1983 MH ad

[VintageComics]

Wow, I forgot how expensive those X-books were compared to everything else. They were the hottest things on the planet.

 

Thanks for the flash back!

[micmack]

To be all honest, even if you had a time machine, you most likely would never get the Key X-men books (94 or GS#1) Not sure about the hulk 181. I tried back then to get them but they never seemed to have one available and would always send back an alternate selection. So I tried to hold out till one came available by not having an alternate (paid waiting list). I think I waited almost a year before I gave up....

[VintageComics]

To be all honest, even if you had a time machine, you most likely would never get the Key X-men books (94 or GS#1) Not sure about the hulk 181. I tried back then to get them but they never seemed to have one available and would always send back an alternate selection. So I tried to hold out till one came available by not having an alternate (paid waiting list). I think I waited almost a year before I gave up....

 

Very true. They were impossible to find. How times change....

[Sal]

Ads like this are interesting to look over, as they give a decent idea of what books people were looking for back then.

 

Highest priced books in the ad are;

$60 - Conan 1

$60 - X-Men 94

$60 - GSX 1

$40 - IM 1

$40 - Conan 3 (book was regionally scarce, rarity turned out to be overblown)

$28 - DD 158

$27.50 - X-Men 95

$25 - X-Men 100

$25 - X-Men 101

$24 - Conan 2

$24 - Avengers 93

 

You can really see how popular Miller was in '83. The PPSS breakout for 27 & 28 are really striking.

 

Marvel Fanfare 2, only $10! That book was hot for half a minute.

 

The ASM 129 not being broken out wasn't that odd, since the mini - and Punisher's subsequent popularity explosion - didn't happen until a couple of years later.

 

 

It's interesting that Cap 100 is only $6, Spotlight 2 is $4 and 5 is only $5.50. Spidey 50? $6. Dr. Strange 169...tree fiddy.

 

One wonders if these prices were this way because this was essentially a "low grade" ad. Even back then it wouldn't surprise me to find that Chuck had reams of low grade copies of these Marvel keys

[MR.COMICBOOK]

Ads like this are interesting to look over, as they give a decent idea of what books people were looking for back then.

 

One wonders if these prices were this way because this was essentially a "low grade" ad. Even back then it wouldn't surprise me to find that Chuck had reams of low grade copies of these Marvel keys

What`s even more amazing after just checking his site, most low grade copies of non-keys that were going $.75 cents to $1.00 in the 1983 ad are still going for $.75 cents to $1.00! which proves that it`s mostly all about High grade keys.

what junk was then is still junk now monetarily speaking.

storywise you can still get cheap great reads.

[shortstack comics]

I have a Hulk 181 in similar condition to the one pictured above, and someone offered me $50 for it...

 

Now, is $50 worth of 2009 money worth more or less than $17.50 of 1983 money...?

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

$17.50 of '83 money is worth $37.58 in '09 money...

[Comicsarefun]

I actually bought stuff from that add (or one like it from Mile High). Mostly 1970's Spideys. #144 I remember particularly. They were probably out of stock on 20% of the books at any given time, but the grades were solid FN to VF on the stuff I got.

 

 

[Old Fashion PB and J]

I want to know why the hell you were reading New Mutants.

 

 

Better than the I was buying from Marvel 3 years ago...

 

 

 

 

-slym

I have a complete run of NM and X-Factor

[cgcmod4]

On a related note, the image below is the centerfold from Sensational She-Hulk #5, a sequence where She-Hulk had to rip thru the pages of the comic to get where she need to be.

 

 

[*paull*]

Actually, a lot of the books in that MH ad are obscenely priced by today's standards. For instance.... Star Wars #1 (keep in mind: VG) is listed at $6.00. That's about $12 in today's money, and you could easily find a #1 in VG for $12 or less, especially considering I saw a raw NM one for sale on the Boards for $50.

[nmtg9]

 

Love the She-Hulk add.Byrne broke the fourth wall a few times in that run

[SolitaireOne]

Good stuff, I haven't seen one of those old MH ads in quite a bit... COOLNESS!

 

Human Fly #1 for only $1?! Man, now there's an undervalued title, eh? (thumbs u

 

 

 

 

* So, w/ 25+ yrs. of inflation that issue works out to be, like... still $1, right?

[slym2none]

I hoped this would bring up some nostalgic memories, and looks like I won that bet.

 

Thanks, everyone.

 

 

 

-slym

[slym2none]

That She-Hulk ad is FANTASTIC! I love reading the blurbs atop each title...

 

 

 

 

-slym

[Forsythe P Jones]

The Mile High ads of the time, the prices were for VG or better. If all that was available was FINE you got FINE, if it was a recent book you likely got VF or NM. I remember that 20% unfillable rate though....

 

 

[slym2none]

The only time I have had an order from MH was from way back then, through one of these ads - my mother bought the entire Dark Phoenix saga from them for my Christmas present in 1983. All issues were at least VF, and I still have them to this day.

 

 

 

-slym

[genrlzod]

I ordered a few times from MH back in the 80s and while I can't remember what I ordered I do remember what I was never able to get. FF #1112. I wanted the Hulk vs. Thing story and even though I sent for it 3 times each time the order came back with everything but this book.

The other thing I remember is there catalog. It was packed with everything from the SA to current day. The price for a NM copy of AF 15 was $900.00. Same for FF #1 and $800.00 for ASM #1. I am sure this was over priced at the time and was never in stock, but when you are 12 years old anything is possible.

[MR.COMICBOOK]

Good stuff, I haven't seen one of those old MH ads in quite a bit... COOLNESS!

 

Human Fly #1 for only $1?! Man, now there's an undervalued title, eh? (thumbs u

 

 

 

 

* So, w/ 25+ yrs. of inflation that issue works out to be, like... still $1, right?

 

Human Fly #1 can be bought for .70 cents right now at Mile High, most of the non-low grade keys are actually cheaper then the 1983 ad.

[Ringfinger]

Did his prices then reflect what they are worth now? Ha ha!!

[Ogami]

I leave you with what is probably my favorite .gif, and one that I never get to use in regular conversation. I guess the subject of leather boys cutting lawns doesn't come up much.

 

R.I.P. Chappelle's Show!