Why do people think New Mutants #98 had a "high print run"...? 0

[Bosco685]

I think the Newmutants98.com site takes the safe bet when summarizing that period in New Mutants publication.

 

http://newmutants98.com/

 

Rob’s Run

 

We think it’s halfway safe to assume that during Rob Liefeld’s fifteen issue run on New Mutants, that each issue saw an increased print run over the issue previous. Liefeld was undoubtedly one of the hottest artists in the industry and still on the rise, and the collector’s market was simultaneously hyped up on “McFarlane Mania,” with Todd’s popularity at a fever pitch in 1990 / 1991.

 

Everyone knew how those early (and even later) McFarlane Amazing Spider-Man issues shot up in value, so no one wanted to miss the boat on Liefeld’s New Mutants. We should think Marvel was rolling a ton of copies off the presses (in greater and greater print runs) for all those collectors and speculators jumping on New Mutants with each subsequent issue.

 

However, by the time New Mutants 98 came around, the introduction of, “Deadpool! Domino! Gideon!,” didn’t seem to have the same cache as that Cable introduction in issue 87. New characters were being introduced left-and-right in the title during Rob’s run, so there was sort of a “new character dilution” going on. New Mutants 98 had a cool cover for sure, it’s simply that it was just another issue during an overall hot run; issue 87 was still the one to get…at the time.

 

Where are they?!

 

So, what the hell happened to all these copies of New Mutants 98? Where are they hiding? Why is this back issue that used to be found in dollar boxes, easily commanding over $100 a pop? Some supply theories:

 

1) There are dealers with many, many copies of New Mutants 98 (possibly long boxes full of them), and they are slowly making them available, cautious as not to sell too many of them before the demand (and therefore, price) peaks out. This is causing an “artificial shortage,” creating the perception that there are significantly less copies out there, than there actually are. Dealers are holding back copies, but with that being said, there always seems to be a steady stream of them on eBay. It’s just they’re pricey. Currently.

 

2) It’s possible that there are indeed some copies in “forgotten inventories.” That is, dealers that were active in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, who dropped out of the back issue retailing world, because they were stuck with a ton of worthless back issues after the market crashed in the mid-‘90s. Having not kept up with the market and how Deadpool’s first appearance has become significant in the collecting world over time, they don’t even realize what they have sitting there.

 

3) Even more possible are that a ton of collector-speculator copies from the era are sitting under beds in their parents’ houses, and those collector-speculators have also long dropped out of the back issue world. During the insanity of the late ‘80s / early ‘90s comic book boom, just about everyone was buying multiple copies of something, especially the hot artist books. Including us. Yep, we probably had 5 to 10 copies of New Mutants 98 during that time, and then just dumped them on the market in the mid-‘90s when we sold the duplicates in our collection…but those copies had to go somewhere.

 

4) Unless our copies did at some point go in the trash. Not that probable though, even when New Mutants 98 could be found in dollar boxes. Though, because the issue was “worthless” for a stretch of years, it is possible a significant number of copies left their bags-and-boards, and got dinged up, shuffling around loose in dollar boxes. Diminishing the number of high grade copies out there. And by “diminish,” we mean there’s still a hundred thousand copies out there in pristine condition, at least.

 

5) Some copies are in the hands of collectors who are legitimately fans of Deadpool, first appearances, Marvel, or whatever, and have a copy of New Mutants 98 in their personal collection.

[Silverdream]

I think the Newmutants98.com site takes the safe bet when summarizing that period in New Mutants publication.

 

http://newmutants98.com/

 

Rob’s Run

 

We think it’s halfway safe to assume that during Rob Liefeld’s fifteen issue run on New Mutants, that each issue saw an increased print run over the issue previous. Liefeld was undoubtedly one of the hottest artists in the industry and still on the rise, and the collector’s market was simultaneously hyped up on “McFarlane Mania,” with Todd’s popularity at a fever pitch in 1990 / 1991.

 

Everyone knew how those early (and even later) McFarlane Amazing Spider-Man issues shot up in value, so no one wanted to miss the boat on Liefeld’s New Mutants. We should think Marvel was rolling a ton of copies off the presses (in greater and greater print runs) for all those collectors and speculators jumping on New Mutants with each subsequent issue.

