MAY1979

Black Adam is a huge outlier both for GA and Bronze + Copper. The first hints of the movie being developed with The Rock go back almost a full decade now yet Black Adam appearances are still about a hot as DC ever gets. I for one first never realized and still don't get The Rock's popularity but it simply can't be denied. I feel the original post was referring to Silver/Bronze age to current not GA. Wonder Woman - at least in the art world where I've spent most of the past 21 years has always been an A-level or near A-level demand character. Bronze WW for example has been "hot" for a long time. WW is almost always in the 10 most popular searches on CAF. Not sure it translates exactly to Comics say for bronze where at best she's equal to a C or C+ level Marvel Character. I will say I am glad I spent my time in the 00's picking up 1970's WW Covers and not 1970's WW Comics! Of course I own the only "vintage" 1 of 1 CGC 9.8 Black Adam app that remains worthless....

I do find it absurd that even a mere rumor of a possible mention of some throwaway character appearing on Marvel TV show or Film causes a frackin' panic. The only hope is the bandwagon jumping folks will take fiscal losses resulting in them exiting the hobby. Still other media and comics have influenced each other since the 1940's. A bunch of what became Superman canon for example originated on the 1940's radio program or 1950's TV show. P.S. As for Taskmaster as I recall Susan Richards (nee Storm) easily took him out with nothing more than a glance. So in my mind Taskmaster equals loser,Loser,LOSER!

IMHO Ghosts 97 is in the same league artistically as Aparo's Adventure Spectre covers. You post inspired me to move mine to the top of my ongoing collection scanning project.

I've received 2 sub's slow submissions back prior to a earlier submitted Fast Track. With the high level of perceived randomness paying extra for FT may be tantamount to nothing more than a nice gift for CGC. Standard may be the only way to get a degree of faster assured turnaround and I'm not so sure about that either.....

I've seen that as well but I am under the impression that is due to batch and or queued processing of Database updates. All automated in effect, no human is required. Are there any confirmed reports that they use Saturday's the same as say a Thursday - meaning regular operation.

I believe that is the "new process". Pick out approximately 5% of submissions and in effect give them the walk-through-treatment. That way word gets out to Social Media and regular submitter will likley see one of their orders receive quick service. Of course that type of "line cutting" is at the expense of delaying even further all the other in the queue. I was lucky as I received the fast treatment on 1 of my 10 submissions in 2021. While my first sub (NO CSS) of the year sat in limbo for 7 months. You'd think CGC logically would utilize Saturday's - thus adding 52 additional processing days, nearly 2 full months, per year. I think that would do leaps and bounds more to clear out the backlog than arbitrarily rushing a tiny percent of orders at random through

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Honest question: How many collector's or speculator's introduce a book to a thread topic like this one who do not already have a vested interest in that exact book? If its a book one is seeking it simply would not prudent.

I totally agree that Dr Strange story is a lot of fun and spackle's in the plot holes of FF19. Yep excellent Rogers/Austin cover and art. To actual comics fans, readers and collectors its a great issue. As for the flippers and speculators that cause a hot book-de-jour to spike its Rama Tut not Kang (although to fans pretty much the same thing), it's not a 1st issue and it's not a first appearance. With it's Excellent art and engaging story line, I highly recommend Doctor Strange 1st series #48-53 to any fan of the Comic Book medium!

9.8 looks nicer

$420 INCLUDING the Buyers Premium. Probably 2 buyers that just had to have it in Nov, with one of them gone the next sale plummeted down. Will the next sale go for more or less than $420 is the question. Compare and Contrast folks, yet another example why attempting to base a books value or going rate by single online auction ofttimes is folly

The more who get burned to the tune of a quick 10K loss, the more who are likley to exit the hobby. Don't let the door hit you on the way applies Conversely those who purchased at 5K may still be happy even if less so than in May.

