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Ultimate Spider-man Picking up some heat?

Started by Rickdogg,

24 posts in this topic

Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

Posted
Posted

USM - was hot, still hot, and always will be hot, hot hot!

 

Don't think so? Go and pick up a USM 1 red cover in unslabbed VF/NM or better for under $50. Get your fill then let us all know where this deal is....The prices have stayed there. Someone just bought my CGC 9.0 USM 1 DF for $100??? and I think this was a deal - there is an ungraded USM 1 DF that is going for $155+; will probably end up at $175...

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COI

COI

Posted
Posted

"USM - was hot, still hot, and always will be hot, hot hot! "

 

The "was" and "still" are definetly correct, and I'll admit my regret for letting my hoard go way too early, but the "always" in your statement troubles me. The bubble will eventually pop, as it has countless times in the new issue market of the past 20 years. Because of the print run, I don't think it'll end up in the bargain bins, at least not in the forseeable future. But I also don't see it holding these prices forever, and I definetly don't see it apreciating beyond the current levels, outside of a temporary spike here or there. I think it'll eventually settle itself in as a $30-$50 book(for the first issue). However if the title does eventually get cancelled, these books will not age well, and time will ultimately(no pun intended) put the value of the book in its place.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted

USM - was hot, still hot, and always will be hot, hot hot!
Wow, substitute the McFarlane Spider-Man series in for USM in this proclamation and you'd almost think we were ten years in the past, back to 1993! But what happened to Spider-Man not long after McFarlane left? They all went to the bargain bins.

 

USM is definitely different due to the lower print run, but if Bendis drops out of comics like McFarlane did, then who knows what the future holds. However, writers tend to be more like marathon runners, and artists tend to be more like short-distance sprinters. What I mean is that artists seem to burn out faster than writers. I give Bendis a better shot at staying longer on USM than McFarlane did on Spidey.

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dam60

dam60

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Posted

Here's a question for you all to ponder - I have every USM from 21-35 and really like the series. The earlier issues are crazy expensive which is why I also have the TPBs 1-4. Now that USM is "hot" do you think that I should try and sell the USM issues? Regardless, I will buy the trades as they become available . . .

 

I bought them all for cover less my 20% membership discount. Can I sell for cover? Honestly, they weren't bought in NM shape (I have a hard time finding new books in true NM shape - usually the spine is all white at the very least and there is usually a spine ding or two) and I would say that most are a VF+ ranging as high as a NM-.

 

Thoughts?

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Can USM survive the loss of its writer?

 

The demand on the Early USMs will stay up where they are. I also agree that the demand and popularity of the books under a new writer would depend on the writer. What if Bruce Jones writes an awesome X-Files/24 Hours type storyline for Spidey and Shield/Fury/Ultimates/Cap America...I'm thinking sales would go through the roof for it. I think Marvel would be stupid to let their flagship title fall into the hands of a subpar writer, if they can even be called that. mad.gif

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

Posted
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but the "always" in your statement troubles me. The bubble will eventually pop, as it has countless times in the new issue market of the past 20 years.

 

Adjustment...no more bubble popping. The market will make an ADJUSTMENT. but the books will still be in demand, as long as Marvel plays their cards right.

 

Because of the print run, I don't think it'll end up in the bargain bins, at least not in the forseeable future.

 

True, my local shop can hold enough copies on the shelves. Seems to be the top seller. Back issues from 1-10 are sold out even at the crazy high prices.

 

But I also don't see it holding these prices forever,

 

I agree there too. Never thought it would last forever. For the time being, until the Spidey Trilogy is released, it will hold those prices or even spike around movie time.

 

and I definetly don't see it apreciating beyond the current levels, outside of a temporary spike here or there.

 

Give it time. Action 1 wasn't worth over $1 million in a day or a few years even. It's taken a greater part of a century for it to appreciate in value. Check back in 2050 and we'll see how things are going for USM 1 which I believe has the same historical significance as Action 1 tongue.gif

 

I think it'll eventually settle itself in as a $30-$50 book(for the first issue).

 

Conservative in my opinion but fair assessment.

 

However if the title does eventually get cancelled, these books will not age well, and time will ultimately(no pun intended) put the value of the book in its place.

