Moderns that are heating up on ebay! 70 70

[valiantman]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:52 AM, jsilverjanet said:

On 10/23/2021 at 12:58 AM, pirog said:

On 10/22/2021 at 8:35 PM, Wolverinex said:

Is there a bloodshot 2 movie coming?  I've been scooping up all the Cheap Rai 0's and don't want it to end...

Yes sometime within next 3-5 months!

@valiantmanis the only source i trust

I haven't heard anything about Bloodshot 2.  The current Valiant owners teased new live action for 2022, but there was nothing definite.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:50 AM, valiantman said:

I haven't heard anything about Bloodshot 2.  The current Valiant owners teased new live action for 2022, but there was nothing definite.

I went ahead and replaced my 9.6 Rai #0 glossy that I sold for funds after the first movie, with now a 9.4 glossy.

At least this go round I have eternal warrior too 😛

[valiantman]

On 10/23/2021 at 11:01 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

On 10/23/2021 at 10:50 AM, valiantman said:

I haven't heard anything about Bloodshot 2.  The current Valiant owners teased new live action for 2022, but there was nothing definite.

I went ahead and replaced my 9.6 Rai #0 glossy that I sold for funds after the first movie, with now a 9.4 glossy.

At least this go round I have eternal warrior too 😛

Generally speaking, we've been watching independent books from the 1980s jump in price around the time they hit 30 or 35 years old, as long as there is some fandom that wants them.  Albedo, Comico, Crow, Evil Ernie, TMNT, etc., and most of the original Valiant characters are reaching that 30th birthday right now and over the next two years. 

There's no reason that early Valiant books will be $5,000+ like some of those independents anytime soon, but many of the key first appearances of Valiant characters which still have running titles today are only $100 to $300 for CGC 9.8 books as they're reaching 30 years old.   Valiant certainly had a bigger following than all other independents at one point, and nostalgia is really driven by memories - more people, more memories.

There's a lot of room to grow when the 30-year-old first appearances of continuing independent titles still cost less than whatever flavor-of-the-month variant printing just came out from Marvel (sarcastically, it's probably a Venom-related 3rd printing of the next big symbiote offshoot with the alternate cover art variant and a print run rumored under negative ten).  People will pay $250 for that while the ink is still wet, no problem. 

Edited October 23, 2021 by valiantman

[pirog]

On 10/23/2021 at 12:11 PM, valiantman said:

Generally speaking, we've been watching independent books from the 1980s jump in price around the time they hit 30 or 35 years old, as long as there is some fandom that wants them.  Albedo, Comico, Crow, Evil Ernie, TMNT, etc., and most of the original Valiant characters are reaching that 30th birthday right now and over the next two years. 

There's no reason that early Valiant books will be $5,000+ like some of those independents anytime soon, but many of the key first appearances of Valiant characters which still have running titles today are only $100 to $300 for CGC 9.8 books as they're reaching 30 years old.   Valiant certainly had a bigger following than all other independents at one point, and nostalgia is really driven by memories - more people, more memories.

There's a lot of room to grow when the 30-year-old first appearances of continuing independent titles still cost less than whatever flavor-of-the-month variant printing just came out from Marvel (sarcastically, it's probably a Venom-related 3rd printing of the next big symbiote offshoot with the alternate cover art variant and a print run rumored under negative ten).  People will pay $250 for that while the ink is still wet, no problem. 

Nice analysis...you hit the Magic 30 year demographic right on the head...these are the people that also are in their PRIME peak earning capabilities and on an AGGREGATE basis have more disposable cash to collect those precious "emotional memories"...after all most everything based on emotions even grading (i.e. RELATIVELY slightly better grades given when the graders are in a good mood verses a bad mood etc. and I am sure you guys can think of reasons for good and bad moods...just a fact of life...happy collecting!!!!

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by pirog

[littledoom]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:11 AM, valiantman said:

Albedo, Comico, Crow, Evil Ernie, TMNT

those are all low print, htf, cult, first appearances whereas Valiant keys are overprinted and easy to find. Solar, Magnus, Turok are all Gold Key silver age first appearance characters

[500Club]

On 10/23/2021 at 11:44 AM, littledoom said:

those are all low print, htf, cult, first appearances whereas Valiant keys are overprinted and easy to find. Solar, Magnus, Turok are all Gold Key silver age first appearance characters

Pre-Unity Valiant wasn’t that highly printed…

[Lazyboy]

On 10/23/2021 at 2:40 PM, 500Club said:

Pre-Unity Valiant wasn’t that highly printed…

While that's true, they're also nowhere near as low as things like TMNT or Albedo.

[littledoom]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:45 PM, Lazyboy said:

While that's true, they're also nowhere near as low as things like TMNT or Albedo.

exactly, I seldom see those books in person

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

On 10/23/2021 at 3:40 PM, 500Club said:

Pre-Unity Valiant wasn’t that highly printed…

Compared to *today's print runs*, they were. Compared to average book back then, they weren't. Since pre-Unity books got hot not that long after they were printed, I imagine that many copies survived in high quality. Now, whether they're still readily available, that's another question. But I can say that I did pick up Rai 1-5, including some multiple copies, for no more than $5 a piece at NYCC this year.

