troydivision1

Image United #1 signed by Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino with remarques from Erik Larsen and Rob Liefeld Purchased raw in 2011. This book was primarily completed at Image Expo 2012 by Joel Elad. McFarlane's signature was completed via Desert Wind Collectibles in 2013. When Image Expo was announced I was excited with the extremely nerdy prospect of getting a book signed by all the Image partners / creators / leadership team. (minus McFarlane who only signed for Desert Wind at the time) This book came back with not only different marker colors used, but also bonus remarques. It also came back a 9.6 Signature Series. When Desert Wind had their next McFarlane signing I decided to send this book to them. To my surprise it came back a 9.8 The power of the Toddfather...

Question for 'the CGC brain trust' - How are comic appearances of characters from other media sources (books / TV / movies / video games) considered their first appearance and why do they sell at a premium? Honest question, no shade. I've seen this also referenced in relation to 'Alien', 'Predator', and 'The Last of Us'. I understand a price bump when characters move from the printed page to TV / movie, but to have it the other way seems odd.

I don't track Conan #1, but what was Conan #1 growth in the lead up / up to Marvel starting to print it again 2019? Only asking because it was recently reported that Marvel have lost the licensing. Again. So, there may have been a spec 'push' with the thinking Disney may release a Conan movie...synergy and all that...

House of Secrets #92 signed by Louise Simonson and Bernie Wrightson Purchased raw in 2012 Fan Fact: Louise Simonson (then Louise Jones) was the reference model for this cover. (see photo #2) One day in 2012 my friends and I visited a comic store that was having an indoor 'sidewalk' sale. They placed a bunch of boxes of recently acquired comics and you could fill a short box for $25. This book, House of Secrets #92, was mixed in with those various books. Also purchased that day were approximately 20 copies of a local 'bathtub' variant for Hack / Slash #1. (I should have held on to those as they have appreciated in value well over the past 10 years) I honestly can not remember any other books that were also in the short box. Knowing the condition of House of Secrets #92 would keep it from being overly desirable I decided to have it signed by Bernie Wrightson to 'plus up the value'. Then, it just so happened, Louise Simonson was going to be at the same show. So, I decided to get both signatures. My logic being, 'the more signature...the more value...' Not 100% sure I'd get Simonson's signature if I had the chance to do it all over again.

Continued tracking of my 50 piece personal collection's value for insurance purposes. I am utilizing eBay sold items (with auctions taking priority over buy-it-now) to determine FMV. January to February .40% increase February to March 2.05% increase March to April 4.07% decrease April to May 1.14% decrease May to June .01% decrease June to July 1.83% decrease Keys that saw a marked decrease - Amazing Spider-Man 300 Incredible Hulk 181 Sandman #1

At the time when I purchased these #1s I felt it would do well on AMC...especially since it was on Kirkman's Image imprint Skybound... Now I don't feel this show, unless they have decedents of the tribes referenced in Lewis & Clark's travels actively providing feedback, will go over well. The drama will most likely follow the 'white savior' and 'savage warrior indigenous person' tropes. Both of which won't really fly in today's media landscape. Heck, check out the cover / synopsis of MD #4 for proof. "Surrounded by buffalotaur and fighting for survival, what Lewis and Clark need most is a monster killer. And her name is Sacagawea."

I would love them to hit early to mid 2019 prices again...post first movie, but pre COVID / second movie / MCU rumors / Spider-Man 2 PS5 trailer As I track my personal collection month-to-month, February 2019 had the lowest price in recent memory for a 9.6 SS McFarlane at $930.

Noticed this trend this whilst tracking my personal collection's value month-to-month where it hit a peak back in October 2021 in grades other than 9.8 and then a slow bleed to now. 9.8s continue to perform best of course. Presume it is due to initial excitement dying off. Hopefully the show is solid so those with non 9.8s that want to sell can make hay the week of release at least.

If you can't give it away...

Great question. I could guess I could have clarified my post better. It was in response to the first half of the question that kicked off this thread. I am really not sure anything will ever come of Revival, but I'd love to be proven wrong. Also, who doesn't love to get in on early Jenny Frison cover art?

Harley Quinn #0 signed and sketched by Jock Purchased raw in 2015. This book was originally submitted for a sketch opportunity at SDCC 2015. DScott was the facilitator. Jock did not complete all the submitted sketch submissions before the end of the convention / he had to return overseas. Those that did not get their sketch completed were told we could get a refund or wait until the next sketch opportunity. I rolled the dice and figured 'what the heck ?'. More than a year later I got my book back.... This was envisioned as a counterpart to Jock's Detective Comics #880 cover. I specifically requested Harley in her 'classic' costume. My only qualm, especially after waiting over a year, is that there should be a splash of red used. I really think that would make it [chef's kiss]. Since then Jock sketch opportunities have mentioned 'limited to Batman sketches only' (2021) or subject to artist discretion (2022). It is interesting to see that his asking price for a sketch has risen from $500 to $925. Inflation I guess...