 

However, by the time New Mutants 98 came around, the introduction of, “Deadpool! Domino! Gideon!,” didn’t seem to have the same cache as that Cable introduction in issue 87. New characters were being introduced left-and-right in the title during Rob’s run, so there was sort of a “new character dilution” going on. New Mutants 98 had a cool cover for sure, it’s simply that it was just another issue during an overall hot run; issue 87 was still the one to get…at the time.

 

Where are they?!

 

So, what the hell happened to all these copies of New Mutants 98? Where are they hiding? Why is this back issue that used to be found in dollar boxes, easily commanding over $100 a pop? Some supply theories:

 

1) There are dealers with many, many copies of New Mutants 98 (possibly long boxes full of them), and they are slowly making them available, cautious as not to sell too many of them before the demand (and therefore, price) peaks out. This is causing an “artificial shortage,” creating the perception that there are significantly less copies out there, than there actually are. Dealers are holding back copies, but with that being said, there always seems to be a steady stream of them on eBay. It’s just they’re pricey. Currently.

 

2) It’s possible that there are indeed some copies in “forgotten inventories.” That is, dealers that were active in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, who dropped out of the back issue retailing world, because they were stuck with a ton of worthless back issues after the market crashed in the mid-‘90s. Having not kept up with the market and how Deadpool’s first appearance has become significant in the collecting world over time, they don’t even realize what they have sitting there.

 

3) Even more possible are that a ton of collector-speculator copies from the era are sitting under beds in their parents’ houses, and those collector-speculators have also long dropped out of the back issue world. During the insanity of the late ‘80s / early ‘90s comic book boom, just about everyone was buying multiple copies of something, especially the hot artist books. Including us. Yep, we probably had 5 to 10 copies of New Mutants 98 during that time, and then just dumped them on the market in the mid-‘90s when we sold the duplicates in our collection…but those copies had to go somewhere.

 

4) Unless our copies did at some point go in the trash. Not that probable though, even when New Mutants 98 could be found in dollar boxes. Though, because the issue was “worthless” for a stretch of years, it is possible a significant number of copies left their bags-and-boards, and got dinged up, shuffling around loose in dollar boxes. Diminishing the number of high grade copies out there. And by “diminish,” we mean there’s still a hundred thousand copies out there in pristine condition, at least.

 

5) Some copies are in the hands of collectors who are legitimately fans of Deadpool, first appearances, Marvel, or whatever, and have a copy of New Mutants 98 in their personal collection.

 

I find it really interesting that they mention Liefeld was hot and getting more hot with each issue ( and sadly, he was ) and that people were feeding off the Mcfarlane Mania looking for the next hot artist, yet fail to mention that Mcfarlane actually inked the covers to New Mutants 85 - 89 and 93. They did this with purpose, to get his name on those covers to gain attention and sell even more copies.

 

As for the whole " Longbox full of them " yeah its possible. What I find more probable however, that there are hundreds of dealer longboxes scattered nationwide with runs of New Mutants. 25-50 copies deep for the run from 90-100, with the Extinction agenda crossover books ( and wolverine covers ) being more heavy, and obviously 100. It is possible there is a sealed case or two out there as well, though I would imagine by now the temptation to open it , assuming it was known to exist, would have been too much.

 

Given that many of these dealer longboxes have sat in storage for many years, as RMA has pointed out already, some of those Longboxes have been damaged, mainly by water. We will never know how many, but obviously there are less copies, probably thousands and thousands less than what was printed availible, simply due to severe damage.

 

There are plenty of copies out there, heck I have dozens of the whole run myself, just Like I have dozens of Uncanny X-men 266-285. I was a product of the time. So were many other dealers. I have no intention of selling them unless I run into hard times. Maybe others feel the same way.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2014 by Silverdream

[RockMyAmadeus]

Ok, I really don't have much room to talk, but ok Mr. 4 posts.

 

It seems RMA's type of posting style tends to rub off on people. Interesting.