[valiantman]

Pre-Unity Valiant came out in the brief window of time between books like X-Men #1 (1991) and Superman #75 (1992).   Millions of copies of those exist from the time that Pre-Unity Valiant was under 100,000, and some under 50,000.  That was 30 years ago now, and many were well-protected but others got thrown in bargain boxes 25 years ago (and even today, as @GeeksAreMyPeeps  demonstrated).

They're a drop in the bucket compared to the print runs of Spawn #1 or Amazing Spider-Man #361, which are also contemporary books. 

Pre-Unity Valiant isn't as scarce as Albedo #2, but I'm not seeing the Valiant prices approach $10,000 like Albedo either.   Most Pre-Unity Valiant are a little bit higher print runs than TMNT #1 3rd printing.

Pre-Unity Valiant is worthy of far more than $100 and obviously less than $10,000.  There's plenty of room in between.

Edited October 23, 2021 by valiantman

[valiantman]

On 10/23/2021 at 12:44 PM, littledoom said:

those are all low print, htf, cult, first appearances whereas Valiant keys are overprinted and easy to find.

Overprinted compared to what?  X-Men #1, Superman #75, Spawn #1, and Amazing Spider-Man #361 are the books that were on the shelves with Pre-Unity Valiant.  Compared to those books, and at that time in the industry, Valiant was a low print cult publisher.  I never saw a Harbinger #1 (1992) in person until I bought one on Ebay in 1997.

Edited October 23, 2021 by valiantman

[littledoom]

On 10/23/2021 at 4:01 PM, valiantman said:

Harbinger #1

that's been a wall key for decades.. even the indie series u mentioned u can barely find issues of in the BIBs.. TMNT and Crow good luck, Albedo and Comico you'd have to go to a specialty shop, Evil Ernie those'll be on the wall

[500Club]

On 10/23/2021 at 2:45 PM, Lazyboy said:

On 10/23/2021 at 1:40 PM, 500Club said:

Pre-Unity Valiant wasn’t that highly printed…

While that's true, they're also nowhere near as low as things like TMNT or Albedo.

Oh, hell no.  Even in the late 80s, those books were not easy to find.

[500Club]

On 10/23/2021 at 2:53 PM, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

On 10/23/2021 at 1:40 PM, 500Club said:

Pre-Unity Valiant wasn’t that highly printed…

Compared to *today's print runs*, they were.

I’m only pushing back on the idea they were ‘overprinted’, the word used in the quote I responded to.  The post-Unity Valiant?  Those were overprinted, even by the standards of the time.

[littledoom]

Barbie Fashion Marvel sales (movie)

[pirog]

On 10/23/2021 at 6:56 PM, valiantman said:

Pre-Unity Valiant came out in the brief window of time between books like X-Men #1 (1991) and Superman #75 (1992).   Millions of copies of those exist from the time that Pre-Unity Valiant was under 100,000, and some under 50,000.  That was 30 years ago now, and many were well-protected but others got thrown in bargain boxes 25 years ago (and even today, as @GeeksAreMyPeeps  demonstrated).

They're a drop in the bucket compared to the print runs of Spawn #1 or Amazing Spider-Man #361, which are also contemporary books. 

Pre-Unity Valiant isn't as scarce as Albedo #2, but I'm not seeing the Valiant prices approach $10,000 like Albedo either.   Most Pre-Unity Valiant are a little bit higher print runs than TMNT #1 3rd printing.

Pre-Unity Valiant is worthy of far more than $100 and obviously less than $10,000.  There's plenty of room in between.

Nice thought process Valiantman...I collected/invested in them back in 1992-93 because of their considerably smaller print runs of like 20,000-80,000 AND the artists and story writing was very high standard as well when Jim shooter started the company...what is even more interesting is trying to fill/find the last year issues of eternal warrior, shadowman, solar, harbinger, x-o manowar and BLOODSHOT...these are in GENERAL printed in even less quantities than the pre-unity ones believe it or not for example the last 4 issues of Bloodshot like #47-#51 (last issue) are less than 10,000 copies...Yowza and happy collecting and valiant movie watching...

[valiantman]

I agree that the final issues of the original Valiant run can be a challenge (1995-1996), but there are many other Valiant/Acclaim books with lower quantities since that time.  It's the quality of the Jim Shooter books (pre-Unity, 1991-1992) that made them successful, and the lower prints compared to Marvel and DC made them valuable.  Completing a full collection offers that challenge of getting the final issues, but not many collectors want everything Valiant produced when many of the later stories didn't hold up to the quality of the earliest books.  Valiant experimented with newsstand editions, briefly in 1994-1996, and some of those are even tougher to find (in nice condition) than the final issues.  The chart below is only for direct edition averages. Those Valiant collectors (new and old) who are focused on the "best stuff" tend to gravitate toward the 50 books from prior to the Unity crossover, and a few later first appearances.  Some of the pre-Unity Valiant books aren't expensive at all, and that's a major plus for beginning Valiant collectors.