One cover is considered classic/iconic the other is not. The print runs on both for their time were HUGE. Nearly glut era in number. Most collectors from back in the day have multiple copies of each, I know I have 4 or 5 of both covers. Some entities are sitting dozens of long boxes full of both #1 covers. Now that the issue is actually worth slabbing expect to see that number of 74 jump in leaps and bounds. In the short term this may be a good book to sell while it's status is warm, if the census jumps during the next year expect a frost. It's high print run DC after all How many folks are glad they spent $350-$400 on Suicide Squad #1, even with Big Budget Films the last as recently as Summer 2021, the book now sits unsold at $150 in CGC 9.8 on eBay. P.S. As I recall about a year later the changes watering down Superman were not thought of too highly among fans and collectors. It has it's place in history but it's not an 80's DC Flagship Character Classic like Miller's Batman Year One or Moore's Killing Joke. At least John Byrne displayed reverence for the character and did not change Superman's costume as Lee, Didio and John's did out of pure hubris as well as "bonus padding". Those of you who work in Fortune 200 Corporations may understand the later.

I think Hellboy is more cult than niche. Cult being a larger audience and some gen-pop name recognition. Groo Special #1 is one of my top 10 1980's comics, maybe even top 5. I re-read it every Oct. As I may have mentioned I had my childhood raw comic graded 21 years ago. Having it in a 1st generation CGC 9.8 label+slab to me is priceless. BTW: Groo Pacific #8 I believe is the 2nd "rarest" Groo book of the 1980's. Talking print run not CGC census.

Agreed. The world, and the hobby has changed quite a bit since 1993 which is nearly 30 years ago. The old paradigms may no longer apply to the same extent if even at all. I moved to OCA in 1999 and until I was priced out 20+ years later never looked back to comics. I am in full tight hold mode on my art and am using my collecting "budget" to have my raw stuff graded. While I pretty much only post Copper stuff skewing towards the oddball that I picked up raw as a kid I do have a lot of high grade 1965-1972 DC I wish was Marvel. Back in the early-mid 90's DC was going to be the next huge Marvel level thing well decades later it still is not. Demand is just as key as supply. Never say never but given the recent DC TV Shows and huge Budget Films have not changed market perception then seriously folks, what will?? P.S. Thinking about all the Marvel in the Oakland collection (Myself and local to Vinny collectors were given early shot pre-first show appearance of the collection) I passed on to use my funds towards DC books thinking they were better values makes me a bit sick today. I picked up approx 6 DC's for every 1 Marvel. Younger me in hindsight was not very smart. To those who are somewhat young reading this don't make the same mistakes I did, eschew DC and buy MARVEL!

My guess is noticeably more of each this time next year. Not the first time Groo has been warm but when the dust settles it will again go back to it's full niche status BTW Groo's rarest early 1980's #1 in High Grade remains: Groo Special 1 = 46 For over 2 decades it was most "valuable" single Groo issue in the Overstreet Guide. I believe that only changed a few years back. When Pacific #1 overtook it by a mere 2 dollars. The print run was far lower on the Eclipse Special than any of the 1980's Pacific or Marvel issues that also includes the heavily printed Destroyer Duck 1. But it's all about 1st appearances now not scarcity...

21 years ago I was offered $5000 for my 9.6 Showcase 75 as it was the highest and 1 of 2 at the time as I recall. I don't sell comics so I declined. For 20 years I've regretted that choice. Back then I would have put the money immediately into 1970's OCA Marvel Covers - at the time I could have purchased 2 or 3 including a Trimpe Hulk at 2500, boy have I regretted not taking that stooopid money offer. About 2 years later when there were 5 of the book the guy making the offer emailed me his thanks as he had just obtained one for $500. Did I mention I regret not accepting the offer. The moral here if there really even is one, would be the old adage "Strike While the Iron is Hot" or perhaps "Take The Money and Run" P.S. If anyone wants a Showcase 75 CGC 9.6 I'll do $4500 on it.