My biggest spec is Revival #1 from Image Comics. Fun fact: it turns 10 years old in two weeks... Beyond the 30+ raw copies of #1 sitting in a short box AND the 4 CGC 9.8 SS of the sketch cover... I also purchased the original art for the first 5 covers (plus a variant cover). Second place would be Manifest Destiny #1.

I wouldn't count the $2247 sale as a valid data point. It was not 'sold' and eventually relisted. (the 'winner' of the original auction had ZERO feedback and the seller's listing / photos are exactly the same) I could only presume to know why the original winner bid so high...but do see a repeat bidder (3985 feedback) with 32% of their bids being with this seller. (They also have 26 bid retractions in 12 months...) Again, I can only presume to know about that second bidder's behavior too.

Giant-Size X-Men #1 Purchased raw in 2014. Not much of a story here. Purchased raw from my LCS. It was priced under market value. It was stored in a Mylar with fullback inside a magazine top loader for a long time. Eventually prices reached a point that it made sense to get the book graded regardless of condition.

A Game of Thrones #1 Retailer Incentive 'Virgin' Variant signed by George R.R. Martin Purchased raw in 2013 This book was facilitated by Rich Henn. It was completed between Seasons 3 and 4. Honestly, it was never meant to be a long term hold. Originally, I planned to off-load it during the final season when fandom was whipped into a frenzy. We all know how that turned out... It has stayed in the personal collection due to the combined 'scarcity' of the book and signature. Unfortunately, asking prices on eBay are ridiculous so I have no way to gauge an accurate value for insurance purposes.

Had to Google this - "The banks have too much money and no good place to put it. Due to inflation making yields on most investments losses, and perhaps needing bonds and treasuries for collateral, it has become a very big number. No part of the repo agreements makes banks lend out money; they are all overnight, fixing the balance sheet for meeting that nights requirements for margin, SLR, and other rules big players have to follow." I've seen some posit that banks / MMs having cash on hand presents a liability in their ledger so they have to 'trade' cash for bonds overnight. And the government provides .0005% interest for this swap. Daily. So the Fed pays a total of $100k per day (.0005% of 2 trillion dollars) across up to 90 participants to 'maintain liquidity' in the market.

At this point you would have to specify 'our side'. The markers for inflation were present months before they started noting it. Heck, even the measure they use to calculate are different. Coupled with the trillions in loans that have been forgiven and the daily reverse repo rate being over TWO TRILLION dollars a day.

It'll be interesting this week, with last night / this morning crypto cliff dive and stocks trending down in premarket, to see if more books start being listed as BIN below 90-day average.

Continued tracking of my 50 piece personal collection's value for insurance purposes.I am utilizing eBay sold items (with auctions taking priority over buy-it-now) to determine FMV.January to February .40% increaseFebruary to March 2.05% increaseMarch to April 4.07% decreaseApril to May 1.14% decrease May to June .01% decrease

Here's a small takeaway from tracking my collection month-to-month. UF #4 9.6 had a 14.89% decrease May to June YOY it is down 14.37% GSX #1 1.8 had a 29.07% decrease May to June YOY it is down 29.69%

Noticed this last night whilst tracking the value of my personal collection. Tin Foil Theory - With the stock market in a downturn / inflation rising these are recent speculators that are 'cashing out' as they bought near the top; thus driving the price lower and lower. Perhaps they are overleveraged or need the monies to pay bills or to satisfy margin requirements or they are just trying to catch a falling knife...

Fantastic Four #48 Purchased already graded in 2019. My father's favorite Marvel character was the Silver Surfer. This was purchased in memory of him. I purchased this book and another (The Incredible Hulk #181) with monies from eBay sales. The goal was to pick up some low grade keys that would appreciate in value over time.

Detective Comics #880 signed by Jock Purchased raw between 2011 - 2013. To me this is the best modern comic cover ever. At one point in time I gave serious thought to getting this image tattooed on my forearm. At another point in time I spoke in-person with Jock's artist rep about purchasing the original cover art. For this signing event, I sent in my two best copies. They both came back 9.8s. Sold one of them immediately to offset the total cost of purchasing the raw books / signing / shipping charges. I guess this could be considered another 'free' book for the personal collection. Bonus picture below is a 1 of 25 hand remarqued print purchased from Jock. (Jock hand-painted / embellished the red 'lips' on the print) BONUS: I dare you to not 'see' former President Barack Obama as the inspiration for this image.

Nocterra: Collector's Edition Softcover Purchased during the initial Kickstarter to raise funds to work on the series. Predates Nocterra #1 from Image Comics by 3 months. Unfortunately, total print numbers are not available.

Pick your Top 25, get them slabbed, and sell / donate the rest. I've shared this a few times on these boards... After my father (who lived out-of-state) passed, my sister and I were saddled with handling his estate...which also included a lot of my grandparent's estate. My sister and I had our own families and homes. It was not easy or feasible for us. We donated everything except photo albums, his home, and truck. I returned home afterward and set about limiting my comic collection to 25 items (then updated to 50). It has been 'freeing' to say the least. Also, after moving 4 times in the last 5 years my back thanks me for it.