THE END OF COMICS

[Buzzetta]

I once thought that print was going nowhere. Now I only pick up a single Marvel Comic every month and I read the rest digitally... just six months behind everyone else.

 

If it is something I absolutely 'need' to read. There are other ways to read it immediately thanks to the internetz.

 

If Valiant offered a digital subscription, I would cease all paper copy purchases except for Amazing Spider-man.

[RockMyAmadeus]

[mintcollector]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

[ComicConnoisseur]

I once thought that print was going nowhere. Now I only pick up a single Marvel Comic every month and I read the rest digitally... just six months behind everyone else.

 

If it is something I absolutely 'need' to read. There are other ways to read it immediately thanks to the internetz.

 

If Valiant offered a digital subscription, I would cease all paper copy purchases except for Amazing Spider-man.

Yep. that`s because people can now hold digital comics in their hands.

Tablets were the game changer for digital comic books.

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

 

When we go speculate in these pop culture collectibles we look for the outliners like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Transformers. The safe blue chips of their respective hobbies. Nobody is saying to go load up on non-blue chips like Starriors no. 1.

 

[Fanaddict-migration]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

 

But how will the death of printed comics affect the value of my Pog collection?

[That Ron Dude]

The pulps couldn't get around news stand distribution. When I was a kid there was Amazing, Fantastic, Analog, F&SF and not much else at all. Their combined circulations were minimal. They were digest size. They were B&W. Today, one or two new ones seem to jump out, every decade or so, rearing their ugly heads. In Canada, at least one is supported by the government (On Spec, though I really haven't heard about it in years). Jones and Kaluta drew for the pulps at that time. I understand they paid $10 per illo.

 

There is an itsy bitsy pulp con in May each year in Toronto in the basement of a library. I estimate 20 dealers though most don't have pulps. Most have old novels.

 

Again, as a kid, there were old men at conventions, though I am sure all were younger than I am now, who brought around scads of pulps and wanted big money for them. I would look at them but never too closely. Today, I suspect that the supply of pulps far outweighs the demand. Nobody much cares. Yes, people collect the select covers and key titles. I have seen pulps for as low as $2, thought about it, and left them behind.

 

I am sure that the key comic books today will, for the most part, be collected in the future. But I think most comics will fade away as collectables. Many, perhaps most of my friends have sold off their collections. They may know something I don't or they may need the money or the space they take up.

 

The decline of comics will not be identical but we can reflect a lot on what happened to the pulps.

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

But how will the death of printed comics affect the value of my Pog collection?

 

Buy Alf. He's back. In Pog form.

[Fanaddict-migration]

 

But how will the death of printed comics affect the value of my Pog collection?

 

Buy Alf. He's back. In Pog form.

 

Is the rare chase pog the one with him and the seal?

[Davenport]

I once thought that print was going nowhere. Now I only pick up a single Marvel Comic every month and I read the rest digitally... just six months behind everyone else.

 

If it is something I absolutely 'need' to read. There are other ways to read it immediately thanks to the internetz.

 

If Valiant offered a digital subscription, I would cease all paper copy purchases except for Amazing Spider-man.

Yep. that`s because people can now hold digital comics in their hands.

Tablets were the game changer for digital comic books.

With younger viewers watching more and more tv on mobile devices its a short leap to offer some "extra" comic book content for the same device.

 

Newsarama July 9, 2014

A new run of Arrow digital-first comics will begin in September, followed closely by The Flash digital comics, as well. The debuts are set for Monday September 1 and Monday September 8, respectively, and the comics will tie-in very closely to the TV series they’re connected to.

 

In fact, the stories, written by writers from the shows...

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

But how will the death of printed comics affect the value of my Pog collection?

 

Buy Alf. He's back. In Pog form.

 

Is the rare chase pog the one with him and the seal?

 

Yes. Yes it is.

[RockMyAmadeus]

PS. Totally unrelated.

 

Superhero "costumes" have sure gotten a lot better than the lycra/spandex monstrosities of the 80's and 90's.

 

I'm thankful for that.

 

Nichole Cage in the clearly Kwik-E-Mart obtained Superman costume was just too much.

[Bookery]

The pulps couldn't get around news stand distribution. By the time I was a kid there was Amazing, Fantastic, Analog, F&SF and not much else at all. Their combined circulations were minimal. They were digest size. They were B&W. Today, one or two new ones seem to jump out, here and there, rearing their ugly heads. In Canada, at least one is supported by the governement (On Spec, it is called though I really haven't heard about it in years). Jones and Kaluta drew for the pulps at that time. I understand they paid $10 per illo.