 

Cool, so you worked for a comic store in the mid 90's? Considering as how CVM ceased publication in September of 1995 and were going downhill for about two years because of wizard, I imagine and can actually recall their later issues being less informative and correct. Seeing as how if you even saw a brand new copy of CVM, it was one of their last issues, I dont know how you can put yourself into this conversation. RMA and myself were talking early 90's. A different time, before the glut, before the crash.

 

Your going to assume I wasnt in the comic industry in the 90's because of...? Because you disagree with me? Because I disagree with RMA , in part? What?

 

Yeah man, you got me. I wasnt there filling pull orders for Extinction Agenda, helping reorder the reprints. I wasnt there pulling and repricing and then selling backstock of hot issues like Xmen 201 when it was found out cable was baby Nathan, and that Portacio inked it. I wasnt there in the store, behind the counter watching people getting in fist fights while standing in line for Superman 75 because CNN told them it would put their kids through college. Nope, I wasnt there. It was all a dream.

 

I can teach RMA just as much as he can teach me, if he would just have an open mind. An open mind to the fact that comics and their prices were more regional and what he, experienced, and you for that matter, isnt the end all of the 90's story.

 

I never said CVM was the standard in comic pricing. I never even said they were a highly respected Magazine. I am simply saying, If you are going to laugh at them, laugh at yourself and your friends if any of you are paying multiples of cover for todays hot books, that may flop and become worthless. Think Rachel Rising and Sixth gun, and im sure you can add multiple tiltes to this list in the future, and sure, maybe even take one off the list if it actually takes hold long term.

 

Please stop discussing me. There are plenty of other things to talk about.

 

Thanks.

[Silverdream]

Ok, I really don't have much room to talk, but ok Mr. 4 posts.

 

It seems RMA's type of posting style tends to rub off on people. Interesting.

 

Cool, so you worked for a comic store in the mid 90's? Considering as how CVM ceased publication in September of 1995 and were going downhill for about two years because of wizard, I imagine and can actually recall their later issues being less informative and correct. Seeing as how if you even saw a brand new copy of CVM, it was one of their last issues, I dont know how you can put yourself into this conversation. RMA and myself were talking early 90's. A different time, before the glut, before the crash.

 

Your going to assume I wasnt in the comic industry in the 90's because of...? Because you disagree with me? Because I disagree with RMA , in part? What?

 

Yeah man, you got me. I wasnt there filling pull orders for Extinction Agenda, helping reorder the reprints. I wasnt there pulling and repricing and then selling backstock of hot issues like Xmen 201 when it was found out cable was baby Nathan, and that Portacio inked it. I wasnt there in the store, behind the counter watching people getting in fist fights while standing in line for Superman 75 because CNN told them it would put their kids through college. Nope, I wasnt there. It was all a dream.

 

I can teach RMA just as much as he can teach me, if he would just have an open mind. An open mind to the fact that comics and their prices were more regional and what he, experienced, and you for that matter, isnt the end all of the 90's story.

 

I never said CVM was the standard in comic pricing. I never even said they were a highly respected Magazine. I am simply saying, If you are going to laugh at them, laugh at yourself and your friends if any of you are paying multiples of cover for todays hot books, that may flop and become worthless. Think Rachel Rising and Sixth gun, and im sure you can add multiple tiltes to this list in the future, and sure, maybe even take one off the list if it actually takes hold long term.

 

Please stop discussing me. There are plenty of other things to talk about.

 

Thanks.

 

Why not include the quote from the other guy who brought up your name? Why quote only me? Out of Context for the win.

 

I only used your name because it was relevant to the quote I was replying to.

 

You have contributed more to this thread than anyone else. Your name is going to come up, and not just by me.

 

You act as if that is all I was doing, talking about you. There are plenty of other things to discuss in the information I have provided. Focus on that, if you please. I wont bring you up from now on, unless someone else uses your name in a reply to mine ( which is what happened here )

 

 

Also, I will try not to sneeze too hard.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2014 by Silverdream

[Mr 9.8]

[B-Smooth]

[dupont2005]

NM98 had a HUGE print run. Sure, some of them probably got destroyed. I bet the same can be said for comics with small print runs too. Probably more so. I was a kid at the time, and I remember carefully reading my X-Men and Spiderman comics before bagging and boarding and storing them away. Then I read my Groo and Elfquest and Archie and Usagi Yojimbo and Ralph Snart Adventures and carelessly tossed them in a box because Wizard didn't tell me they were going to be worth a fortune. Unless 240k of the 250k were destroyed, it's a common enough comic. Just with higher demand than issue 97 and issue 99.

