The most sought-after Copper Age Batman books

[Jeffro.]

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!

 

 

But if you take, in their entirety, both the entire Batman run, or Tec run, and ASM in the Copper age, I think ASM is a better total run. I just think ASM was better overall in both art and story.

[RockMyAmadeus]

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)

 

I don't think Tec #400 comes anywhere near the key status of #232. Price isn't what determines a key (though it certainly helps.)

[the blob]

well, that's you coming from a bat-fan perspective as man-bat and batgirl/robin 1st teaming up didn't impact the bat-universe in the long-term as much as r'as, but someone thought it was key enough for it to get that expensive, in guide, 3-5X more than surroudning issues, in reality, i dunno what it goes for in various grades, through I do remember a crazy price on 9.8). spidey 100 and FF 100 aren't there.

 

 

[Cimm]

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!

 

 

But if you take, in their entirety, both the entire Batman run, or Tec run, and ASM in the Copper age, I think ASM is a better total run. I just think ASM was better overall in both art and story.

 

I must respectfully disagree, most vehemently. Please remove the Marvel-colored glasses.

[COI]

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.

 

In terms of price, not only does ASM 129 beat Bats 232 grade for grade, but ASM 121 and 122 are each roughly equal to Bats 232. So right there, you have 3 ASM keys that are either equal to, or more sought after than Batman 232, and all three ASMs have way more on the census.

[COI]

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!

 

 

But if you take, in their entirety, both the entire Batman run, or Tec run, and ASM in the Copper age, I think ASM is a better total run. I just think ASM was better overall in both art and story.

 

I must respectfully disagree, most vehemently. Please remove the Marvel-colored glasses.

 

Liking a run of Spidey doesn't automatically make one a Marvel zombie. Besides, an opinion is an opinion.

 

ASM is the hot girl on campus that all the ugly Bettys resent.

[RockMyAmadeus]

well, that's you coming from a bat-fan perspective as man-bat and batgirl/robin 1st teaming up didn't impact the bat-universe in the long-term as much as r'as, but someone thought it was key enough for it to get that expensive, in guide, 3-5X more than surroudning issues, in reality, i dunno what it goes for in various grades, through I do remember a crazy price on 9.8). spidey 100 and FF 100 aren't there.

 

 

That's because Tec #400 is RARE in 9.8. If there were the same amount of 9.8s of that as there are Spidey #129s, there would, again, be no contest.

 

Apples to apples.

[COI]

well, that's you coming from a bat-fan perspective as man-bat and batgirl/robin 1st teaming up didn't impact the bat-universe in the long-term as much as r'as, but someone thought it was key enough for it to get that expensive, in guide, 3-5X more than surroudning issues, in reality, i dunno what it goes for in various grades, through I do remember a crazy price on 9.8). spidey 100 and FF 100 aren't there.

 

 

That's because Tec #400 is RARE in 9.8. If there were the same amount of 9.8s of that as there are Spidey #129s, there would, again, be no contest.

 

Apples to apples.

 

Exactly.

 

In relation to available supply, ASM is the most expensive title book for book, at least in terms of SA and BA. Non-key late SA issues in 9.8 have sold for 5 figures.

 

 

[Bosco685]

In relation to available supply, ASM is the most expensive title book for book, at least in terms of SA and BA. Non-key late SA issues in 9.8 have sold for 5 figures.

That was why I added this clarification.

 

This wasn't meant to be focused on which books are most expensive. That's too easy a discussion to wrap up just by posting details from GPA or Overstreet pages.

 

Since the focus was on Batman titles that came out during the Copper Age, I was interested in what books seem to have the most demand from that period. Not really based on high sales figures, but due to content and fan desire.

 

But I do agree, when it comes to straight comparison of Amazing Spider-Man vs. Batman sales, Spidey books will take the lead. I'm more a Batman fan, and I'll admit to this fact.

[COI]

Since the focus was on Batman titles that came out during the Copper Age, I was interested in what books seem to have the most demand from that period.

 

Isn't price the best way to determine demand?

[Bosco685]

Since the focus was on Batman titles that came out during the Copper Age, I was interested in what books seem to have the most demand from that period.

 

Isn't price the best way to determine demand?

Not always if there is a large supply out there, yet collectors keep buying.

 

Look at Amazing Spider-Man 300, with more 9.8's than you'd ever dream are in supply. At one point, these were going for well above $1,000 easily. Collectors continue to still buy these books whenever they can, but the price has dropped substantially ($450-$600).

 

Does the huge drop in price make the desire any less?

[COI]

Not always if there is a large supply out there, yet collectors keep buying.

 

Look at Amazing Spider-Man 300, with more 9.8's than you'd ever dream are in supply. At one point, these were going for well above $1,000 easily. Collectors continue to still buy these books whenever they can, but the price has dropped substantially ($500-$600).

 

Does the huge drop in price make the desire any less?

 

Prices levels "settled" due to the massive supply, but $500 for a 9.8 from 1988 with 277 copies is still quite telling about the demand. $1000 was the price of impatience. Is there any other copper book with this many copies available that does these kinds of numbers?

 

I guess my point is that price is still the best form of empirical evidence out there to measure demand, so it's hard to have this discussion without looking at prices.

[Bosco685]

I guess my point is that price is still the best form of empirical evidence out there to measure demand, so it's hard to have this discussion without looking at prices.

I hear what you are saying. But in the case of Batman, even the former hot books are still grabbed up, no matter the supposed market value.

