Kripsys99

Agreed - I don't think DC comics will be hitting Marvel price points anytime soon - thank goodness for those of us who only buy and never sell!

Tongue in cheek. That said, I am - at the same time - jealous of the valuations some Marvel books are receiving in the current market, and glad that most DC titles (even keys) are still going for prices which are accessible to many actual collectors (myself included). Given that I think most of us like titles from both publishers - and simply gravitate more towards one than the other - are any of you Marvel die-hards shifting to DC given today's price climate?

Grabbed two of my favorite covers to add to my Adams BA bats collection:

I've always hated this cover in particular: Low effort photo background, badly drawn superman.

Yeah, this is another book I’d love to add to my collection - nice pick-up!

Crazy, eh? My completely unsolicited advice based on my experience in the card market (which seems to be a little ahead of the comic market in terms of crazy increases in valuations) - I would hold any keys with relatively low-populations which you might have - even given the current craziness. I believe there is a new breed of collector out there - with little interest-in/regard-for the collectibles themselves, looking for low-population books, flush with cash, buying high-grade, holding long, never selling/trading/upgrading. I don’t think they can necessarily be called speculative, because they’re not in it for a quick buck - they’re willing to buy, then HOLD - either for the status of owning the collectible, as a long-term hedge against inflation, or likely both (the 21-year-old kid who bought two of my Gretzky Rookies threw them in a shoe box with about a dozen others which he told me he had not intention of selling anytime soon). For a long while, there simply weren’t any Gretzky rookies trading hands. The aforementioned new breed of collector gobbled up any which were available, and that (along with the eventual COVID craziness) drove the prices up to the insane levels we see now. And in actuality, the levels may not be that insane - a Gretzky rookie is a (if not the) definitive hockey-card grail, and there aren’t a ton out there, let alone a ton of high-grade specimens (and there aren’t likely to be many more high-grade copies unearthed, given that it’s a 40 year-old card). And you can bet that anyone who pays $75k for a Gretzky Rookie now won’t be letting it go for much less anytime soon, so I doubt the market will collapse all that much, even if the economy tanks again at some point. That’s why I don’t quite understand some of the “keys” which are going for crazy valuations currently - the pop reports for these books are simply too large, and there are too many out there to keep the books from trading hands on a semi-regular basis - I don’t think the values can be sustained. Meanwhile, some definitive keys (particularly DC keys) with relatively low populations (particularly in high grade) are still trading hands at reasonable prices - I used Superman 233 (which I obviously have a fondness for) as an example in another thread of a book with a strong pedigree (most recognizable superhero on the planet, ultra-famous Neal Adams cover - even for non-collectors, definitive Superman BA book even without the cover) and a relatively low population (despite being a 50-year-old definitive key, there are only 900 in the registry, 150 above 9.0, and 3 at 9.8) that seems to be going for pennies on the dollar compared to what it should cost relative to some of the more dubious (and more widely available) Marvel “keys” (even factoring in Marvel’s higher popularity). Mark my words, given the low number of some of these comics available in high-grade condition, the prices for these books will sky-rocket once these new collectors get their hands on them, and refuse to move them over the long-term. I think they’ll eventually become almost as unattainable as my treasured rookie cards. I, for one, have learned my lesson - I’m holding onto my Superman 233, and never letting go!

Mine is card related, instead of comic related. In 2014, just before my daughter was born, I sold most of my collection of graded NHL Rookie Cards from the 70s and 80s. I just didn't feel right hanging onto them heading into a year of the wife being on mat leave, followed by years of daycare fees, not to mention saving for the kid's university fund. I had everyone who was anyone in my collection, including three Wayne Gretzky rookies graded 8.5 by BGS and SGC. I sold all the cards for FMV, which at the time meant I got about $2500 a pop for the Gretzky rookies. Hard to let them go, but I figured I'd buy one again some day. Well, one of my former Gretzky rookies recently sold for over $75k - the others were in at least as good condition. Not only did I miss out on the value of the cards, I doubt I'll ever own a Gretzky rookie in similar condition ever again.

Bought an awesome copy of Batman 232 CGC 8.0 off Matt via the boards. Matt invoiced me via PayPal, shipped the comic out quickly, provided me a tracking number promptly, and the comic arrived well packaged and as described. Wouldn’t hesitate to buy from him again. Thanks Matt!

To be clear, I love both (and own) both books (227 in an 8.5, 233 in a 9.0), it's just that aside from the cover, 233 seems to have a lot more going for it: a) more recognized by people outside the collecting community; b) arguably the definitive BA Superman issue without the cover; c) less copies in the registry than 227. Also, I didn't mean for this to become a 233 vs 227 thread - I simply chose 227 as an example of a book against which to compare 233's monetary value. I just generally feel that 233 is significantly undervalued in today's market.