 

I even THREW AWAY my Archie and Disney digests as well as my SSOC and Heavy Metal mags because they were odd sized and I don't know, Wizard didn't tell me they were worth a fortune! Saved all those mint condition autographed Deathmate comics though, and got a rude awakening fifteen years later when listing them on eBay.

Edited October 2, 2014 by dupont2005

[RockMyAmadeus]

NM98 had a HUGE print run.

 

Huge...?

 

What is huge?

 

For comparison, Spiderman, FF, Superman, Batman...all had print runs in the 500-700s in the late 60's.

 

 

Sure, some of them probably got destroyed.

 

Probably about 30% of them, as that was the standard return rate for newsstand books at the time.

 

[dupont2005]

NM98 had a HUGE print run.

 

Huge...?

 

What is huge?

 

For comparison, Spiderman, FF, Superman, Batman...all had print runs in the 500-700s in the late 60's.

 

 

Sure, some of them probably got destroyed.

 

Probably about 30% of them, as that was the standard return rate for newsstand books at the time.

Yeah, Spiderman and FF also had huge print runs. What's a "normal" print run? What's the average Marvel comic (not first issue, not variant) sell today? 30k or around there, right? What's the absolute top selling comic selling? 100k or around there. So I'd say 30k is an average print run (even though it's higher than nearly every creator owned comic on the planet) and 100k is where you're at a high print run. Double it for a huge print run.

 

And lets not forget that this wasn't just a "newsstand book." It was mostly a Direct Market book in the most speculation heavy era of comics, by two of the most speculated on creators, featuring a first appearance. I mean, it MIGHT have appeared at a 7-11 somewhere, but I think plenty of boardies here remember picking this comic up off a shelf when it came out, and I'm betting every single one of them remembers it happening in a comic shop.

[RockMyAmadeus]

NM98 had a HUGE print run.

 

Huge...?

 

What is huge?

 

For comparison, Spiderman, FF, Superman, Batman...all had print runs in the 500-700s in the late 60's.

 

 

Sure, some of them probably got destroyed.

 

Probably about 30% of them, as that was the standard return rate for newsstand books at the time.

Yeah, Spiderman and FF also had huge print runs. What's a "normal" print run? What's the average Marvel comic (not first issue, not variant) sell today? 30k or around there, right? What's the absolute top selling comic selling? 100k or around there. So I'd say 30k is an average print run (even though it's higher than nearly every creator owned comic on the planet) and 100k is where you're at a high print run. Double it for a huge print run.

 

So, a below average print run for a 1991 book is "huge"? Sure, comparing print runs to today will make anything...even Avengers West Coast...look huge.

 

 

And lets not forget that this wasn't just a "newsstand book." It was mostly a Direct Market book in the most speculation heavy era of comics, by two of the most speculated on creators, featuring a first appearance. I mean, it MIGHT have appeared at a 7-11 somewhere, but I think plenty of boardies here remember picking this comic up off a shelf when it came out, and I'm betting every single one of them remembers it happening in a comic shop.

 

Yes, it was a Direct market book, too, which is why only 30% of the run was returned, rather than 60% or 70%, like in the days when there was no Direct market. It definitely DID appear at 7-11s.

 

1990 wasn't a "speculation heavy" era. Things were ramping up, but it was nothing like 1992-1993.

 

Who were the two most speculated on creators? Liefeld was certainly chugging along, but I don't know who the other one was. And first appearance? Nobody cared that it was a first appearance when it came out. In fact, the print run for #98 is about 15% less than #97. Everyone was X-Tinction Agenda crazy. Deadpool? Domino? Gideon? Not so much.

 

Generic first appearances weren't all glommed onto, like in the 70's and again now. Marvel responded by flooding the market with first appearances in the 70's, and we have books like Devil Dinosaur, and characters like Woodgood.

 

[dupont2005]

 

Yes, it was a Direct market book, too, which is why only 30% of the run was returned, rather than 60% or 70%, like in the days when there was no Direct market. It definitely DID appear at 7-11s.

