1980s comics worth 1k?

[porcupine48]

WOW,that is a cooool little joe,but...destro will always rule

[mschmidt]

Hey to all the people who said GI JOE 1 at 9.8 wouldn`t be worth a $1000 within the year. Here is a CGC 9.6 at Mile High Comics at $900. Looks like I am not the only one who can spot a hot book!

 

to all the non-believers GI JOE 1 CGC 9.6 at $900 hundred dollars

 

as someone else famous from Boston Massachusetts once said "How do you like them apples!" or in your case "How do you like them comics!"

 

Taking Mile High prices seriously = priceless

[brasseye]

Hey to all the people who said GI JOE 1 at 9.8 wouldn`t be worth a $1000 within the year. Here is a CGC 9.6 at Mile High Comics at $900. Looks like I am not the only one who can spot a hot book!

 

to all the non-believers GI JOE 1 CGC 9.6 at $900 hundred dollars

 

as someone else famous from Boston Massachusetts once said "How do you like them apples!" or in your case "How do you like them comics!"

 

Taking Mile High prices seriously = priceless

 

Ya check chucks pricing, he has Master of Kungfu magazine issue on sale at the price... the issue in question in the same grade would be lucky to get a sale at $75 on a good day.

 

MH is only a barometer of pricing.

[COI]

Scarce or not, the 90's put the Joe line through hell, and I wouldn't touch them.

 

"Manimals".

 

I'll stick with 1982-1986.

 

Here is the greatest action figure ever made:

 

[MR.COMICBOOK]

Scarce or not, the 90's put the Joe line through hell, and I wouldn't touch them.

 

"Manimals".

 

I'll stick with 1982-1986.

 

Here is the greatest action figure ever made:

 

nice,see other then Wolverine what other Uncanny X-men looks that cool!

GI JOE is underpriced,if you go back and re-read The first 50 GI JOES by Larry Hama,they are just as good or better then those first 50 Chris Claremont Uncanny X-men issues.

[Bronty]

quality of story has never been directly correlated with price... we've argued some about the pricing of those issues and that's fine. But you have to admit that while the stories may be OK (not to my taste, but whatever), they are exceptionally easy to find books. The early claremont x-mens at least were a sleeper hit for a while so they are at least a bit harder to get, at least until byrne comes on.

 

In fairness to your point about quality of story I always thought the claremont x-men sucked asz... teenage soap opera with pretty art

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

This is an interesting thread....let me interject my

 

First off, the idea that the comic series doesn't have any keys or first appearances is just plain wrong. Both the retooled toy line and the comic were released simultaneously (intentionally so) in early 1982. I can't stress this enough....the toy didn't give birth to the comic; the two were interwined by design from the get-go. I mean, look at the back cover for Joe # 1...its basically a full page advertisement for the M.O.B.A.T toy.

 

The first TV mini-series (a five parter, featuring the MASS device...remember that?) didn't appear for another year and a half in late 1983.

 

Many of the characters that Joe fans love "appeared" in storyform in the comic sometimes as much as a year or more before they showed up in the TV series, and often preceeded their action figure's appearance on store shelves.

 

Destro, perhaps the best of the Cobra villains, and second only to Stormshadow in popularity (though later issues of the run would reveal Stormshadow to be a good guy), first appeared in G.I. Joe # 14 (August 1983 cover date), and first on TV in the 2nd G.I. Joe miniseries (September 1984).

 

Furthermore, since Larry Hama was not only scripting the comic but also the Personnel Files for the action figures, the backstories for many of the characters were fleshed out in the comics much more so then in the TV series. For serious Snake Eyes fans, issues like 26 & 27, 93-96, and 140 represent vital parts of the character's mystery-shrouded origin and are going to be collected heavily in the years to come as the Nostalgia wave washes over many 30-somethings that were big Joe fans in the past (my personal opinion, of course)

 

Are the books "common"? Well, some more so then others. Many of the books from 90-on are tougher to locate in true NM then one might think. By that point, the popularity of the series was waning severely and print runs were lower.

 

Is it crazy to think that G.I. Joe # 1 in 9.8 will eventually bring $1k? No, but I think the one thing that hurts it is the sheer number that were printed, and the high quality Baxter paper stock of the cover. I think # 2 has just as much of a chance at the $1k mark. I remember when that book was the holy grail for Joe collectors....selling easily for $35-$50 a pop in 1985-1986.

 

So, in conclusion....the comic had many notable first appearances of major characters that preceeded their appearance in the TV series, and for that reason alone, should be taken more seriously by collectors and casual fans alike. As more people (re)discover the series, and the significant role it played in the whole Joe mythos, I expect prices to rise steadily through 2009 and beyond.