Great alliteration in the title

The post mentioned speculation, my response was targeted to speculation. Say WW204 now commands $2000USD or $2500 in CGC 9.8 , do you see it double, tripling, Quadrupling in value based on DCEU appearance? Do you see it approaching HOS92 or GL/GA76 values? - I don't. At best it will still go up a bit and if one is really lucky will hang on the the majority of it's gains. IMHO that is best case and that depends on the 9.8 supply staying near 5 (say below 10) over the next couple of years. When a Marvel book gets hot, 2k could go to 4k or to 8k. Not many DC examples of that, not many like Batman 251 for example. Of course Batman with Classic Adams covers are outliers. I picked up mainly DC Silver and Early Bronze throughout the 1990's as I did believe it was undervalued. Well it was not. The supply may be smaller but the demand is greatly reduced. If I had purchased mostly Marvel Silver and Early Bronze in the 90's I could easily have retired early already. I don't sell comics - NEVER have, but believe me when I say if I had hundreds of high grade Mid Silver Age - Early Bronze Marvel instead of DC right now I'd would be selling to retire early as I've had it with the "rat race". For decades folks like myself thought DC would be the next big thing, outliers aside, history has proved them and me wrong every time. Not to say you cant make money with DC but it's so much simpler with Marvel as you can still get onboard after a spike and profit. Not to mention much higher % profit potential. I do wish DC would jump to Marvel levels as I have vested interest in that but for nearly 4 decades now those hopes for me have been crushed when compared to Marvel book values. My best guess is history continues to repeat and the chasm between Marvel and DC grows ever larger in Marvel's favor. Please note outliers will always exist but outliers are an exception not the norm. P.S. "Smart Money will not tell others when they are accumulating books." I was very surprised see a "Shut-up" type comment like that. That is sad, as I for one appreciate counterpoints especially when it comes to speculating. I wish I had been told grab more Silver Marvel than DC from 1990-1999. Rather than merely being given faux positive lip service by other collectors and dealers for my DC purchases.

It's not Marvel thus demand may have already peaked? Buying now at current asking rate represents future wallet-ache. Your honesty in the first sentence is refreshing. You clearly have bias towards the book on your part but betting on DC+DCEU is almost always a losing proposition. Smart money speculates on Bronze/Copper/Modern Marvel and never on DC and certainly never ever on a DCUE appearance. Black Adam/The Rock being the most notable outlier.

It goes down in price. From 1961-present the chasm between Marvel and DC book is growing. Outside of Batman and Joker who are usually as hot as B-level Marvel Characters, The only recent outlier's are seemingly Harley Quinn and Black Adam - Shazam is perhaps equal to a C- level Marvel Character. Sandman has started to freezer chill. TV Shows don't help DC, Large Budget Motion Pictures Don't help DC. It's just the way it .Smart Money purchases only Marvel. True collectors also purchase DC and realize stagnation is the standard.

Low-ish census due to low values in past. Now after decades it's finally worth it to some to submit for grading. We've seen this before as the census numbers climb on a large print run DC book values will drop as demand sinks. Yeah in short term especially it will go up, but IMHO it is not a good investment for very long, it will fall below $100 in 1-2 years. It's huge print run Non Batman DC after all.... BTW folk I'm not anti-DC, in fact from mid 80's until I stopped collecting in 2011 due to the hubris of Lee, Johns, Didio. I was a huge DC buyer with my purchases easily outnumbering Marvel + Independents combined. I was a fan of DC's deep rich tapestry until that was destroyed by the aforementioned who trio actions showed they cared merely about increasing their short-term Corporate Bonus amounts at the expense of the future and then current fans.

An unfortunate truncation of this topics title on the main page.

I for one am glad I picked up bulk of my 70's art, especially the covers and splashes, 14-20 years ago and held onto approx 95% of it. I believe most of my stuff beat the S&P 500 which is not easy to do over a long haul. Some of it will be used to fund an early retirement. Won't be easy to part with many of the pieces but getting out of the "rat race" early will be priceless.

Please explain how you determined minimum $60 per book for grading cost. Lowest Tier fees per book for Modern (1975-present) is $22, Economy (pre 1975) is $33, and Magazines are $30 for modern, $40 for Economy. While quite a bit less than the $60 mentioned they are not as low in price compared to just the beginning of the year. https://www.cgccomics.com/submit/services-fees/cgc-grading/ As for Max Value its a comic by comic basis. Never assume your comic is 9.8 if you are a beginner or you will be in for financial disappointment. If the comic looks "perfect" to an inexperienced collectors eyes it is likley 9.2 or 9.4 with even a 9.6 being less likely. Determine approx condition then base max value on recent eBay sales unless you have GPA or GoCollect access. There are plenty of youtube video for CGC beginners, perhaps start there. My guess is 2-3 hours of reading, viewing and effort and you will be able to at least figure out rough ballpark grades. Make note that it's better to figure a grade or 2 lower on a raw book, CGC will up-charge if you are too low in your estimate but they will never refund money for overestimating. P.S. Never assume just because the book is in a bag, that the bag increases it's desirability or value. Recently I've seen postings from folks who seem to think a comic being in a bag with a board has some added meaning...