators now going to sell? Ultimately the "value" of comics depends upon collectors' interest and if the collectors weren't interested previously at lower prices, why would they be interested now at more inflated prices?

The bubble will burst. I'll shed no tears for those left holding the bag.

The comic book community group-mind has decided the current pricing environment is real, so that makes it real. The market crash in the '90s was due to speculators over-buying overprinted books which became virtually worthless when someone decided to sell, everyone already had them...too many copies of them. That soured attitude spilled over to the back issue market and values dropped and stayed down for years. What's happening now is different from that. The popularity of certain characters is driving demand and values. It's the market at work. This "bubble" will probably last for a few years at least, and will affect values for the foreseeable future. I agree that collectors who need movies and TV show appearances to awaken their appreciation for long-time characters are fickle and don't seem to deserve the same respect that long-time collectors who grew up reading the books should be afforded, but that doesn't alter the fact that these collectors are spending the money and driving the market. Bragging rights for high demand books are more prevalent than ever with You Tube and other social media being where most people spend their lives now. Comic book collecting has changed much over the years. The old rules don't apply as much as they used to.

It wouldn't break my heart if the back issue market crashed so that I could finally buy the books I regret not buying over the years. This won't happen with the amount of money changing hands for comics these days. Looks like this is the new normal.

[John Pertwee]

My friend needed money and sold his Tomb of Dracula 10 for $900 a few months ago. I admit, I am tempted to sell mine when the next movie drops. It is my favorite series and I hate to break up the set but I paid $5 for it in the 90s. I think it is time to cash in on #1 and 10.

[marsattacks666]

My friend needed money and sold his Tomb of Dracula 10 for $900 a few months ago. I admit, I am tempted to sell mine when the next movie drops. It is my favorite series and I hate to break up the set but I paid $5 for it in the 90s. I think it is time to cash in on #1 and 10.

Why is issue 10 so pricey? Key issue?

[John Pertwee]

Yes. First Appearance of Blade. It sells for more than Number 1 does now.