Ask Gator 13 13

[sacentaur]

What is your opinion on superhero (non-Archies, except for the likes of Pep and Jackpot) MLJ's?

 

The books seem scarce in the marketplace, so it makes me wonder if collectors are simply holding onto them and/or if they are somewhat scarce.

 

Thanks.

[Flex Mentallo]

Dear G.A.tor,

 

This one may be too off-the-wall to answer, but do you have a rough idea of how many GA collectors there are? Specifically, how many collectors are there who would be willing, at least occasionally, to spend, say, $10K on a GA book? Would you say there are 100, 1,000, 10,000 ... ?

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

I could really only speak for folks that have bought from me...a company like metro, clink, heritage could give a better ball park....

I would guess the number of folks that spend 5 figs on a comic number in the hundreds, maybe even low thousands...

 

 

Yeah, yeah, I get the message - just one of the crowd.

[G.A.tor]

What is your opinion on superhero (non-Archies, except for the likes of Pep and Jackpot) MLJ's?

 

The books seem scarce in the marketplace, so it makes me wonder if collectors are simply holding onto them and/or if they are somewhat scarce.

 

Thanks.

there are some cool books, but they lack, of course, the current today superhero...zips, jackpot, blue ribbon, shield wizard, etc all offer us a wonderful look into the GA of comics, but with very little relevance today, the demand seems to be relegated to those forturnate enough to discover and appreciate the "guts" more than the "cgc cover centric" type of collector we see more and more of today...

those hangman and zip splashes are some of the best out there , but so few folks get to experience them!

[Illustrious]

Gator, do you think the upcoming "Man of Steel" film will any substantial impact on the early Superman-cover Actions? I'm wondering because it seems the pre-Robin TECS really kicked into gear with release of the Nolan Batman trilogy.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Illustrious

[G.A.tor]

Gator, do you think the upcoming "Man of Steel" film will any substantial impact on the early Superman-cover Actions? I'm wondering because it seems the pre-Robin TECS really kicked into gear with release of the Nolan Batman trilogy.

i have already experienced an increase in demand for sm issues. If the movie is great it absolutely will have some positive effect

[ciorac]

This thread has officially been resurected good stuff

And yah, AA16 is still a cool book and character (GL) but the Internet and Hollywood has made the three big GA heroes (Supe, Bat, Cap) as the standout characters. New collectors are helping to drive the market of all supe-bat-cap keys and related titles. Old school collectors (I'm in the middle) are left holding the bag and wondering why Ad 40s, AA16, MF52, and Marvel 1/9 are hitting all time FMV lows. Flip side, these keys will be had for bargain prices today and foreseeable future...marvel mystery 9 is at $1700-$1800 a point low grade---I would never thought so as its been a big ticket, mutiple guide/high demand book for years.

 

I like bargains. I'm looking forward to buying Adventure 40, Marvel 1, All American 16 and More Fun again over be next couple of years. I'll enjoy owning them more with a smaller amount of money invested in them

but you love the comic more than the profit potential (a good thing mind you)

There are many books one can buy today that will have potential profit and there are many books one can buy today that we should just for the love of collecting comics. Unfortunately when dealing with 4 and 5 fig valued comics no matter how much we love owning the comic there is a value side added variable to the equation. So understanding the market and market indicators will help us make wise purchasing choices relative to both the enjoyment (intangible) and the value (tangibly measured ) factors!

 

Indeed I do.

 

It's nice find the market, from a collector standpoint mind you, in my favor at long last. Some of the things I love (and own) have gone up in value which makes me happy as a collector/investor. Other things like the issues mentioned above have gone down in value to a point where what I have invested in them will be not something that will keep me up nights worrying about the money if they continue to drop

 

A win/win

 

 

[Sqeggs]

Dear G.A.tor,

 

This one may be too off-the-wall to answer, but do you have a rough idea of how many GA collectors there are? Specifically, how many collectors are there who would be willing, at least occasionally, to spend, say, $10K on a GA book? Would you say there are 100, 1,000, 10,000 ... ?

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

I could really only speak for folks that have bought from me...a company like metro, clink, heritage could give a better ball park....

I would guess the number of folks that spend 5 figs on a comic number in the hundreds, maybe even low thousands...

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

That's an estimate that would be favorable for this end of the hobby going forward. Provided these collectors are mostly younger than I am!

