World Devourer

Whoa. Some generalisations there. es, Batman and Spider-Man are popular, but you are forgetting the casual investors who know very little about comics. For this group, the movie has everything to do with it. They are the ones driving prices ever upward. Read one of the many articles about how this group almost destroyed the hobby in the 90s.

Things should settle down after the ASM film.

And following on from what I've stated before and what Jay touched on, this is now the Variant Age. I believe only the key variants will achieve any real value. It is a more refined version of the prototype Chromium Age.

I think there's a fundamental problem with the question. $1,000 doesn't buy anything of note - certainly nothing that is going to SIGNIFICANTLY increase long-term. The best gems have already gone past the 1K mark. Even those that per GPA are technically under this level, such as Wolverine #145 Nabisco variant, will exceed this in the next "off the books" sale.

Common practice in business. Buy out the emerging competition and shelve their product.

There you go. You hit the nail on the head. Expect in the future to see many of the Marvel heroes to go the way of their Disney cousins - appearances on merchandise and in theme parks but very few (if any) new adventures. Many forgettable characters like Blue Marvel will simply disappear. The big guns - Captain America, Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor etc. - will have a longer half-life (which is sadly what it will become: science aside, half a life).

Lucifer. Still the best series to date.

Hmmm...in an ideal world I'd like Betty as a best friend and Veronica as a lover. You get the best from each of them.

Actually very true. John and Walt (Simonson) have always told it "like it was", but in a discreet, clinical fashion. No vitriol.

Marvel can attempt to re-create the mood and feel of the classic period, but at the end of the day it will fail - in the same way that remakes of classic films fail. Try as one might, you cannot recreate that period. All those elements that made up the zeitgeist of that era are long gone. Yes, there are long-time (and long in the tooth) fans, but not enough. Today's "readers" are a different beast. These are the people who helped video game profits exceed film profits for several years in a row. Comics will eventually become a casual e-option fof those interested. Sad for some, but inevitable.

It is Adam Warlock as he is called "Adam" by another character.

Larger smartphones have their place - it's all in the application. I will never understand why people go to a concert and watch the whole thing through their phone. "Best concert I ever filmed!" Go figure.

Heh. Nowhere near the level of WWBN #32.

Nice. Well Red, if you ever wish to sell let me know. I'll look after you.

I'd pay good money for that copy but not any copy.

Inevitable (Spoilers) Adam Warlock appears in the end credits scene of GOTG2. Knew it was coming and have the Warlock issues ready once speculation kicks in.

It did indeed. Even though it featured only the original Guardians, Marvel Super Heroes #18 now sells for a princely sum. Tales To Astonish #13 (1st Groot) is not cheap even in lower grades, with top grade being 9.2. The others are not worth it as they are too common in 9.8. So much for the Guardians.

You're the one who brought it up - Square even said what has this got to do with anything. "All over the place" is right. Should have said this outright.

Thanks. Very interesting. I'm also going do some research on the Whitman titles, as they were childhood favourites.

I agree that most super-hero stories now are light on content. Marvel is really struggling on this front. I've had no interest since the 1998 titles disappeared. Of the "modern" DC stories I have enjoyed the more serious storylines, such as Identity Crisis and the GL emotional spectrum arc. But that was pre-reboot, which I feel was a mistake. I think that one day in the not too distant future content will be via subscription and online only. It is inevitable: the demise of print, shifting demographics, changing world culture etc.

Now if Marvel are clever, Hela will reference the Convergence and that it weakened the portal between worlds and allowed her to pass into Asgard. And...her trump card might be freeing Surtur from Muspelheim, thinking he can be controlled. Thor and the Hulk then team up to defeat the demon. I can see a roaring Hulk leaping at a giant Surtur. That would be fun.

Hey, Love and Rockets! That brings back memories. And Madman. Strange but clever. And all those experimental Dark Horse Comics stories.

I occurred to me I did read Dreadstar. It was Epic and actually an off-shoot of Marvel but it was different. Then Elric. In the 90's it was Sandman, Preacher and the always excellent Lucifer.

Amen to that. Hence the rise of the independents.

Chuck, yes, the angst angle was an eventual winner for them. Lightning in a bottle again? I doubt it. For my money, the truly best stories are now all independent. By the by, your avatar has me curious. How comparable were sales for the Archie titles in the 60's?