Amazing Fantasy #15 Club

[showcase22gr1959]

Seriously...I didn't think I would have won it. I really feel bad...now I out bid you.

 

You shouldn't--I think he's already got enough copies of Amazing Fantasy 15 to level out five or six coffee tables by now.

 

Gator is no match...he's the Guru. (thumbs u

[G.A.tor]

Seriously...I didn't think I would have won it. I really feel bad...now I out bid you.

 

You shouldn't--I think he's already got enough copies of Amazing Fantasy 15 to level out five or six coffee tables by now.

actually, I do

[G.A.tor]

I just believe that buying af15's right now is "smart" ....they are down from recent highs, and there are bargains to be had... nothing wrong with picking them up as we can (thumbs u

[showcase22gr1959]

I just believe that buying af15's right now is "smart" ....they are down from recent highs, and there are bargains to be had... nothing wrong with picking them up as we can (thumbs u

 

I agree...I feel the downside is limited at these levels. (thumbs u

[Wayne-Tec]

I just believe that buying af15's right now is "smart" ....they are down from recent highs, and there are bargains to be had... nothing wrong with picking them up as we can (thumbs u

 

I couldn't agree more. Especially given that some of the low to low-mid grade books won't bankrupt some investors, I can only imagine what the values will look like in 10 years.

[Wayne-Tec]

I'm also wondering (off-topic I know)...how many club members consider AF #15 to be their true #1 grail? Obviously a number of us own copies but I'd be interested to see how many people day-dream about the book in comparison to those who view it as simply a solid addition to their collection?

[Spiderturtle]

for me I collect and think about af15 as my sole collecting purpose. I wish I had that mindset in the 80s. I wish started earlier in 2003 when I started making good money. Now it's af15 or bust. I'm jealous of showcase22 6.0 win today, I feel he got bargain price today; very smart purchase. I like all unrestored af15s even 0.5 and 1.0s

[Wayne-Tec]

for me I collect and think about af15 as my sole collecting purpose. I wish I had that mindset in the 80s. I wish started earlier in 2003 when I started making good money. Now it's af15 or bust. I'm jealous of showcase22 6.0 win today, I feel he got bargain price today; very smart purchase. I like all unrestored af15s even 0.5 and 1.0s

 

This might be a really silly question but, do you own one yet?

[Spiderturtle]

for me I collect and think about af15 as my sole collecting purpose. I wish I had that mindset in the 80s. I wish started earlier in 2003 when I started making good money. Now it's af15 or bust. I'm jealous of showcase22 6.0 win today, I feel he got bargain price today; very smart purchase. I like all unrestored af15s even 0.5 and 1.0s

 

This might be a really silly question but, do you own one yet?

 

 

Uh....you can find the answer throughout this thread

[Mac Man]

I'm also wondering (off-topic I know)...how many club members consider AF #15 to be their true #1 grail? Obviously a number of us own copies but I'd be interested to see how many people day-dream about the book in comparison to those who view it as simply a solid addition to their collection?

 

Not off-topic at all--especially if you go back to when we first kicked this thread off! It's great to look at the number behind a book, but it's equally (if not more) important to remember what makes comics like this so great (thumbs u

 

AF 15 is still THE grail book of my collection. Frankly, I have no desire to upgrade it either. A cleaner cover, less wrinkles, whiter paper... none of that would change the fact my nice lower GD range copy is still the same issue of the first appearance of my favorite superhero. The iconic image of Spidey swinging through the cityscape of NYC remains just the same as the one on the 9.6 White Mountain copy. Additionally, no higher grade copy will ever be able to replicate the sheer feeling of shock and awe that I felt when I first held my copy and read through a REAL first print of AF 15 as I did when I received mine from James_Welborn (a fellow boardie). I've been very fortunate as a collector to attain my penultimate grail book and while there are other books that would be "monsters to tame," looking strictly at the content and personal connection, no other books hits like this one does for me.

 

 

[Wayne-Tec]

I'm also wondering (off-topic I know)...how many club members consider AF #15 to be their true #1 grail? Obviously a number of us own copies but I'd be interested to see how many people day-dream about the book in comparison to those who view it as simply a solid addition to their collection?

 

Not off-topic at all--especially if you go back to when we first kicked this thread off! It's great to look at the number behind a book, but it's equally (if not more) important to remember what makes comics like this so great (thumbs u

 

AF 15 is still THE grail book of my collection. Frankly, I have no desire to upgrade it either. A cleaner cover, less wrinkles, whiter paper... none of that would change the fact my nice lower GD range copy is still the same issue of the first appearance of my favorite superhero. The iconic image of Spidey swinging through the cityscape of NYC remains just the same as the one on the 9.6 White Mountain copy. Additionally, no higher grade copy will ever be able to replicate the sheer feeling of shock and awe that I felt when I first held my copy and read through a REAL first print of AF 15 as I did when I received mine from James_Welborn (a fellow boardie). I've been very fortunate as a collector to attain my penultimate grail book and while there are other books that would be "monsters to tame," looking strictly at the content and personal connection, no other books hits like this one does for me.

 

 

I can respect that so much; but also miss the feeling myself.

 

When I started seriously collecting comics in 2003, AF #15 was THE book and Action #1 couldn't even touch it. I could have cared less for GA books anyway and since Spidey was my favorite character, there was just nothing like it.

 

Getting my copy of AF #15 was one of the happiest moments of my life; and yes I realize how corny it is to say that. What's sad is that over the years, my interest has shifted to the GA so much so that it is hard to appreciate books like AF #15 in the same way I used to.