[Primetime]

Dear G.A.tor,

 

This one may be too off-the-wall to answer, but do you have a rough idea of how many GA collectors there are? Specifically, how many collectors are there who would be willing, at least occasionally, to spend, say, $10K on a GA book? Would you say there are 100, 1,000, 10,000 ... ?

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

I could really only speak for folks that have bought from me...a company like metro, clink, heritage could give a better ball park....

I would guess the number of folks that spend 5 figs on a comic number in the hundreds, maybe even low thousands...

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

That's an estimate that would be favorable for this end of the hobby going forward. Provided these collectors are mostly younger than I am!

supe and bat are iconic characters that have did well in Hollywood (I think the new supe will be good), so that has certainly helped bring new GA collectors in the mix. And Cap has been relatively successful too boosting marvels as the dominant realm where most new collectors live in.

[Sqeggs]

Dear G.A.tor:

 

In the last year or so, I have gotten interested in romance comics. Going forward, how do you see the market for those books developing? It would appear they face at least two headwinds: 1) they are far removed from the superhero books that most collectors focus on, and 2) they have no modern counterparts that might attract new collectors.

 

I would appreciate hearing your views.

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

[G.A.tor]

Dear G.A.tor:

 

In the last year or so, I have gotten interested in romance comics. Going forward, how do you see the market for those books developing? It would appear they face at least two headwinds: 1) they are far removed from the superhero books that most collectors focus on, and 2) they have no modern counterparts that might attract new collectors.

 

I would appreciate hearing your views.

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

as far as growth, you answered your own question with your 2 points...as far as opportunity, now is a great time to pick up these books because prices are realistic , with no real reason for them to jump start increases (bad for investment, but great for the collector in you!)

[Sqeggs]

Dear G.A.tor:

 

In the last year or so, I have gotten interested in romance comics. Going forward, how do you see the market for those books developing? It would appear they face at least two headwinds: 1) they are far removed from the superhero books that most collectors focus on, and 2) they have no modern counterparts that might attract new collectors.

 

I would appreciate hearing your views.

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

as far as growth, you answered your own question with your 2 points...as far as opportunity, now is a great time to pick up these books because prices are realistic , with no real reason for them to jump start increases (bad for investment, but great for the collector in you!)

 

Sounds good. I'm just a collector. (I'm too dumb to be an investor!)

[sacentaur]

The EC romance titles are generally hard to find, but I find them to be great books and well-worth their cost.

[RareHighGrade]

I have the impression that Baker romance covers have gone up dramatically in the past 2-3 years.

[G.A.tor]

Dear G.A.tor:

 

In the last year or so, I have gotten interested in romance comics. Going forward, how do you see the market for those books developing? It would appear they face at least two headwinds: 1) they are far removed from the superhero books that most collectors focus on, and 2) they have no modern counterparts that might attract new collectors.

 

I would appreciate hearing your views.

 

Thanks.

 

Sqeggs

as far as growth, you answered your own question with your 2 points...as far as opportunity, now is a great time to pick up these books because prices are realistic , with no real reason for them to jump start increases (bad for investment, but great for the collector in you!)

 

Sounds good. I'm just a collector. (I'm too dumb to be an investor!)

when I sell a new comic in my stores, I am selling 'entertainment"...in other words, it is disposable income spent, same as a movie, or ball game or concert...

 

however, when one spends , say $50 or more on a comic, you have to look at the "ROI" as far as the tangile (value) and the intangible (enjoyment/entertainment) aspect... so, anytime one spends high 2 figures, or 3 or 4 or 5+ figures for a comic, there is a tangible "investment" component... (thumbs u

[G.A.tor]

I have the impression that Baker romance covers have gone up dramatically in the past 2-3 years.

Matt baker certainly has a strong following, and his books, in nice shape, do command more today, than "yesterday"... but, they are still very reasonable, for the most part

[Twistty1]

I have the impression that Baker romance covers have gone up dramatically in the past 2-3 years.

Matt baker certainly has a strong following, and his books, in nice shape, do command more today, than "yesterday"... but, they are still very reasonable, for the most part

 

That is the key... I've yet to see some of the really nice covers offered for sale in any kind of "nice" shape... Even the Sparklecity auction a couple weeks ago that garnered ridiculous prices didn't have the keys in anything higher than F+. The non key nice covers were in grade, I will grant you that, but the others were not and still got huge price tags.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Twistty1

[Sqeggs]

I have the impression that Baker romance covers have gone up dramatically in the past 2-3 years.

