Comic Book Collecting

[The Cantankerous Collector]

I was watching YT videos last night until 2am discussing the 1990 Marvel card set. Last year I sold my 1996 Marvel Masterpieces Boris & Julie set for $950 when I found out it was sought after. It was never a favorite set of mine. I always preferred their art in some of the other sets that were made back then. At the time I recall checking the value on the other 1990s card sets I have and they weren't doing diddly. I'd be more than happy to sell these except for the Jusko and Hildebrandts sets which I love.

[horrorhunter]

I believe the current pricing environment for the comic book market is here to stay for awhile, but this Marvel trading card thing is so goofy and out of left field I seriously doubt if those high prices have staying power. The thing is that even if card prices retreat by a large amount it just depends on how high they blew up in the first place as to the landing spot when the smoke clears. If something increases to 4X then drops by half it still ends up double the amount it was to begin with...which is pretty much the situation with certain high demand comics nowadays, and it just keeps happening with the anticipation of the next big thing in the MCU.

Another thing is the snowball effect of higher prices catching the eye of big money investors who hype the stuff and blow it up even more. It's getting tougher all the time for normal collectors to simply fill runs, or even get a near-full run since more and more issues are becoming "keys" as more movies and TV shows plumb the depths of comic book history for story ideas and name recognition. Also, as first appearances of popular characters exceed the budget of most collectors they turn to second and third appearances, origin issues, classic covers, etc., and then that drives up demand and prices on those books.

My favorite thing about comics is reading and collecting the books for the stories and art but I have to admit it's entertaining to see the market in motion these days. It's like watching a cosmic superhero battle...things blowing up all over the place.

[horrorhunter]

What's the connection to Wanda Vision And ASM Ann #16?" I'm sure I have that in my files somewhere.

First Monica Rambeau.

Another book going nuts now is Marvel's Star Wars #68 because of The Mandalorian.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1983-Marvel-Comics-STAR-WARS-68-CGC-9-4-NM-Boba-Fett-Mandalorian-NO-RESERVE-/193896610973?hash=item2d25237c9d%3Ag%3A6T0AAOSwE4tgLHCx&nma=true&si=ukEZmjEG65byrAISQlk25gnSMJ8%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[horrorhunter]

The good thing about being a run collector from years back is that I already have most of these newly christened keys and they were purchased decades ago for very little. I have ASM Annual #16 and Star Wars #68 in high grade and bought them both OTR for cover price when they came out. They went into bags and boards immediately after carefully reading and over 20 years ago I put all of my books in Mylar bags and acid-free boards and boxes.

Even before I started collecting I was reading comics from 1963 at the age of four. The early purchases as a small child didn't fare so well but many of the books I bought OTR around 1970 and up survive in my collection to this day. Some of my OTR books I still have are Marvel Spotlight #2 in the FN range and Werewolf By Night #1 in the VF range. I have a high grade WBN #32 that I bought out of some dealer's long box for around 2 bucks, and a FN+ TOD #10 purchased for about the same. Also a high grade GSXM #1 that I picked up in a trade around 1981 for about $50 worth of stuff. The best way to beat the ridiculous prices nowadays is just to already have it from years back when it was cheap, though I realize that's only the case for long time collectors who managed to hold on to their books through the years (which isn't easy, life gets in the way). I just wish I had bought all of the books I wanted back when they were dirt cheap, and held on to what few I sold through the years. Still, after it's all shaken down through the years I can't complain. You hear terrible stories of people with big valuable collections who sold everything back in the '90s and early 2000s for a pittance compared to what they could get now. Those folks have serious reason to lament.

[The Cantankerous Collector]

First Monica Rambeau.

Ok, I wasn't aware Monica Rambeau appears in WandaVison. I always thought she was too powerful of a character...lol

[Doh!]

I think I have that Fett book!

[horrorhunter]

Black Panther books are pricey now. Here's an eBay listing for Jungle Action #6 (1st Killmonger).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JUNGLE-ACTION-6-CBCS-6-5-FN-WHITE-Pages-1st-Appearance-KILMONGER/274691016173?hash=item3ff4dc45ed:g:qF4AAOSw7YRgMWOi



$600+ for a CBCS (6.5) with Make Offer. The real reason I thought to post this is because of what I saw on a You Tube auction recently. A copy of Jungle Action #6 in CGC (7.0) sold for $900. Man, some of those guys get carried away in those YT auctions and pay out the rear for key books sometimes. I still need a few issues of Jungle Action to complete the run but I'm avoiding anything that's generally perceived as "hot" in the current market environment. If the prices drop to something acceptable in the next few years I'll pick them up, but if not I'll do without them. I gave up on getting "everything" a long time ago. It's a futile endeavor.

Here's a Fantastic Four #52 (1st Black Panther) in CGC (4.0) that sold for close to $800 w/shipping & tax a couple of days ago.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FANTASTIC-FOUR-52-CGC-4-0-1st-Appearance-of-the-Black-Panther/254872724611?hash=item3b57992483:g:Y1kAAOSwUwRgLzPB



I have a similar copy in my collection, but if I didn't have it I wouldn't pay that kind of money for it. Some people might think I should sell in that situation but I really regret selling some of my books a few years back and I'm just not doing it. If I sell keys in this pricing environment I may never get them back. I'm in a bit of a holding pattern these days regarding my comics. Later on when my situation changes I plan to deal in comics and other collectibles on a small scale and I'll be buying collections and selling duplicates while adding to my collection at much cheaper prices. Paying full retail for expensive comics these days is something I'll avoid. On the other hand just hanging on to expensive comics is probably a good move, especially if the books have meaning in your personal collection. If you do decide to sell them later I think the prices will continue to trend up for older established books (Silver Age and some Bronze keys). It appears that we're well past the "pricing bubble" theory in the current market. I hope I'm wrong and the bottom drops out of the back issue market. If that happens I'll buy up the books I want immediately at bargain prices. At this point though I don't see it happening.

