The rise of archie

[uchiha101]

what do you guys think will happen with key archie in general? do you think this will be a fad or something that will be here to stay once the get their share of the market?

 

The Article

 

http://investcomics.com/weekly-hot-picks/investcomics-hot-picks-special-archie-comics-checklist

 

going to work but enjoy the discussion of my favorite comic

[Crimebuster]

I think there might be some room for growth in the Archie market, but not a lot. I have my doubts that many fans of the new stuff will get into the older, classic Archie material. It's just a different kettle of fish. But since there aren't a ton of Archie collectors at the moment, even a small number of new collectors could move the needle a little bit.

 

I'm pretty iffy on the "hot picks" provided in the link. Some of them are good - the no brainers - but there are some key books not on the list, while the list includes some books that I don't think will ever have much interest.

 

Books like Archie #100 or #200, for example, I don't see going very far; Archie didn't start celebrating anniversary issues until the early 1980's, so all the previous ones are completely indistinguishable from any other random issue. And stuff like the President Obama appearance in #616, or Michael Strahan in #626, have pretty much no potential at all in my opinion. The first appearance of Harper in #656 is unlikely to gain much traction, as the first appearances of many more popular and established cast members have never broken out (also, to nit pick - she's not Valerie's sister, she's Veronica's cousin, and there was a character in a wheelchair that was at least as prominent as Harper has been, namely Anita Chavita).

 

On the other hand, the list is missing key books like Archie #50, Betty and Veronica #40 and #41, Betty and Me #16, Jughead #325, etc. They also don't make note of the monster/sci-fi covers of the late 50's and early 60's, which always command more interest and higher prices than the regular gag covers. And for newer books, I think the gimmick to look for isn't celebrity guest appearances, its variant covers (which they do point out a little); Archie has had some great variant covers over the past few years, and even the they weren't incentive variants, the print run is really small on all of them because I believe they were only offered to comic shops, which have really low orders for Archie titles. Books like the Andrew Pepoy variant for Archie #646 or the Fiona Staples variant for Betty and Veronica #262 could have long term interest.

 

I think they did get one thing right, though, when they singled out Josie #45 as the top book from their list to get. Hard as heck to find, and a key not just for Archie, but in pop culture as well, but it hasn't really broken out or gained the kind of interest it deserves. A real sleeper.

[uchiha101]

yeah as I was reading that I was ignoring those anniversary issues and looking for 1st appearances and htf in higher grade comics

 

these ones are from the golden age right?

 

Betty and Veronica #40 and #41

 

 

[hhwolfman]

I never thought that Archie would have a quick surge, But It seems in the last year to have.

[uchiha101]

I love archie comics and I wish them all the best and I'm sure you know what that means there won't be a lot of high grade keys to go around

[steveinthecity]

I've never heard of a 2nd print issue of either Archie #282 or Betty & Veronica #289.

[hhwolfman]

I never thought that Archie would have a quick surge, But It seems in the last year to have.

 

I am talking about GA of course.

[uchiha101]

I've never heard of a 2nd print issue of either Archie #282 or Betty & Veronica #289.

 

yeah neither have I

 

 

[uchiha101]

I never thought that Archie would have a quick surge, But It seems in the last year to have.

 

I am talking about GA of course.

 

no question about that and 1 app of silver age archie characters have also went up in price

[Prince Namor]

I think there might be some room for growth in the Archie market, but not a lot. I have my doubts that many fans of the new stuff will get into the older, classic Archie material. It's just a different kettle of fish. But since there aren't a ton of Archie collectors at the moment, even a small number of new collectors could move the needle a little bit.

 

I'm pretty iffy on the "hot picks" provided in the link. Some of them are good - the no brainers - but there are some key books not on the list, while the list includes some books that I don't think will ever have much interest.

 

Books like Archie #100 or #200, for example, I don't see going very far; Archie didn't start celebrating anniversary issues until the early 1980's, so all the previous ones are completely indistinguishable from any other random issue. And stuff like the President Obama appearance in #616, or Michael Strahan in #626, have pretty much no potential at all in my opinion. The first appearance of Harper in #656 is unlikely to gain much traction, as the first appearances of many more popular and established cast members have never broken out (also, to nit pick - she's not Valerie's sister, she's Veronica's cousin, and there was a character in a wheelchair that was at least as prominent as Harper has been, namely Anita Chavita).

