Jaydogrules

I notice a lot of nice boardies tend to tap dance around when they disagree with you about something, even as you condescend to them in that funny way that you do. So I'm not going to be nice. Because you're just wrong. Anyone with a GPA account can see what actually did trigger this price spike. It was the twin sales of a 9.4 for $454k in February and the 9.2 for $392k in March of last year . Those are in fact what got people talking about AF 15s again, what broke records and made the headlines in the comic book community. And yeah, it was a whole lot like what happened with the two high Hulk 1 sales from a couple years ago that triggered a run and massive price spike in Hulk 1s. It is utterly irrelevant how many hulk 1s in high grade there are in comparison to AF 15. First, Spider-Man is an infinitely more popular and in demand character than the Hulk. Period. Second, uber high grade AF 15s rarely come to market either. So the triggers are most certainly comparable and are also a more plausible and realistic explanation for a price spike than a few nice presenting mid grade copies selling in one auction just last month. How do we know those two high AF sales from last year were the real trigger? Because subsequent to those sales, the next series of sales that continued people talking about AF 15s were the series of $50k+ sales of 6.5's that occurred between June and November of 2016, that occurred across at least two different auction venues (not just CC). These high 6.5 sales of course then triggered the (at the time) record sale of a 7.5 for $85k in August, 2016 which then triggered the record sale of a 7.0 for $65k in November 2016. Ghostown's sale of his 9.2 on comiclink for $460k in January 2017 and the sale of the CGC 8.5 copy in February 2017 for $155k on Heritage is what really got things started this year and got the market into overdrive which directly fed into those strong auction results in March for the CC copies that you keep going on about (none of which are really "upgradeable", and certainly not to the extent that they would have an FMV at even today's prices if someone were to actually attempt something as foolish and futile as that). The continuation of high sales that we are seeing is simply the cumulative snowball effect of numerous high dollar sales, that have created an atmosphere of panic buying from people who don't want to be priced out of even lower grade copies. Obviously, the nicer presenting copies are realizing the strongest sales. However we certainly have more than enough data and sales at this point to reasonably conclude that there most certainly is a new price point for AF 15s and we will continue to see it (as we did with hulk 1 two years ago and SC 4 last year. Sorry, but your sweeping generalisations, personal opinions, broad speculations, and thinly veiled insults are not "forensics". -J.

This wont be true, no matter how many times you state it. -J.

FTFY. -J.

The notion that the sole reason that AF 15 is experiencing a pricing surge is because evidently any copy that sells for a strong price simply must be "upgradeable" is a rather absurd generalization that presumes a lot, based on virtually no tangible evidence and is demonstrably false with regard to almost every copy in question. What triggered this price surge? The same thing that triggered the Hulk 1 price surge a couple years ago. Two very strong, unexpectedly high sales results in 9.0+ grades that got everybody's attention, creating a fresh demand that has rolled all the way down to the lowest grades. Yes a certain element of panic buying has now also set in, but that's often what you get when a book jumps in price a bit. Do copies with nice "eye appeal" sell for more ? Of course. It's generally always been like that, nothing new there. But just because a copy had nice eye appeal doesn't mean that it's "upgradeable" or that somebody is paying what they pay for that purpose. -J.

Beautiful book. You guys are really killing it around here lately. -J.

FYI guys, book is confirmed fake. The UPC symbol is wrong on the book. Whomever created this book just lifted the UPC code from the regular cover of Batgirl 41. Even with the other obvious problems with it, this seals it. Don't know why I didn't think to just check that right out of the gate. (A little trick I learned from the boardie HarveySwick). Case closed. -J.

Thank you for the clarification. -J.

FWIW here is the most recent version of the list (scroll down): 2017, Q2 Update coming soon.... -J.

