The amazing market of Bone #1

[valiantman]

CGC 9.6 sold for $2,000 in late December 2009.

CGC 9.8 sold for $4,900 on January 20, 2010 (via Comiclink auction)

 

Not bad for a regular issue, non-variant book from the 1990s.

 

Are any other regular issue, non-variant early 1990s books even close?

(Obviously as "valiantman", I should point out Harbinger #1 and Solar #10,

but the most recent sales of those are under $500 for CGC 9.8.)

[mschmidt]

No.

 

I can think of a couple of books from that era that might break $1k in CGC 9.8 (Crow #1, Strangers in Paradise #1 and JtHM #1), but if you take variants out of the equation, I don't see anything getting close to this $4900 sale for the foreseeable future.

[jonjesper]

Schmidty, was that yours?

[mschmidt]

Yep (thumbs u

[Cimm]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

[DarkKnightReturns]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

I don't understand the popularity of this book either. I know it was a small print run but what is so great about this series that it commands these kind of prices ? and no I have never read an issue so this is a serious question.

[Lebowski]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

There are many people who would rather have the Bone #1 than some crusty old Fiction House books. It just comes down to what you like. I still don't get how people can't understand the very subjective nature of our hobby. The problem is everybody thinks what they collect is the best and why would people buy anything else...

[NewEnglandGothic]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

My sister who is a school teacher and knows nothing about comics, just told me the colorized Scholastic reprints of Bone are on fire at the school where she teaches.

 

These are Modern comic books that actually worked their way into children's hands

 

I imagine these books are going to be quite the investment down the road because of that and if Warner Bros. does the trilogy it's now planning.

[Jeffreykli]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

I don't understand the popularity of this book either. I know it was a small print run but what is so great about this series that it commands these kind of prices ? and no I have never read an issue so this is a serious question.

 

If you've never read an issue, then you're missing one of the great graphic novels, period. The title is immensely popular, published by Scholastic Books, and translated into many different languages. It's one of the few titles that have transcended the comic book medium into the mainstream. There was even a two hour documentary on Jeff Smith and Bone on PBS last night. That said, it's a pretty tough book to find with a print run of 3000, I believe. So, for this issue, demand far outstrips supply.

[Schmakt]

It really was a great read... incredibly kid friendly too, yet smart enough for "adults."

 

The fact that it was so kid friendly and is being published in those wonderful full color trades by scholastic... and available in libraries and school book fairs... would seem to ensure an audience and shore up these prices for a while to come.

[comix4fun]

At one time Peanuts was considered a "modern" comic strip.

 

I guess it all depends on staying power, cultural saturation, and if it's something children will enjoy over generations.

 

 

[Cimm]

Thanks, guys... I appreciate the honest answers... I had never heard of this book until a few random mentions here on the boards concerning modern hot books. So, all I have ever seen is the cover, and I thought "Hmm, kiddie book drek" and moved on. The fact that this comic has made it into the Scholastic publishing run, and is praised so highly by adults as well, is AWESOME! Now I understand the reasoning behind the purchase. Please, don't ever take my questions concerning values versus the books I know as being derogatory toward the book in question. It is merely my ongoing effort to alleviate my own ignorance.

 

Getting comics into the hands of kids is never a bad thing!

[DarkKnightReturns]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

I don't understand the popularity of this book either. I know it was a small print run but what is so great about this series that it commands these kind of prices ? and no I have never read an issue so this is a serious question.

 

If you've never read an issue, then you're missing one of the great graphic novels, period. The title is immensely popular, published by Scholastic Books, and translated into many different languages. It's one of the few titles that have transcended the comic book medium into the mainstream. There was even a two hour documentary on Jeff Smith and Bone on PBS last night. That said, it's a pretty tough book to find with a print run of 3000, I believe. So, for this issue, demand far outstrips supply.

 

Ok, so it is a great read but what I should have asked is, what is it about ?

 

What is it that makes it great ?

[mschmidt]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

I don't understand the popularity of this book either. I know it was a small print run but what is so great about this series that it commands these kind of prices ? and no I have never read an issue so this is a serious question.

 

If you've never read an issue, then you're missing one of the great graphic novels, period. The title is immensely popular, published by Scholastic Books, and translated into many different languages. It's one of the few titles that have transcended the comic book medium into the mainstream. There was even a two hour documentary on Jeff Smith and Bone on PBS last night. That said, it's a pretty tough book to find with a print run of 3000, I believe. So, for this issue, demand far outstrips supply.

 

Ok, so it is a great read but what I should have asked is, what is it about ?

 

What is it that makes it great ?

 

What makes any comic book great? :shrug:

 

It's a fun, quirky and well-written story that can be interpreted on a host of different levels (which is why it appeals to both kids & adults alike), and is gorgeously drawn by one of the few remaining masters of black & white storytelling.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_(comics)

[dupont2005]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

I don't understand the popularity of this book either. I know it was a small print run but what is so great about this series that it commands these kind of prices ? and no I have never read an issue so this is a serious question.

It's an incredible story. If books values were based on how good the innards were, this one would be priced higher than Tec 27 or Action 1

[DarkKnightReturns]

From the wiki write up I gather it is a Lord of the Rings epic adventure with humour thrown in. I'm pretty sure I have a #1 reprint somewhere so I'll have to find it and actually read it than perhaps try out a tpb.

[dupont2005]

Why??? Why would someone spend ~5000 on this book? Congrats to mschmidt, indeed! But, seriously, can someone explain the appeal of this book to me? That 5 grand could buy a couple of Gaines file copies, and have some change for a nice Fiction House or two! What is the reasoning behind this?

 

I don't understand the popularity of this book either. I know it was a small print run but what is so great about this series that it commands these kind of prices ? and no I have never read an issue so this is a serious question.

 

If you've never read an issue, then you're missing one of the great graphic novels, period. The title is immensely popular, published by Scholastic Books, and translated into many different languages. It's one of the few titles that have transcended the comic book medium into the mainstream. There was even a two hour documentary on Jeff Smith and Bone on PBS last night. That said, it's a pretty tough book to find with a print run of 3000, I believe. So, for this issue, demand far outstrips supply.

 

Ok, so it is a great read but what I should have asked is, what is it about ?

 

What is it that makes it great ?

It's a cute little fantasy story with a little love story element to it, and of course epic battles and journeys and whatnot. I would compare it to Lord Of The Rings with the Bones being the Hobbits. The illustrations give an impression of silly one dimensional kids entertainment, but it's much more than that. This book didn't even catch on until late in the series, many many early issues are very low print runs in a time when 50k print runs were common, and 1m+ print runs for lesser quality works were not unheard of.

[rjpb]

Given the low print run and popularity of the character, i can see it being up there w TMNT #1 as one of the more valuable books of the Copper Age, but have to admit when I see four digit prices for a book less than 20 years old, regardless of how high grade it is, I still find it a bit mind-boggling, but in the scheme of things no more so than $100,000+ for a Silver Age book, or the theoretical 7 figure values attributed to some GA books in top grade. I suppose to a non-comic fan even spending $20 on a well read Atom Age book devoid of any recognizable characters seems a bit crazy.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Imagine if Peanuts had first appeared in a comic BOOK, rather than a strip....

 

 

[carcrawfordfan]

No.

 

I can think of a couple of books from that era that might break $1k in CGC 9.8 (Crow #1, Strangers in Paradise #1 and JtHM #1), but if you take variants out of the equation, I don't see anything getting close to this $4900 sale for the foreseeable future.

 

I must be braindead today, but what does JtHM mean?