The most sought-after Copper Age Batman books

[the blob]

It has been said before that Batman is the only DC title that acts like a Marvel title, and it's still been an uphill battle for a long time. There's simply not the demand, even for the most in-demand DC character of all, for back issues.

 

Sad but true.

----------------------

 

not so true for late 60s and a lot of the 70's, depending on the artist. obviously there's good demand for the neal adams stuff, but I've done well with Wrightson, sometimes with aparo, Marshal Rogers, Kaluta and not just in high grade...yes, it can be artist driven and cover driven as well.

 

Oh please. Spiderman of similar age and condition outsells Bats all day long.

 

(thumbs u

 

I'm really not so sure of that, though I'm not sure what you mean by "outsells" (go for more? goes for higher % of guide? sells fast? in more quantity?). Comparing a "bleh" spidey issue to one of the aforementioned good artist issues, I really dunno. Spidey 121 or 122 to Bats 247, sure, Spidey most likely wins (as the Spidey "keys" of the 70's tend to be "keyier"), but I feel like I have gotten a better % of OPG for many of those non-key (but good artist) Bats than many of those non-key Spideys (few of which have "good artists" unless you consider JR or Andru among them, but they general don't command a premium). Not to mention, Spidey isn't just ASM in this period, it's Peter Parker too and Batman and Detective (and it's hard to say which is the second tier title of the two) sell better than PP in general. And Brave & Bold is generally a better seller than MTU.

 

But your typical 50 - 60 cent cover price generic Spidey to a 50 - 60 cent cover price Bats, the Spidey will do better, generally.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Batman outsells ASM for me by a bit, 1965-1980 and after 1980, Batman kills ASM on my site.

[Bosco685]

If you look at the Copper Age period for Amazing Spider-Man and Batman, my personal opinion is the Batman titles had fabulous story arcs. Spider-Man, there were a few.

 

Batman

- Year One

- Year Two

- Dark Knight Returns

- Ten Nights of the Beast

- Death in the Family

- Blind Justice

- Killing Joke

- Many Deaths

- The Cult

 

Spider-Man

- Gang War

- Kraven's Last Hunt

- The Hobgoblin battles

- The early Venom battle

 

Any I am missing?

[HouseofComics.Com]

The only other ones I would add, although they're technically late Bronze, is Adventure Comics 461 and 462, along with Brave and Bold 197. (But I've always loved the Earth 1 vs. Earth 2 heroes).

 

I love pushing BnB 197 on people. Beautiful cover, very cool book. Adventure 461 and 462 are almost always out of stock so I don't have much practice recommending that one.

[RockMyAmadeus]

It has been said before that Batman is the only DC title that acts like a Marvel title, and it's still been an uphill battle for a long time. There's simply not the demand, even for the most in-demand DC character of all, for back issues.

 

Sad but true.

----------------------

 

not so true for late 60s and a lot of the 70's, depending on the artist. obviously there's good demand for the neal adams stuff, but I've done well with Wrightson, sometimes with aparo, Marshal Rogers, Kaluta and not just in high grade...yes, it can be artist driven and cover driven as well.

 

Oh please. Spiderman of similar age and condition outsells Bats all day long.

 

(thumbs u

 

I'm really not so sure of that, though I'm not sure what you mean by "outsells" (go for more?

 

Yes.

 

goes for higher % of guide?

 

Oh yes.

 

sells fast?

 

Yes.

 

in more quantity?)

 

By FAR.

 

. Comparing a "bleh" spidey issue to one of the aforementioned good artist issues, I really dunno. Spidey 121 or 122 to Bats 247, sure, Spidey most likely wins (as the Spidey "keys" of the 70's tend to be "keyier"), but I feel like I have gotten a better % of OPG for many of those non-key (but good artist) Bats than many of those non-key Spideys (few of which have "good artists" unless you consider JR or Andru among them, but they general don't command a premium). N

 

You must compare apples to apples.

 

The clear Bronze Bats key is #232.

 

The clear Bronze Spidey key is #129.

 

There are 3200+ copies of Spidey #129 on the census. There are 500+ copies of Batman #232. With 6+ times the amount of copies slabbed, Spidey #129 still mops the floor with Bats #232. In all grades.

 

If those numbers were reversed, Spidey #129 in 9.8 would be a $20,000 book.

 

ot to mention, Spidey isn't just ASM in this period, it's Peter Parker too and Batman and Detective (and it's hard to say which is the second tier title of the two) sell better than PP in general. And Brave & Bold is generally a better seller than MTU.

 

But your typical 50 - 60 cent cover price generic Spidey to a 50 - 60 cent cover price Bats, the Spidey will do better, generally.

 

Not talking about PPSPM. Not talking about MTU. Just Amazing. Batman to Amazing.

