batmans 280's-340's - where are they all?

[shiverbones]

well it will be nice to talk about comics instead of ethics for a change, so i ask, where are the late 70's - early 80's issues of batman? They are shockingly hard to find nice copies of. I do't have the book with the print runs listed, so i don't have hard facts, but there seems to be fewer copies of this range out there than you would expect. In fact, its easier to find a high grade #200 than #300. Anyone out there know why? and DAM if you are reading this, having just nailed your run of 150 up, what did you experience trying to find this era? How strict were you with grade?

there are a few killer covers in that run, you would think they would have been socked away

[joe_collector]

Answer: At current prices, why would anyone rush to their longbox to sell them?

[jonnydouble]

The average print run for those years was anywhere between 110,000-178,000 copies,..so it shouldn't be that hard to find,.....A nice one just went up for auction today batman #332 9.8

 

J.D.

[jonnydouble]

Answer: At current prices, why would anyone rush to their longbox to sell them?

I agree,..they ain't the best of the Batman years, so I don't think there has been a flood of them sent in for grading.

 

J.D.

[shiverbones]

I have really just been looking for raw copies in the 9.2-9.6 range.

[Zonker]

Answer: At current prices, why would anyone rush to their longbox to sell them?

I agree,..they ain't the best of the Batman years, so I don't think there has been a flood of them sent in for grading.

 

J.D.

 

In general, I'd agree with that assessment. Things briefly picked up in 1982 when Giordano was personally editing the Bat-books (before his promotion to editor in chief or it's equivalent at DC at that time). Since the 340s are included in this run, I'll just point out the cross-continuity in Batman 340-352 and Detective 510-520 (roughly) is one of my favorite periods, with Don Newton and the great Gene Colan alternating on the art.

[dam60]

well it will be nice to talk about comics instead of ethics for a change, so i ask, where are the late 70's - early 80's issues of batman? They are shockingly hard to find nice copies of. I do't have the book with the print runs listed, so i don't have hard facts, but there seems to be fewer copies of this range out there than you would expect. In fact, its easier to find a high grade #200 than #300. Anyone out there know why? and DAM if you are reading this, having just nailed your run of 150 up, what did you experience trying to find this era? How strict were you with grade?

there are a few killer covers in that run, you would think they would have been socked away

 

I find that getting these books slabbed is an exercise in futility.

 

Take a look at this book:

Batman 286 cgc 9.6

My favorite cover ever and I figured that there would be huge census numbers, but there are only 12 on the census

 

But on this particular book at first it was on ebay at $80, then $70, then I emailed the seller and got it for $65 shipped! If this book came back a 9.4 or even a 9.2 you are looking at $10 to $15, which is about fair market for a raw copy in NM- to NM. A decent upside but only if you are 100% certain about the grade.

 

Personally, I would also like a cgc 9.6 Batman 300 but have never seen one. Hell, there are 2 out there but I am assuming they are in permanent homes. This book even more so than the Batman 286 would be a nice payout for a sure thing but a complete absolute disaster for a miss.

 

IMO, #200 was hoarded a bit more as they focused more on the anniversary issue aspect and also it has a white cover vs. the pitch black cover and the "Batman no more" theme of Batman #300.

 

Also, my run of these books from 280-340 range from vg/fn to nm-, with more closer to F/VF to VF+. Believe it or not, my nicer books came from Gary Dolgoff who filled in around 45 of my missing issues from 300-400, mainly the lower numbers. His F/VF came out to be basically VF/NM if not better. I also won a bunch of auctions from ebay id: "boojiwbucket_at_scifigenre_dot_com" that helped me greatly with some nice books from 280-300. I would talk to either seller about books in the VF+ to NM range. If you are looking for NM+ and better, that's a different story.

 

I haven't really seen too many (read: any) dead beautiful 9.8s of these books, but I don't think that these mid run "filler" issues had much going on that would make people want to hoard or really preserve their copy. I am sure people just read the books gently once and then stashed them away.

 

Good luck with the search! Batman Rocks!

 

DAM

 

[dam60]

The average print run for those years was anywhere between 110,000-178,000 copies,..so it shouldn't be that hard to find,.....A nice one just went up for auction today batman #332 9.8

 

J.D.

 

Just to follow up with JD's post (link fixed btw) here's a great example of how even a 9.8 is only up with a $25 opening bid. If you get these books slabbed and you missed, its best to just crack em open and sell them raw.

 

Did you ever think about taking an add in CBG? Maybe put something out there saying that you want nice copies of these books and are willing to pay good $$$ for them? You would probably get a lot of interest as people who sell these now would probably average $1-$2 a book on ebay in a lot, but if you offer 100% of guide for true NM copies, you could probably do pretty well in unearthing a few.

(BTW - if you subscribe to CBG you get one free classified an issue. If you don't subscribe to CBG, you should - I just got a three year for $75!!! Considering it's a weekly newspaper )

 

DAM

[shiverbones]

Thanks for the insight & suggestions! Since its a secondary collection i am in no huge rush to nail them, but i always keep my eye out for them. I think #291 has one of the best covers of the run IMO And the "Burn in hell" bit is really intense for a code comic from the 70's i think.

[kimik]

I wonder if being relegated to cheap bins for so long is going to make true NM or better copies of common late 70s to early 80s books (especially DCs) difficult to find? I have a CGC 9.4 copy of Bats #300 (and sold another a while back) but it is a tough one to find in high grade. Some of my favorite bat-reads (especially the Talia/Ras Al Ghul storylines) are from this period.

[Mister_Comics]

I would also like a cgc 9.6 Batman 300 but have never seen one.

 

Me too. Best mine graded was 9.2 .

 

[shiverbones]

i do believe cheap-bin attrition is going to play a heavy role in late 70's early 80's DC. Look whats happening to the early 70's DC's CGC'd in high grade, EYE popping prices. Its not that much easier to find a true 9.4+ 1977 bats or action or worlds finest than a 1972.

[FlyingDonut]

i do believe cheap-bin attrition is going to play a heavy role in late 70's early 80's DC. Look whats happening to the early 70's DC's CGC'd in high grade, EYE popping prices. Its not that much easier to find a true 9.4+ 1977 bats or action or worlds finest than a 1972.

 

High grade Bats 280-350? Where are they? In my boxes! PM me with the ones you want! Ask Shiver about his Bats 300 that came from My Box!