Modern Comics Collecting ( $$$monetary) Dead?

[mikeyboy9000]

Now i'm not trying to inflame all the modern collectors. I was just wondering what the other forum goers thoughts where on this.

 

It seems to me that (as we all know) supply + demand = price. Now for all the modern comics, for the most part supply is large and demand is much lower when you compare it to things like silver age/ golden age.

Edit: i should clarify, i'm not saying that there's less demand for moderns, but rather the comparitive supply vs demand is less. (due to oversuplly or underdemand)

 

What i'm trying to say here is the future value of all these comics printed today are clearly going to be worth less than the older ones. But do you think this will change given time? ( decades ) After all i'm sure that in 1940 they never thought an action #1 could buy you a house, or 10.

 

Personally i don't see it happening, comic storage/preservation techniques have come a long way and i just don't see 40 years from now your brand spanking new fresh out of the box batman R.I.P being worth anything like SA and GA is today.

 

 

[Cimm]

y'know... it's weird. I remember in the 80s people were saying that there was no way books from the 70s or 80s would ever be worth anything, yet today, I see some of those same books that used to be in the dollar box, valued at hundreds of dollars... Granted, this is not an across-the-board thing, but still... It seems quality will out.

 

My advice? If you like something, and think it has artistic or literary merit, keep it in as nice a condition as you can, because the stuff that is worth money today from the 70s and 80s is the same stuff that I thought was really good at the time. Watchmen, Miller's Batman, Byrne's X-Men, all worth a good bit in uber-high grade. Why is uber-high grade (comparatively) scarce for these? Because at the time, dealers and collectors alike thought that they were "too common to ever be worth anything", and thus didn't take the kind of care necessary to preserve a 9.8... Today's dollar and fifty-cent box stuff is tomorrow's HTF in uber-high grade stuff...

[PhiGam-migration]

this question has arisen many times, mostly from SA and GA mongers...the same people who get pissy when a modern sells for a grand (ie spawn 185 sketch, Bone #1, dark tower:LRH sketch #1 10.0)...

 

if you honestly don't think that 1st-and-keys' Walking Dead #1 CGC 9.9 isn't going to be worth anything in 40 years, then you're just plain wrong...

 

of course, there are higher print numbers, better preservation blah, blah, blah these days....but you also don't see any GA/SA 9.9s, do you? 9.9 is the new 9.8, baby.

 

in 40 years, you may see more high grade copies of keys from now (ie 9.6s and 9.8s), but 9.9 and 10.0 books will still bring top dollar...

 

also, the pages won't be tan and brittle, either...

 

 

 

[mikeyboy9000]

That is a good point, but what i foresee is that the curve will be something like this : 9.0 --> 9.4 (looooads) 9.6 (quite a few), 9.8 (more than you'd like to see as a person selling them), 9.9+ rare, hell these are nigh impossible to find at a LCS, let alone 5 years later unslabbed lying in someone's cupboard.

 

 

The only problem i have is it seems common practice today to buy your one to read, one to bag and board if you're even a minor collector....

 

[Chi Bamm]

What I've noticed over the past few years is much Cimm has noticed.

People want comics over a particular run that is artistically (drawn and written) well. Look how much Neal Adams books run, and that's just for the pretty cover

Early Walking Dead, Invincible, and USM sell really well. I mean, I bought a SA ASM, Near Mint for less than what Walking Dead #1 brings in raw. So, I think now it's all about the quality of the work that increases the value of a comic.

[mikeyboy9000]

WHY AM I ONLY JUST NOW WIKI-ING THIS TITLE!? zombies! apocalypse! writer of marvel zombies!

 

Also this kirkman is a ok by me, especially since glossing the 'battle pope' synopsis - hilarity.

 

Now - where might someone see future (possible/planned) titles?

 

Edit: i should clarify i meant ANY titles, any publisher, any artist, etc. just wondering where i find these things?

 

[SuperBird]

well, the only books from the 80s that are worth much are books in 9.8 or very rare ones. I would expect that today's 9.8s will be abundant, as collectors are keeping them pristine, unlike the 80s books- which were merely kept "nm". I suppose some rare modern books will be valuable in the future, but I couldn't even name 1, personally. Maybe first run Trades in "9.8" will shoot up?

