Jaydogrules

This is definitely one of those covers that has a line down the middle - you either love it or hate it. Nice pickup on that variant of the variant Most clearly love it. For good reason. -J.

Indeed. Its just so dang easy (and entertaining) to rile up the pocket of haters with the continuing blockbuster sales of this book. 5+ years strong now, reprinted and homaged multiple times, the primary driver behind the upcoming block of Venom sequel variants, and still not looking back. -J.

Winning bidder. 11 feedback. 25% bid activity with the seller. 3 bid retractions in 6 months. Then again the next highest bidder 134 feedback. 55% bid activity with the seller. 0 bid retractions in 6 months. Then again third highest bidder 255 feedback. 27% bid activity with the seller. Bid retractions 2. 6 bid retractions in 6 months. There were no retractions in this auction, so I don't see the point but okay. By the way, the second highest bidder only has 5% with this seller, not "55". Either way, the book continues to "amaze". -J.

Got damn Mary Jane. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Spiderman-678-Variant-Venom-Cgc-SS-Stan-Lee-/222388566776?hash=item33c7643af8%3Ag%3Ag4cAAOSwNnRYiKhg&nma=true&si=iFZRySQ5y%252FIXXG0HfR%252Fz791DLhQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 -J.

None I win You're probably right. I could see a few getting to maybe $100. But none are likely to scale the heights of the ASM 678 or even the second tier ones. There are definitely a few cool ones in there nonetheless though. The Man-thing one is probably my favourite. The X 23 one is pretty cool too in an H.R. Giger way. -J.

Really, "conservation" is just a type of restoration. It is a distinction with a negligible difference. -J.

In the days before Conservation was separately defined by TPGs, conservation techniques were included under Restoration. I feel some of the disdain towards Conservation stems from this association with Restoration. But it does seem to be lessening. There are also other collectors who want nothing to be done to the books they collect and would avoid Conserved books as much as they would avoid Restored books. ...because they're the same thing. -J.

Correct, they are sold in Mexico at conventions or one store, I believe, has rights to them. Any idea on how they decide on which covers to secure the rights to reprint? It seems pretty obvious that the owners/organizers keep an eye on the secondary market to make those decisions to some extent. -J.

I was just surprised to see how much some of these things are actually going for and how many people are slabbing them: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_mwBanner=1&isRefine=true&_from=R40&redirect=mobile&_nkw=Amazing+Spider-Man+7+La++mole&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Sold=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=20&_udhi=1%2C000%2C000&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=91604&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_sop=13&_dmd=1&_ipg=200&LH_Complete=1 -J.

I really don't know. I don't think any of the those sellers have paid that much for those books though. -J.

If anything I've seen values rise on many of the books that these have reprinted, books that are far more prevalent on the market than the ASM 667. A few of the reprints themselves have risen in value (like this one). Collectors usually want the original/American version of something. -J. I wouldn't consider a graded 9.6 rising in value. Seller easily lost money on that one. I don't know why anyone would get one of those reprints graded at all. Especially if it isn't a slam dunk 9.8. Although I guess a few of them have sold in the hundreds in a 9.8. I just mentioned that they're selling well above cover in the raw. -J.

If anything I've seen values rise on many of the books that these have reprinted, books that are far more prevalent on the market than the ASM 667. A few of the reprints themselves have risen in value (like this one). Collectors usually want the original/American version of something. -J.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/limited-Batman-608-RRP-Variant-CGC-9-4-Jim-Lee-starts-99-cents/142254599135?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140602152332%26meid%3D2386fc3796c348a0bb67ef2d31d567ab%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D252734899073 Who has balls of steel ? Oh, those are my balls. Buyer already paid too. I didn't even try to shill my auction That's amazing. Big time congrats. Dude, you just blew up GPA for a 9.4 by $500. -J.

I've actually noticed that there has been a flurry of high sales of this book in most grades recently. Maybe people trying to get their copies before the next Avengers movie ? -J.

Hands down one of his all time best. Looks like a keeper! -J.

+1 This. This should be stickied on the boards for posterity. -J.

Well done. I just updated the entry for the book to reflect your sale (since it will be on GPA). Also, this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/limited-Batman-608-RRP-Variant-CGC-9-4-Jim-Lee-starts-99-cents/142254599135?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140602152332%26meid%3D2386fc3796c348a0bb67ef2d31d567ab%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D252734899073 Who has balls of steel ? -J.

