The Crash of 1993

[valiantman]

The groundwork for the crash was laid in 1993 (massive overordering of "hot" books), but I don't think it really hit until 1994.

Adventures of Superman #500 and the die-cut four supermen books that followed

must have cost retailers an arm and a leg in terms of unsold stock.

Truth be told, those five books might be the most responsible for the crash.

[bane]

Even though I bought my first comic when I was 9 (1989) I didn't really start buying on a regular basis until '93.... it was a great time for me, I was buying up Batman comics really cheaply!

 

I missed the whole boom/bust era.

[jdjunker]

The groundwork for the crash was laid in 1993 (massive overordering of "hot" books), but I don't think it really hit until 1994.

Adventures of Superman #500 and the die-cut four supermen books that followed

must have cost retailers an arm and a leg in terms of unsold stock.

Truth be told, those five books might be the most responsible for the crash.

 

 

Says "Valiantman"--Heh!

 

Sorry, just kidding, I couldn't resist. Actually, Valiants played a huge role because the early issues sky rocketed in price. Those price levels added tons of fuel to the speculation fire in two ways. 1) They created the illusion you could buy a comic this year and expect to sell it next year for $100+, and 2) They created the illusion that all Valiants and Valiant first issues had that kind of potential, to the point where Valiants were over ordered as much as, if not more than, just about anything else.

[spidrvacc]

More then just the crash it really discouraged folks about comics. Investors are a big part of any hobby and a collector base. I had alot of friends who started with the Valiant-Image books. Then the Death of superman book. (and the return) I literally had half my office in Manhattan have me get them a copy. Some of them put it in a saftey deposit box to help pay for there kids college in a decade. I tried to explain to them that it would never be worth much. I had a friend who on the advice of a comic store owner buy 3 Valiant Foil cover books for $150 with the thought they would be worth thousands in 5 years. ( he still has them somewhere in a lock box, there worth a buck each now ) Every single one of them got disgusted by the fact that there "precious" investments were worth less then they paid. Totally discouraging them from the hobby of comic collecting.

 

Valaint-Image-Gimmick cover (foil-Hologram-multiple covers etc) Death of and return of Superman had a lot to do with the crash and a lot more to do with people leaving the hobby in droves.

 

 

[SolitaireOne]

Golly, I miss those ultra-limited, embossed, holo-foil, die-cut, gate-fold, prizmatic-covered, un-cut coupon, signed, special collector's editions...

[supapimp]

how do you explain the home shopping networks still continuing to rip off the old folks then?

[valiantman]

The groundwork for the crash was laid in 1993 (massive overordering of "hot" books), but I don't think it really hit until 1994.

Adventures of Superman #500 and the die-cut four supermen books that followed

must have cost retailers an arm and a leg in terms of unsold stock.

Truth be told, those five books might be the most responsible for the crash.

 

 

Says "Valiantman"--Heh!

 

Sorry, just kidding, I couldn't resist. Actually, Valiants played a huge role because the early issues sky rocketed in price. Those price levels added tons of fuel to the speculation fire in two ways. 1) They created the illusion you could buy a comic this year and expect to sell it next year for $100+, and 2) They created the illusion that all Valiants and Valiant first issues had that kind of potential, to the point where Valiants were over ordered as much as, if not more than, just about anything else.

 

Mostly true... but Valiant only had one comic printed over 1,000,000 copies...

and the month it came out it was the #5 top-selling book...

behind the four Return of the Supermen die-cut books I mentioned.

 

Valiant was in the game... but the problem was much bigger than Valiant.

[Legion HQ]

Regardless of which company/issues were to blame, rampant speculation across the board was definitely a major culprit. Comics were the investment du jour. Longtime comic hobbyists were simply in on it first, and got carried away with the rush. The Death of Superman finally popped that bubble when Joe Public dove in knowing nothing of the hobby, and jumped out just as quickly when they didn't make their thousands overnight. Still, leading up to Supes' death, I remember hobbyists clamoring for every new Image title, regardless of quality. Any Valiant book that introduced a new character was instantly highlighted and jumped up in price. Before all that even, Marvel oversaturated the market with ungodly print runs for X-Force 1, Spider-Man 1, X-men 1, which you would have thought would have taught those initial speculators a lesson. But noooo. It was like they (we) were determined, come hell or high water, to turn a huge profit one way or another.