I'm not really sure what you mean. The vast majority of the current list either has first appearances/deaths (WD 100, ASM 700 Ditko, Bats 608RRP, CM 14), Part 1's of major storylines deep within the runs of top selling titles (ASM 667, Dell'otto, Bats 608RRP), are a "#1" first issue (Wolverine 1, Campbell, X-23 1, Dell'otto, Black Panther 1, Campbell), and/or have internationally famous/reprinted cover art (UXM 510 Sketch, Campbell, ASM 667, Dell'otto, ASM 678 VenoMJ, Siege 3, Campbell, Wolverine 1, Campbell, Bats 608RRP). There is a literally a little bit of everything of why people collect comic books represented on the list, and to sweeten the pot even further, they all probably have about 1000 copy print runs or less, with most having 500 or less, with at least one having less than 250. -J.

That's not a part of the Dirty Dozen. -J.

This is an interesting example, but this fake cover that was added after manufacturing is also a CGC witnessed sketch and sig, so I would have to imagine that would make a BIG difference in CGC's decision to slab. Cool book by the way. -J.

DC went on the record saying the cover was canceled just a few days after the preview image was released. Whatever this guy has did not come from DC. I can't tell what the guts of the book are to, but someone might as well have wrapped a Bounty paper towel with a coffee stain on it around it and it would be the same difference. Would CGC slab a coverless modern with a coffee stained Bounty paper towel stapled to it as a cover? Who knows. Maybe? What would the label say? Who knows. Either way, whether they slabbed this with this cover or a Bounty paper towel with a coffee stain stapled to it, that person would be slabbing a worthless book for no reason (other than perhaps satisfying an intellectual curiosity). -J.

The fact that this is a reproduction of a cover that was never printed wrapped around a worthless modern. -J.

They do slab fake cerebus 1. But like the other books you mention those are fakes of real books. This thing is basically just a fan produced novelty item. -J.

For the same reason they won't slab a blank walking dead 100 hero initiative book. If this book was real it would have had to have been stolen and smuggled out to have made it to the market. As it is now, it is a fake copy of a book that never existed. If it was a vintage book, like an AF 15 with a repro cover, CGC would slab it, note it as such and give it an "NG". I've never seen a modern receive the same treatment, let alone a modern that is essentially just a fan-made conversation piece. -J.

If he sends that to CGC I don't even think they would slab it. -J.

The chipped 5.0 on C-Link is already at $26k+. http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAuctions%2Fsearch.asp%3FFocusedOnly%3D1%26where%3Dauctions%26title%3Damazing%2Bfantasy%2B15%26GO%3DGO%26ItemType%3DCB%23Item_1176537&id=1176537#detail -J.

After having looked at this video on a large screen television, and doing a bit more research, I must confirm that this book is fake. The dude in the video might believe it's real, but it is not. Here's why (in addition to the other reasons I mentioned above): 1) The "Batgirl" logo is wrong. If you compare it to every other issue from the run, it's pretty easy to tell that the logo is bootlegged. The font is off, plus it's missing both the "bat" insignia behind the lettering and the "TM" at the bottom right hand corner of it. Duh! 2) The cover stock is wrong. It's too thick and the sheen is wrong. You can really tell when he pulls it out of the bag and holds it close to the camera at 18:13. The cover almost looks matte. 3) No creator information at all on the cover. The more I look at it, the more fake it looks. Oh well... -J.

As much as I want to believe in this I'm going to have to call B.S.. According to the guy in his comments section, the book was published but never shipped by diamond and he got a copy from a "friend" at a convention. But the book was going to be published in June of 2015. According to this article, from March, 2015, the cover was canceled long before it was ever officially published (just a few days after the preview for the image was released in fact) and certainly long before any retailer FOC (final order cut-off) of the book had it been allowed to ever go to print. https://www.google.com/amp/www.cbr.com/dc-comics-cancels-batgirl-joker-variant-cover-at-artists-request/amp/ My suspicion is that it is a very nice fake. -J.

Sweet copy my man. Congrats on that grade. -J.

Finished at $5575. -J.

It's a pastel/chalk on black paper. It's actually a medium he uses a lot. But you're right, I don't know if I've ever seen one used as an official cover. I definitely dig it though, and almost purchased one from a boardie a while ago. Kind of wish I had... -J.

Agreed. But it also looks very nice for the grade. -J.

Square, don't be so myopic my man. There are books sought based on cover/rarity alone reaching all the way back to the GA. -J.

His use of negative space on pieces like this is incredible. -J.