 

Just for the record, none of those are pulps. The pulps pretty much died out in the 1950s... the digest-era is what replaced them.

 

Today, I suspect that the supply of pulps far outweighs the demand. Nobody much cares. Yes, people collect the select covers and key titles but I have seen pulps for as low as $2, thought about it, and left them behind.

 

To the bolded part, actually no. For the digests you mentioned, yes... there are gazillions of them out there... I can't even get $1 for most of them. But true pulps generally have fewer available copies than there are collectors. True-- the collecting base is probably fewer than a couple of thousand individuals... but many sought after pulps exist only as a few dozen copies. Key pulps, as with comics, have been escalating in the past few years, and that's without any movie hype to drive them. But it has more to do with the scarcity of the pulps, than with any increase in customers for them.

 

I am sure that the key books today will, for the most part, be collected in the future. But I think most comics will fade away as collectables. Many, perhaps most of my friends have sold off their collections. They may know something I don't or they may need the money or the space they take up.

 

The decline of comics will not be identical but we can reflect a lot on what happened to the pulps.

 

All things come to an end... it never ceases to amaze me how people try and refute this. Poetry was top entertainment for 5,000 years. My parents read poetry to us as kids in the 1960s, and we'd sit around and discuss it. Twenty years later it was already a dead medium. Nobody buys books of poetry anymore, nor publishes them.

 

Now the short story is also dead... a format that ran several hundred years. You can't give away anthologies now. In fact, authors are encouraged not to write single novels today, but to create concepts for long-running series.

 

The late part of the 20th century changed eveything. Computers evolved the world at a new unimagined pace, and the idea of generational connections is all but gone... things move so fast now that the favorites of one generation rarely translate to the generation after that... or certainly not much beyond it.

 

Beethoven was a household name for 150 years. Today, I talk to young people all the time who have never heard of The Beatles.

 

Change. It happens.

 

[Bookery]

PS. Totally unrelated.

 

Superhero "costumes" have sure gotten a lot better than the lycra/spandex monstrosities of the 80's and 90's.

 

I'm thankful for that.

 

Nichole Cage in the clearly Kwik-E-Mart obtained Superman costume was just too much.

 

Like I said... change happens.

 

Sometimes it's for the better!

 

[mintcollector]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

 

When we go speculate in these pop culture collectibles we look for the outliners like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Transformers. The safe blue chips of their respective hobbies. Nobody is saying to go load up on non-blue chips like Starriors no. 1.

 

 

First, the term is outlier, not 'outliner.'

 

Second, the whole point is that Star Wars, Transformers, and Harry Potter were NOT considered 'blue chips' upon their release; hence the reason the original items are sought after today.

 

Not too many people had enough insight to speculate on the original 12 and 21 back Star Wars figures. Same can be said for Generation One Transformers and the original first printing of the first Harry Potter book.

 

These were the very definition of outliers, not 'blue chips' as you suggest. I would also argue that much like Bookery already pointed out things change. Does anyone really think in 500 years from now our future ancestors are going to be coveting the first appearance of Superman or Batman?

 

Ths is another reason why you really can't compare the longetivity of the greater antiques market to that of collectibles; especialy pop culture based collectibles. I can name various amounts of collectibles that were once considered 'blue chips' selling for massive prices only to come crashing down upon the unfortunate cries of enthusiasts and speculators everywhere.

[ComicConnoisseur]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

 

When we go speculate in these pop culture collectibles we look for the outliners like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Transformers. The safe blue chips of their respective hobbies. Nobody is saying to go load up on non-blue chips like Starriors no. 1.

 

 

First, the term is outlier, not 'outliner.'

 

Second, the whole point is that Star Wars, Transformers, and Harry Potter were NOT considered 'blue chips' upon their release; hence the reason the original items are sought after today.

 

Not too many people had enough insight to speculate on the original 12 and 21 back Star Wars figures. Same can be said for Generation One Transformers and the original first printing of the first Harry Potter book.

 

These were the very definition of outliers, not 'blue chips' as you suggest. I would also argue that much like Bookery already pointed out things change. Does anyone really think in 500 years from now our future ancestors are going to be coveting the first appearance of Superman or Batman?

 

Ths is another reason why you really can't compare the longetivity of the greater antiques market to that of collectibles; especialy pop culture based collectibles. I can name various amounts of collectibles that were once considered 'blue chips' selling for massive prices only to come crashing down upon the unfortunate cries of enthusiasts and speculators everywhere.

