Wall Street Journal on Comic Book "Investing"

[Tropean]

 

Appeared in yesterday's WSJ:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324590904578289922686593606.html?KEYWORDS=comic

 

Interesting that in addition to the usual mention of Action #1, the moderns got some love:

 

Alex Rae, a buyer at Midtown Comics in New York, notes that some recent publications have proved good investments, too. The first issue of the new Detective Comics series from DC Comics, featuring Batman, was sold in 2011 for $2.99 and is now fetching $10 to $20.

 

Other recent titles that have done well include early or notable issues from independent publishers such as Image Comics Inc. Mint copies of the first issue of Saga, a title introduced just last year at $2.99 by Image, are selling for $60 and up. Copies of Thief of Thieves No. 1, also introduced last year by Image at $2.99, have sold for $70 or more.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

[miraclemet]

Wonder if that has to do with some of the influx of new accounts, and some of the WTB threads, and some of the "new money" in the marketplace forum.

[Tuffy]

Good article. Thanks for the link

[Bfairb]

I will show my wife ASAP.

[zosocane]

Sending to my wife also. Thanks for posting.

[the420kid]

Sending to my wife also. Thanks for posting.

 

you guys are too funny

[THB]

Sending to my wife also. Thanks for posting.

 

you guys are too funny

 

I need a time travel machine to send that back to my parents.

[the420kid]

Sending to my wife also. Thanks for posting.

 

you guys are too funny

 

I need a time travel machine to send that back to my parents.

 

most of us tried this with our parents and baseball cards. fool me once...

[zosocane]

Can you imagine how much new liquidity there would be in the marketplace if wives gave unfettered and standing prior consent to their respective husband's comic book purchases? "Honey, I just bought my second copy of AF15 this week." "Oh, isn't that nice dear."

[comicwiz]

[Dr. Balls]

"It's impossible to say which new comic books will become hits, but as a general rule, first issues or issues that introduce characters often generate interest. Again, though, there are no infallible formulas."

 

These articles are annoying. They cover a handful of modern books that made lots of money and ignore hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds that don't sell for more than 1/3 of their original price. It's gambling, nothing more. And to fool yourself into thinking otherwise is how people get addicted to gambling.

[comicwiz]

"It's impossible to say which new comic books will become hits, but as a general rule, first issues or issues that introduce characters often generate interest. Again, though, there are no infallible formulas."

 

These articles are annoying. They cover a handful of modern books that made lots of money and ignore hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds that don't sell for more than 1/3 of their original price. It's gambling, nothing more. And to fool yourself into thinking otherwise is how people get addicted to gambling.

 

Comment from the article:

 

For the record, any article that starts with 1966 Batman-style sound effects are usually met with a eye-roll and a sigh by comic readers. It's low hanging fruit, suggests that the writer in fact knows very little comics, and puts the tone or intent of the piece under question.

[comicwiz]

Also from the article:

 

[mrmitchgro]

Also from the article:

 

 

You'll notice that the text talks about ASM 700's value of $15 then puts the "Now $15" over the copy of ASM 65. For $15,

[loadstone]

Hmm... ok I can't help but self-promote and say I saw this coming but...

 

...this article and others that may follow resemble sign #9 of my "Top 10 Signs that the bubble is about to burst or it's already too late and you're F'd:"

 

9. Wall street and News networks begin taking an interest and running stories on the industry

from

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=4&Number=6355584&Searchpage=2&Main=285756&Words=loadstone&topic=0&Search=true#Post6355584

 

-er that list should actually start at 10 and count down. So we're comfortably at stage 9. Still got 8 more steps to go before POP!

[TSwift25]

 

Just oozing Action 1's. 3 of 'em.

[tabcom]

For the record, any article that starts with 1966 Batman-style sound effects are usually met with a eye-roll and a sigh by comic readers. It's low hanging fruit, suggests that the writer in fact knows very little comics, and puts the tone or intent of the piece under question.

(thumbs u

[Sqeggs]

Also from the article:

 

 

"... it is easier to enter the market for new books, many of which are appreciating quickly in value."

[jaxcomics]

Oh, good, maybe this will trigger a new speculator boom.

That always turns out well.

[joecgcmaniac]

Oh, good, maybe this will trigger a new speculator boom.

That always turns out well.

 

These are the same type of articles that were being published in the early 90's