Jaydogrules

Who? "Unnamed sources" are meaningless; this isn't state secrets we're talking about, here. Let these unnamed sources name themselves, or they carry no weight. I can say "I've gotten numerous PMs from Marvel management that state that the print run of this book was 1,725 copies", but that means nothing if I am unwilling or unable to cite the source, so that the source can be verified. Until then, it's all either speculation, or invention. (Beyond that, it is absolutely absurd to think that Marvel printed ANY book limited to only 225 copies. Just absurd. If you have proof of this, by all means, provide it. Marvel has NEVER, EVER produced a KNOWN variant in those numbers, EVER, so why would they do it with a random 1:100 incentive, for their flagship title no less?) Floated by who? According to who? Where have these reports been reported? After all, if you're going to question me...and rightly so!...on the X-Men #510 sketch story, then you ought to be questioned about this story. I tend to believe the X-Men #510 story, because I have heard it from multiple, unconnected sources. The only people I've heard this about the #667 from is you, and perhaps those connected to this debate here. And suppose Marvel did exactly that. Simply because very few retailers bothered to "up their orders" after the fact just to get "another variant". There is nothing "missing" and this isn't rocket science. Just something out of the norm that few retailers found it worth their time to break routine for. They had already placed their Spidey orders. They had already ordered plenty of the special 50th anniversary FF variant. And one variant is as good as another. Sometimes things out of the ordinary just happen in this hobby. Double covers , "price variants", recalled comics, etc. This was obviously a marketing faux pas by Marvel that backfired and created essentially an error book, in what is indeed its flagship title. Whoops! Don't think so ? Find another example of this happening and feel free to post it in this thread. So if Marvel did do such a thing, if they ran off a one case print of a book that few retailers ordered (not expensive for them at all since as we have learned a printer will change a cover plate for the cost of around $500) the result would probably look a lot like the 667 Dell'otto- impossible to find, highly sought after, and extremely expensive. -J.

Actually, raw copies of X 23 #1 were going for $400+ before the 9.8 mycomicshop sale (which was actually for $1,380). Agreed, his Gamora cover for Original Sin is pretty sweet. The whole Original Sin run by him is actually pretty solid. -J.

This is an interesting question. If you go with 9.8 NM 98 at $900 you're buying potentially at the top of its value thanks to movie hype. But with how well the movie is doing, who knows , $900 could be the new floor for the book. If you buy the 9.6 BA 12 you are probably going to lose money as that book is in the throes of a pre-movie hype speculative cycle. The book with the most potential upside is probably the ASM 300, as even with no movie hype it is still a pretty consistent $900 book in a 9.8, and of course has McFarlane, Venom and that classic cover. -J.

Why? People pay more for JSC and Dell Otto is a better artist, IMO. Comic book prices are set by rarity and demand, etc, not by how good the art is. And I happen to think this book is wildly overpriced at prices of 1-2k. It's mostly speculators driving up prices on old X-23 books after Marvel made her "All-New Wolverine" recently. X-23 #1 has always been scarce on the market. Even that lone 9.8 copy poofed off ebay almost immediately. Marvel promoting her to being "the new Wolverine" in comics certainly brought more attention to the character and her back issues. But at least that attention and demand is organic, being generated by what's happening in the comics like the good ol' days and not on some alternative media announcement. The fact that it's also the best X-23 cover out there and a "#1" cinches it. -J.

-J.