Hello again everyone! Just put the finishing touches on the list, with updated copy. Biggest mover this time around was ASM #700 Ditko. Here it is... ***MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS 2017, Q1 EDITION*** #12- Captain Marvel #14, 1:30 variant (2013)- This book boasts the first cameo appearance of Kamala Khan before she would become the new Ms. Marvel and an overnight sensation. Featuring a majestic take of her idol, Captain Marvel, standing atop a jet, it is certainly an apt introduction to what would become Marvel's next superstar. This book has proven to have legs and therefore is still holding on at #12. #11- X-23 #1, Dell'Otto (2010)- Another great and hot artist lodges his first cover here. Combined with the fact that X-23 may be Marvel's hottest female character right now, a confirmed movie appearance, and a breath-taking cover that may be one of her best depictions to date, and you have a book that has now fetched $1600+ in a 9.8, $1000 in a 9.6, and $800+ raw. #10- Walking Dead #100, Lucille/Red Foil Editions (2012)- The introduction of the iconic Negan in these crazy- rare issues had some people paying as much as $1800 for a 9.8 since word first leaked that he would (finally) be making his appearance in the show. While prices for 9.8's have since settled into the $1500 range, the rarity of these and the continuing popularity of both the book, the show, and the character, should keep this on the list for the foreseeable future and beyond. #9- Black Panther #1, Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Like a (female) panther leaping from the forest, this new entrant claws its way all the way up to #8 in its debut on the list. Actually released 7 years ago, this book only recently got discovered by JSC fans and became an instantly hot item. The first 9.8 copy to hit the market went for a whopping $3700! While a subsequent 9.8 copy sold for $2400 the fact that copies continue to pop up only intermittently should keep this one in good stead, and especially for those who grabbed one before the price explosion. #8- Amazing Spider-Man #700, Ditko (2013)- Guess who's back.. back again. Ditko's back. Tell a friend. In a remarkable reversal, this 1:200 book makes the biggest leap this time around, from not being on the list at all, to #8! A pair of 9.8's selling between $2500-$2800, strong 9.6 sales, and a raw copy going for over $900 is what's to thank. By the looks of things it seems these are drying up on ebay and into personal collections, causing a resurgence in realized prices. #7- Spawn #185, Sketch (2008)- Has anyone seen a single copy of this book for sale since I first started this list? I haven't. Talk about ridiculously rare? Geesh! One of Image's original and longest running titles checks in here with its most valuable RI variant to date. Clocking in at $2750 the last time a 9.8 copy came up for sale publicly, the scant census numbers should keep rare variant chasers on their heels and this book in high value and esteem for the foreseeable future. #6- Siege #3, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- This bizarre retailer incentive that involved destroying other comic books, a super hot artist, and one of Marvel's most trendy characters flossing on the cover are the perfect recipe to catapult this book to $2300+ in a 9.8, and extremely strong figures in all down grades on the rare occasion one comes up for sale.. #5- Uncanny X-Men #510 Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Without a doubt the most valuable and hard to find convention book out there, 9.6 copies of these have sold for $2800, and only proves once again that Campbell + crazy rarity + beautiful pin-up art = salivating fans and $$$. With a raw copy of this also cracking $2000 recently, all things considered, it wouldn't take much for this book to jump up higher on this list. #4- Wolverine #1, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- Yet another JSC cover, this one his best, lands at #3. Featuring a stocky Wolverine bulging out of Deadpool's costume, this book easily commands $3k+ in a 9.8 and is very strong in all down grades, as well as raw. It was another "destroy comics" incentive to retailers, an incentive that was so derided in the industry that it has yet to be repeated, but resulted in a book with a very low print run and insatiable demand. It was the uber-high sales prices of this book a couple of years ago that really got the JSC train going at 100 miles per hour, and if it ever stops chugging along, people will still be paying big money for this book, and this one will likely be the one book for which he is most remembered in the years to come. #3- Amazing Spider-Man #678 (2012)- This now classic and oft-reprinted and homaged cover features Mary Jane in mid-possession by the alien symbiote known as Venom. Its character mash-up and spoof elements made it an instant hit right out of the gate and it never looked back. A 1:50 variant released when ASM sales were barely cracking 50,000, this book has gone for $3500 in a 9.8 (on the rare occasion they're offered), and as much as $1000 for an 8.5! So strong is the pull of this book that it raised to prominence (and value) most, if not all of the other "Venom Variants" that were released outside of the ASM title that same month, which has now led to a brand new batch of Venom-themed variants coming in 2017. A raw copy has now also broken $2100, and its scarcity on the market, its "modern grail" status, and presence in the ASM run should keep it at the top of this list for a very long time. #2- Batman #608 RRP (2002)- The granddaddy of the RRP's (and possibly all modern variants) continues to hold on to the #2 spot. And why not? It's Batman, a first appearance of a new villain, and Part One of a story line that put the Batman title back on top. Oh yeah, and it has Jim Lee art. With prices now at $4,800 (and counting) for 9.8's, over $2,300 for 9.6's, and $2100 raw, and copies seeming to have all but disappeared into personal collections, don't expect to get this one on the cheap ever again (if you can even find one). #1- Amazing Spider-Man #667, Dell'Otto (2011)- Still #1 with a bullet, It was a year and a half ago back in September, 2015 when a VF/NM-ish raw copy of this sold for over $2000 that, in retrospect, seems to have kicked off this "next-level" of prices that people are now willing to pay for even raw copies of some of these truly rare books. At the time, such a high price paid for a raw modern book, no matter how rare, raised more than a few eyebrows, but since then we have seen similar stratospheric prices paid for multiple other books, including this one, which beat its own record when another, VF-looking raw copy sold for $2500 six months later, and a 9.6 copy hit $4k in June, 2016. As a side bonus, the multiple blockbuster sales of this one book officially put the name "Dell'otto" on the map, and raised his profile to the A-lister status shared by other hot and talented artists with names like Campbell, Hughes, and Lee. Possibly one of the rarest books of all in the entire ASM run, this book is a completionist's nightmare, and a rare variant hunter's wet dream. Hardly ever offered for sale, in any condition, there are reports of just 225 of these being produced. Whether this is true or not, however few copies there are seem to have already disappeared into permanent collections, and it is a veritable feeding frenzy when a copy does find its way to market. If there is such a thing as "Golden Age rarity" in the Modern Age (whether that rarity is "manufactured" or not), the ASM 667 Dell'Otto has it, and at this rate, there could easily come a time when years go by without a copy seeing the light of day. ***Fell Off The List For Now, But Clawing at #12*** Amazing Spider-Man #688, Campbell (2012) -J.

