Batman 227 - Why so expensive/special ?

[mrlatko]

In the long run I really don't think this is a book that is going to hold it's value well. By long run I mean like 20 years. I don't think it's cover is going to be enough of a wow factor for those that didn't grow up in the Bonze age, as is the case with a large portion of the comic collecting community with money. Although non major keys may not matter much for all comics books on 20 or 30 years...

 

i dunno. classic covers are always in demand. that's why they have the designation "classic cover" on the CGC label.

 

Sorry but in 20 years I just don't see the comic market being that great. People left spending the big money will probably want Tec 31 and not the overpriced swipe.

 

then why isn't that happening now? the book is almost forty years old. not every joe collector can be a BSD. there's currently a CGC 9.6 BIN $2400 on eBay with no bites.

 

Looks like a BIN of $3200.

[Walls]

Here it is the iphone of 2032.

 

[supapimp]

Looks like a BIN of $3200.

 

 

made you look. (thumbs u

[mrlatko]

Looks like a BIN of $3200.

 

 

made you look. (thumbs u

 

I don't think it would last long at $2400 BIN.

[supapimp]

i know.

 

multitasking.

[goldust40]

In the long run I really don't think this is a book that is going to hold it's value well. By long run I mean like 20 years. I don't think it's cover is going to be enough of a wow factor for those that didn't grow up in the Bonze age, as is the case with a large portion of the comic collecting community with money. Although non major keys may not matter much for all comics books on 20 or 30 years...

 

Well, you would think that would be the case, but seeing how exponentially more expensive Tec 31 is compared to earlier issues (other than Tec 27 obviously), you would expect that to happen to Tec '31 as well. Other than the cover, there really isn't anything special about this book. I don't think most collectors even know or care that this book is the first appearance of the "Batarang and Batplane". Next Tec 27, they'll pay through the nose for a book primarily because of it's cover.

 

I think people who grew up in the Bronze era already knows this book is nothing special. It's other less informed groups that's driving up the price.

 

I agree that the cover is the driving factor for cost increases in this book, I'd agree with the point that this is the case with alot of books, but I disgree that folks don't know there's nothing special about the book. I mean the CGC label spells it out for us. I'm a big horror collector and love my Wrightson, Adams, Cardy, Kaluta covers but OMG the content inside of those books IMHO is atrocious and there is, except rare cases (a letter by T McFarlane or Dave Cochrum or something else retarded like that, maybe first bondage cover or death cover), absolutely nothing key about the book. Some of those horror books, especially the Wrightsons and Adams still kill in prices relative to their content...

 

Some of the stories in those early Bronze HOM, HOS etc. are actually pretty decent.

[Mephisto]

In the long run I really don't think this is a book that is going to hold it's value well. By long run I mean like 20 years. I don't think it's cover is going to be enough of a wow factor for those that didn't grow up in the Bonze age, as is the case with a large portion of the comic collecting community with money. Although non major keys may not matter much for all comics books on 20 or 30 years...

 

i dunno. classic covers are always in demand. that's why they have the designation "classic cover" on the CGC label.

 

Sorry but in 20 years I just don't see the comic market being that great. People left spending the big money will probably want Tec 31 and not the overpriced swipe.

 

then why isn't that happening now? the book is almost forty years old. not every joe collector can be a BSD. there's currently a CGC 9.6 BIN $2400 on eBay with no bites.

 

It's because people who grew up on comics are still the ones working and with the money. I'm 28 and haven't spent serious cash on a book on years. This past yer I sold most of my collection. I was the only one of my friends that even still collected about 7 years ago. Even my friends that I went to college with that liked comic books wouldn't pay more than $3 for one. I just don't see a huge demand for non keys inthe future. I hce a hard time seeing many people paying a lot for a book like Fantastic Four 70 just because it's in nice shape and old. I think the demand for this stuff is going to sink pretty hard the more time that passes. Shot look at how much the BA CGC stuff has fallen over the past few years because the supply turned out to brin forth much more high grade stuff than was beliefs and what demand now calls for price wise.