 

 

[Bronty]

great post. You make a lot of good points and they are well balanced. Yours is probably the best take on this entire thread.

 

Ultimately both the tv show and comic book were advertising for the toy line though, at least in my view. If they made money on their own, so much the better, but the toy line was the driver. To put it another way, when you ask a 80s kid about GI Joes, what do they think about? The little plastic figure whose arm they burned off with a lighter. Then the tv show close behind that. Then maybe, maybe... the comic as a distant third. For that reason while I agree that prices will probably rise, I certainly can't foresee a day when the best joe comic sells for more than the best joe toy.

 

I agree that the quality of production, print run, and date on the book should make 9.8s relatively plentiful.

[adamstrange]

WOW,that is a cooool little joe,but...destro will always rule

 

This guy?

 

[adamstrange]

Scarce or not, the 90's put the Joe line through hell, and I wouldn't touch them.

 

"Manimals".

 

I'll stick with 1982-1986.

 

Here is the greatest action figure ever made:

 

 

I grew up with the big series and the little Joe's just don't have the same "cool" factor to me as you don't have the same level of detail (real clothes etc) with the small size figures. The later little Joe's that don't appeal to you have actually increased in value considerably in just the last few years as the adults (and I used the term loosely) who grew up with them are now starting to collect them in earnest. As always, people should collect what they like. (thumbs u

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Then the tv show close behind that. Then maybe, maybe... the comic as a distant third. For that reason while I agree that prices will probably rise, I certainly can't foresee a day when the best joe comic sells for more than the best joe toy.

 

There is nothing to dispute here. The rarest sealed G.I. Joe toys will always be more valuable then the highest certified comics (the only real exception to this would be a 9.8 # 21, but I only see that being a $2,000-type book).

 

However, since you can't collect the tv show in "collectable" form, and since the G.I. Joe comic was the best selling Marvel at one point (yes, outselling even Uncanny X-Men and the Amazing Spider-Man), don't discount its future collectability.

 

Also, another point to consider....when the Nostalgia wave hits for Joe fans in the next five years (since Paramount is planning a trilogy for the movie franchise), there simply won't be enough boxed original edition toys to satisfy the demand, at least in the ever-popular sub-$1k area. Certified high grade copies of Joe # 1, 2, 21 and others in high grade will become attractive alternatives to paying hundreds, or thousands, for AFA-graded 2nd-tier Joe characters (like Barbeque or Blowtorch).

 

[comixcroz]

only time will tell

[comixcroz]

I'm going to list my GI Joe 1 on ebay buy it now right now for 1200 dollars!!!! Watch the GPA soar!!! FYI - just because some insufficiently_thoughtful_person asks too much for a book doesnt mean its now worth that much. Only when someone actually pays money for it does it matter. Maybe you should be the genius to make that happen?

 

I'll assume you're talking to MRCOMICBOOK and not me.

 

yup

[BlowUpTheMoon]

[COI]

Certified high grade copies of Joe # 1, 2, 21 and others in high grade will become attractive alternatives to paying hundreds, or thousands, for AFA-graded 2nd-tier Joe characters (like Barbeque or Blowtorch).

 

This I don't agree with. I collected MOC Joes for a while, and most of the guys I've met that are collecting on the high end are aiming for sets, whether by series or the complete line. The few that weren't were going for childhood favorites. I don't see how a comic would make an ideal substitute for a figure they were missing, any more than a Mego Spider-Man figure could substitute non-key holes in my Spidey run.

[porcupine48]

yeppers thats him...

lost the original figure in grade 1? replaced him and then he was stolen!!

still have the copies of my grade school comics

last year i found a lot of 20 small joes together in a bag with destro,gun in hand!!

for 5$!!!

my best value village find ever

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Certified high grade copies of Joe # 1, 2, 21 and others in high grade will become attractive alternatives to paying hundreds, or thousands, for AFA-graded 2nd-tier Joe characters (like Barbeque or Blowtorch).

 

This I don't agree with. I collected MOC Joes for a while, and most of the guys I've met that are collecting on the high end are aiming for sets, whether by series or the complete line. The few that weren't were going for childhood favorites. I don't see how a comic would make an ideal substitute for a figure they were missing, any more than a Mego Spider-Man figure could substitute non-key holes in my Spidey run.

 

I'm not talking about run collectors with resources, but rather your casual fan with $500-$1,000 to spend on one or two choice pieces. Do you buy the first issue of the comic in 9.8 for $400 featuring the first appearance of the entire team, or do you spend it on an AFA 80 Barbeque; a 2nd tier character not featured prominently in either the comic or the TV series? (I'm using current ebay prices for the purposes of this comparison) I think the average casual fan looking to obtain a cool Joe item would choose the comic 7 out of 10 times.

