Wayne-Tec

My original copy of Detective Comics #1 (March 1937) coverless is ending in a few hours on ComicConnect.

Link: HERE

This "coverless" copy of Detective Comics #27 ends on ComicConnect tonight.

LINK

Original cover missing, 1st-3rd wraps missing and centerfold missing. No Batman parts, but everything that's missing is replaced with color reproduction copies.

I could see this going for 15K+. It's rare to see a complete coverless copy and I've never seen an individually slabbed Tec #27 page, Batman or otherwise. Yes, no Batman parts but most of an original Tec #27 is all there. Really, really cool piece.

I think the coverless Cap #1 in the CC auction will sell for 12-15K.

There is also a coverless Superman #1 in the same auction, already up to 13K. I wouldn't be surprised to see that one sell for anywhere between 20-30K.

Hey guys,

I have an original copy of Detective Comics #1 (March 1937) coverless ending tonight on ComicConnect.

Slam Bradley splash page is present! Below is a photo of the splash before the book was slabbed by CGC.

LINK

23 minutes ago, Chicago Boy said:

What do think ?  20k ?  More ??

Oh yeah.

3 minutes ago, Chicago Boy said:

a unrestored coverless for the price of a .5 restored.  possible I guess......happy just to see a few Cap 1s  again for public sale

I don't think you could get a .5 restored for 17K these days.

2 hours ago, Sqeggs said:

Looks like nice apart from the dirt/foxing along the open edge (possibly removable?).  I'll say $17K. 

17K would be impressive. 

2 hours ago, Chicago Boy said:

I wouldn't be surprised--would love to see it.  Cap 1 continues to get its due  ......Argument for and against why Cap 1 is the "number 3" book in the hobby ??

Scarcity + hierarchy of old makes it tough to top Superman #1. But you can make a very strong argument for Cap #1.

-1st app. and origin of Captain America.

-1st app. of the Red Skull.

-1st app. of Bucky Barnes (later, the Winter Soldier).

-Classic cover (arguably No. 1 of the GA).

It is, to my knowledge, the only notable GA book to feature the 1st app. of the superhero in his own series + origin of the superhero + 1st app. of his top arch nemesis + 1st app. of his sidekick + classic cover.

3 hours ago, Chicago Boy said:

That's a real nice looking coverless copy.  I'm going with 10k.

I could as much as 15K.

10K would be on the low end.

On 9/9/2017 at 7:54 PM, Jaydogrules said:

$12k.

I think 12K is a good guess. I wouldn't be shocked to see it hit 15K.

You don't often see slabbed coverless copies of this book.

A coverless copy of Cap #1 is up to $6,755 in the ComicConnect Event Auction.

LINK

Any guess as to the final closing price? 

The coverless copy on CC is already up to $13,000.

30 minutes ago, Dark Knight said:

Congrats Wayne-Tec!  A monster of a key!

It's not mine. I was congratulating the boardie on it! 

Nice. GLWTS. 

On 7/25/2017 at 2:58 AM, LDarkseid1 said:

Woohooo, I'm a member of the club now!!!! Coverless, incomplete copy, but she's all mine!! Now, to find the 6 pages I need before getting her graded :).

A Superman #1 is a special thing, in any condition. 

Any pics of Golden Age books from dealer's booths?

The 2017 OSPG has Cap #1 in 2.0 at $21,000.

How much would a blue label 2.0 sell for at auction?

2 hours ago, Knightsofold said:

I collect Schomburg Timely WWII books and have no idea what's on the inside nor do I care.  In the case of Schomburg Timely WWII "classic covers" how does my not caring about the interiors matter at all?  Just curious. 

One collects whatever they enjoy, and to that end, it wouldn't matter so long as the purchases are worth your while.

But these are "comic books", not just "comic covers." So to be unfamiliar with all of the interior is to be unfamiliar with 32 of the 33 wraps (96.9% of the book), cover included. Naturally, the cover wrap carries more weight than most story wraps, but you get the idea.

What if I spent $X on a first printing copy of Dracula, but never read the novel itself? If owning it made me happy regardless, it's a worthwhile endeavor.

I think the more we know about what we're buying, the more we have to appreciate. Owning a guitar used by Jimi Hendrix in-studio would be very cool. But being very familiar with the depth of of his musical catalog, knowing the songs he recorded using that very guitar...that would add so much more.

3 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

From an "investment perspective," in today's market, I don't think it matters if someone has read the interior of the comic or not.  To the extent that a comic book can properly be called an "investment," as opposed to a "speculation," the value is not derived from the contents or the quality of the book.  It is derived from the perceived desirability and rarity of the book, and increasingly really of the cover, and you don't need to read the contents of Fantastic 3 or Suspense 3 to get a sense of the "hype" which is driving the reputation of the book.  In fact, you are better off ignoring the book and reading this board. 

"Collectors" can be very irrational and changeable, which is "investing" in comics is a speculative enterprise.

I understand where you are coming from and agree, to an extent. But I would never say reading the interior doesn't matter, just that the lack thereof appears to be becoming more prevalent.

