Mark Jewelers inserts... 19 19

[Real Frantic One]

Ran across this one a few days ago:

Edited November 1, 2023 by Real Frantic One

[Get Marwood & I]

 

 

 

 

 

[BrightSide77]

You gotta love seeing that tell tale line atop the comic when looking through the back issues and then validating it has a UPC on the cover.  Hello MJ.

[BrightSide77]

One more from today!  Joe Fixit key.

[Cpt Kirk]

On 11/22/2023 at 9:08 AM, BrightSide77 said:

You gotta love seeing that tell tale line atop the comic when looking through the back issues and then validating it has a UPC on the cover.  Hello MJ.

I agree.  When you come across that dark stripe on the top, then pull the comic book out and see the newsstand bar code, you think "jackpot!".   

I was with my nephew in a comic store in Austin Texas (heavy military presence there) and when I found a run of about 20 Justice League of America jeweler variants, I told my nephew that "This is what you dream about as a collector".   He was not a collector and he promptly replied "It's not what I dream about!"  lol.

[BrightSide77]

It's like they are talking to me now. I just found these today in the back issues of a local LCS!

[stormflora]

Are Mark Jewelers inserts really all that significant? Or does it depend on the comic issue in question?

[BrightSide77]

On 11/25/2023 at 12:16 AM, stormflora said:

Are Mark Jewelers inserts really all that significant? Or does it depend on the comic issue in question?

I'd be interested in other opinions, but there was a lower number of issues created and they are no longer made which makes them less common and in the right market they will be valued more, especially key stories or titles (X-Men).  That Joe Fixit might be a 2x to 4x the price compared to its direct or newsstand copy.  More common issues might see a small boost in value but can be comparable to a Newsstand. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 11/25/2023 at 12:01 AM, BrightSide77 said:

It's like they are talking to me now. I just found these today in the back issues of a local LCS!

That is quite a few to be unmarked and just out and about ! !

[stormflora]

On 11/25/2023 at 10:26 AM, BrightSide77 said:

I'd be interested in other opinions, but there was a lower number of issues created and they are no longer made which makes them less common and in the right market they will be valued more, especially key stories or titles (X-Men).  That Joe Fixit might be a 2x to 4x the price compared to its direct or newsstand copy.  More common issues might see a small boost in value but can be comparable to a Newsstand. 

Thanks for the clarification. So basically, it would boost the value of the comic nonetheless, but it still depends on the underlying comic in question in terms of how much of a boost that would be.

[Cpt Kirk]

On 11/25/2023 at 1:16 AM, stormflora said:

Are Mark Jewelers inserts really all that significant? Or does it depend on the comic issue in question?

Great question.   Here's my thoughts after 12 years of chasing MJ's in the DC titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and Justice League of America:

1.  Prices are all over the map.  Sometimes the jeweler variant adds no value (but does seem to make a comic book more "sellable") but if two or more nutcases like me really want the comic book, prices could go for 20 times more than guide (the most memorable for me was a vgFN JLA 107 that I lost in a bid for approximately $100... still wishing I went higher on that auction... a regular JLA 107 in vgFN would be lucky to sell for $5).

2. All jeweler variants were sold in military PX's or other similar venues, so they were sold like other newsstand issues (i.e., on comic or magazine racks).  So the higher graded jewelers (especially 9.2 and above) seem to sell well at reasonable prices.   They are only very rarely seen in 9.8.

3.  It seems like the premium for a jeweler variant gets magnified with key issues (Batman 251 with the Joker cover seems like a good example).

Edited November 28, 2023 by Cpt Kirk

[stormflora]

On 11/26/2023 at 9:20 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

Great question.   Here's my thoughts after 12 years of chasing MJ's in the DC titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and Justice League of America:

1.  Prices are all over the map.  Sometimes the jeweler variant adds no value (but does seem to make a comic book more "sellable") but if the two or more nutcases like me really want the comic book, prices could go for 20 times more than guide (the most memorable for me was a vgFN JLA 107 that I lost in a bid for approximately $100... still wishing I went higher on that auction... a regular JLA 107 in vgFN would be lucky to sell for $5).