[valiantman]

The problem with all the doom-and-gloom predictors is that the bottom could FALL OUT COMPLETELY and there still wouldn't be enough copies of some books.

 

Yes, the industry used to sell MILLIONS of copies of new comics.

 

Yes, the industry now rarely sells 100,000 copies of new comics (90% drop).

 

But... even if 99% of the million collectors from the 1990s eventually disappear forever, that leaves 10,000 collectors.

 

Even if 99.9% of the million collectors from the 1990s eventually disappear forever, that leaves 1,000 collectors.

 

How many universal slabbed copies of Batman 227 are there at 9.0 or higher? Currently, 76.

 

You can't flood a market with 76 of anything. You can't satisfy even weak demand with 76 of anything.

 

Either more 9.0+ copies get slabbed... and I mean hundreds more... or the demand (and price) are staying strong for a long, long time.

[originalisbest]

I also don't even know if CGC is going to be the business it is in 20 or 30 years, especially with more and more books meeting max potential with alteration now. I also don't know that signature series and sketches will maintain the for the long haul and that's one of the outlets that can allow for ongoing submissions. I just don't see future generations giving a mess abou the comics themselves. Less and less books being published these days, new generations will get their fix from these characters in movies, video games, and TV shows.

Obviously CGC is a powerhouse now when it comes to the comic market, but whenever I have seen the big names that have left the company the past few years it really makes me wonder if others see submissions and income siginificantly dropping in the future.

 

If there's one thing I do especially enjoy, it's the constant prognostications on any collectibles-themed board (comics, coins, stamps, baseball cards, buttons, doorknobs) bemoaning the future darkly and how things are at their zenith, can only go down from here! (sigh)

[conditionfreak]

Due to slabbing, I only buy covers. Not books.

 

Well mostly only covers.

 

I will take an awesome cover over an awesome story, every time. I ain't the only one that feels like that.

 

The stories in Suspense 3 or Tec 31 are nothing to brag about. Yet, they are awesome covers and always in demand. The stories in The Killing Joke or Watchmen are awesome, but demand is nile.

 

hmmm....

[Spyderfan]

Cover art is something to behold for sure!

[Wayne Enterprises]

Because it's Batman. End of thread.

[originalisbest]

I actually really enjoyed the story in tec 31

[Walls]

In the long run I really don't think this is a book that is going to hold it's value well. By long run I mean like 20 years. I don't think it's cover is going to be enough of a wow factor for those that didn't grow up in the Bonze age, as is the case with a large portion of the comic collecting community with money. Although non major keys may not matter much for all comics books on 20 or 30 years...

 

Well, you would think that would be the case, but seeing how exponentially more expensive Tec 31 is compared to earlier issues (other than Tec 27 obviously), you would expect that to happen to Tec '31 as well. Other than the cover, there really isn't anything special about this book. I don't think most collectors even know or care that this book is the first appearance of the "Batarang and Batplane". Next Tec 27, they'll pay through the nose for a book primarily because of it's cover.

 

I think people who grew up in the Bronze era already knows this book is nothing special. It's other less informed groups that's driving up the price.

 

I agree that the cover is the driving factor for cost increases in this book, I'd agree with the point that this is the case with alot of books, but I disgree that folks don't know there's nothing special about the book. I mean the CGC label spells it out for us. I'm a big horror collector and love my Wrightson, Adams, Cardy, Kaluta covers but OMG the content inside of those books IMHO is atrocious and there is, except rare cases (a letter by T McFarlane or Dave Cochrum or something else retarded like that, maybe first bondage cover or death cover), absolutely nothing key about the book. Some of those horror books, especially the Wrightsons and Adams still kill in prices relative to their content...

 

Some of the stories in those early Bronze HOM, HOS etc. are actually pretty decent.

 

And some of the Bronze Batman stories are decent as well. I think in some of those HoM books though you may have got one story (probably less than 10 pages out of the 48 - 52 big page issues) that had decent to good story/art. The rest, IMHO, was not all that great or special.