3 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

Do you know any "average, big time spenders" who are as you describe? 

Poor wording on my part.

On 7/15/2017 at 1:32 AM, sfcityduck said:

Frankly, to my mind, they were far less crazy than collectors today.  Encapsulation had not turned comic books into baseball cards yet, so content meant more to them "back then" than covers.  Which is a pretty rational way to view a collectible that is a book with interior contents, not a two dimensional card or poster, and which really can't stand up to being put on display the way equivalently valued fine art is.  Of course, the type of content that mattered to them was not just first appearances, but also origins of characters, significant story lines, stories of special artistic merit, content important to comic history, etc.  In short, what drove the value of books back then seems, to me, to have been a broader array of factors and a more intellectual and historically driven view of the hobby.  The Gerber book and encapsulation havn't eliminated those considerations for collectors, but it sure has made them less of a factor for many collectors who appear to focus on covers and financial factors.  From my weird perspective of being a collector in the 70s and 80s, parking the hobby, and only really re-discovering it 10 years ago after encapsulation had changed the hobby (sort of like being Buck Rogers in going from one era to another without seeing the evolution), a lot of the modern attitudes are simply inexplicable.

Which of course, doesn't change supply or demand.  It just makes me scratch my head at how demand has changed.  

I think that if one had no exposure to current FMV, but had access to the information needed to educate themselves about the wealth of books the GA has to offer, they wouldn't expect the Top-30 GA books via FMV to be the actual Top-30. It also seems, in some ways, like the pool of collectors that make up the GA market don't know exactly what kind of collectors they want to be.

Take the average, big-time spender who has dropped five-figures on a Detective Comics #35 and ask them to detail what happened in the Batman story. I'd be surprised if more than half would be able to provided a detailed summary. But it's not just cover-driven books either. Ask a six-figured spender to detail what happened in Batman #1 and see how detailed the response is. I suspect it would be something to the effect of:

"There's the first Joker story where Batman and Robin foil his crime. There's a Catwoman story and she's not wearing a mask. I think there's also a story without Robin, which is weird because he's in the other stories."

Everyone has the right to know, or not know, whatever they please. But from an investment perspective, it's shaky ground to see collectors investing top-dollar into stories they rarely, or barely even read.

On 7/13/2017 at 1:10 AM, Readcomix said:

Why not on the Pep 22, guys? 

If films budgeted by hundreds of millions of dollars, some grossing over a billion dollars, reflect the demand for Batman, what is the equivalent to reflect the demand for Archie?

29 minutes ago, thedude said:

So what would a complete 1.0 blue go for nowadays? 

At least $500, more with a Stan Lee signature.

22 minutes ago, Chicago Boy said:

How many Bat 1s are thought to still exist?

My guess, and I know it's a wide range:

500-1,500

I'm for Cap #1 over Marvel #1, but that doesn't mean that we need to belittle Marvel #1 to make that point.

Cap #1 has enough going for it and can stand on its own two legs. Even though Cap #1 is my pick for the top GA Timely, it is very close. To play devil's advocate, I'm going to make the argument for Marvel #1.

Rarity is a huge factor and even if you argue that the demand for Cap #1, based on popularity, films and modern day relevance, is enough to keep it at the top, we are collectors and rarity is important to us. It's why many of us pick GA over SA. Not because the creative content is better per se, but because scarcity drives the thrill of the hunt and provides satisfaction for success.

If I said that there are three copies of Cap #1 for every copy of Marvel #1, I'm being generous. If you choose to look at OCT copies as the only true "first printing" copies, we're probably talking 10+ copies of Cap #1 for every OCT Marvel #1. That holds weight.

Comparing characters, yes, Captain America tops the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner. Heck, Bucky (the eventual Winter Soldier) probably tops the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner. But you know what? The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner are two awfully cool characters in their own right. Everett's work on Namor's origin is classic, prime, GA brilliance. I don't consider MPFW a newsstand book, so Marvel #1 can hold the distinction as first newsstand appearance. You can't knock the Sub-Mariner, then pretend that the distinction between MPFW/Marvel #1 makes a big difference.

In the end, it's more about the birth of the Marvel Universe. Every time that Marvel logo flashes at the beginning of a zillion-dollar film, it traces its origin back, not to Cap #1 or AF #15, but to Marvel Comics #1. I may be in the minority, but Marvel Comics #1 has crossed my mind when I'm in theaters, appreciating a MCU-film.

It's status as a Top-3, and at points, No. 1 book in the past also holds weight. That doesn't make it the No. 1 book today, but to me as a 28 year-old collector, it would matter, holding a Marvel #1, to note that it was once the most desirable comic book in the world.

Collector's in the 1970s weren't crazy, there was a lot of substance to the FMV of old, arguably, more so than there is today. The combination of the aforementioned is enough to not only make an argument for Marvel #1 over Cap #1, but to make an argument for its place in Tier-1 alongside Action #1 and Tec #27.