2. All jeweler variants were sold in military PX's or other similar venues, so they were sold like other newsstand issues (i.e., on comic or magazine racks).  So the higher graded jewelers (especially 9.2 and above) seem to sell well at reasonable prices.   They are only very rarely seen in 9.8.

3.  It seems like the premium for a jeweler variant gets magnified with key issues (Batman 251 with the Joker cover seems like a good example).

So for the most part, it's optional to most people (even collectors), until you reach the NM/M range and/or deal with key issues and every little difference matters. And if there is a large supply of an issue, having it marked as an MJ variant would look more appealing to buyers. Good to know.

For me, since I don't collect overly expensive comics, I'd prefer to just fill the gaps with any non-reprint issue, regardless of the MJ status. But that's just me.

[BrightSide77]

On 11/26/2023 at 8:20 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

Great question.   Here's my thoughts after 12 years of chasing MJ's in the DC titles of Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and Justice League of America:

1.  Prices are all over the map.  Sometimes the jeweler variant adds no value (but does seem to make a comic book more "sellable") but if the two or more nutcases like me really want the comic book, prices could go for 20 times more than guide (the most memorable for me was a vgFN JLA 107 that I lost in a bid for approximately $100... still wishing I went higher on that auction... a regular JLA 107 in vgFN would be lucky to sell for $5).

2. All jeweler variants were sold in military PX's or other similar venues, so they were sold like other newsstand issues (i.e., on comic or magazine racks).  So the higher graded jewelers (especially 9.2 and above) seem to sell well at reasonable prices.   They are only very rarely seen in 9.8.

3.  It seems like the premium for a jeweler variant gets magnified with key issues (Batman 251 with the Joker cover seems like a good example).

Found these DC's Mark Jewelers in my collection

[Cpt Kirk]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:33 AM, stormflora said:

So for the most part, it's optional to most people (even collectors), until you reach the NM/M range and/or deal with key issues and every little difference matters. And if there is a large supply of an issue, having it marked as an MJ variant would look more appealing to buyers. Good to know.

For me, since I don't collect overly expensive comics, I'd prefer to just fill the gaps with any non-reprint issue, regardless of the MJ status. But that's just me.

I totally get that.  When I first started seeing those jeweler inserts, I thought to myself "Darn... now I need to go get another copy of that same comic book so it won't have that annoying advertisement in the centerfold".   LOL.

p.s.  I mentioned in my post above that I wish I would have gone higher on my bid for that vgFN JLA 107 with jeweler insert that sold for approximately $100.  If I would have gone higher and won that auction, I would now be able to say I have every single jeweler variant in the title of JLA.  Lesson learned... if you are a completionist, you better bid high when a jeweler variant shows up that you don't have, regardless of condition.   It might be another 5 or 10 years before you see another one.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Cpt Kirk

[stormflora]

On 11/28/2023 at 11:46 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

I totally get that.  When I first started seeing those jeweler inserts, I thought to myself "Darn... now I need to go get another copy of that same comic book so it won't have that annoying advertisement in the centerfold".   LOL.

p.s.  I mentioned in my post above that I wish I would have gone higher on my bid for that vgFN JLA 107 with jeweler insert that sold for approximately $100.  If I would have gone higher and won that auction, I would now be able to say I have every single jeweler variant in the title of JLA.  Lesson learned... if you are a completionist, you better bid high when a jeweler variant shows up that you don't have, regardless of condition.   It might be another 5 or 10 years before you see another one.

Hah, it must be irritating to have a single issue that does not match the rest. Just like books with spines that the publisher decides to change the design of somewhere down the line, and they no longer match up.

If all else fails, buy some cheap comic with the exact same Mark Jewelers' insert, pull it out, shove it into your one comic, and simply claim that the centerfold was detached

More food for thought: What if Mark Jewelers "variants" are actually reprints of the original comics?

Edited November 28, 2023 by stormflora

[Cpt Kirk]

On 11/28/2023 at 12:17 PM, stormflora said:

Hah, it must be irritating to have a single issue that does not match the rest. Just like books with spines that the publisher decides to change the design of somewhere down the line, and they no longer match up.

If all else fails, buy some cheap comic with the exact same Mark Jewelers' insert, pull it out, shove it into your one comic, and simply claim that the centerfold was detached

More food for thought: What if Mark Jewelers "variants" are actually reprints of the original comics?