 

I'm looking square at you HoM195. Back in 2009 that book in 9.8 went for $1025 and the two 9.6 transactions went for $410 and $850. I'm thinking mostly on the strength of the cover and maybe the Bernie Wrightson moss men story in the book. Of course, a correction has occurred and brought the prices down, I scored my 9.6 for ~200. I mean I guess you could say the moss men in the Bernie Wrightson story were progenitors or working models for Swamp Thing. But the stores are not tied and that's not listed in the label. Nice cover, but otherwise, absolutely nothing key about this book.

 

Just my

 

 

[miraclemet]

In the long run I really don't think this is a book that is going to hold it's value well. By long run I mean like 20 years. I don't think it's cover is going to be enough of a wow factor for those that didn't grow up in the Bonze age, as is the case with a large portion of the comic collecting community with money. Although non major keys may not matter much for all comics books on 20 or 30 years...

 

Well, you would think that would be the case, but seeing how exponentially more expensive Tec 31 is compared to earlier issues (other than Tec 27 obviously), you would expect that to happen to Tec '31 as well. Other than the cover, there really isn't anything special about this book. I don't think most collectors even know or care that this book is the first appearance of the "Batarang and Batplane". Next Tec 27, they'll pay through the nose for a book primarily because of it's cover.

 

I think people who grew up in the Bronze era already knows this book is nothing special. It's other less informed groups that's driving up the price.

 

I agree that the cover is the driving factor for cost increases in this book, I'd agree with the point that this is the case with alot of books, but I disgree that folks don't know there's nothing special about the book. I mean the CGC label spells it out for us. I'm a big horror collector and love my Wrightson, Adams, Cardy, Kaluta covers but OMG the content inside of those books IMHO is atrocious and there is, except rare cases (a letter by T McFarlane or Dave Cochrum or something else retarded like that, maybe first bondage cover or death cover), absolutely nothing key about the book. Some of those horror books, especially the Wrightsons and Adams still kill in prices relative to their content...

 

Some of the stories in those early Bronze HOM, HOS etc. are actually pretty decent.

 

And some of the Bronze Batman stories are decent as well. I think in some of those HoM books though you may have got one story (probably less than 10 pages out of the 48 - 52 big page issues) that had decent to good story/art. The rest, IMHO, was not all that great or special.

 

I'm looking square at you HoM195. Back in 2009 that book in 9.8 went for $1025 and the two 9.6 transactions went for $410 and $850. I'm thinking mostly on the strength of the cover and maybe the Bernie Wrightson moss men story in the book. Of course, a correction has occurred and brought the prices down, I scored my 9.6 for ~200. I mean I guess you could say the moss men in the Bernie Wrightson story were progenitors or working models for Swamp Thing. But the stores are not tied and that's not listed in the label. Nice cover, but otherwise, absolutely nothing key about this book.

 

Just my

 

 

It's a funny parallel between the Wrightson HOM 195 with the Swamp Thing "prototype".. .but how is it a prototype since HOM 195 came out in Oct of 71 while HOS 92 came out in the summer of 71? Now the HOM story could have been sitting in a drawer waiting for publication, and then when Swamp Thing hit with Len & Bernie they went back and published this precursor/prototype to ride the popularity, but it also reminds me of the Barry W-S Conan prototype in Chamber of Darkness #4 which did get the "conan-like character" notation on the cgc label.

[Walls]

In the long run I really don't think this is a book that is going to hold it's value well. By long run I mean like 20 years. I don't think it's cover is going to be enough of a wow factor for those that didn't grow up in the Bonze age, as is the case with a large portion of the comic collecting community with money. Although non major keys may not matter much for all comics books on 20 or 30 years...

 

Well, you would think that would be the case, but seeing how exponentially more expensive Tec 31 is compared to earlier issues (other than Tec 27 obviously), you would expect that to happen to Tec '31 as well. Other than the cover, there really isn't anything special about this book. I don't think most collectors even know or care that this book is the first appearance of the "Batarang and Batplane". Next Tec 27, they'll pay through the nose for a book primarily because of it's cover.