+1. This is more along my though process as well. Books going into PCs and not being up for sale, do/can create a 'market thirst' when it does pop up for sale again after a long time. If it's another long wait until the next sale, the same could happen again, creating a new trend and market value. But with these collectibles, some of them can drop a bit if too many copies are readily available and seller(s) are looking to move on from the book for whatever reason. So, I'm gonna say 'yes' to the OP's question because, so far they (mostly) have. The real question isn't 'can' they, but 'will' they. Jerome The variant craze is not that old. I know many think it is here to stay, but I think it'd be one of the first things to go if the market as a whole got into significant trouble again. On another facet, I think these things being so relatively rare also hurts their long term prospects. I think to a certain extent people still desire what they see - never seeing one of these books at a con, in an LCS on a wall... only even knowing it exists because of a few eBay sightings every other year and forums like this one, I think that hurts a book in the true long term. But then again... the real high end of this market only needs a few people with deep pockets to be invested in it so maybe an infinite game of hot potato could happen :shrug: I think some of the responses coming in now are misinterpreting the original question... it's not whether variants will retain their value, but whether books with covers by certain artists will retain their value. These are sometimes variants, but frequently are not. +1 I noticed that this thread quickly devolved into yet another "I hate variants and what they sell for" thread, in spite of your original question as well. My answer to your actual question: Some will, most will not, a few will transcend. -J.