 

I realize it is not unique to the Batman titles, as even New Mutants 98 is massively available in high-grade condition, and yet folks still pay well above $200 just because they want a piece of Deadpool's 1st appearance.

 

Now with Copper Age, as soon as we are talking about 9.6 or below on non-rare books, the value drops substantially, yet if priced correctly they still move. So that's why I was concerned about making sales price the core focus.

 

But it is tough to factor it out completely.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Not always if there is a large supply out there, yet collectors keep buying.

 

Look at Amazing Spider-Man 300, with more 9.8's than you'd ever dream are in supply. At one point, these were going for well above $1,000 easily. Collectors continue to still buy these books whenever they can, but the price has dropped substantially ($500-$600).

 

Does the huge drop in price make the desire any less?

 

Prices levels "settled" due to the massive supply, but $500 for a 9.8 from 1988 with 277 copies is still quite telling about the demand. $1000 was the price of impatience. Is there any other copper book with this many copies available that does these kinds of numbers?

 

I guess my point is that price is still the best form of empirical evidence out there to measure demand, so it's hard to have this discussion without looking at prices.

 

Price must always always always be discused in context for it to be of any use in determining demand.

 

Especially when discussing slabbed books.

 

Using the aforementioned example...the high price fr Spiey #129 in 9.8is $14K+. The high price for Batman #227 in 9.8 is $13K+. Just considering those numbers, that means Spidey #129 is only a little more in demand than Batman #227, right?

 

But that's obviously not true in any way. If there were the same number of Batman #227s as Spidey #129s, the book would be worth, at most, $300-$400.

 

So long as price is mentioned in the same breath as supply, you're good.

[the blob]

Using the aforementioned example...the high price fr Spiey #129 in 9.8is $14K+. The high price for Batman #227 in 9.8 is $13K+. Just considering those numbers, that means Spidey #129 is only a little more in demand than Batman #227, right?

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

 

so these two basically sell for roughly the same in 9.8 and you're saying it beats it hands down? quantity was not part of my point (we're not talking about the "what if" scenario of everyone stockpiling batmans in 1972 like early collectors were doing with spidermans), indeed the batmans have that extra bit of demand nowadays in part because they are not quite as common (plus neal adams is hot now). true, were these competently done nick cardy covers on these batmans/detectives folks would care less, at least for the big money books.

 

it's not scientific or anything, but I have simply had a little bit of an easier time getting a better % of guide for non-key Batmans/Detectives of that era (with Adams, Wrightson or Kaluta (and maybe Aparo) covers) than similar non-key Spidermans. Honestly, even for Ernie Chan (Chua? I forget) covers I've gotten decent results and we're talking about 5.0 - 9.0 type books, so not just cream of the crop stuff, just stuff that ordinary collectors are out there buying for $5-$25 a pop or whatever. last batch I got sold pretty quickly at my store prices or a small best offer discount. the similar batch of spideys I put up took longer with more haggling.

 

honestly, i hope you're right, I have a much more massive stockpile of spidey BA books than batmans and it has been a while since I actively tried to list these. but, of course, i'm hardly unique in that situation.

[buttock]

ASM 129 isn't a key for anything having to do with Spider-Man.

 

Bat 232 & Tec 400 apply to the whole Batman mythos. ASM 129 intro'd a character that became popular outside of the Spidey realm.

 

It's comparing apples to oranges.

[Bosco685]

Price must always always always be discused in context for it to be of any use in determining demand.

I guess that depends on the intent.

 

But this is the list that I cannot avoid buying, when the price is right:

 

Batman #353, 357, 359, 366-368, 400, 404-407, 417-420, 426-429, 436-442 (but the right price for these is somewhere near 25 cents)

 

Dark Knight #1-4

 

Killing Joke

 

Detective Comics #524-526 (I LOVE #526. It was one of those "too expensive to buy when I first got into collecting" books, and it was genuinely hard[er] to find than most. I CANNOT resist it for $1 or less.) 532, 535, 569-570, 572, 575-578, 598-600.

Price does factor in, but from your previous post it was about the prices being low enough since you are a self-proclaimed tightwad when buying books. It's the reason why I left price out of the discussion.

 

Do you seek these books because they are worth slabbing and selling, or collecting? Most probably, it is due to their content and not because you are going to make a mint off of them in the near-term.

 

So no, price does not always factor in when discussing demand as it can be misinterpreted to mean high prices versus being low enough to pull the trigger.

[COI]

ASM 129 isn't a key for anything having to do with Spider-Man.

 

Bat 232 & Tec 400 apply to the whole Batman mythos. ASM 129 intro'd a character that became popular outside of the Spidey realm.

 

It's comparing apples to oranges.

 

Alright, if that's the criteria, then just use ASM 121 and 122. In grade, they sell for about the same as Batman 232, yet they're a lot more common. Not sure about Detective 400, but again it's all relative to supply.

[Bosco685]

ASM 129 isn't a key for anything having to do with Spider-Man.

 

Bat 232 & Tec 400 apply to the whole Batman mythos. ASM 129 intro'd a character that became popular outside of the Spidey realm.

 

It's comparing apples to oranges.

 

Alright, if that's the criteria, then just use ASM 121 and 122. In grade, they sell for about the same as Batman 232, yet they're a lot more common. Not sure about Detective 400, but again it's all relative to supply.

A fabulous story within the Amazing Spider-Man universe, but I never understood the high prices on these books.

[Bosco685]

And please don't take that as a knock against ASM 121-122. It is a fabulous story. I guess it just doesn't fit into my ASM collecting focus, so I don't understand the demand completely.