GeeksAreMyPeeps

I don't recall anyone indicating that rarity didn't matter.

As of early this morning, it was still available on Midtown's website, but appears to be sold out now.

Not sure what you think you're proving by comparing apples to oranges. Deadpool, Harley, Carnage… all hugely popular, sure. But their first appearances had much bigger print runs than the book in question here, so are much more widely available. I wouldn't put X-23 in the category of the other characters, but even so, same situation regarding availability of 9.8s. Kamala's situation is a little different with so many different books to pick from for key firsts. That leaves Gwen as the most comparable. Very popular; I'd argue not quite as popular as Miles. Has appeared in a movie but not been the title character. The Land variant is approaching 5 figures in 9.8, and there are more than twice as many of them on the census as the UF4 variant. Now, maybe the prices for both of them won't keep up. But I think whatever price correction those may be subjected to in the future will also be reflected in the 667 variant. My long-term pick is still Miles.

Yes, they don't sell for that… because they're not the real deal. Thank you for playing.

Prices for UF4 started their upward trajectory off when the video game was announced. But by all means, show me another "spec character" whose first appearance sells for anywhere near where UF4 sells.

You're missing the point. ASM 667 has nothing going for it except rarity. And it's artificial rarity, since it's an incentive book. Not like it's some Golden Age book of which only a few survive because most people didn't treat them like collectibles. UF4 is a first appearance of an important character. Miles graduated from being a "spec character" some time ago. Already the featured character in one major movie, with at least one more on the way. I'm not particularly knowledgable about video games, but it appears that the video game he was the main character in was highly successful as well. Since comic collecting has been a thing, most collectors have consistently sought out the first appearance of characters, especially important characters. Seeking out an alternate, artificially scarce cover of a book is a relatively new phenomenon, and it remains to be seen whether that's just a fad.

There are, at best, just a few things that have consistently propped up demand for a book in the history of comics collecting, and the first appearance of a character has been the most important of those things. UF4 is going to be the long-term winner.

Nice lot. There's a few Lobo minor keys that are under the radar right now. This is one that I look for in the cheap boxes.

Spectre 54 was already expensive but has taken a jump.

gurgre-3 Another non-paying auction winner.

Probably depends on where you live. I'm in NYC, and we put pretty much any plastic except for really malleable plastics like plastic wrap and plastic bags in with the recycling. (What they actually do with it after that, I'm not sure.)

Well, I had 3 books suffering from Shaken Comic Syndrome in one shipment not too long ago (on which CGC is dragging its fee regarding properly compensating me for the damage). And another shipment with 2 affected the same way.

Who is Ash Gonzales and what is the connection to this book?

Precisely why I posted it.

Yes, the Direct and Newsstand blocks were different. Not sure what it is that you're questioning.

Wondered what? The corner boxes changed a few times around this time. They used the M for the price block on their Direct editions through the end of their 25th anniversary, then changed it along with the Marvel logo when that was over.

This was one of the first books I bought at a comic shop.

That's not a very accurate cosplay. Pretty sure the Yankees uniform includes pants.

Rosa Parks was 1955. Sit-ins and Freedom Rides were late '50s-very early '60s.

https://www.history.com/news/stan-lee-x-men-civil-rights-inspiration

Tell that to Stan Lee. He's explicitly said that's what inspired the book.

This ASM 50 CGC 9.8 is only at 62.5K, but it's got 2 weeks left: https://comics.ha.com/itm/silver-age-1956-1969-/the-amazing-spider-man-50-marvel-1967-cgc-nm-mt-98-white-pages/a/7283-91038.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

It might be longer if it was submitted with a pre-screen. Much longer if submitted with pressing as well.

Because you typically can't wait that long. 60 days is a typically window for a dispute. If you're pre-ordering a slab for a book that hasn't been released yet, it's going to take more time than that.

These did really well just before the release of the recent movie.