I'm fine not seeing it again, I think it looks awful. what's wrong with the cover? when you see something that looks like street graffiti does it makes you angry and just can't look at it? Doesn't do anything for me either - boring, static cover. Reminds me of Sad Keanu. Really? A sinister, sunglasses adorn Punisher against a quintessential LA backdrop that is actually reflective of the plot within. I notice you have a consistent pattern of only negativity. Is there anything that you do like about anything at all in modern comics or characters? -J. Sorry I don't like your comic book cover Wasn't the question. -J. I've decided to ignore your BS when you direct it at me in personal attacks - it's orders of magnitude harder to dismiss BS than it is to spew it, so I pick my battles. I generally don't like Opena's drawing of most characters. I appreciate that he has a style and specific look he's going for, and I think its executed well usually, it just doesn't appeal to my aesthetic preferences. I like the idea for this cover, but Opena's Punisher is just not appealing to me, and the juxtaposition against that back drop actually highlights the things I don't like about the way he draws characters. For this cover, I just look and think "I would have preferred Tim Bradstreet doing the Punisher" On a related note, there's a million more comics out today and million more working artists. This means that people's very specific tastes are often catered to more, so people can generally find and enjoy specific art that they enjoy relatively easily. A consequence of the glut of choices that we have is that we can be and often are more critical of more things that do not appeal to us, simply because there are more things to be critical of, and more choices that we prefer (why would I waste my time with this thing I don't like when I could be spending my time with something I like?). There's additional added effect when something unappealing is (for whatever reason) very valuable. If it was just another cover on the shelf as I walk by, my eye might be drawn to the bright color, then I'd look closer and say 'meh'. But for a $500 comic, I think that cover is 'awful' because I wouldn't even pay $4 it. Same with that Vader Down super rare one. For $4, I might think its kind of cute or niche. But for $500, I think its a travesty. I'm usually most drawn to well rendered, new, and/or interesting and clever takes on my favourite characters. This one hits that sweet spot, and the fact it's an Opena and there's so few of them out there is the nail in my collector's coffin. -J.

I'm fine not seeing it again, I think it looks awful. what's wrong with the cover? when you see something that looks like street graffiti does it makes you angry and just can't look at it? Doesn't do anything for me either - boring, static cover. Reminds me of Sad Keanu. Really? A sinister, sunglasses adorn Punisher against a quintessential LA backdrop that is actually reflective of the plot within. I notice you have a consistent pattern of only negativity. Is there anything that you do like about anything at all in modern comics or characters? -J. Sorry I don't like your comic book cover Wasn't the question. -J. I've decided to ignore your BS when you direct it at me in personal attacks - it's orders of magnitude harder to dismiss BS than it is to spew it, so I pick my battles. If asking you what your personal likes are constitutes a "personal attack", then so be it. You're free to post as you like, though I honestly don't see how any joy can be derived in this hobby (that is supposed to be nonsensical and fun, they are only comics after all), if all one does is post about things they don't own and don't like. -J.

I'm fine not seeing it again, I think it looks awful. what's wrong with the cover? when you see something that looks like street graffiti does it makes you angry and just can't look at it? Doesn't do anything for me either - boring, static cover. Reminds me of Sad Keanu. Really? A sinister, sunglasses adorn Punisher against a quintessential LA backdrop that is actually reflective of the plot within. I notice you have a consistent pattern of only negativity. Is there anything that you do like about anything at all in modern comics or characters? -J. Sorry I don't like your comic book cover Wasn't the question. -J.

I'm fine not seeing it again, I think it looks awful. what's wrong with the cover? when you see something that looks like street graffiti does it makes you angry and just can't look at it? Doesn't do anything for me either - boring, static cover. Reminds me of Sad Keanu. Really? A sinister, sunglasses adorn Punisher, yet still conspicuously out of his typical dark, NY element, against a quintessential LA backdrop that is actually a slick take-off on the plot within. I notice you have a consistent pattern of only negativity. Is there anything that you do like about anything at all in modern comics or characters? -J.

He asked for that many as part of his contract to do the cover. That's what I was thinking. I just didn't know if Marvel did that sorta thing with ANY artist. On a side note (and I'll whisper this in case you-know-who wanna show up to argue about it some more), this does kill the whole notion of estimating variant print runs based on total sales & ratio. Actually, it doesn't. Creator courtesy copies as well as remaindered case packs have always been factored into the conversation. -J. SHHHHHHH!!!!! -J.

He asked for that many as part of his contract to do the cover. That's what I was thinking. I just didn't know if Marvel did that sorta thing with ANY artist. On a side note (and I'll whisper this in case you-know-who wanna show up to argue about it some more), this does kill the whole notion of estimating variant print runs based on total sales & ratio. Actually, it doesn't. Creator courtesy copies as well as remaindered case packs have always been factored into the conversation. -J.