 

Detective is, since about #46, the second tier of the two. That's just the way it works.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Understand that I am a Batman fiend. I love the character. I have a complete run of Bats from #98-about 650, and Tec #226-700 or so. But I'm not foolish enough to imagine that DC comes anywhere near Marvel when it comes to back issue popularity and demand. That's just the way it works. I didn't make it up. The data is just too overwhelming to draw any other conclusion.

[Prince Namor]

I'd rather hang out with a gay guy who can kick my arse than a straight guy who endlessly whines about his lovelife....

 

 

What are the odds THIS will end up in the out-of-context member quotes thread?

 

[Bosco685]

If you look at the Copper Age period for Amazing Spider-Man and Batman, my personal opinion is the Batman titles had fabulous story arcs. Spider-Man, there were a few.

 

Batman

- Year One

- Year Two

- Dark Knight Returns

- Ten Nights of the Beast

- Death in the Family

- Blind Justice

- Killing Joke

- Many Deaths

- The Cult

 

Spider-Man

- Gang War

- Kraven's Last Hunt

- The Hobgoblin battles

- The early Venom battle

 

Any I am missing?

 

I forgot to add:

 

- Batman: Son of the Demon

- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (I liked it, and the Mignola art fit the story)

- Batman & Dracula: Red Rain

- Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

- Batman: Arkham Asylum

 

Copper Age Batman stories rocked!

 

[seanfingh]

It has been said before that Batman is the only DC title that acts like a Marvel title, and it's still been an uphill battle for a long time. There's simply not the demand, even for the most in-demand DC character of all, for back issues.

 

Sad but true.

----------------------

 

not so true for late 60s and a lot of the 70's, depending on the artist. obviously there's good demand for the neal adams stuff, but I've done well with Wrightson, sometimes with aparo, Marshal Rogers, Kaluta and not just in high grade...yes, it can be artist driven and cover driven as well.

 

Oh please. Spiderman of similar age and condition outsells Bats all day long.

 

(thumbs u

That's because everyone has a better chance of being bitten by a radioactive spider than to be a rich crime fighting super hero type. They can identify.

 

Hey, I don't know why that is, either. I think Bats is the bee's knees, and PP is a wussy whiner, but that's me. The facts remain nonetheless.

 

PP, while he may be a wussy whiner, has been with hotties; Gwen, MJ, Felicia Hardy, etc...

 

Bruce has been with Richard Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim whatever. He pushes off the advances of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, etc...

 

Spidey wins.

 

Three words for you: Silver St. Cloud

[Bosco685]

Three words for you: Silver St. Cloud

 

[kdoginohio]

If you look at the Copper Age period for Amazing Spider-Man and Batman, my personal opinion is the Batman titles had fabulous story arcs. Spider-Man, there were a few.

 

Batman

- Year One

- Year Two

- Dark Knight Returns

- Ten Nights of the Beast

- Death in the Family

- Blind Justice

- Killing Joke

- Many Deaths

- The Cult

 

Spider-Man

- Gang War

- Kraven's Last Hunt

- The Hobgoblin battles

- The early Venom battle

 

Any I am missing?

 

I forgot to add:

 

- Batman: Son of the Demon

- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (I liked it, and the Mignola art fit the story)

- Batman & Dracula: Red Rain

- Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

- Batman: Arkham Asylum

 

Copper Age Batman stories rocked!

 

- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (I liked it, and the Mignola art fit the story)

I found this book to be under-rated. Holy Terror, also.

[Bosco685]

- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (I liked it, and the Mignola art fit the story)

I found this book to be under-rated. Holy Terror, also.

Agreed! Another solid story that I enjoyed at the tail-end of the Copper Age:

 

[the blob]

The clear Bronze Bats key is #232.

 

The clear Bronze Spidey key is #129.

 

There are 3200+ copies of Spidey #129 on the census. There are 500+ copies of Batman #232. With 6+ times the amount of copies slabbed, Spidey #129 still mops the floor with Bats #232. In all grades.

 

If those numbers were reversed, Spidey #129 in 9.8 would be a $20,000 book.

-----------------------

 

R'as is a fine character and all, but he isn't Punisher, who has sold tens of millions of his own comics (and was, perhaps, arguably marvel's #1 or #2 or #3 character for a stretch), had three bad movies made and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of guys walking around in his t-shirts.

 

Dunno who the right comparison would be. Perhaps ASM 101, but R'as is bigger since 1995 or so. ASM 238 and 194 are too plentiful and too late to qualify.

[the blob]

Understand that I am a Batman fiend. I love the character. I have a complete run of Bats from #98-about 650, and Tec #226-700 or so. But I'm not foolish enough to imagine that DC comes anywhere near Marvel when it comes to back issue popularity and demand. That's just the way it works. I didn't make it up. The data is just too overwhelming to draw any other conclusion.