Which is exactly why I don't find it's print run numbers to be all that relevant to the print run numbers of comics from the early 1960's.

 

In the 1960's comics weren't bought by investors who read in the Wall Street Journal that if you bought a crate worth and carefully bagged and boarded each one without ever reading it you'd quickly become a millionaire. They were thrown away, colored in, and actually read. They were lost, destroyed, ect.

 

New Mutants 98 is from another era. It's from the era of 9.2+ being the standard, and everything below a 9.6 not being worth the paper it's printed on. It's from a time when comics didn't go in the trash, even when they were worthless. They filled storage units and Chuck's warehouse and sat unsold in dollar bins at conventions and the LCS.

 

This is why I'd compare the print run to a modern comic from the same era where the same attitudes are prevalent among the same demographic before I'd compare it to the days where comics were mostly bought by Dennis The Menace types to read in their tree house. And by today's standard, 250k is one of those figures that might happen once a year if the publisher is lucky.

[dupont2005]

1990 wasn't a "speculation heavy" era.

I must have been ahead of the curve then. I look at mainstream super hero comics being pretty much 100% speculation driven by then. It may have taken a year for Wizard to come out, but that was a response to the market. How much was ASM #299 and 300 selling for then. How about New Mutants #87 even?

 

These were the days where back issues did not go into the bargain bin after the next issue came out, they went into the regular back issue bins, with a minimum of 50% mark up. Every single issue of X-Men, Wolverine, Spiderman, Batman, ect. They all instantly increased in value a month after publication, 100% of the time. That's IF there was no first appearances.

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

Yes, it was a Direct market book, too, which is why only 30% of the run was returned, rather than 60% or 70%, like in the days when there was no Direct market. It definitely DID appear at 7-11s.

Which is exactly why I don't find it's print run numbers to be all that relevant to the print run numbers of comics from the early 1960's.

 

Late 60's. Early 60's was a bit different. And sell-through in the late 60's was still very high. The avg. paid circ (that is, sold copies) was 636k for Supemran in 1968, or more than 3 times the sell-through on New Mutants #98.

 

So, it's a pretty apt comparison.

 

In the 1960's comics weren't bought by investors who read in the Wall Street Journal that if you bought a crate worth and carefully bagged and boarded each one without ever reading it you'd quickly become a millionaire. They were thrown away, colored in, and actually read. They were lost, destroyed, ect.

 

Oh, you get no dispute from me on the fact that everyone carefully preserved their books from this time period. But, WSJ material, it was not, and people weren't (yet) buying books by the crate, for the most part.

 

New Mutants 98 is from another era. It's from the era of 9.2+ being the standard, and everything below a 9.6 not being worth the paper it's printed on. It's from a time when comics didn't go in the trash, even when they were worthless. They filled storage units and Chuck's warehouse and sat unsold in dollar bins at conventions and the LCS.

 

This is why I'd compare the print run to a modern comic from the same era where the same attitudes are prevalent among the same demographic before I'd compare it to the days where comics were mostly bought by Dennis The Menace types to read in their tree house. And by today's standard, 250k is one of those figures that might happen once a year if the publisher is lucky.

 

1990 is about as far removed from 2014 as it is from 1968. And I don't mean just in terms of time.

 

But who were the two creators everyone was speculating on on New Mutants #98?

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

1990 wasn't a "speculation heavy" era.

I must have been ahead of the curve then. I look at mainstream super hero comics being pretty much 100% speculation driven by then. It may have taken a year for Wizard to come out, but that was a response to the market. How much was ASM #299 and 300 selling for then. How about New Mutants #87 even?

 

100% speculation driven...?

 

In 1992 and 1993, this was close to being true, but not 1990.

 

ASM #298 and #299 were selling for about $30 and $15, respectively, when NM #98 came out. They were also the hottest books in the entire North American continent at the time, because everyone was McFarlane crazy.

 

New Mutants #87 was about a $5 book when #98 came out. It wasn't until *after* #100 came out, and just before X-Force #1, that things went crazy.

