Demand for CGC Books: DC vs. Marvel

[Paul_Maul]

Every dealer I talk to likes to claim that DC collectors don't want CGC books as much as

Marvel Collectors. This has been repeated so often it has taken on an air of prevailing wisdom.

 

I personally think it is not true. There are just so few CGC 9.4 and up Silver Age DC books

available that many DC collectors don't feel they can hold out.

 

I don't believeI 've ever seen a 9.4-9.6 10-12 cent DC fail to bring in the same huge multiples

on ebay that Marvels do. Somtimes it seems the multiples are even higher.

[burntboy]

i think HG DC's bring similar multiples as marvels, but you're correct that there just don't seem to be as many out there. i believe that through the early 60's DC was holding it's own against Marvel and am not sure why the books are harder to find, but my collection could be used as a prime example. bought up most everything both companies were releasing 1961-1964 and am having much greater grading success with my marvels. i was wildly happy when my MIS #75 (1st JLA crossover) came back graded 9.2. yet, i've had a bunch of 9.4 marvels........

[hobbes]

I don't own a single slabbed DC nor do I have any plans to buy one/submit for one. What's truly strange about that statement is that I buy more DC's than Marvel in a given month.

[valiantman]

...you're correct that there just don't seem to be as many out there.

Marvels have been submitted overall about 3-to-1 more times than DC.

http://www.gregholland.com/cgc/publishercounts.asp

When you talk about the 1960s, it's 3.5-to-1 for Marvel-to-DC submissions.

By the 1970s it's 4-to-1.

In the 1980s it's 6-to-1.

[garthgantu]

Okay, but I'll bet DCs have a huge advantage if you go back to the '50s and '40s...!

[DiceX]

Could it be that the reason for fewer high grade DC's is that the people that bought them actually *read* them?

 

And the reason there are less slabbed DC's is that the people are *still* reading them?

[UnrulyAppendage]

Since Marvel and DC have different philosophies, do you think your DC collector would be different than a Marvel collector? Maybe the reason we don't see too many CGC DC's is because the old DC collector never cleaned their closets and they are just sitting on their collection? I would not be suprised if 10-15 years down the road, we will see more HG DC Silver Age comics when collections start to pass onto the adult children. They will research the collectivity of the comic books and start pumping them out on ebay.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Hobbes,

 

Why is that? Are you slabbing so you can flip or to preserve your keys?

[samurai007]

Could it be that the reason for fewer high grade DC's is that the people that bought them actually *read* them?

 

And the reason there are less slabbed DC's is that the people are *still* reading them?

This is true, IMHO... Marvel had their Marvel Zombies... avid fans who kept the books for a long time, and often in nice condition. DC, on the other hand, seemed marketted toward slightly younger readers, who often did not keep the books in great shape, or save them over the long run. Children read them, enjoyed them, and (inadvertently) trashed them. I bet Disney comics are even worse in this respect, with the high grade copies coming from older Disney fans, not kids who read the comics.

 

I started collecting comics when I was about 8 years old, and most of the books I bought as a young kid were eventually pretty creased and damaged. It wasn't until I was older (12 or so) that I seriously began taking great care of my comics. And this may be anecdotal, but I started out reading DC and Disney books almost exclusively... only when I'd gotten a bit older did I start liking Marvel comics as well, and by that age, I was also beginning to take better care of my comics...

[sterlingcomics]

As Lucy says,

 

"More CGC for me!" :-)

Diehard DC collector who also likes Marvel...

[lou_fine]

Could it be that the reason for fewer high grade DC's is that the people that bought them actually *read* them?

 

And the reason there are less slabbed DC's is that the people are *still* reading them?

 

My opinion is that the age of fandom and the age of collecting began with the Marvel Silver Age books. The Marvels were also seen as being hip and cool with good ol' Stan hypin them while the DC's were seen as being old and boring. As a result, Marvels were collected by the fans to a much greater degree who also saw that it was possible to complete their runs at the time. Imagine trying to complete a Superman or Batman run in the 60's when these titles started all the way back in the 30's.

 

No wonder there are a lot more HG Marvels as compared to HG DC's!

[rjpb]

I wonder what percentage of DC submissions are Batman books? I'd bet that Batman has always been more widely collected than any other DC title going back to the Golden Age. While Superman may have outsold Batman in the 1940s, Batman is probably the only GA run of any size that could be completed by just buying from the current catalogs of the 4 or 5 largest dealers (At least this seemed the case when I used to get their catalogs in the 90s).

[hobbes]

Hobbes,

 

Why is that? Are you slabbing so you can flip or to preserve your keys?

 

The only comics I have slabbed, or plan to slab, are for the Conan and Fury registry sets. I am a huge Conan fan. Not just comics, but also with the novels and especially REH's original stories. As far as Fury goes, Steranko did some awesome work on the Fury run. Lump in the fact that BWS, who is my favorite artist, also did some work on Fury and it seemed like a perfect set to collect.

 

Sadly, I am way behind on my submissions. I've got a box of books to submit, just haven't done it yet.

[valiantman]

I wonder what percentage of DC submissions are Batman books?

About 25% of all DC Submissions are Batman books

("Batman", "Detective Comics", or "Dark Knight" included anywhere in the title)

In contrast, Superman represents about 12.5% of D.C. submissions

("Superman" or "Action Comics" included anywhere in the title)

 

As you can see these numbers don't include stories from

"World's Finest", "Adventure Comics", "Justice League", etc.