Brock

How about a 9.2 for $4.25? https://www.ebay.ca/itm/165840922343?hash=item269ce3a6e7:g:DdwAAOSwU4xjn7pn&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA0DCVgMekX0dXjstlf7p4nnSGJvHWwOLZ%2FXyGIs2tS1Ea%2FopEU8eMsoCTbjxwl6m%2FXFE7dkS3qx0qmdNWqS1OOb6wgT3rVVef6y7dd2Xl4Ky1KfnONM0%2B3qRBz6SRUjoObGUiVhTguTjTiw4yLc35tiT3Ouz4RKSKeG7R28QdfJ%2B%2FcvOITXe7K3Y0PIbU0XeSPtfMGuuvniZejeRYYx1F5r0cy4ZAc1Ac3d0FIWQfYHF9b0lHSHYGktiDgUZoimmTEsRAkVll0EyBqh97pn8HRE8%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR46J4MffYQ Or a 9.8 for less than $10? https://www.ebay.ca/itm/325569710426?hash=item4bcd77895a:g:0ZcAAOSwy9hj4Cln&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA0GpDawSjS1spLyeU9dRjPtVKyfxXD4lbdFtT%2Bij%2F3xKWsFWaeuTl%2B87ZBHMsHtDcK9HUXvp49VSfmiF4pSRs7neOBQGY5Ck5Z%2FK3kMa9LCK32UnUVlN%2FxY243QiaxCuR6ZAf%2F1lYM4AYxH7KPmOUeJVWxRFnxxBGB9wC0B05YrEPSnqk7k7%2BKdO6roqh%2Bey%2BYYg%2B14Ux7P9YgvlIFk429W0JctlnhqfoYsra%2Fgm1RXYQ5bXd%2FOLbHwrlcefrQ62Do68Kuh68EachUIOVbl8f%2FE8%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5CJ4MffYQ I’m mostly having fun here, but I have a pathological tendency to poke away at grand theories of market behaviour.

The fault (?) in the logic here is that eventually you are arguing for holding 1,000 books in CGC 1.0 which will only drop from $10 to $1. Everybody's collecting goals are different, but at some point the logic of "less is more" collapses...

I went to see this last night, and really enjoyed it. My kids (age 15 and 17) went with me and also liked it, even though they were lukewarm on the first Shazam movie. My son in particular, who feels that the last year or two of comic book movies have been pretty mediocre, thought that this was a big step forward. In my eyes, this was a solid 7/10. I was a huge childhood fan of Shazam, watching the original TV show, and wearing white towel capes while running around the backyard yelling "Shazam!" and hoping for lightning to strike. I think this movie would be hard to interpret for fans inclined to Marvel's cast-of-thousands CGI battles with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, or the psychosocial fanatacism of the various Batman movies. To me, this was neither an MCU nor a DCEU film, but a Fawcett film. If you think back to a comic filled with megalomaniacal worms, talking tigers and your crazy Uncle Dudley who can also become Captain Marvel, then you're closer to understanding where this movie is positioned. And if the MCU draws on films like Star Wars or The Guns of Navarone as its inspirations, and the DCEU models Seven or Inglorious Basterds, this movie is more Harry Potter or Narnia. A better marketing campaign might have tried to "play up" the Harry Potter feel, and it seems that this one s struggling to find its audience. But while the critics have this at 53% (per Rotten Tomatoes), the audience score is currently at 87%, so there may yet be a chance for word of mouth to help a bit. There are some weak spots... I thought Lucy Liu was pretty disappointing, and it won't win any awards for its predictable plot and pacing. Sometimes, the director seems to struggle with where to put all the characters on the set. But overall, this was a happy, goofy, magic romp filled with crazy ideas, just like Captain Marvel/Shazam was meant to be. And it gives us a great new comic movie tagline with "Taste the rainbow, motherf

Black Bull was started by Gareb Shamus of Wizard magazine fame, but didn't last long. This is actually a trade paperback collecting the 4 issues of this series, though it has the size and thickness of a prestige edition book rather than a true TPB. I have almost everything Hughes has done, including some pretty obscure stuff, but I didn't have this one. He only did the cover for the TPB, and not for any of the regular issues. Because it's Hughes, it typically sells for $20-$25. I snagged it last weekend at a flea market in St. Catharines, ON. I got it, 4 issues of Dirty Pair (not the Hughes issue, unfortunately) and a copy of Battle Chasers #1 for C$10. (That's about US$1.25 each for our American friends)

Don’t forget, though, that this “general” rate of inflation also applies to the comic book market. That 6% is an average of inflation across all elements of the economy. And yet job growth is at historic highs, and the unmet demand for workers is driving wages up (which is, in turn, one of the causes of inflation). Not to mention that - historically - layoffs at tech companies lead to a surge of new tech startups. I appreciate that you are providing the requisite “doom and gloom” updates that this thread mandates every two or three pages, but even the so-called bad news points to a much more nuanced situation in which we find ourselves.