Yes, I understand what your saying, but characters like Batman,Spider-Man,X-Men and Superman aren't going away for a long time. Certainly not now with the frenzy of the Batman V. Superman movie. Certain pop culture collectibles are a better bet then antiques. I will argue most antiques have been worst investments,then the blue chip collectibles. While pop culture has exploded we will find antiques have slowed way down. At least with certain pop culture icons they are still be reintroduced to millions of new fans,unlike stuff like Rookwood that continues to lose popularity.

Hence, someone is better off investing in Star Wars 12 backs, then Mid-level, brown Oak antique furniture from 100 years ago.

 

[Bookery]

The other, and maybe most significant factor is availability.

 

Many collectibles markets have very few participants, but if the availabilty of the collectible is even smaller, prices will continue to rise.

 

The 1st appearances of Superman and Batman, while not technically "rare" in the truest sense, are certainly scarce enough that supply will be less than demand for a long long time to come. Even AF 15, which probably exists as several thousand copies, can't keep up with demand, which would have to shrink massively to cause a downward spiral in v alue. It may happen someday... probably will, actually... but not for a very long time.

 

Hulk 181 on the other hand... which has tens of thousands of extant copies... may be another matter, and may not make the cut in a couple more generations when even the movies have faded from memory.

 

Tarzan, as a character, is pretty much dead today. But with only a dozen or two existing copies of his 1st appearance, the value of that pulp issue will continue to rise.

 

Few Americans under 50 have read "Moby D'ick", but there will be enough college professors and literary historians around for decades, maybe centuries, to keep the tiny number of first edition copies around still viable as collector's items.

 

The great unkown is the population factor. With billions more people added every generation, it only takes a tiny fraction of popular interest to maintain a "market". But even small markets can all but die out. Even though over 100 years old, there are still more dime novels available than there are ready buyers for them, and why they sell for very little beyond "curiosity value".

 

 

 

 

[mintcollector]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

 

When we go speculate in these pop culture collectibles we look for the outliners like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Transformers. The safe blue chips of their respective hobbies. Nobody is saying to go load up on non-blue chips like Starriors no. 1.

 

 

First, the term is outlier, not 'outliner.'

 

Second, the whole point is that Star Wars, Transformers, and Harry Potter were NOT considered 'blue chips' upon their release; hence the reason the original items are sought after today.

 

Not too many people had enough insight to speculate on the original 12 and 21 back Star Wars figures. Same can be said for Generation One Transformers and the original first printing of the first Harry Potter book.

 

These were the very definition of outliers, not 'blue chips' as you suggest. I would also argue that much like Bookery already pointed out things change. Does anyone really think in 500 years from now our future ancestors are going to be coveting the first appearance of Superman or Batman?

 

Ths is another reason why you really can't compare the longetivity of the greater antiques market to that of collectibles; especialy pop culture based collectibles. I can name various amounts of collectibles that were once considered 'blue chips' selling for massive prices only to come crashing down upon the unfortunate cries of enthusiasts and speculators everywhere.

Yes, I understand what your saying, but characters like Batman,Spider-Man,X-Men and Superman aren't going away for a long time. Certainly not now with the frenzy of the Batman V. Superman movie. Certain pop culture collectibles are a better bet then antiques. I will argue most antiques have been worst investments,then the blue chip collectibles. While pop culture has exploded we will find antiques have slowed way down. At least with certain pop culture icons they are still be reintroduced to millions of new fans,unlike stuff like Rookwood that continues to lose popularity.

Hence, someone is better off investing in Star Wars 12 backs, then Mid-level, brown Oak antique furniture from 100 years ago.

 

 

Could you please tell me where you are getting your information to back these statements? Actually collectibles are much less stable than high end comparable investment grade antiques. Rookwood has actually increased in value across the board since 2008 as greater visibility from shows like Antiques Roadshow and Market Warriors continued to increase demand. Kindly note that I deal in high end art glass, art pottery (i.e. Rookwood) and mid-century modern furniture. I have never encountered the demand I have now.

 

[Fanaddict-migration]

 

Could you please tell me where you are getting your information to back these statements? Actually collectibles are much less stable than high end comparable investment grade antiques. Rookwood has actually increased in value across the board since 2008 as greater visibility from shows like Antiques Roadshow and Market Warriors continued to increase demand. Kindly note that I deal in high end art glass, art pottery (i.e. Rookwood) and mid-century modern furniture. I have never encountered the demand I have now.

 

What are your comic book credentials?

[ComicConnoisseur]

I believe humans will always want something in there hands. Will digital grow? Yes. But hopefully it will just cause more and more ppl to get into printed books. Also as long as the Variant idea works, they will never move to only digital, cause no one would by a variant cover for a digital comic.

 

However, to answer your question. Superhero movies will always be around, as long as geek/nerd culture continues to grow and or not decrease. Cons will always be around just may be smaller and moved to just Panels or Games or Publisher cons.