 

I have zero interest in high grade collecting, so seeing as the modern hobby has trended that way, I simply no longer buy moderns, just trades.

[PhiGam-migration]

I have zero interest in high grade collecting, so seeing as the modern hobby has trended that way, I simply no longer buy moderns, just trades.

 

i'm the opposite...trying to get rid of my low-mid grade SA/GA in order to score my fav modern books in HG...

 

i still like the thrill of going to my LCS on wednesdays to pick up Invincible, RASL, Goon, Walking Dead, Dark Tower, Project superpowers etc...

 

even as we speak, i'm stoked about the new invincible tomorrow

 

 

i guess, i bought my GA books for the cool covers...i would buy a schomburg...anticipate getting it...then id get it, look at it for 5 minutes, read it and then put it away forever...months later i'd look at the same GA book and go 'meh'...i still get giddy when i get a 9.8 invincible book in the mail...

 

but alas...to each his own..whatever floats your boat, floats your boat...and by all means, we are all entitled to some good boat-floating...float away, boat floaters..

[seank]

I buy moderns to read and enjoy them primarily, and secondarily, with Batman and Detective, to keep runs going. (Yeah, keeping runs going is a lousy reason, but it's only two titles....) I don't expect my moderns to be worth $$$ in the future and I don't care. I don't invest in comics. I buy what I enjoy.

[kidcolt]

I am like a lot of other guys here, I buy comics to read and enjoy I don't buy t hem for investment purposes. However I still look back at modern books like "The Walking Dead" #1-2 and "Y- The Last Man" #1-2 and I think I did great for cover price.

[SuperBird]

I have zero interest in high grade collecting, so seeing as the modern hobby has trended that way, I simply no longer buy moderns, just trades.

 

i'm the opposite...trying to get rid of my low-mid grade SA/GA in order to score my fav modern books in HG...

 

i still like the thrill of going to my LCS on wednesdays to pick up Invincible, RASL, Goon, Walking Dead, Dark Tower, Project superpowers etc...

 

even as we speak, i'm stoked about the new invincible tomorrow

 

 

i guess, i bought my GA books for the cool covers...i would buy a schomburg...anticipate getting it...then id get it, look at it for 5 minutes, read it and then put it away forever...months later i'd look at the same GA book and go 'meh'...i still get giddy when i get a 9.8 invincible book in the mail...

 

but alas...to each his own..whatever floats your boat, floats your boat...and by all means, we are all entitled to some good boat-floating...float away, boat floaters..

 

what GA books do you have for sale?

[PhiGam-migration]

i'll PM ya a list (thumbs U

[Norrin_Radd]

but you also don't see any GA/SA 9.9s, do you? 9.9 is the new 9.8, baby.

 

 

Actually, according to Greg Holland, there were 16 pre-1968 9.9s and 1 10.0 as of 2004.

 

The Curator ToS 47 was a 9.9, and there is a Zip 7 that is a 9.9, and 5 Gaines copies that are 9.9.

[Aman619]

one difference between todays Modern comics, and the 80s Modern comics is that today you can buy a 9.8 right away. Meaning that there's a business plan identifying and slabbing 98s 99s and 10s before they even leave the case for sale to consumers..

 

Some comic s collectors dont even have to store and protect their new comics anymore. Just order them in HG.

[mikeyboy9000]

one difference between todays Modern comics, and the 80s Modern comics is that today you can buy a 9.8 right away. Meaning that there's a business plan identifying and slabbing 98s 99s and 10s before they even leave the case for sale to consumers..

 

Some comic s collectors dont even have to store and protect their new comics anymore. Just order them in HG.

 

very true. I mean personally, it is very difficult to get a 9.8 comic raw and then also get it to my lcs to send to cgc. That would mean the book has to travel, FROM the us, to australia, to my lcs, to me, back to my lcs, BACK to america and to cgc and then be graded 9.8

 

Now, would i expect this to happen? Fat chance. It is much easier to just buy a 9.8 on ebay and send it over. Also i know i'd shop somewhere where they went out and slabbed the comics they day they arrived allowing me to buy a 9.8 at a given price in advance....hmmm now where to find THAT dealer.