 

Well, maybe it's just me then as I guess I have been collecting Spideys for 35 years and while am missing a few from 100-300, maybe I'm just feeling saturated and have just become more interested in Batman within the last 7-10. If you have spare undercopies of some of those Adams Batmans or Detectives I'd be more than happy to do a straight up OPG to OPG trade for similarly situated 20-25 cent cover price ASMs.

[Larryw7]

The only other ones I would add, although they're technically late Bronze, is Adventure Comics 461 and 462, along with Brave and Bold 197. (But I've always loved the Earth 1 vs. Earth 2 heroes).

 

I love pushing BnB 197 on people. Beautiful cover, very cool book. Adventure 461 and 462 are almost always out of stock so I don't have much practice recommending that one.

 

B&B 197 is a great book, I need to get one soon. What's funny about those Adventure books is they were considered dogs when they came out by publications like Comics Journal, but my friends and I loved them. We also got a kick out of the Secret Origins special with the first appearance of the Huntress.

[RockMyAmadeus]

The clear Bronze Bats key is #232.

 

The clear Bronze Spidey key is #129.

 

There are 3200+ copies of Spidey #129 on the census. There are 500+ copies of Batman #232. With 6+ times the amount of copies slabbed, Spidey #129 still mops the floor with Bats #232. In all grades.

 

If those numbers were reversed, Spidey #129 in 9.8 would be a $20,000 book.

-----------------------

 

R'as is a fine character and all, but he isn't Punisher, who has sold tens of millions of his own comics (and was, perhaps, arguably marvel's #1 or #2 or #3 character for a stretch), had three bad movies made and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of guys walking around in his t-shirts.

 

Not the point.

 

The point is, Batman #232 is the clear Batman key for the entire Bronze Age, just like 'Tec #27 is the clear "Batman" key for the entire Golden Age.

 

There is no bigger Bronze age Batman key than #232, right? Do we agree on that?

 

So, if the biggest, most expensive, most important Bronze age Batman key is tromped by the biggest, most expensive, most important Bronze age Spidey key...regardless of WHY they are keys...then Spidey clearly holds the victory.

 

Dunno who the right comparison would be. Perhaps ASM 101, but R'as is bigger since 1995 or so. ASM 238 and 194 are too plentiful and too late to qualify.

 

That's not the right comparison.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Understand that I am a Batman fiend. I love the character. I have a complete run of Bats from #98-about 650, and Tec #226-700 or so. But I'm not foolish enough to imagine that DC comes anywhere near Marvel when it comes to back issue popularity and demand. That's just the way it works. I didn't make it up. The data is just too overwhelming to draw any other conclusion.

 

Well, maybe it's just me then as I guess I have been collecting Spideys for 35 years and while am missing a few from 100-300, maybe I'm just feeling saturated and have just become more interested in Batman within the last 7-10. If you have spare undercopies of some of those Adams Batmans or Detectives I'd be more than happy to do a straight up OPG to OPG trade for similarly situated 20-25 cent cover price ASMs.

 

My Spidey collection is complete from about 79-up, with perhaps 10 holes from #16-up, mostly in the 50s-70s.

 

 

Just haven't had too much interest in filling it in, because Spidey is everywhere.

 

As far as trade, I'd be happy to do that. You coming to NYCC?

[COI]

I have a complete run of Bats from #98-about 650, and Tec #226-700

 

Cool

[the blob]

As far as trade, I'd be happy to do that. You coming to NYCC?

------------

 

Not sure. My wife is out of town that weekend and I wouldn't mind doing my buying on Friday and taking my son on Sunday for the free kid's day. I'm a bit ticked off about the NYCC "no hand cart" policy. I am a box diver and usually pick up 100-300 books at this sort of thing and I don't know what the F I'm going to do with my haul. 10 or 15 years ago I'd have no problem walking around with two long boxes, one per shoulder, and filling them up. I once walked home a mile on the street with my convention haul this way -- two full long boxes, no problem. But I'm older, weaker, my knees are shot and I'm out of shape. I'm not sure I could carry one short box around this way for more than 15 minutes nowadays. Lord I hate getting old.

 

Maybe I can stash my stash with a trustworthy dealer while I rummage around and just pull my handcart out of my bag on the way out of the con and tell them "I'm leaving" when they yell at me for the handcart.

[the blob]

There is no bigger Bronze age Batman key than #232, right? Do we agree on that?

------------

 

Detective 400? Wasn't that going for huge money in 9.8? (and yes, we get to combine the Detective and Batman titles for the purposes of this analysis)