 

I think people who grew up in the Bronze era already knows this book is nothing special. It's other less informed groups that's driving up the price.

 

I agree that the cover is the driving factor for cost increases in this book, I'd agree with the point that this is the case with alot of books, but I disgree that folks don't know there's nothing special about the book. I mean the CGC label spells it out for us. I'm a big horror collector and love my Wrightson, Adams, Cardy, Kaluta covers but OMG the content inside of those books IMHO is atrocious and there is, except rare cases (a letter by T McFarlane or Dave Cochrum or something else retarded like that, maybe first bondage cover or death cover), absolutely nothing key about the book. Some of those horror books, especially the Wrightsons and Adams still kill in prices relative to their content...

 

Some of the stories in those early Bronze HOM, HOS etc. are actually pretty decent.

 

And some of the Bronze Batman stories are decent as well. I think in some of those HoM books though you may have got one story (probably less than 10 pages out of the 48 - 52 big page issues) that had decent to good story/art. The rest, IMHO, was not all that great or special.

 

I'm looking square at you HoM195. Back in 2009 that book in 9.8 went for $1025 and the two 9.6 transactions went for $410 and $850. I'm thinking mostly on the strength of the cover and maybe the Bernie Wrightson moss men story in the book. Of course, a correction has occurred and brought the prices down, I scored my 9.6 for ~200. I mean I guess you could say the moss men in the Bernie Wrightson story were progenitors or working models for Swamp Thing. But the stores are not tied and that's not listed in the label. Nice cover, but otherwise, absolutely nothing key about this book.

 

Just my

 

 

It's a funny parallel between the Wrightson HOM 195 with the Swamp Thing "prototype".. .but how is it a prototype since HOM 195 came out in Oct of 71 while HOS 92 came out in the summer of 71? Now the HOM story could have been sitting in a drawer waiting for publication, and then when Swamp Thing hit with Len & Bernie they went back and published this precursor/prototype to ride the popularity, but it also reminds me of the Barry W-S Conan prototype in Chamber of Darkness #4 which did get the "conan-like character" notation on the cgc label.

 

 

You're absolutely right! I was just looking for any reason why HoM195 would be so expensive other than the cover and I didn't even check the dates on the label. HoS92 is on my list but not yet in my possession. I guess you could say they are distantly related. I dunno.

 

But there you have it.

 

[VintageComics]

You're absolutely right! I was just looking for any reason why HoM195 would be so expensive other than the cover and I didn't even check the dates on the label. HoS92 is on my list but not yet in my possession. I guess you could say they are distantly related. I dunno.

 

But there you have it.

 

There was a huge surge in the DC Bronze horror market in the mid to late 2000's that took a bunch of previous $0.25 bin books and made them into big $100-$200-$1000 books. A few boardies (Sterling, I'm looking at you) were a large part of that craze. Harder to find "classic" covers starting selling in the $1000's in top grades.

 

While the market has cooled off from that craze, it is a pretty interesting genre with tons of terrific art.

 

That was the main reason for prices surging and then pulling back. They still haven't pulled back to their $0.25 bin prices and doubt they will.

 

They still fetch decent money, relatively speaking.

[Zonker]

Are there other reasons (besides the awesome cover) that make this book valuable?

 

First Bronze Age appearance of the weeping Batman?

 

 

 

[sterlingcomics]

Where have you been? Most of the market has seen a correction in the last three years or so. BTW, ton of "non key" issues that continue to have some nice prices associated with them relatively speaking. The plethora of overgraded CGC 9.8s are helping to drive prices downward in addition to market forces. (9.8s used to be special, now not so much). My .02.

[sterlingcomics]

A few boardies (Sterling, I'm looking at you) were a large part of that craze. Harder to find "classic" covers starting selling in the $1000's in top grades.

 

Guilty.