[Chi Bamm]

one difference between todays Modern comics, and the 80s Modern comics is that today you can buy a 9.8 right away. Meaning that there's a business plan identifying and slabbing 98s 99s and 10s before they even leave the case for sale to consumers..

 

Some comic s collectors dont even have to store and protect their new comics anymore. Just order them in HG.

 

very true. I mean personally, it is very difficult to get a 9.8 comic raw and then also get it to my lcs to send to cgc. That would mean the book has to travel, FROM the us, to australia, to my lcs, to me, back to my lcs, BACK to america and to cgc and then be graded 9.8

 

Now, would i expect this to happen? Fat chance. It is much easier to just buy a 9.8 on ebay and send it over. Also i know i'd shop somewhere where they went out and slabbed the comics they day they arrived allowing me to buy a 9.8 at a given price in advance....hmmm now where to find THAT dealer.

 

They used to. Was it Collossus Comics? Maybe the Wizard Store still does it? But I would just wait. You would actually be very surprised to check the clearance stuff at the Wizard Store, there is some very nice stuff in there for very good prices.

[mikeyboy9000]

 

They used to. Was it Collossus Comics? Maybe the Wizard Store still does it? But I would just wait. You would actually be very surprised to check the clearance stuff at the Wizard Store, there is some very nice stuff in there for very good prices.

 

Ooooh, i shall have to look into this.

 

and about your sig --> HG elitists? modern doesn't have these? or is there no hg elitists when it comes to modern?

[Chi Bamm]

 

They used to. Was it Collossus Comics? Maybe the Wizard Store still does it? But I would just wait. You would actually be very surprised to check the clearance stuff at the Wizard Store, there is some very nice stuff in there for very good prices.

 

Ooooh, i shall have to look into this.

 

and about your sig --> HG elitists? modern doesn't have these? or is there no hg elitists when it comes to modern?

 

That's funny, I never thought about it that way. Well, my take on it is that if you're collecting other Ages, you have a wider range of conditions to buy a book. Someone might be only able to buy low-mid grade books for a particular series, while others can afford to get books in 9.2 or better.

By default, (and how recent moderns are), probably all Modern collectors are HG elitists. They don't have to settle for a 8.0 or 6.5 book, they can get a 9.8-9.6 because they are so readily available.

Thanks though, I never really though about it in the context of the Modern Age. And I was just thinking of changing the sig too.

[Ultra Ambient]

one difference between todays Modern comics, and the 80s Modern comics is that today you can buy a 9.8 right away. Meaning that there's a business plan identifying and slabbing 98s 99s and 10s before they even leave the case for sale to consumers..

 

Some comic s collectors dont even have to store and protect their new comics anymore. Just order them in HG.

 

very true. I mean personally, it is very difficult to get a 9.8 comic raw and then also get it to my lcs to send to cgc. That would mean the book has to travel, FROM the us, to australia, to my lcs, to me, back to my lcs, BACK to america and to cgc and then be graded 9.8

 

Now, would i expect this to happen? Fat chance. It is much easier to just buy a 9.8 on ebay and send it over. Also i know i'd shop somewhere where they went out and slabbed the comics they day they arrived allowing me to buy a 9.8 at a given price in advance....hmmm now where to find THAT dealer.

 

All I've got to say is that you LCS must be bad at handling comics because I can usually buy some pristine copies at my LCS.

[Chi Bamm]

one difference between todays Modern comics, and the 80s Modern comics is that today you can buy a 9.8 right away. Meaning that there's a business plan identifying and slabbing 98s 99s and 10s before they even leave the case for sale to consumers..

 

Some comic s collectors dont even have to store and protect their new comics anymore. Just order them in HG.

 

very true. I mean personally, it is very difficult to get a 9.8 comic raw and then also get it to my lcs to send to cgc. That would mean the book has to travel, FROM the us, to australia, to my lcs, to me, back to my lcs, BACK to america and to cgc and then be graded 9.8

 

Now, would i expect this to happen? Fat chance. It is much easier to just buy a 9.8 on ebay and send it over. Also i know i'd shop somewhere where they went out and slabbed the comics they day they arrived allowing me to buy a 9.8 at a given price in advance....hmmm now where to find THAT dealer.

 

All I've got to say is that you LCS must be bad at handling comics because I can usually buy some pristine copies at my LCS.

 

Are you buying your comics overseas as well?