 

As people have said, LCS would be hit the worst. Back issues would increase in price to try and keep stores open. Trades would be printed more and more. But most would close in the end.

 

Do I believe this will happen any time soon? No, just like how books are still around too. However, Comics have a 1 up on things like Records/cds, books, Dvds, and etc. And that is that speculation and all those other forms of media, affect the price of a comic book. What new book or CD is worth the what a WD #1 or 19, or NM 98. I dont think there are many, if any.

But I could be wrong.

 

-Kystix

Some books are worth decent money.

First Harry Potter in the thousands.

Harrry Potter

 

First Game of Thrones in the hundreds.

Game of Thrones

 

Also the first James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books have good value.

 

 

 

 

This is the outlier and not the rule. Only first editions in very fine condition (equivalent to near mint in comic book grading terms) are worth any amount of money for the books noted. As someone who collects rare books I can tell you the market is extremely fickle and it is not as liquid as other collecting fields. Several experts at Heritage Auctions already stated that rare books don't always make the best investments. It is a labor of love.

 

I paid close to $6,000 for my first printing of The Great Gatsby. To find a buyer it would take months if not years. Auctions for most rare books usually yield disappointment for the seller.

 

Furthermore as already noted, remember all those cool first appearances that came out of pulps? How much are they worth now? Comic books will one day most likely end up just the same for albeit the most popular resilient characters, but we are talking decades not just years from now.

 

When we go speculate in these pop culture collectibles we look for the outliners like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Transformers. The safe blue chips of their respective hobbies. Nobody is saying to go load up on non-blue chips like Starriors no. 1.

 

 

First, the term is outlier, not 'outliner.'

 

Second, the whole point is that Star Wars, Transformers, and Harry Potter were NOT considered 'blue chips' upon their release; hence the reason the original items are sought after today.

 

Not too many people had enough insight to speculate on the original 12 and 21 back Star Wars figures. Same can be said for Generation One Transformers and the original first printing of the first Harry Potter book.

 

These were the very definition of outliers, not 'blue chips' as you suggest. I would also argue that much like Bookery already pointed out things change. Does anyone really think in 500 years from now our future ancestors are going to be coveting the first appearance of Superman or Batman?

 

Ths is another reason why you really can't compare the longetivity of the greater antiques market to that of collectibles; especialy pop culture based collectibles. I can name various amounts of collectibles that were once considered 'blue chips' selling for massive prices only to come crashing down upon the unfortunate cries of enthusiasts and speculators everywhere.

Yes, I understand what your saying, but characters like Batman,Spider-Man,X-Men and Superman aren't going away for a long time. Certainly not now with the frenzy of the Batman V. Superman movie. Certain pop culture collectibles are a better bet then antiques. I will argue most antiques have been worst investments,then the blue chip collectibles. While pop culture has exploded we will find antiques have slowed way down. At least with certain pop culture icons they are still be reintroduced to millions of new fans,unlike stuff like Rookwood that continues to lose popularity.

Hence, someone is better off investing in Star Wars 12 backs, then Mid-level, brown Oak antique furniture from 100 years ago.

 

 

Could you please tell me where you are getting your information to back these statements? Actually collectibles are much less stable than high end comparable investment grade antiques. Rookwood has actually increased in value across the board since 2008 as greater visibility from shows like Antiques Roadshow and Market Warriors continued to increase demand. Kindly note that I deal in high end art glass, art pottery (i.e. Rookwood) and mid-century modern furniture. I have never encountered the demand I have now.

C

Well, I am glad you are encountering great demand.

Now back to your furniture thoughts. Mid-century modern furniture is not the same as Mid-level, brown Oak antique furniture from 100 years ago that I compared Star Wars 12 Backs with.

In fact we could say Mid-century modern furniture is getting a second revival because of pop culture. Mad Men has made Mid-century modern furniture explode in popularity. If it wasn`t for Mad Men icons of pop culture I doubt we see this revival of Mid-century modern furniture. Now with Rookwood(Great stuff btw I love it),any betting man going forward would pick Transformers Generation 1 Optimus Prime 1984 over any piece of 100 year old Rookwood to hold long-term 10 years.

I know you love antiques. I love them as well, but I am betting that the top blue chip collectibles will out perform them.

I will take the best blue-chip Harry Potter,Transformers,Star Wars, Batman and Marvel Superhero collectibles over the best 100 year old antiques any day going forward for long-term investment.

Remember I am saying best Holy Grail blue chip type collectibles,not manufactured stuff we can buy at Wal-Mart.

Collectibles that already have been deemed important.

IMHO.