 

Only way this title gets cancelled is if they make Peter Parker come out and say that he was gay and that he's always had a fantasy involving Flash Thompson and Harry Osborne "sandwich" ...eeech... shocked.gif

 

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delekkerste

delekkerste

Posted
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Only way this title gets cancelled is if...

 

I can think of other less graphic ways than a gay menage-a-trois for this book to get cancelled. Bendis leaves and, like Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, the book dies with him. Or, more likely, it is rebooted with a new #1 when the readership falls 40% within 6 months after Bendis leaves. Or, it trudges along without Bendis to around issue #150 and then it gets cancelled, sending the vast majority of issues to the bargain bin next to the "Spider-Man" and "Web of Spider-Man" series. Or, maybe, with comics again in a tailspin a couple of years from now, Marvel "Ultimizes" its entire universe. All the existing "Ultimate" titles are cancelled and Bendis takes over the reboot of Amazing Spider-Man #1, once again featuring a teen-aged Peter Parker.

 

I think that the smaller print run and better quality will cause prices on USM to hold up better than McFarlane's "Spider-Man" series, but eventually Bendis will cool off and prices will come down - we've all seen it happen countless times in the past. And, while there is a smaller print run than in the 1990s, there are also fewer collectors these days, and there will likely be even fewer suckers, uh, I mean, "collectors", to sell your USMs to at inflated prices 5 years from now the way this hobby is going. tongue.gif

 

Gene

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COI

COI

Posted
Posted

"Give it time. Action 1 wasn't worth over $1 million in a day or a few years even. It's taken a greater part of a century for it to appreciate in value. Check back in 2050 and we'll see how things are going for USM 1 which I believe has the same historical significance as Action 1"

 

No comment. You're too smart for this not to be a joke.

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COI

COI

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" there are also fewer collectors these days, and there will likely be even fewer suckers, uh, I mean, "collectors", to sell your USMs to at inflated prices 5 years from now the way this hobby is going. "

 

Why do you say that? While I realize that readership is down among younger kids, from where I'm sitting the market is healthy. My ascociate that deals strictly in current books tells me that sales have been getting consistently better in the last 5 years. And whenever I set up at shows, my inventory(high grade silver/bronze) is mostly ignored, and I'm asked where my current back stock is. And again, while there aren't a lot of young kids coming into the hobby, I see a lot of 14-20 year olds spending quite a bit of cash on current issues, as readers.

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murph0

murph0

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Yeah current issues must be doing something..the only 2 comic shops in Iowa have switched from carrying silver/bronze back issues..to really only carrying late bronze and moderns. I of course am probably helping them out by buying issues of the new Avengers series for 25 cents over cover a few months after they come out tongue.gif

 

Brian

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delekkerste

delekkerste

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Why do you say that? While I realize that readership is down among younger kids, from where I'm sitting the market is healthy. My ascociate that deals strictly in current books tells me that sales have been getting consistently better in the last 5 years.

 

Sales in the industry have been up the past 3 years, I believe, but does anybody believe that this represents infusion of fresh blood into the hobby? I think this turnaround has been due to a lot of former collectors who quit in disgust in the 1990s (like myself) coming back into the hobby as well as the emergence of a speculative class of new issue buyer (many new issues from USM to Origin to Ultimates to the new Jim Lee Batman to Straczynski ASM to Bendis DD, etc. etc. have been speculatively bought like crazy).

 

I don't think that this quality level of comics is sustainable, especially considering the economics of retaining big name talent in a market whose customer base continues to shrink over time. I think the collectors who have returned to the fold may again lose interest when this happens and the burst CGC modern bubble will likely reduce speculative buying going forward as well. Not to mention with these new Marvel and Image titles coming out shortly, we are just being inundated with supply, which will likely result in a sharp retrenchment at some point. Throw on some big price hikes at Marvel and continued outright neglect of the youth market and I don't see the long-term fundamentals of new comic collecting to be "healthy" at all, which is a view shared by many people on this Board. I'm not trying to be a downer, but it doesn't do anybody any good to ignore the facts.

 

As far as USM in particular, I think this is yet another price bubble centered around a popular character and hot creator...we have all seen in the past where this proved to be unsustainable over time. Not to mention that Bendis is a writer, and writers can more easily fall out of vogue and people's memories than artists.

 

Gene

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