 

On the other hand, the list is missing key books like Archie #50, Betty and Veronica #40 and #41, Betty and Me #16, Jughead #325, etc. They also don't make note of the monster/sci-fi covers of the late 50's and early 60's, which always command more interest and higher prices than the regular gag covers. And for newer books, I think the gimmick to look for isn't celebrity guest appearances, its variant covers (which they do point out a little); Archie has had some great variant covers over the past few years, and even the they weren't incentive variants, the print run is really small on all of them because I believe they were only offered to comic shops, which have really low orders for Archie titles. Books like the Andrew Pepoy variant for Archie #646 or the Fiona Staples variant for Betty and Veronica #262 could have long term interest.

 

I think they did get one thing right, though, when they singled out Josie #45 as the top book from their list to get. Hard as heck to find, and a key not just for Archie, but in pop culture as well, but it hasn't really broken out or gained the kind of interest it deserves. A real sleeper.

 

+1

 

Though I think we'll see more growth in the Archie market.

[mysterio]

I've never heard of a 2nd print issue of either Archie #282 or Betty & Veronica #289.

 

yeah neither have I

 

 

I think at least one of those was posted semi-recently. I think they're So Much Fun printings (or something like that). I don't see those as so much a true second print as a sort of alternative reprint (I consider a true second print as one done by the publisher, not a third party like a toy company reprint).

[ComicConnoisseur]

what do you guys think will happen with key archie in general? do you think this will be a fad or something that will be here to stay once the get their share of the market?

 

The Article

 

http://investcomics.com/weekly-hot-picks/investcomics-hot-picks-special-archie-comics-checklist

 

going to work but enjoy the discussion of my favorite comic

My bets would be all the Archie super hero keys. All undervalued.

 

Also Sabrina keys because.

Witchcraft and the Occult are always a popular subject matter with mass media.

 

 

 

[Prince Namor]

what do you guys think will happen with key archie in general? do you think this will be a fad or something that will be here to stay once the get their share of the market?

 

The Article

 

http://investcomics.com/weekly-hot-picks/investcomics-hot-picks-special-archie-comics-checklist

 

going to work but enjoy the discussion of my favorite comic

My bets would be all the Archie super hero keys. All undervalued.

 

Savvy dealers have always broken out those issues, but I don't see them really gaining much traction, as it was just a novelty thing by Archie, and something they probably don't plan on really visiting much ever again.

 

If they do, dealers might actually sell some of those issues at the price they've always had them.

 

I wouldn't bet on them as any type of good investment, other than as a fun reading investment.

 

[Also Sabrina keys because.

Witchcraft and the Occult are always a popular subject matter with mass media.

 

 

We've seen a slow steady rise in some of Sabrina's keys, and in particular the Madhouse 22 which has exploded.

 

I think there's a future for this character that's bigger than comics, so I wouldn't be afraid to bet it's a good pick-up now.

[Crimebuster]

yeah as I was reading that I was ignoring those anniversary issues and looking for 1st appearances and htf in higher grade comics

 

these ones are from the golden age right?

 

Betty and Veronica #40 and #41

 

 

 

They are Silver Age, both cover dated 1959. They both have Harry Lucey good girl covers.

 

 

I've never heard of a 2nd print issue of either Archie #282 or Betty & Veronica #289.

 

Me either, and I'm skeptical there will be that much interest in them beyond a few hardcore completists. Even for mainstream Marvel and DC titles, 2nd prints or other weird variants are a niche market. I think there needs to be people who want the normal editions before there will be many who care about the variant editions. Just look at the market for the rare Silver Age cover price variants for Archie. There seems to be about 5 people collecting them, and they're all on these boards.

 

I suspect there are plenty of Archie oddities that haven't even been discovered yet due to an overall lack of interest.

 

My bets would be all the Archie super hero keys. All undervalued.