 

 

[COI]

Certified high grade copies of Joe # 1, 2, 21 and others in high grade will become attractive alternatives to paying hundreds, or thousands, for AFA-graded 2nd-tier Joe characters (like Barbeque or Blowtorch).

 

This I don't agree with. I collected MOC Joes for a while, and most of the guys I've met that are collecting on the high end are aiming for sets, whether by series or the complete line. The few that weren't were going for childhood favorites. I don't see how a comic would make an ideal substitute for a figure they were missing, any more than a Mego Spider-Man figure could substitute non-key holes in my Spidey run.

 

I'm not talking about run collectors with resources, but rather your casual fan with $500-$1,000 to spend on one or two choice pieces. Do you buy the first issue of the comic in 9.8 for $400 featuring the first appearance of the entire team, or do you spend it on an AFA 80 Barbeque; a 2nd tier character not featured prominently in either the comic or the TV series? (I'm using current ebay prices for the purposes of this comparison) I think the average casual fan looking to obtain a cool Joe item would choose the comic 7 out of 10 times.

 

 

I still think you're looking at this as a comic fan, and not from the perspective of a toy collector.

 

I had a near complete MOC collection of the 82' to 86' sets, with many dupes, and was more than 20K invested before I got out. The reason I stopped collecting MOC is that the O-rings that hold the figures together are eventually going to pop within the packages, and you're looking at a 90% decrease in value when that happens. I didn't want to wake up one day and find that my 2.5K swivel Snake Eyes V.1 had become a pile of parts within the bubble. It never happened to any of my figures, and it may not have happened for years, but from what I learned it's pretty much inevitable and I just wasn't comfortable with it. My point is, in the time I was collecting, I got a pretty decent read on the Action figure market and the psychology behind it,

 

Many of the guys without resources (and some with) are collecting loose and are building huge armies of $35 mint condition cobra figures, one piece at a time, over the course of years. A Storm Shadow as nice as the one I posted above can command up to $100 as is, and because of the nature of these figures, there's plenty of challenge for those who insist on mint pieces.

 

And for those who really don't have two nickels to rub together, there's the new 25th anniversary line which are recreations of the originals lines, and they're actually pretty nice and are beginning to gain in value as a result.

 

Another thing; while there are certainly key pieces in every toy line, keys are not as important with figures as they are with comics. Blowtorch may be a 2nd or 3rd tier Joe in terms of importance to the mythos, but try telling that to someone who cherished it as a kid. Comics are sequential, so the attachment we have to individual issues becomes less important as the focus turns to keys and completing runs; even that first comic you picked up is part of a numbered series that build on each other. With toys, it's different. You have those few figures you favored as a kid, and they stood alone. This is especially true for someone like myself who only got a couple a year at most. That Storm Shadow may be a key figure, but it happens to be my favorite because it was one of the few I got.

 

So if someone is looking to spend $500 once a year, and wants a high end piece, they may very well go with Blowtorch or Ripcord if that was a childhood favorite, and that's especially true when you consider that the non-key characters tend to be rarer in general. When I offered my HG collection up to a few people privately, my "copy" of Spirit V.1 was scooped within minutes, followed immediately by Snow Job and Stalker. My Cobra Commander sat for much longer than I had expected.

 

Anyway, the point I'm making is that a toy collector will find their own playground within their respective hobby, much like a comic collector will go low grade if they can't afford the NM range. I agree pretty much all the points you made in this thread about the books themselves, I just think you're overestimating the crossover appeal. Some will gravitate towards the books, sure, but you'll find that action figure collectors are another breed. Most of the ones I know will be much more likely to collect other 80's toys, than they will be to cross over to the comic side of the sand box.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Some will gravitate towards the books, sure, but you'll find that action figure collectors are another breed. Most of the ones I know will be much more likely to collect other 80's toys, than they will be to cross over to the comic side of the sand box.

 

I don't disagree with anything in your post. I think the only thing we are at odds on is the importance the general public will place on the comics as collectible items going forward. I'm going to err on the side of optimism, not only because I collected the books when I was young and have a strong attachment to them, but because the circulation numbers for the mid 80s would suggest several hundred thousand others did too.

 

 

[homerwannabee]

Hey to all the people who said GI JOE 1 at 9.8 wouldn`t be worth a $1000 within the year. Here is a CGC 9.6 at Mile High Comics at $900. Looks like I am not the only one who can spot a hot book!

 

to all the non-believers GI JOE 1 CGC 9.6 at $900 hundred dollars

 

as someone else famous from Boston Massachusetts once said "How do you like them apples!" or in your case "How do you like them comics!"

 

OK, you just lost all credibility with me. When you throw out Mile High Prices you actually destroy any argument that you have.