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Is the key to "collecting" moderns full runs?

Started by Reno McCoy,

15 posts in this topic

Reno McCoy

Reno McCoy

Posted
Posted

I know, most people say don't look to moderns for investments. I understand that. However, somewhere down the line, I'd like to at least get some of my money back or maybe have my son/daughter some day get some of my money back. smile.gif

 

Anyway, it seems to me that there really aren't "key" issues anymore. First issues, origins, etc., don't really help make a book sell (well, they do, but not like in the past). I've also noticed that single issues, unless garnering a HG, don't sell well on, say, ebay. Many books don't even get a bid no matter how small the asking price. However, I also noticed that full runs do sell on ebay. Sure, you get $2-$3 a book, but at least they're selling.

 

So, my question is, as far as selling moderns goes, is the key having a full run of a certain title? On titles that have been around awhile, how many consecutive issues is key? It seems that condition (unless it's slabbed or worse, in bad condition) doesn't matter much either, so is there any real point in determining a grade for your raw modern issues?

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Aces

Aces

Posted
Posted

Yes.

 

And it doesn't hurt with low and mid grade older books to have full (or near full) runs either! thumbsup2.gif

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s-man

s-man

Posted
Posted
What about limited series? With most coming to trade paperback after the series is finished, is there any real reason to collect them?

 

In my experience, limited series dont raise to much in value...there are exceptions of course (ie. Wolverine Limited). But for the most part, limiteds dont raise to much.

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ninanina

ninanina

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IMO a collector could have trouble completing modern runs of some of the stuff coming out now. Just not sure of the what the demand is going to be.

 

For an example, although I had a real easy time putting together a 1993 Catwoman run, I am having a bit of trouble finding the latter 1/2 of the modern Namor run. The first 30 or 35 issues are everywhere. The last 30 or 40 - tough to find....well on e-bay anyway. LCS have them bagged/boarded and expensive. Tough to spend a few dollars per issue when you can get them for a buck or less on e-bay.

 

Now, in order for the latter 1/2 of the run to ever be worth anything....people are going to want them. That's the catch. crazy.gif

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted
Anyway, it seems to me that there really aren't "key" issues anymore. First issues, origins, etc., don't really help make a book sell (well, they do, but not like in the past).

 

You're asking these questions and making these observations about 10 to 30 years too early. Who's to say there aren't modern keys? We just might not know what they are yet. There are Copper keys, so it's not a stretch to think there won't be keys from 1990-on.

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sburn_z

sburn_z

Posted
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Modern keys that I can think of off the top of my head:

 

ASM 344, 345, 360, 361

Origin 1

Next Men 21

Incredible Hulk 340

New Mutants 86, 87, 98

spider-man platinium, chrom.

Wolverine 145 nabisco var.

Ultimate spider-man 1-10

 

These are just suggestions, and MY opinion.

 

thumbsup2.gif

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joe_collector

joe_collector

Posted
Posted
You're asking these questions and making these observations about 10 to 30 years too early. Who's to say there aren't modern keys?

 

There just isn't the reader/fan-base or demographics to support the growth of key issues. That's why there hasn't been a significant "first appearance" since ASM 300, and why the most valuable Modern books are retreads of existing Silver Age characters.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
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There just isn't the reader/fan-base or demographics to support the growth of key issues. That's why there hasn't been a significant "first appearance" since ASM 300, and why the most valuable Modern books are retreads of existing Silver Age characters.