 

Don't get me wrong, my name isn't AF15Kid just for the fun of it. I have so many personal connections with the book that they will never fade away. I just have a different level of appreciation for GA books. I like characters like Batman & Superman just as much if not more than Spidey now; and their key GA books are so much more rare and in some ways, so much more historically significant.

 

It's a different animal.

[Spider-Variant]

I'm also wondering (off-topic I know)...how many club members consider AF #15 to be their true #1 grail? Obviously a number of us own copies but I'd be interested to see how many people day-dream about the book in comparison to those who view it as simply a solid addition to their collection?

 

Not off-topic at all--especially if you go back to when we first kicked this thread off! It's great to look at the number behind a book, but it's equally (if not more) important to remember what makes comics like this so great (thumbs u

 

AF 15 is still THE grail book of my collection. Frankly, I have no desire to upgrade it either. A cleaner cover, less wrinkles, whiter paper... none of that would change the fact my nice lower GD range copy is still the same issue of the first appearance of my favorite superhero. The iconic image of Spidey swinging through the cityscape of NYC remains just the same as the one on the 9.6 White Mountain copy. Additionally, no higher grade copy will ever be able to replicate the sheer feeling of shock and awe that I felt when I first held my copy and read through a REAL first print of AF 15 as I did when I received mine from James_Welborn (a fellow boardie). I've been very fortunate as a collector to attain my penultimate grail book and while there are other books that would be "monsters to tame," looking strictly at the content and personal connection, no other books hits like this one does for me.

 

 

I think Mac-Man really nails my thoughts as well. I got my copy back in 1992 or so, and it still is the pinnacle of my collecting. I have no aspirations of upgrading, as having this copy brings happiness. There is no other grail books that I'm pursuing either.

 

 

This thread has morphed into more of a price discussion on AF #15, and that's fine. The original intent was to dicuss how you got your copy, the stories behind it, etc. So, as far as I'm concerned, any aspect of AF #15 is fair game.

 

 

 

[fantastic_four]

I'm also wondering (off-topic I know)...how many club members consider AF #15 to be their true #1 grail? Obviously a number of us own copies but I'd be interested to see how many people day-dream about the book in comparison to those who view it as simply a solid addition to their collection?

 

Me, sorta. I've wanted AF15, FF1, and X-Men 1 roughly about the same at various points in my collecting, AF15 is just the one I've held out the longest on.

[fantastic_four]

So looks like the Rocky Mountain CGC 7.0 is up for sale again in next month's ComicLink auction.

 

http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?id=848093

 

Are there any actual collectors of high grade AF15 out there, or is it all flippers? The majority of sales I see are to people who are looking to re-sell...that can't help but remind me of the housing market in America from 2005-2007. The evidence keeps mounting for me that the exponential growth in price on AF15 and FF1 in 2007/2008 has little or no lasting power and that prices are likely to remain flat for quite a while to come, effectively evening out prices in a few years to the point they would have been given normal 5% - 10% linear growth prior to the explosion. Some people call that a "bursting bubble," but I hate that metaphor being applied to markets you know will continue on past the "burst." When a soap bubble bursts, there's nothing left at all, but comics and most real estate still retain value, unlike the Internet company bubble bursting of 1999-2001 when companies worth millions would just fold up in weeks and become completely worthless. What I see is just deflation, not a burst.

[showcase22gr1959]

Sad to see another flipper. I wonder if this flipper was hoping for a 8.0+, for a grand slam. AF15 has tremendous growth form 2003 to the end of 2008. The most parabolic growth was 2008. It will be interesting to see what it sells for this time.

[G.A.tor]

didn't the book just sell on clink for 38K or so

[showcase22gr1959]

yeah...just less than a month ago.

[etanick]

the stock market was also 12% higher a month ago...people need to stop buying things they can't afford

 

...or buy things with money they don't even have.

 

The good thing is less and less "crazy" money are going into the hobby so hopefully, prices will stay down/flat for a few years and allow some collectors to be able to buy some books they wanted and then lets the cycle repeat in a few years when a new crop of speculators enter the hobby.

 

[showcase22gr1959]

One must have a strong stomach to weather this cycle. Some of the prices paid will take years to recover. Some of the non keys 9.4-9.6 and some 9.8 have made a bubble high. This doesn't bold well for immediate price recovery.

[etanick]

nope, I don't think prices will recover for years and if you are a collector, it isn't a big deal. I remembered buying an X-men #1 8.5 way back in 2003 and left the hobby. It was my grail and I wanted to leave the hobby with the book I really wanted and move on. To be honest, I was real busy from 2004 to 2008 so I barely took the book out once or twice to look at it and I didn't even look at the value for those years...only when I returned to the hobby last year that I bothered to take the book out and look at the recent sales.

 

Most assets have a long term trend return that is fairly consistent over a long period time and whenever that trend is violated (a bubble as many will call it) and crashed, it will need to crash thru the trend line first before it can stabilize and reverse....and it usually took many years to get back to that trend line. Personally, I don't believe we have crashed thru the trend line yet to level out as far as the comic book market is concerned. I am sure other more knowledgeable people here will/may disagree with me. I have managed big money thru the tech bubble (where the Nasdaq crashed hard and haven't recover in 10 years) and we all witnessed what how the real estate and financial market meltdown have played out so far and it isn't pretty with very little light at the end of tunnel.

 

For me, luckily I don't have to sell anything to pay any bills so I restraint myself from buying everything I want right now and selectively try to pick some nice bargains and sit back and enjoy the books....what happens 5 or 10 years from now...I don't know.

 

The impulse of people that needs to have or must have some books don't exist within me. Life is way too short to be obsess on comic books...it is fun and if it wasn't...I will leave the hobby like I did back in 2003 and close the closet and watch my son grows up.