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Why are some key issues "scarce", when surrounding issues are not?

Started by TheAvenger80,

23 posts in this topic

TheAvenger80

TheAvenger80

Posted
Posted

Hey guys, I have noticed this before and was never sure what to think of it. I was browsing the OSPG today, and just as an example, saw Sub-Mariner Comics 32 (Origin of Sub-Mariner) listed as scarce, where the surrounding issues are not.

 

This seems strange to me. You would think, if anything, that there would have been more of these books printed and more saved over the years. Or is it that more people read them and beat them up? I know there are other examples of this but I can't think of any.

 

Why do you guys think this is? Is it just coincidence. (not all "scarce" issues are also "keys") or do you think there is some rhyme and reason to it?

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted

Most often Overstreet notes this when he's gained some knowledge that the print run on a specific book was limited for whatever reason. The more general answer to your question beyond what Overstreet notes is usually that the surrounding issues in higher supply were a part of a warehouse find or collector horde, but the scarcer issues weren't kept en masse.

 

Sometimes none of that is true and there's just no good reason for an issue to be scarcer than the ones surrounding it, that's just how things turned out. The biggest example in the stuff I collect of this is Fantastic Four 13...no good reason for it to be so hard to find in high grade, it's probably just bad luck.

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143ksk

143ksk

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Posted

The specific book you listed is the last issue of the run and was printed at a time when the superhero genre was dying, so it's not too surprising there are fewer copies out there. It also has a classic cover which means that more collectors are apt to hold onto it than the surrounding issues. I think that's often the reason that books are "scarcer" than those around them--more of the cool ones are locked up in collections and it's just the run of the mill ones that change hands... 2c

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bhhooks22

bhhooks22

Posted
Posted
The specific book you listed is the last issue of the run and was printed at a time when the superhero genre was dying, so it's not too surprising there are fewer copies out there. It also has a classic cover which means that more collectors are apt to hold onto it than the surrounding issues. I think that's often the reason that books are "scarcer" than those around them--more of the cool ones are locked up in collections and it's just the run of the mill ones that change hands... 2c

 

Good and interesting point. hm

B~

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

Posted
Posted
The specific book you listed is the last issue of the run and was printed at a time when the superhero genre was dying, so it's not too surprising there are fewer copies out there. It also has a classic cover which means that more collectors are apt to hold onto it than the surrounding issues. I think that's often the reason that books are "scarcer" than those around them--more of the cool ones are locked up in collections and it's just the run of the mill ones that change hands... 2c

 

Great answer.

 

I believe publishers also liked to print lots of #1 issues and then scale back on the next few issues until they got the sales info from the first issue.

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Scrooge

Scrooge

Posted
Posted
The specific book you listed is the last issue of the run and was printed at a time when the superhero genre was dying, so it's not too surprising there are fewer copies out there. It also has a classic cover which means that more collectors are apt to hold onto it than the surrounding issues. I think that's often the reason that books are "scarcer" than those around them--more of the cool ones are locked up in collections and it's just the run of the mill ones that change hands... 2c

 

Yup!

 

Also, in the late '40's in the post-War period, paper was scarce and there was a lot of jockeying among publishers to acquire paper quota (so much so that some got in legal trouble for circumventing said quotas) and that resulted also in scarcer issues than others.

 

Finally, it was not uncommon for some publishers to run into some distribution issues. In those cases, books were printed but never reached the newsstands en masse and therefore are tougher to find at this time. I believe this is the reason why This Mag is Haunted is scarce along with a few other Fawcetts from the same month.

 

My 2¢s

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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:gossip: They were books Bob Overstreet had a more difficult time finding when he was buying books in the 50's and 60's, and a lot of them are just traditional holdovers from then, despite the vast change in information and ease of access since then...

 

Not kidding.

 

As West says, he thinks Subby #30 and #31 are scarcer...and I imagine he's about as knowledgeable about the subject as anyone.

 

Use a more modern example: Conan #3. Had some distribution issues at the very beginning, and so has been....ever since...a "more sought after" issue than #2, #4, etc.

 

Those distribution issues disappeared very quickly, but for nearly 40 years, the tradition persists that #3 is somehow "harder to find" than #2, etc.

 

There are 471 total copies of #3 on the census....there are 306 total copies of #2 on the census. There are 217 copies of #4 on the census.

 

"But, RMA, your logic is flawed! The reason there are more #3s on the census is BECAUSE it's more valuable, and thus, more likely to be slabbed!"

 

And why is it "more valuable"...? What reason is #3 "worth more" than #2, #4, etc?

 

Because it was described as "hard to find", and the tradition stuck. #3 is no harder and no easier to find than any other issue in that early run. The census...even accounting for "value vs. slab cost"...bears that out.

 

 

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conditionfreak

conditionfreak

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Posted

Some books clasified as scarce or rare, are in fact not. For sure.

 

Some books that are not classified as such, are.

 

Only a lot of experience or talking with guys in the game big time, will give you guidance in this regard. When you truly want to know whether a book is scarce or rare or not.

 

Ask someone who SHOULD know.

 

Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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Well...just understand that the OPG is more a product of tradition these days, rather than research, and that many of the conclusions which have survived over the decades are the result of research done in the 50's and 60's, while at the same time ignoring improved research that has happened in the meantime.

 

I think it's perfectly fair to call Subby #32 a scarce book...it surely is...

 

But, then, the whole run from about #25-31 should, likewise, be called scarce as well.

 

Whereas, a Conan #3, which is not any "scarcer" than #2 or #4, should have the notation of "low distribution" taken out (which I understand is a pipe dream; tradition is tradition, after all, and if it was taken out, how would it explain why #3 is more valueable than #2?)

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seanfingh

seanfingh

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Joe, you are a dork. They are talking about the GA Subby book. :makepoint:

 

Where is Doc Joe's post....?

 

Deleted?

 

lol I assume so. He thanked me for the backhanded kick-save in a PM. So now I look like a dork who answered a non-existent post. :acclaim:

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Silver

Silver

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Scarcity is also determined in direct proportion to demand. Many DC's funny animal and non super-hero books from the 50's would likely be considered scarce if there were more collectors looking for them.

 

 

 

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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Posted

Joe, you are a dork. They are talking about the GA Subby book. :makepoint:

 

Where is Doc Joe's post....?

 

Deleted?

 

lol I assume so. He thanked me for the backhanded kick-save in a PM. So now I look like a dork who answered a non-existent post. :acclaim:

 

Maybe it was.....

 

A GHOST POST!!!

 

:fear:

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