 

Archie's publishing history with superhero stuff is so wonky I'm not sure what would break out. The real keys are all golden age, so they are already out of a lot of people's price range, but also the new versions of the characters don't necessarily have that much to do with the new versions. The Silver Age versions in particular I don't see as having much play unless the relaunch decides to tie into something.

 

Books that I think might get a little interest, though, are from the 80's relaunch. The current version of The Fox debuted during the 80's relaunch, and there was a new version of The Black Hood as well. I don't know if he has any real connection to the Black Hood coming out next month, but the title had some cool Alex Toth covers and such, so it might spark a little curiosity.

 

First modern Fox:

 

 

 

Black Hood by Alex Toth. The new Dark Circle relaunch coming out this year clearly takes some of its inspiration from this, art wise anyway. Dean Haspiel's Fox looks exactly like Toth's:

 

 

 

 

Also Sabrina keys because.

 

Mad House #22 has been taking off, but I think Sabrina #1 is still a little under the radar.

 

One book I was expecting to break out more - and it still may if Archie ever gets things back on schedule - is the original Chilling Adventures in Sorcery, which was the inspiration for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The first two issues feature Sabrina as a horror anthology narrator, like Cain or The Crypt Keeper. They are totally bizarre - horror stories, only drawn in the classic Archie house style:

 

 

 

 

And this is a total shot in the dark, but the final four issues of Sabrina's last series might have some potential. It's a almost Harry potter-esque origin story for Salem, showing his misadventures as a human warlock before he was turned into a cat. It's a fun story that could gain traction if anybody on the planet knew it existed, and the prints runs are really small:

 

 

 

[Awax]

 

Loving everything about this.

 

I've been picking up Archie books just in the last year.

 

I asked all around SDCC last year for a Betty & Veronica 320 ( 1st Cherry Blossom ) to no avail.

 

Most the old time dealers lit up when I told them them book. They said good luck and were happy to see someone hunting a book I guess.

 

I finally scored a nice copy off eBay at a reasonable price last year.

 

 

[uchiha101]

what do you guys think will happen with key archie in general? do you think this will be a fad or something that will be here to stay once the get their share of the market?

 

The Article

 

http://investcomics.com/weekly-hot-picks/investcomics-hot-picks-special-archie-comics-checklist

 

going to work but enjoy the discussion of my favorite comic

My bets would be all the Archie super hero keys. All undervalued.

 

Savvy dealers have always broken out those issues, but I don't see them really gaining much traction, as it was just a novelty thing by Archie, and something they probably don't plan on really visiting much ever again.

 

If they do, dealers might actually sell some of those issues at the price they've always had them.

 

I wouldn't bet on them as any type of good investment, other than as a fun reading investment.

 

[Also Sabrina keys because.

Witchcraft and the Occult are always a popular subject matter with mass media.

 

 

We've seen a slow steady rise in some of Sabrina's keys, and in particular the Madhouse 22 which has exploded.

 

I think there's a future for this character that's bigger than comics, so I wouldn't be afraid to bet it's a good pick-up now.

 

your right while most archie silver age comics are investment worthy there are the that are like mad house 22 and betty and veronica 320

[rjpb]

I've never been an Archie collector, but largely thanks to these boards I've grown to appreciate the line's history. Lacking any real continuity and with thousands of books to choose from every era and for every pocketbook, I can see the appeal of keys and classic covers being picked up by collectors who aren't "serious" Archie fans. I have no idea as to whether there is growth or not, as the current market may already reflect increased attention by collectors only casually interested in Archie as a character.

 

If I was going to expand my focus into Archie books, the sci-fi/monster covers would be what I'd go after. The late 40s GGA covers are nice as well.

[uchiha101]

I've never been an Archie collector, but largely thanks to these boards I've grown to appreciate the line's history. Lacking any real continuity and with thousands of books to choose from every era and for every pocketbook, I can see the appeal of keys and classic covers being picked up by collectors who aren't "serious" Archie fans. I have no idea as to whether there is growth or not, as the current market may already reflect increased attention by collectors only casually interested in Archie as a character.

 

If I was going to expand my focus into Archie books, the sci-fi/monster covers would be what I'd go after. The late 40s GGA covers are nice as well.

 

cool you can always post your archies here if you want