 

You might be right, but doesn't it give you pause that the demographic arguments you're making are exact repeats of the same demographic arguments made by hard-core collectors for at least forty years? The demographics have been sliding ever since TV made it into everyone's houses, yet still key comics from the 60s, 70s, and 80s have managed to become sought after. It's been easy to make the call that comics would shrink up and die ever since technological media began to rise, which was well before most of us were born, but none of us are any more adept today than people were 50 years ago at answering the REAL question--WHEN will the printed page go away? confused-smiley-013.gif

 

More than demographics, I have a hard time PICKING a key from the 1990s. There was a lotta junk from that time period...does anything stand out to anybody? I'm very Marvel-biased, so in my mind, it's like there's this big jump from Spidey 300 to Ultimate Spidey 1 with nothing significant in between. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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valiantman

valiantman

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More than demographics, I have a hard time PICKING a key from the 1990s. There was a lotta junk from that time period...does anything stand out to anybody? I'm very Marvel-biased, so in my mind, it's like there's this big jump from Spidey 300 to Ultimate Spidey 1 with nothing significant in between. 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

Maybe the keys won't be Marvel or DC...

Looks like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Albedo are doing fine for the 1980s.

Chances are there will be some independents in the 1990s that hold their own. 893scratchchin-thumb.gifgrin.gif

 

Going back to the original question...

There will always be common or unimportant books in any run of a title.

Paying "full price" for those is usually a mistake...

The "premium" paid for a complete, full run of books is almost exclusively limited

to runs of the cheapest books and it is usually based on the "convenience factor".

Why track them down from dozens of sources if they're under $3 each?

Convenience is a nice premium, but it's not an investment by itself.

 

"Convenience" may cause someone to pay up to $3 a book for complete runs...

but it won't translate into selling all those commons for $10 a book in the future,

regardless of what the price guide says.

 

Between the keys and minor keys is a lot of dreck... usually about 90% dreck...

and historically, dreck doesn't appreciate very quickly... in any hobby.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted
Maybe the keys won't be Marvel or DC...

Looks like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Albedo are doing fine for the 1980s.

Chances are there will be some independents in the 1990s that hold their own. 893scratchchin-thumb.gifgrin.gif

 

Most of those titles you listed are Copper books. There are definitely some key issues in the Copper age, but I have a harder time picking future Modern keys. Some of your Valiants, or Spawn, or maybe Witchblade. Wish some of the big dealers would start throwing boxes of Spawn in the recycling bins so it was harder to find...

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Illiterati-migration

Illiterati-migration

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I have to think that in the future these "Ultimate" books will be seen for what they truly are: Retread Garbage.

 

Once they have run through the ENTIRE corpus of Spidey mythology in the first 75 issues, maybe people will start to get a little bored/annoyed with the whole thing?

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted
I have to think that in the future these "Ultimate" books will be seen for what they truly are: Retread Garbage.

 

Once they have run through the ENTIRE corpus of Spidey mythology in the first 75 issues, maybe people will start to get a little bored/annoyed with the whole thing?

 

Wouldn't call it garbage because I love Bendis's writing, but you could easily be right about people eventually getting bored with it and looking back at it as nothing special. Once Bendis leaves the title, it'll be interesting to see how long it lasts.

 

Marvel must really be paying Bendis and Bagley some primo money for them to stay on the same title for so long! They must be somewhere in the top 20 for longevity for a creative team on a single title.

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Illiterati-migration

Illiterati-migration

Posted
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Yes, don't get me wrong, I love Bendis' stuff... I just hate the way the Ultimate (with the exception of The Ultimates) line is being presented. I have to wonder if they aren't just sitting there every month wondering:

 

"Okay. Who HAVEN'T we introduced here yet?"

 

(Have you read Jinx, Fire, Torso, Goldfish, or Fortune & Glory yet? Really great stuff!)

 

(You can pretty much pass on "Total Sell-Out", though.)

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Reno McCoy

Reno McCoy

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Perhaps in the future the keys won't be based on the character or event, but more on the creators. Now, I know that the writer/artist has some bearing on the value of a book, but perhaps down the line it'll be even more so.

 

In first edition book collecting, an author's first book is always more valuable than the second, which is more valuable than the third. Sure, some of this is due to the print run of early books, but still.

 

Perhaps somewhere down the line finding Ed Brubaker's first full story will be just as important as finding the first issue of the latest X book?

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