 

These were the days where back issues did not go into the bargain bin after the next issue came out, they went into the regular back issue bins, with a minimum of 50% mark up. Every single issue of X-Men, Wolverine, Spiderman, Batman, ect. They all instantly increased in value a month after publication, 100% of the time. That's IF there was no first appearances.

 

:shrug:

 

I bought in the SF Bay Area at the time, and standard was, back issues went into the bins at 25c over cover price, to cover the cost of the bag and board (which wasn't anywhere near 25c, but whatevs.)

 

I didn't see the minimum 50% markup. Everyone pretty much priced according to the OPG Updates. There was *some* markup going on for particularly hot titles (like, say, X-Men #270), but overall, you could (and I did), buy recent back issues for just a quarter over cover.

 

No one was "first appearance crazy", especially with new, unproven characters. American Entertainment was selling X-Men #266 for $3 6 months after it came out, and Gambit was pretty popular right out of the gate.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Now, FIRST issues, on the other hand...1990 was a very good year for first issues, and speculation happened on just about every Marvel #1 that came out (Ghost Rider, New Warriors, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman, etc.)

 

But first issue speculation had gone on since the 70's.

 

 

[dupont2005]

I bought in the SF Bay Area at the time, and standard was, back issues went into the bins at 25c over cover price, to cover the cost of the bag and board (which wasn't anywhere near 25c, but whatevs.)

 

I didn't see the minimum 50% markup. Everyone pretty much priced according to the OPG Updates. There was *some* markup going on for particularly hot titles (like, say, X-Men #270), but overall, you could (and I did), buy recent back issues for just a quarter over cover.

Huh, out here it was a 50 cent markup, which on a dollar comic would be a 50% increase.

[dupont2005]

Now, FIRST issues, on the other hand...1990 was a very good year for first issues, and speculation happened on just about every Marvel #1 that came out (Ghost Rider, New Warriors, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman, etc.)

 

But first issue speculation had gone on since the 70's.

 

I don't think the comics collecting demographics and philosophy they held changed dramatically from 1990 to 1991. Even before Wizard came out, OSPG noted first appearances. So I don't find it all that unreasonable that the guy who created Cable a few months earlier had some speculation action with Deadpool right off the bat.

 

Now, Deadpool speculation didn't pay off right away (that I know of, I wasn't active in comics when Deadpoolmania struck). But the early 90's collectors that still have all ten copies of Spawn #1 somewhere in their moms attic probably still have their New Mutants 98's as well.

 

And although I consider New Mutants 98's print run to be huge, I know it wasn't the biggest print run of the era. There's probably more Spawn #1's floating around. And I know New Mutants wasn't an A-List title like Amazing Spiderman. But I also know that B list titles would have had an unprecedented (at least compared to the prior decade) following at the time, especially X-books, and especially Liefeld. This was just a few issues before X-Force, which may have been the peak of Liefeld's career. I'm pretty sure (but haven't looked it up) that New Mutants at the time was outperforming Excalibur and X-Factor. Probably Spectacular Spiderman and Web Of Spiderman too.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Now, FIRST issues, on the other hand...1990 was a very good year for first issues, and speculation happened on just about every Marvel #1 that came out (Ghost Rider, New Warriors, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman, etc.)

 

But first issue speculation had gone on since the 70's.

 

I don't think the comics collecting demographics and philosophy they held changed dramatically from 1990 to 1991.

 

You would be incorrect. 1991 was a watershed year, and things changed quite dramatically during that year, and after, setting the stage for 1993.

 

Even before Wizard came out, OSPG noted first appearances. So I don't find it all that unreasonable that the guy who created Cable a few months earlier had some speculation action with Deadpool right off the bat.

 

I didn't say everyone ignored first appearances. I said they weren't BRAND NEW first appearance crazy, like they are now. Cable wasn't an out-of-the-gate hit, either. It was really X-Tinction Agenda, coming about 8-9 months after #87, that brought him to everyone's attention. X-Tinction Agenda was a monstrous hit, the crossover of the year, and put the mutants firmly back on track, after wandering in the desert for 2-3 years.

 

As I and others have said, Liefeld was the real popularity early on, and #86 was worth more than #87, at least for about 8-9 months or so.