Matt baker certainly has a strong following, and his books, in nice shape, do command more today, than "yesterday"... but, they are still very reasonable, for the most part

 

That is the key... I've yet to see some of the really nice covers offered for sale in any kind of "nice" shape... Even the Sparklecity auction a couple weeks ago that garnered ridiculous prices didn't have the keys in anything higher than F+. The non key nice covers were in grade, I will grant you that, but the others were not and still got huge price tags.

 

As Dr Love has pointed out, for some Bakers the only high grade copies may be the Church copies -- wherever they may be. I think someone mentioned that even some/many of the Church copies may not be high grade.

 

I'm not sure whether the print runs on the St John issues were low or collectors had little interest in them until recently. But for whatever reason, the census count is pretty thin on some of them. Perhaps that will change as higher prices bring more copies to market.

[Flex Mentallo]

I have the impression that Baker romance covers have gone up dramatically in the past 2-3 years.

Matt baker certainly has a strong following, and his books, in nice shape, do command more today, than "yesterday"... but, they are still very reasonable, for the most part

 

That is the key... I've yet to see some of the really nice covers offered for sale in any kind of "nice" shape... Even the Sparklecity auction a couple weeks ago that garnered ridiculous prices didn't have the keys in anything higher than F+. The non key nice covers were in grade, I will grant you that, but the others were not and still got huge price tags.

 

As Dr Love has pointed out, for some Bakers the only high grade copies may be the Church copies -- wherever they may be. I think someone mentioned that even some/many of the Church copies may not be high grade.

 

I'm not sure whether the print runs on the St John issues were low or collectors had little interest in them until recently. But for whatever reason, the census count is pretty thin on some of them. Perhaps that will change as higher prices bring more copies to market.

 

Others here are way more knowledgeable than I about this including GAtor but I believe Edgar's supplier did not carry everything, including St John romance owing to poor distribution, forcing him to pick up copies elsewhere - maybe even second hand.

 

As to GAtor's assessment of prices/values, I think it echoes what romance collectors know - it is really only the best Baker covers that have surged in value, and this does not appear to have dragged up values overall, even on high grade copies, barring the obvious contenders. Sooner or later that semi-mythical high grade CL #25 everyone hopes for will turn up and then we will see some fireworks - but it still wont affect prices on average Baker covers, if there is such a thing! And average copies of average Baker covers now turn up with regularity, where 10 years ago they did not - at least on ebay or in catalogues.

Edited April 25, 2013 by alanna

[Sqeggs]

I have the impression that Baker romance covers have gone up dramatically in the past 2-3 years.

Matt baker certainly has a strong following, and his books, in nice shape, do command more today, than "yesterday"... but, they are still very reasonable, for the most part

 

That is the key... I've yet to see some of the really nice covers offered for sale in any kind of "nice" shape... Even the Sparklecity auction a couple weeks ago that garnered ridiculous prices didn't have the keys in anything higher than F+. The non key nice covers were in grade, I will grant you that, but the others were not and still got huge price tags.

 

As Dr Love has pointed out, for some Bakers the only high grade copies may be the Church copies -- wherever they may be. I think someone mentioned that even some/many of the Church copies may not be high grade.

 

I'm not sure whether the print runs on the St John issues were low or collectors had little interest in them until recently. But for whatever reason, the census count is pretty thin on some of them. Perhaps that will change as higher prices bring more copies to market.

 

Others here are way more knowledgeable than I about this including GAtor but I believe Edgar's supplier did not carry everything, including St John romance owing to poor distribution, forcing him to pick up copies elsewhere - maybe even second hand.

 

As to GAtor's assessment of prices/values, I think it echoes what romance collectors know - it is really only the best Baker covers that have surged in value, and this does not appear to have dragged up values overall, even on high grade copies, barring the obvious contenders. Sooner or later that semi-mythical high grade CL #25 everyone hopes for will turn up and then we will see some fireworks - but it still wont affect prices on average Baker covers, if there is such a thing! And average copies of average Baker covers now turn up with regularity, where 10 years ago they did not - at least on ebay or in catalogues.

 

I think L.B. Cole covers have also been moving up, particularly in high grade.

 

That Edgar did not have access to St John romance comics at his newsstand is perhaps an indication of distribution problems that contribute to their scarcity today.

[G.A.tor]

Pretty much all ga in hg has And continues to move up. It is not limited or restricted to certain genres or niches