LOL.  I could not live with myself for not have the "original" jeweler variant.

Regarding food for thought:  we are pretty sure that the inserts were just placed into the comic book at the end or beginning of any particular print run.  But no one has ever been able to say for sure what happened in the production.   Like you said, perhaps they delayed the printing of the jeweler variants, so that technically they were "reprints" of the originals.   However, we do have a strong clue with the production of Batman 302.   Toward the end of the print run for the front cover, the printer was running out of ink and it created at first a single blue dot on the cover, and as more ink run out it created a double blue dot on the front cover (see attached photo, which shows the blue dots on the covers of Batman 302 that do not contain the jeweler insert).  I've seen 5 Mark Jeweler variant of Batman 302, and all 5 had the double blue dot on the cover.  That makes me think they produced the jeweler variants with covers and pages that were made at the end of the print run.

[stormflora]

On 11/28/2023 at 1:50 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

LOL.  I could not live with myself for not have the "original" jeweler variant.

Regarding food for thought:  we are pretty sure that the inserts were just placed into the comic book at the end or beginning of any particular print run.  But no one has ever been able to say for sure what happened in the production.   Like you said, perhaps they delayed the printing of the jeweler variants, so that technically they were "reprints" of the originals.   However, we do have a strong clue with the production of Batman 302.   Toward the end of the print run for the front cover, the printer was running out of ink and it created at first a single blue dot on the cover, and as more ink run out it created a double blue dot on the front cover (see attached photo, which shows the blue dots on the covers of Batman 302 that do not contain the jeweler insert).  I've seen 5 Mark Jeweler variant of Batman 302, and all 5 had the double blue dot on the cover.  That makes me think they produced the jeweler variants with covers and pages that were made at the end of the print run.

Wait, you have three copies of the exact same issue of Batman all because of a couple of dots?

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/28/2023 at 7:00 PM, stormflora said:

Wait, you have three copies of the exact same issue of Batman all because of a couple of dots?

He's a proper collector, is our Captain 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/28/2023 at 6:50 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

LOL.  I could not live with myself for not have the "original" jeweler variant.

Regarding food for thought:  we are pretty sure that the inserts were just placed into the comic book at the end or beginning of any particular print run.  But no one has ever been able to say for sure what happened in the production.   Like you said, perhaps they delayed the printing of the jeweler variants, so that technically they were "reprints" of the originals.   However, we do have a strong clue with the production of Batman 302.   Toward the end of the print run for the front cover, the printer was running out of ink and it created at first a single blue dot on the cover, and as more ink run out it created a double blue dot on the front cover (see attached photo, which shows the blue dots on the covers of Batman 302 that do not contain the jeweler insert).  I've seen 5 Mark Jeweler variant of Batman 302, and all 5 had the double blue dot on the cover.  That makes me think they produced the jeweler variants with covers and pages that were made at the end of the print run.

I love that 

Similar theme, three Spidey #188's:

• The regular newsstand copy on the left has a very strong, dark red Spidey outline, suggesting it was printed early.
• The MJI copy in the middle has much lighter red, indicating that the ink was running lower at that stage.
• The second regular newsstand copy on the right shows the red starting to degrade completely, and it shows as yellow on the cover (Spidey's feet)

We know that the guts and covers are printed separately. They would have run off all the covers and, at some point, taken a batch of them to assemble the MJI copies (which we think were done on a different stapling machine as the staple position is often different, and more power would be needed to drive the staple through the comic with a MJI insert). We have no way of knowing whether they took the covers from the top, bottom or middle of the finished cover stacks. So, even though we can see cover variations - errors and reduced ink strength - we can't really use that information to form any robust order of printing guesses, as all scenarios are technically possible. The MJI above may have a mid run cover and a start or end run guts. It looks like the cover came mid run, as how could a cover missing red have preceded it - or a cover with stronger inks followed it? Unless they topped the ink(s) up mid run. Did one lot of ink last an entire cover run? And who won the FA Cup in 1964?

And am I taking bollocks now? I feel like I'm talking bollocks now. 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

@Cpt Kirk What happened here then