 

Now, Deadpool speculation didn't pay off right away (that I know of, I wasn't active in comics when Deadpoolmania struck). But the early 90's collectors that still have all ten copies of Spawn #1 somewhere in their moms attic probably still have their New Mutants 98's as well.

 

Trust me on this...Deadpool wasn't even a blip on anyone's radar when the book came out. Nobody cared. It was all about Liefeld, and after that, Cable. Deadpool would be ignored until his own mini, by Joe Mad, in 1993.

 

And although I consider New Mutants 98's print run to be huge, I know it wasn't the biggest print run of the era. There's probably more Spawn #1's floating around. And I know New Mutants wasn't an A-List title like Amazing Spiderman. But I also know that B list titles would have had an unprecedented (at least compared to the prior decade) following at the time, especially X-books, and especially Liefeld. This was just a few issues before X-Force, which may have been the peak of Liefeld's career. I'm pretty sure (but haven't looked it up) that New Mutants at the time was outperforming Excalibur and X-Factor. Probably Spectacular Spiderman and Web Of Spiderman too.

 

New Mutants, by the time #98 came out, was at par with X-Factor. It was beating the others, but only during and after X-Tinction Agenda. Before then, it was about par with them, too.

[rjrjr]

My take, speculation was definitely a factor with the later issues of New Mutants. And here is why I know this, I have 3 copies of NM 98 in my collection that I bought new. (I also have 3 of NM 99 and 5 of NM 100.) I didn't have any foresight into which issues were hot or not, but I did follow trends and buy multiples of the books others were also buying multiples of. New Mutants was getting buzz because of Rob Liefeld and if I recall, Marvel had already announced it was getting rebooted as X-Force and NM 98 was going to have the first appearance of the members of that team. (Yes, I was a lemming in my younger collecting years.) I'm also positive Deadpool was not the draw for NM 98 at the time, but it was the first appearance of the X-Force team that was the reason for that book's buzz.

 

If I recall, one of the earlier books that people speculated on from this period was Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 1 in 1989. This was the first new Batman comic to come out since Batman 1 and I, along with lots of other collectors, bought the multiple colored covers and some extras.

 

Now, if we are saying collectors were not buying cases of these books then, I cannot argue with that. But to say speculation was not occurring when NM 98 came out is not true. And in a few short years, speculation was so rampant, record sales were being set on comics (X-Force 1, Spider-Man 1, X-Men 1, Turok 1, etc.)

Edited October 3, 2014 by rjrjr

[Bosco685]

My take, speculation was definitely a factor with the later issues of New Mutants. And here is why I know this, I have 3 copies of NM 98 in my collection that I bought new. (I also have 3 of NM 99 and 5 of NM 100.) I didn't have any foresight into which issues were hot or not, but I did follow trends and buy multiples of the books others were also buying multiples of. New Mutants was getting buzz because of Rob Liefeld and if I recall, Marvel had already announced it was getting rebooted as X-Force and NM 98 was going to have the first appearance of the members of that team. (Yes, I was a lemming in my younger collecting years.) I'm also positive Deadpool was not the draw for NM 98 at the time, but it was the first appearance of the X-Force team that was the reason for that book's buzz.

 

If I recall, one of the earlier books that people speculated on from this period was Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 1 in 1989. This was the first new Batman comic to come out since Batman 1 and I, along with lots of other collectors, bought the multiple colored covers and some extras.

 

Now, if we are saying collectors were not buying cases of these books then, I cannot argue with that. But to say speculation was not occurring when NM 98 came out is not true. And in a few short years, speculation was so rampant, record sales were being set on comics (X-Force 1, Spider-Man 1, X-Men 1, Turok 1, etc.)

 

All those later New Mutant issues were getting gobbled up. But it was because of Cable and the 'excitement' over this hot Liefeld kid that so many missed out on in the early books. Which is why right afterwards, X-Force 1 hit like a huge bomb with that massive print run. Even books like New Mutants Annual 5 were going for $15-$20 because it was being noted as Liefeld's first NM work. And they were selling.

 

I have to agree on Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 1. We had speculators coming into stores looking for certain color covers because the rumor was one or two of the colors had a lower print run than the others. Which was nuts, as no matter where you went, you could find them all.