Mark me down for "neither". I view page colouring as patina, and accept off centre covers as a fact of life. I know some collectors feel a need to look for ever subtler things to differentiate one book from another (apparently barcodes are suddenly desirable?), but for me, it comes down to two things: 1) what feeling does a given book raise in me when I look at its cover and/or read it's pages; 2) how much care did I or the previous owner treat the book with because of those feelings? If I find a book I love, in great shape despite having traversed decades, I don't care if the pages are cream and the cover askew, so long as the book itself has been cared for. That said, I understand why others feel differently. My 2¢ .

Haha. I thought you were kidding until I checked the listing! Let us know how much this goes for when it sells. You may want to put the words "key" and "newsstand" in the title with some flame emojis to increase the odds of receiving asking. You may inadvertently set a new price floor for the book!

Neal made frequent use of the type of background seen on 233 to convey movement, action, or emotion - I always felt it was a precursor to Japanese style anime in that regard. A similar background can be seen on 317, seemingly conveying Superman's anger and determination. The background on AC419 is just a photo!

Likes Superman's pose on 419, and the drawing itself, but have never been able to get behind the cover's background.

Seller must have read my post!

That may be the case, but I feel like there would need to be a lot of raw copies in good condition floating around to make up the difference in the census, which I don't see as being that likely for a 50-year-old notable book. I feel like this is actually an argument in support of 233 having an increased valuation - there are a tonne of Batman mini-keys to collect, so the market for any given one should be smaller. For Superman there are relatively few Bronze Age keys (252? 317? AC419?), so 233 should really be in demand. Even as a Superman fan-boy, I know this is true!

I agree that Action Comics 1 is valued at least as much for historical purposes, as for Superman's presence in the book. That said, I think AF 15 being more "in-demand" is a function of relative availability (3500 graded copies vs. 70) and affordability (a 1.5 AF15 going for $14k as of this year, a 1.5 AC1 going for $175k as of 2013). There's no demand for the unattainable!

Possibly, though I doubt it. Personal opinions not withstanding, even in the USA - where Marvel movies reign supreme - Superman has consistently remained the most recognized and most popular superhero, even recently (though Spiderman now ranks a very close second): https://nypost.com/2020/03/11/americans-reveal-their-favorite-superhero/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/989799/most-recognizable-superheros-us/ And that's despite a dearth of quality Superman movies for the last few decades. I get Superman isn't your cup of tea, but I think the above data shows that a lack of popularity of the characters themselves is unlikely to fully account for the difference in value between, for instance, Superman#233 and Batman#227.

It's true - but at least it's attached to his body - unlike the Joker's leg on the Batman #251 cover!

I get this, but Superman is still the most recognized superhero on the planet. Action Comics 1 is still the undisputed king of comics. Death of Superman comics are selling like hotcakes for insane valuations on eBay despite the fact that DC printed millions of the things. I know it's not cool to like Superman, but I feel like there's clearly a market for Superman out there. I don't think this alone explains it.

Just curious, when did the GL76 auction take place in comparison? Interesting regardless. Thanks for sharing.

First off, I realize that in terms of Bronze superhero comic values it tends to go Marvel...(big drop-off)...Batman......(massive drop-off).......the rest of DC Secondly, I am by no means an unbiased observer - Superman is my guy, and Superman 233 is my all-time favorite comic cover. Just look at my profile picture. But I just can't reconcile the value of Superman 233 with the values being attributed to other Bronze Age comics right now. Comparing 233, for example, to Batman 227 (which I also own a copy of) - both have classic Neal Adams homage covers - but 233's is recognizable even to people outside the collecting community - and even without the cover, may be the definitive Superman comic of the Bronze Age. Meanwhile, 227 - without the cover - is an entirely forgettable Bronze Age story. There are also only about 900 copies of Superman 233 in the registry... ...compared with over 1500 copies of Batman 227, and both are comparably rare in high grade: Has my love of Superman blinded me to something? What am I missing?

@Randall Ries @Comics4All @JTLarsen @Wolverinex @rjpb @Readcomix @Terry_JSA @shadroch@Jeffro. And the verdict is...

Agreed. As with many great artists, I think that unfortunately he will only truly be appreciated after he leaves us.

This is a fair point with regards to potential long-term value. And in keeping with what JTLarsen mentioned above, I do worry about how well GL #76 will age.