Pre-Unity Valiant is generally 1991 and 1992, but the Unity crossover occurred mid-1992 and some of the books after Unity (still dated 1992) are much easier to find.
47 Pre-Unity books are:  Archer & Armstrong #0, Harbinger #1 - #7, Magnus #1 - #14, Rai #1 - #5, Shadowman #1 - #3, Solar #1 - #11, X-O Manowar #1 - #6
3 other books are Pre-Unity in "spirit" but weren't released until months later: Archer & Armstrong #0 Gold, Harbinger #0 Pink, Magnus #0 
Harbinger #1 - #6 and Magnus #1 - #8 contain coupon inserts which needed to be cut out and redeemed for the #0 issues.  Be careful of missing coupons.

Edited October 25, 2021 by valiantman

[fastballspecial]

On 10/25/2021 at 8:56 AM, valiantman said:

I agree that the final issues of the original Valiant run can be a challenge (1995-1996), but there are many other Valiant/Acclaim books with lower quantities since that time.  It's the quality of the Jim Shooter books (pre-Unity, 1991-1992) that made them successful, and the lower prints compared to Marvel and DC made them valuable.  Completing a full collection offers that challenge of getting the final issues, but not many collectors want everything Valiant produced when many of the later stories didn't hold up to the quality of the earliest books.  Valiant experimented with newsstand editions, briefly in 1994-1996, and some of those are even tougher to find (in nice condition) than the final issues.  The chart below is only for direct edition averages. Those Valiant collectors (new and old) who are focused on the "best stuff" tend to gravitate toward the 50 books from prior to the Unity crossover, and a few later first appearances.  Some of the pre-Unity Valiant books aren't expensive at all, and that's a major plus for beginning Valiant collectors.

Pre-Unity Valiant is generally 1991 and 1992, but the Unity crossover occurred mid-1992 and some of the books after Unity (still dated 1992) are much easier to find.
47 Pre-Unity books are:  Archer & Armstrong #0, Harbinger #1 - #7, Magnus #1 - #14, Rai #1 - #5, Shadowman #1 - #3, Solar #1 - #11, X-O Manowar #1 - #6
3 other books are Pre-Unity in "spirit" but weren't released until months later: Archer & Armstrong #0 Gold, Harbinger #0 Pink, Magnus #0 
Harbinger #1 - #6 and Magnus #1 - #8 contain coupon inserts which needed to be cut out and redeemed for the #0 issues.  Be careful of missing coupons.

I would also mention at the end the Valiant Newsstand print run. As much as we talk about Marvel and DC in the late 90s into 2000s. 

Valiant newsstand run is next to nothing and almost impossible to find copies of the later issues. Only certain runs even had them. Several Valiant titles never even had a newsstand print. 

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by fastballspecial

[valiantman]

On 10/25/2021 at 9:21 AM, fastballspecial said:

I would also mention at the end the Valiant Newsstand print run. As much as we talk about Marvel and DC in the late 90s into 2000s. 

Valiant newsstand run is next to nothing and almost impossible to find copies of the later issues. Only certain runs even had them. Several Valiant titles never even had a newsstand print. 

That's true - even "expert" Valiant collectors weren't sure which books had newsstand editions until just a few years ago.  The discussion online and list of Valiant newsstand books (1995-1996) was briefly a topic in 2004, again in 2006 with thirteen collectors having different info, and the list was still being edited up to 2015.  http://valiantfans.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=23543

@sonicdan has a gallery on his site: https://sonicdan.com/reviews/pages/newsstandvaliant.htm

Even now, I don't think we know how they were distributed.  Hasting's bookstore chain seems to have had some of them, and perhaps other bookstore chains of the mid-1990s, but I don't know if any non-bookstore chains (such as regular magazine/comic vendors at grocery stores, Walmart, or normal news vendors) ever carried any of the Valiant newsstand line.  I don't even remember seeing them at Hasting's but @sonicdan knows more about spending time at Hasting's than I do. 

Edited October 25, 2021 by valiantman

[pirog]

On 10/25/2021 at 10:31 AM, valiantman said:

That's true - even "expert" Valiant collectors weren't sure which books had newsstand editions until just a few years ago.  The discussion online and list of Valiant newsstand books (1995-1996) was briefly a topic in 2004, again in 2006 with thirteen collectors having different info, and the list was still being edited up to 2015.  http://valiantfans.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=23543

@sonicdan has a gallery on his site: https://sonicdan.com/reviews/pages/newsstandvaliant.htm

Even now, I don't think we know how they were distributed.  Hasting's bookstore chain seems to have had some of them, and perhaps other bookstore chains of the mid-1990s, but I don't know if any non-bookstore chains (such as regular magazine/comic vendors at grocery stores, Walmart, or normal news vendors) ever carried any of the Valiant newsstand line.  I don't even remember seeing them at Hasting's but @sonicdan knows more about spending time at Hasting's than I do. 

WOW...thanks for the FURTHER enlightenment on Valiant collecting...I see why your handle is Valiantman...ROCK ON!