Marvel Spotlight 5 becoming common?

[murph0]

Is anyone else out there an avid MS 5 market watcher? The # of MS 5's in HG available has ballooned, 9.6's tripled this census and 9.4's just about doubled. I'm beginning to wonder if this book is just another common bronze book..although it was originally a throw-away title and it really didn't have the huge print run of other bronze books so it makes me wonder if it's HTF relatively speaking or not.

So whats everyone else think? (this was just an attempt to get people to talk about MS 5 again )

 

Brian

[COI]

Just about every marvel Bronze book is common with the exception of 9.6/9.8 copies, with a few exceptions. I've personally seen tons of this book come and go in HG, raw and slabbed. I would wager there's a good amount of 9.2/9.4 MTU 1's out there just waiting to be slabbed as well. In the next 5 years, the census will balloon up with 9.2/9.4 bronze books, and even late silvers as well.

[murph0]

I've also been a little bit underwhelmed by what CGC has called a 9.4 in the MS 5. Out of the 7 9.4's I've owned..only 2 I'd consider 9.4's and one of those two was iffy. Hopefully I can win this 9.6 and be done with the damned book.

I guess I don't see why this book is so common but then again Marvel Premiere 15 wasn't anything special and now they're a dime a dozen..so I'd guess pretty much even obscure stuff like MS is relatively common.

 

Brian

[COI]

Yep. If you're looking for rare gems, bronze Marvel is not the place to do it unless you want to pay 19K for a 9.8 label. Now that's rare!

[black_terror-migration]

Thing is, though... what's "common" defined by most of the board members around here? A couple hundred in 9.4 or better? Less than that?

 

Out of an initial print run of thousands of books, a few hundred in high grade is nothing. That's a supply that could dry up almost instantly under the right circumstances.

[vic6string]

I'm with you on that... Let's say either of those two hits the big screen and does well (and both have garnered Hollywood attention, with Ray Park as Iron Fist and Nick Cage dying to play Ghost Rider). Even if a couple of hundred 9.4's and above hit the market each, that won't come anywhere near the demand should a movie be a hit. When Spidey hit, people went nuts in the 500 to 1000 dollar range books, and those were keys, but not the intro of Spidey himself. These are the actual intro/origin books for these two, and still affordable. They are the type of books that can shoot to double what they are now if the movies hit it.

[hogations]

"The # of MS 5's in HG available has ballooned, 9.6's tripled this census and 9.4's just about doubled."

 

Don't forget, some of these might be re-submits

 

In my opinion, it's still a fairly tough book to locate in 9.4 or better - even though the census figures have double/tripled, we're still only talking 30 copies out there in 9.4 or better that have been graded. Compare this with later Marvel Bronze books, where the numbers are much higher (anything post 1975).

[COI]

"When Spidey hit, people went nuts in the 500 to 1000 dollar range books, and those were keys, but not the intro of Spidey himself. These are the actual intro/origin books for these two, and still affordable. They are the type of books that can shoot to double what they are now if the movies hit it. "

 

The problem with the movie theory is that people are now using the success of the Spiderman movie to explain ASM's success in the back issue market. But the fact is, ASM has been the most collected title for years. The movie hype/success got existing collectors even more anxious to get their hands on the ASM books they wanted/needed for their collection. Also, the timing of the movie hype just happened to hit at a time where CGC's frenzy was at its peak. Either way, the demand for ASM's was there before the movie, and would have been their if the movie didn't exist. People who are willing to pay high prices for a comic are already collectors/investors. If the Spidey movie got any new fans into the comics(and that's a big if) they would go towards newer stuff off the racks like the Ultimate line. A CGC 9.4 ASM #14 will continue commanding big bucks, even though GG will not be in the next movie.

 

"These are the actual intro/origin books for these two, and still affordable. They are the type of books that can shoot to double what they are now if the movies hit it."

 

So what about DD #1? Low grades are selling well, but 9.2's are getting basically what they were before, and many Miller issues have gone down since last year. But since a NM ranged MS #5 is less expensive than a DD #1, it's possible it may double in some crazy frenzy BEFORE the movie hits, but even if it's a success, the flux will not last. And I guarantee you will see A LOT more HG copies of these books surface if word of a movie got out.

 

 

 

[jordanabigail]

When you say common, you're talking about 23 copies in 9.4 - that's common?

For me, if this book ever has 100 copies graded 9.4...that might be a bit more common, but still, MS 5 is definitely one of the harder books to find in high grade...

Only 7 copies in 9.6 - wow!

[COI]

It's common in the context of HG comics going for multiples of guide, and single copies being bounced back and forth on the market.

[murph0]

I don't know, it must just be me..but I seem to see 9.4's popping up all over the place. Hell I've owned 7 of them, maybe they're just easy for me to find.

 

Brian

[cd4ever]

If you find yourself overwhelmed with your Spotlight 5's, by all means, float a couple to the heartland for me!

[jordanabigail]

Or send one out to Cali

[BronzeBruce13]

I think many of the same copies are trading hands a few times. I saw the one I had previously traded hands 4 times. A couple others I tracked at least 2. I bet some of the copies you owned did as well. It may only be 8-10 copies that have been circulating about so to speak giving the illusion of higher supply. When/if 9.6's start showing up regularly... I'll PM you to get concerned. I also think the majority of the 9.4's are safely tucked away in collections.

 

Same thing with MTU 1 in 9.4 to a lesser extent... a few more 9.4's have arrived, but no 9.6's. Yes there have been 3 of MS 5 in 9.6..but that ain't much. Hell, even Ghost Rider #1 in 9.6 isn't commonplace and by then the GR fans had enough time to grab and store a couple extras real nice.

 

You're too close to the book... they seem common to you now that you've owned nearly all the 9.4 copies that have been circulating the past year.

[murph0]

Maybe, I guess... I would like to see some circulations #'s on this book though. I think it would be interesting to see how many copies of a "throw-away" book Marvel printed in the early 70's.

 

Brian

[vic6string]

I'm not saying that the Spidey movie is the only thing that hyped up sales, I'm just saying it definately helped. People who may have been out of comics for a while jumped back in. As for the Daredevil movie hype not having an effect yet on sales of HG back issues, it is still pre-movie hype. Daredevil isn't Spiderman, and people haven't been waiting 20 years for a good DD movie (at least, not as many people). But if the movie does make it, people who loved DD before may jump back into the comics, and new people who never read the stuff will get turned on to it. I'm talking long term, not just the initial hype stage. Daredevil #1 is already booking at over $2500 in 9.4. Once a book enters that market, it is not as likely to double in price quickly. Marvel Premiere books at $75 and Spotlight at $120. That leaves them both a considerable amount of room to grow. If they go from second tier (and in fact cancelled) heroes to top ten type of characters, those prices can easily double, leading collectors to pay new attention to the books (as much as I hate to say it "Wizard Hot List" status). It is much easier for a book to jump from 100 bucks to 200 bucks than from 2500 to 5 G.

[FlComicFan]

likely demand may go up but I think there is still a big supply of these waiting to be submitted. I agree with the grading on Marvel Spotlight 5 most are overgraded The black cover will show every little thing but so what they need to be graded to the same standard as any other book and the centering on them usually sucks

[BronzeBruce13]

Standard catalog does not show... I noticed many titles do not have that info... what's up with that? I thought that was a major selling point of the book?

[murph0]

Maybe they didn't keep #'s for this type of book?

 

Brian

[BronzeBruce13]

I find that hard to believe that no one had the print run info.