kimik

Depends on the book. For keys and hard to find issues, more than double guide. For most common issues, just guide.

And if you include Tecs: Batman 232 Tec 411 Tec 400 Tec 405 Batman 251 Batman 227 Batman 234 That being said, as a collector chasing GA Batman and Tec Joker covers personally as well, the spike in most Joker cover books happened 2-3 years ago. I can remember passing on a friend's copies of Tec #71 in VG and GD/VG for just a few hundred apiece not that long ago.........

I hope the trailer looks great.........so I can offload more Shazam slabs and buy another Hulk #181.

Looks like something that Oscar the Grouch deposited on the set of Sesame Street back in the day....

Pre-movies, ASM #300 was still the more valuable and sought after book. NM #98 did not really take off until the first movie was announced. Using CGC 9.4 as the barometer grade since ASM #300 gets a boost from being harder to find in 9.6 and 9.8, ASM #300 has sold for higher prices than NM #98 year in and year out since GPA started recording sales - in 2002 a CGC 9.4 NM 98 sold for a high of $16, while ASM 300 had a low to hi range of $41 to $135. I don't think it really matters how the movies do. We already had a crappy Venom appearance in the first Spider-Man arc and it did not damage the book. DP has two recent hit movies and prices have plateaued and pulled back.

Yeah, it is sitting in most collections, just like ASM 300. I was beat to a collection in Calgary a few years back - there were 30 ASM 300s and 30 NM 98s. Most looked to be 9.8 candidates. The seller agreed to a deal just before I got there so all I could do is look at the books and cry - there were a bunch of nice SA Marvel runs including #1s as well. When I told the owner what I was thinking for a price he kind of winced - he sold it for around half of what I was willing to offer. Every Copper collection will have at least one or two copies of NM 98, ASM 300, etc. since those were the big books back then. Unfortunately, they will also have multiple McSpidey 1s, Marvel 2099 #1s, and total drek like Malibu, post-Unity Valiant, and other super-high print run books that are worthless.

Cool. I was just flipping through a stack of books the other day and pulled the Bats 567s to be put in the "wait for another 5 years" boxes.

If you want volume, then ASM #300 is the king as it sells in a similar or higher volume to NM #98 in 9.4 and under (it is much tougher than NM 98 in 9.6 and 9.8, but still has nice volume) but at double the prices. That would be closer to IH 181 or AF 15 than NM 98. NM 98 is the third or fourth biggest 1st appearance book for the CA after TMNT #1 and ASM #300. It is in similar standing to BA #12, but at a much lower value in grade. TMNT 1 still trumps them all, just like AF 15 or Hulk 181.

It is an early Copper Age book that (for the time being) sells for a bit to a lot more than IH 181 across all grades....................

I would say no. Has a chance of becoming the AF#15 and Incredible Hulk #181 for its time era. Seems to now be officially a blue-chip. Another book is already the AF #15/IH #181 of the Copper Age. NM 98 is a nice key, but not the top 1st appearance for the CA.

Nice. Any keys in the mix?

Does it feel like a whiff given that the first Ant-Man made under $200 million? I doubt they expected it to significantly outperform that one. Agreed. Ant-Man is a third tier property. If it can top $200MM this summer domestically, and $600MM worldwide, that is a huge win for a weaker character.

I think the clientele of comic shops is influenced more by the demographics in their area than anything else. From an Alberta perspective, the reader and collector base has been getting younger since 2008/09. I was worried about the hobby back then when I was younger as a seller than most of the people buying books from me. Now it is the opposite - it is the 20 somethings with high disposable incomes that are buying the keys and have files worth a couple of hundred to a thousand per month. The number of local stores tells the story - from what I can recall, there are just as many stores in Edmonton right now as there were during the speculative peak in the late 80s/early 90s. Talking to the two longest running LCS owners (they have been around since the early 80s) over the past few months, they view the hobby being the healthiest it has been in ages due to the influx of younger readers and collectors. Whether this will be the case five years from now is unknown, but the local market is strong here in Alberta.

George bought a couple of SA FFs off of me. He was a pleasure to deal with. As stated above, expect good communication and fast payment when dealing with him. Thanks!

Adam is a pleasure to deal with. As stated above, good communication, fast payment, and a nice and smooth purchase all around. Thanks!

I have a bunch of listings up on eBay right now, including a copy of each ASM #800 1:500 variant starting at $0.99. kimik's July eBay auctions

The bigger question now is which Marvel BA key will be the next to jump like this? Is it ASM #129 or GSX #1, or some other book?

Just got this one back from CGC. It was one of the undercopies to my former 9.8. I will be submitting more CDNs in my next group this week.

I am not sure why seeing ASM #4 regular going for $40-$50 is a bad thing? That book was basically dead at $15 for months before this. It is still going strong IMHO.

And that is where it should be. Ant-Man is not a top tier property, so anything over $600MM WW is great for the character. That being said, right now it will still be facing Jurassic World and the Incredibles in theatres, and the weekend after Ant-Man opens you have Skyscraper and Hotel Transylvania 3 added to the mix. Add in potential super-hero film fatigue after DP2, BP, and IW, and it could be a tough summer for AM2. They might have been better off with a first weekend of August release date like GotG and Suicide Squad since there will be so little competition in that month. That would have also cut into the Teen Titans Go! box office from a competitive standpoint.........................

If I recall correctly, there was some level of interest in Wolvie after the first IH 180-182 arc. I can remember reading a letters page in a subsequent issue that had a few comments/questions from fans (one was Shooter or another 80s creator if I recall correctly) that they liked the character and asked when he would appear next. The editor hinted it would be soon. I think that is why he was included in the new lineup - there was some fan interest in him from the Hulk appearance. He did not become a superstar character until the 1980s, though.

More 1st apps is fine with me. More $$$ to make.

It is not solely due to the Disney buying Fox hype. This book was starting to take off before that, along with a number of other BA keys. I think we are just seeing people start to chase BA keys now that SA is starting to get out of reach for some. You can buy a nice copy of IH 181 or HOS 92, or a CGC 9.4 of ASM 129 and GSX 1, for under $3K still. For a decent looking copy of any decent SA key you are looking at $5K+, or that is the bare minimum you need to snag a beater/coverless copy. IH 181 is the Action1 or AF 15 of the BA. It will continue to run. I just hope prices pull back this fall a bit so I can load up on a few more copies for shows next spring.

Looks like at least one retailer is offering refunds already. Here is the note from Comic Market Street, who has those beautiful Natalie Sanders variants, to their customers today: Batman #50 Release Info With Batman #50 release for tomorrow we are aware of all the emotions related to the NYT's release of the storyline. Though we know that most of all the fans and new customers purchased the book mainly on the cover first and story second. We know how our fans feel with the spoiler of the story but we take pride of our exclusives primarily on the beautiful art we get from the artists we work with. We have our policies stated where returns are not accepted but if you truly feel that you absolutely don't want this stunning piece of work then contact us and we'll see what we are able to do. Not only are we one of the best priced sets of books with stunning artwork, we even took it further and made a cover free. We stand behind our fans and customers and we will voice your concerns up to our reps...................................

Exactly. The retailers with store exclusives are especially screwed - they had to order big on a book that fans wanted due to the wedding. Now that there is no wedding, how do they sell them? The same goes for the regular issues - even non-Batman collectors that buy from me were asking for it up to two weeks ago. They will not want it now. My guess is that DC leaked it to gauge how negative the fan response would be and now will offer refunds to retailers that have cancelled orders.