Hello Gents. As promised, here is a little something I put together to explain what I feel is the best explanation yet for the unusual rarity of Dell'otto's signature piece- the ASM 667. It contains links to official Marvel/Diamond/and Midtown sites that only have to do with "this" book, and not third party rumour mill sites (like bleedingcool for example). I am also trying to cite them chronologically so that it makes the most sense. A lot of this is based on some theories that were originally advanced by bababooey and ChuckGower in the original thread ASM 667 Appreciation Thread, so a shout out to them. Some of what they theorized is supported by my research. The best (and most likely) explanation for the rarity of the book is in fact a combination of factors that I have not seen duplicated with any other book to date. My research has revealed that the Dell'Otto variant of ASM 667 was not originally intended to even be released by Marvel. Originally, the 667 was to have only one variant- the Fantastic Four 50th anniversary variant that was not incentive based. Retailers could essentially order as many copies of it as they liked, so long as they exceeded their order of ASM 658 by at least one copy. This is supported by this Diamond link that originally shows only the regular cover for the 667 being available to order along with the FF variant: http://www.diamondcomics.com/Home/1/1/3/733?articleID=109968 This is further supported by the "Last Call" notification to retailers reminding them of the FOC ("Final Order Cut-off") of July 11, 2011, still only showing the regular cover for the 667 along with the FF variant, with no mention of the Dell'Otto: http://www.diamondcomics.com/Home/1/1/3/733?articleID=110595 Flash forward a few days later, to July 11, 2011. On what was supposed to be the FOC for the ASM 667 (as well as all of the other books by multiple publishers to be distributed by Diamond for that period) Marvel issued the following release about the addition of 667 Dell'Otto, not at the eleventh hour, but quite literally at the 12th hour: This would also help explain why there were never any pre-orders offered for the book. http://marvel.com/news/comics/16250/sneak_peek_gabrielle_dellotto_amazing_spider-man_667_variant This book, unlike the FF variant was to be incentive based on a 1:100 ratio. As a result of this 12th hour addition, Diamond issued the following "product update"... http://www.diamondcomics.com/Home/1/1/3/746?articleID=110712 ..which extended the FOC by one week from July 11, 2011 to July 18, 2011 for just this one book. It should be noted that to qualify for the Dell'Otto retailers had to order at least 100 copies of the regular cover. None of the orders that had already been placed by then for the FF variant would count towards those 100 copies. Furthermore, if a retailer did not notice the last minute addition of the book, or bother to actually order it if they did, they would not have received any copies, even if they had already ordered or had a standing order of 100+ copies of ASM. I have heard from retailers who didn't even know the 667 Dell'otto existed until I started the original Appreciation Thread. Keep in mind that Spidey sales were in the doldrums during this period, and the 667 was already following the massive 666 event which had already prompted nearly 150 retailers to increase their orders significantly in order to qualify for the custom variant covers (minimum 500 copies had to b ordered to qualify for that unique incentive). That event spiked ASM sales to over double its averages for the time, but also could have made smaller retailers who elected to participate less inclined to order heavy again on the next issue just to get yet another variant. This, coupled with the last minute addition of the Dell'Otto, after the Last Call, the fact that the previously offered FF variants would not count toward the incentive, and that it was announced the very day of the original FOC certainly appears to have severely impacted the retailer participation to qualify for the Dell'Otto. Speaking of the FF variant...that book is extremely common, as it looks like retailers liberally loaded up on it. It actually even appears more common than the regular cover. This is demonstrated by Midtown's site, when the 667 was first released.. http://www.midtowncomics.com/store/dp.asp?PRID=Amazing+Spider%2DMan+Vol+2+_1142376 ...notice how the price of the FF variant is actually less than the price for what was the "regular cover". A quick gander at current ebay listings also shows more listings for the FF variant than the regular cover: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=amazing+spiderman+667&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=5&_udhi=10%2C000%2C000%2C00&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_sabdlo=&_sabdhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=91604&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=200 Of the listings for the 667 that are not part of a lot, 18 of them are for the FF variant and only 9 are for the regular cover. This ratio is consistent with what is always available in the marketplace. The first question one might ask themselves is "Well is this because the FF variant is more valuable?". The answer to that is "no". Neither the regular cover or the FF variant is a particularly valuable book in a 9.8 slab. According to GPA, since the release of the book there have been a total of 3 copies of the regular cover sold, with a 12 month average of $36.00. Conversely, and also notable, there have been 25 slabs of the FF variant sold with a 12 month average of $41.00. Due to the fact that neither book is particularly slab worthy at their current FMV, we see the expected wan amounts of slabbed copies on the census. However, even there, the variant exists in greater numbers (40 slabs to 29 for the regular cover). Granted this is a small sampling size, however every single available, observable metric demonstrates that the variant accounts for a significant percentage of the issue's total print run. This is further supported by Marvel's own actions in releasing the 667 Dell'Otto as a last minute (and again, after the FOC) enticement to retailers to increase their orders for the regular cover, but to no avail. The FF variant was already the cover of choice. Even if every retailer noticed Marvel's 12th hour announcement for the Dell'Otto and decided that they wanted to order additional copies of the regular cover, or already had already ordered 100+ copies and decided to go back into their account to specifically order the Dell'otto, after the FOC, the most copies that would have been printed/distributed would have been about 700- still a tiny figure, in and of itself, for a mainstream title with a regular distribution. But this would assume that every retailer who did order the regular cover, ordered enough batches of 100 to qualify (which didn't happen). I have received multiple PM's from numerous Diamond account holders over the past several months who have put the book at a "one case print run", meaning there would have been no more than 225 copies printed. This number is consistent with other sources that I have seen and has been the number floated around for the last four years or so. However, to further complicate matters, there have been some reports that a good chunk of the few copies that were printed suffered spine and back cover damage during printing/distribution. From a purely anecdotal standpoint I have seen a majority of the few raw copies offered on ebay with this exact kind of damage. The fact that many of the copies out there may not be in that great of shape may also be a factor in what is suppressing its census numbers (although that would not explain why a copy very rarely surfaces for sale). Of course, we will never know the exact amount of copies that were printed and put into circulation. However this unusual and (not repeated?) combination of events and circumstances go a long way to explaining why there just aren't that many copies around.