[The Cantankerous Collector]

Those prices are crazy.

[geezer butler]

I find it annoying and somewhat depressing that so many comic collectors today are so focused on slabs, grades, prices, investment potential, modern cover variants/ratios, that they seem to have lost the true enjoyment of collecting and reading comics. Now it's more about the hype and media appearances and MONEY than just following the characters and talking to other fans about the actual stories and art. At least by hanging onto my collection I can revisit my favorite characters' adventures anytime I wish, and read the books. Collecting was a lot of fun back in the '70s and '80s. My stuff let's me ride the Wayback Machine at will.

Well said Double H.

[horrorhunter]

Pics of some eBay lots I won recently of Silver and Bronze Age Charlton Horror comics:







The Ghostly Tales issues are full of Ditko art. Charlton artists and writers were paid much less than Marvel and DC paid but had much more creative freedom owing to little editorial supervision. Those old Charltons remind me of fanzines of the time (though rated G for the most part). Charlton comics featured some really good art by guys like Steve Ditko, Joe Staton, John Byrne, Mike Zeck, and many more who were either already fan favorites or would go on to become such.

These books ended up costing me around $3 each and average around VG (4.0). I needed most of these for my runs so this was a good deal for me. I've been buying eBay lots of books like these for awhile and I'm starting to accumulate a good amount of duplicates that will go into my inventory to sell when I decide to do that later on. Buying books this way is one of the most inexpensive ways to fill runs nowadays. With the crazy price spreads on different grades these days I'm good with mid grade copies at $3 each as opposed to high grade copies at $15-$20 each (especially the way sellers routinely over-grade, you pay out the butt for a so-called NM copy and it shows up in VF or less). If you buy mid grade Charltons on BINs you end up paying $5-$10 each, so I like to wait for auction lots to come up. The demand for these books has risen in the last few years, though, so it's tough to get them for a buck each the way you could 10 years ago. Even very low grade Silver and Bronze books in POOR and FAIR conditions seem to sell for at least $1 each now on eBay, even coverless copies.

I'm still pecking away at those Silver and Bronze Age Horror/Monster books. I have most of the really expensive stuff bought years ago when everything was relatively cheap, like Marvel, DC, Warrens and other monster mags. But, I still need much of the Charlton, Dell/Gold Key, and other secondary companies' books. So many Horror comics were produced in the '60s, and especially the '70s, I'll be at it for a few more years and probably still not get all of it. It's fun trying though. I like Superhero, War, and some of the other genres of comics, but Horror is where my heart is.

[Rex fury]

Congratulations on your purchase! Charlton turned out some really fun comics in their time. It was refreshing to have a publisher outside of New York. From their plant in Derby, they could pretty much do everything- produce, print and distribute. It was a shame when the flood wrecked much of this facility. I think the record for worlds longest cover dialogue has to be held by The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #1! Of their horror comics Haunted was always a favorite of mine, due largely to Ditko's  ghostly host. Charlton was a great alternative to the big two ( Marvel and DC) long before Eclipse, Dark Horse, American Comics etc joined the market.

Outside of Charlton, Dell published some fun licensed UM books and Ghost and Grim's Ghost Stories are also great runs.

RF

[John Pertwee]

After watching Wandavision last night, I went on to check the prices paid for this book and had a good laugh.

Yep. To beat it all the title "Fantasy Masterpieces" is prominent on the cover. I don't understand how anyone could throw that kind of money at something they obviously haven't researched. The Seller is either a poor con man or doesn't understand what he's selling. The Bidders obviously don't understand what they're trying to buy. Interesting as an unfortunate spectacle, it's like watching a multiple car pileup unfold.

I have noticed some silly prices on the Surfer reprints lately, but nothing like that auction posted above.

Here's a recent sale of the real deal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-Surfer-3-CGC-7-0-White-Pages-First-1st-appearance-Mephisto-Marvel-1968-/284178658612?hash=item422a5e3534%3Ag%3Af7YAAOSw1XpgHPIZ&nma=true&si=ukEZmjEG65byrAISQlk25gnSMJ8%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557



Over $1500 for a CGC (7.0) with 27 bids. The prices just keep climbing on this book.

[Most Horrible]

That is a fantastic set-up for your collection Hepcat!  Storage drawers that pull out for easy browsing! Aaaannnnddd a comfy chair! I am green w/envy.

[Hepcat]

Thank you! My comic room has been a delight to me for many years.

[Rex fury]

Here's an interesting piece on which comic book is truly the most valuable book in existence. While the recent sale of Action number 1 set a record, the author entertains the idea that copies from the Allentown or Edgar Church ( Mile High) collections might, if they are ever offered for sale, be more valuable.

https://www.cbr.com/action-comics-detective-comics-most-valuable-comic-book/

RF