This is it for me... I buy 9.8s of the specific things I collect, especially with Copper and Modern books. Although the intent of collecting these is not resale, the fact that the 9.8 market commands such premiums generally makes them a good way to preserve my initial investment/outlay. With lower grades, and especially with Gold, Silver and Bronze books, prices vary much more widely. Because of this, I'll grab things in a range of grades if there's a deal to be had. In this case, volatility can be a good thing. Silver Age keys in 5.5 always seem to be a good bet...

I picked this up yesterday... Definitely one that doesn't get much attention:

Where’s your data from? I see a single sale last week, but it was over $300. For me the message is that eBay auctions are risky, not that the sky is falling. I’ll give you $300 for your copy if you really think it’s tanking…

It's funny - a few years back, I made a throwaway comment here on the boards that DCCP 10 was a tougher book, and it immediately started to be priced higher on eBay, which I don't think was warranted. I'm not saying that I have some sort of market influence here, but I do think the boards have an outsize influence on the markets. It's definitely made me more cautious about what I write here, and the kind of language I use! Having said that, my research (actual data!) agrees with you. Leaving aside Sgt. Rock 329 and Warlord 22, I believe that Flash 274 is the toughest (scarcest?) of the other June 1979 books. The Brave and the Bold 151 is the easiest (most common?).

Yes, Sgt. Rock 329 and Warlord 22. The DCCP 10 is a sort of "middle of the road" scarcity... It's definitely not easy to find, but others are a LOT harder. The "Big 8" were all cover dated for June of 1980. Sgt. Rock 329 and Warlord 22 were bother cover dated for June of 1979, and my guess is that they were possibly sold as a 2-pack since they are both so scarce. Interestingly, DCCP 10 also comes from June of 1979 (as do a number of others).

The census is distorted a bit by the "Big 8/Big 10" Whitmans, but there are currently 135 DC Whitmans with fewer copies graded than Superman 348.

And a whole bunch more listed today... https://www.ebay.com/itm/115717951121?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=d75b8f679d9a47199952e4312bf8f297&bu=43155438028&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1~1&crd=20230228014714&segname=11021

Kamandi is such an amazing concept. It would be great for a TV show. I just feel like there’s never been a decent Kamandi comic book story…

I love King’s stuff, but typically wait for the collected editions.

And our Whitman seller is at it again... https://www.ebay.com/itm/115711925814?hash=item1af0f7de36:g:N5QAAOSw5G1j8794&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoLdFDiua6kha97SYxULjgtoQJc4ddVzniazQTr71r69oHWPfI1J%2Fby9lhMGt4yY8kVQCEhFcBj1JDE%2FOdqkLog7CBtdWEzeAs0oiaTpHuduggWjzqArZfZ2PA2tkAWPxGdvQ0g9AByxQJ%2B7yiSzpbXi1ZzIZ7HSGOzkswxf0E8NEzqY%2B8%2FBM7A5WBtFSo5NGETjn0r2RcsnchmScuSPIAzw%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR47c_bPSYQ

I'll buy this, @october... @Bookery is right that some intellectual properties fade away over time. I've had some beautiful 1920s Little Orphan Annie books on eBay, priced below Guide, that have been sitting without a nibble for two years... And that's for IP that is still somewhat relevant in the modern marketplace (the Annie movie, etc.). But it seems to me that that is qualitatively different from saying that the decline of Western books is a sign of impending market collapse driven by demography. Market taste ALWAYS shifts over time, and saying "superhero superhero superhero" ignores significant market drivers over the past decade like Walking Dead, Pre-Code Horror, or CGC Census population figures. The argument seems to be that if mid-grade Ken Maynard or Hopalong Cassidy books aren't selling, then the market is doomed. But even when Westerns were popular, mid-grade Ken Maynard or Hopalong Cassidy books were not high-priced, highly sought after items. and they certainly haven't been on anyone's radar since the introduction of the Overstreet Guide, which was (let's admit it) more than half a century ago.

Another look at US demographics to show that the "boomer crash" hypothesis is overstated. And these numbers are not taking into account any future immigration.

This thread needs at least one DC suggestion. Here's one that's inexpensive, but harder to find:

And eventually, they gave up on the numbering and just kept issuing them without numbers.

Same seller, and another stack of high grade 8-12/80 Whitmans this week: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115711921883?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=7f6da6a822b440b2986d802e51c0a530&bu=43155438028&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1~1&crd=20230221014612&segname=11021 This guy is missing out on a lot of easy Canadian money...

They are, of course, listed each year in the Overstreet Guide as well, in their own section before the comic section.

No, they're later issues from Gladstone (296) and Gemstone (329). Collected editions of the Life of Scrooge McDuck are starting to rise, too.

All the eBay copies of both were snatched up on Tuesday.

The US-only seller with all the high grade slabbed Whitmans is back at it... all his auctions seem to be starting at $9.99, and there's definitely many of the 8-12/1980 Whitmans again. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/115706734158

So if I’d said tree fiddy, I’d have been close?