Super cool! That should be framed and on a wall. -J.

That winter soldier 1 is sweet. Only 9 copies on the census right now. That OA Doom is pretty bad azz too! -J.

Great write up. And agreed the Vader Down cover is fantastic. -J.

I'm in Beaverton As for the 678, I'd say a little bit yes, but mostly no it won't hurt the value. It does provide a cheap(er) way to own the cover/issue. But I think it just adds to aura of the book Jerome +1 None of the reprints of the other books hurt the relative values of their original counterparts either. Plus the 678 already has previously been reprinted, homaged, and posterized. -J.

Wait a minute, I'm a little out of the loop. Are people suggesting that due to a ret-con, NM 98 is no longer the first appearance of Domino? Seriously? Is it really a retcon if it took place within a year? When Domino appeared in NM 98 was there any indication that it was an imposter, or was that revealed later? Is there any evidence at the time of the release of NM 98 that it was someone impersonating someone else? It's a distinction without a difference since "that" same character, with "that" same name, and "that" same likeness first appeared in NM 98, and is even named and depicted prominently on the cover. -J.

Wait a minute, I'm a little out of the loop. Are people suggesting that due to a ret-con, NM 98 is no longer the first appearance of Domino? Seriously? Yes, but I don't think "seriously". I mean, it's not like her picture and name aren't scrawled on the cover heralding her introduction , or anything. Silly story ret-con several months later notwithstanding. A narrative "reveal" after the fact does not change the fact that that "character" first appeared in NM 98. -J.

Yep its the same one that sold on the 14th for less than half the current asking price. Yes the seller on the 14th totally whiffed it and now this seller is obviously looking for the quick flip. -J. How was the $800 dollar sale that occurred the same day as a Stan SS auction for $1050 a "total whiff"? That language implies that you believe the current ask is more legit than two sales from a couple weeks ago that were within spitting distance of each other if you factor in SS costs. Because, if anything, a Stan Lee sig on this book is a detriment, raw copies are going for ~ $450, and this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-23-2010-3rd-Series-1D-CGC-9-8-0271504001-/361467874110?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=xbID1M6Roi55pQZ3XgzvrSjCRBk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc -J.

NM 98 is the first appearance of Domino, irrespective of the subsequent ret-con. -J.

Yep its the same one that sold on the 14th for less than half the current asking price. Yes the seller on the 14th totally whiffed it and now this seller is obviously looking for the quick flip. -J.

That is super cool! -J.

You know who hates drawing feet? Go pick up any Hellboy trade paperback and see how long it is before you see feet not obscured by rocks, grass or any random object. Mike M hates feet!!! @Wowithurts- Make sure you re-post your 667 so I can add you to the new club. @ebtorres- That's a great looking OA Joker cover! @valiant- Thanks for posting those illustrations. Some of those look almost photo-realistic. -J.

I must have missed that one. Are those the only interiors he's done ? -J. No, he also did the 2004 Secret War limited series. Seems to be covers only nowadays though. -J.

I must have missed that one. Are those the only interiors he's done ? -J.

Not sure about the feet thing but he is strictly a cover artist. -J.

Somebody just listed this X 23 #1: http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-23-1-2010-1-25-Dellotto-Variant-Rare-HTF-9-8-CGC-Wolverine-White-Pages-/182036686173?hash=item2a623b655d:g:QAoAAOSw~OVW0KHC -J.

Looks great for the grade too! -J.

Wow, he's giving JSC a run for his money on those! Very nice. Jerome +1 The OA on those covers is mesmerizing. Especially the second one. Love the glint on the blades on her right hand. -J.

I believe it's the Batman/Superman 50 connecting covers posted a few posts back. -J.

Congrats! How does it look? -J.