Original Comic Art vs. Comic Books - Wall Street Analysis

[Mithril Man]

How big is the pool of comic collector's ?

 

How big is the pool of original art collector's ?

 

It just seems feasible that the base of oa collector's can double, triple or quadruple.

 

The comic book market is clearly a maturing market with less growth.

 

Well that's one way to spin it, here's another...

 

The big difference is liquidity, which someone mentioned earlier. For an investment I'd rather have $100,000 (many more pieces) worth of slabbed silver age than $100,000 worth or original art. You can flip the slabbed, buy more, flip them, buy more in the time it takes to flip the art. So your margins are compounding in a sense, if you are making wise purchases. The larger the piece price the smaller your buyer sample.

 

Plus you are diversifying within your field when you have more pieces.

 

Exact same thing holds true for real estate. Sampling the nation and not concentrating on a particular region, it takes 4 times as long to sell a $800,000 home than a $200,000 home on average.

 

I'm sure OA will be a good investment, but it is also much more likely to have larger dips. An example of this is the huge dips that major classical art has gone through over the past couple of decades. The troughs are due to the small buyer pool.

[DESTRO-migration]

If you believe the difference is one of liquidity then you're not following the same market. Original Art is just as liquid as comic books. The major difference is that the prices on comic books are commodified in that a sale of Comic Book A in grade Y.Y tends to forecast with more predictability the ability to sell a similar item in the market for a similar price. This however does not reflect on the liquidity of the asset.

 

Moreover, the argument that original art is in your opinion expensive is not truly relevant as a measure of liquidity. If someone owned an ASM #1 in 9.6 I'd say they can get 4 nice Original art Covers,..and to me,...that has more value than a book you keep in your safe deposity box. This is a question of value,..not liquidity.

 

AND,..I disagree with your thesis that the more expensive an item is ,..the less liquid it becomes. Again,..this is really a 'value issue'. To take your real-estate example,..if you held property in NYC and asked a million dollars for 100 sq ft.,..clearly you'd have less difficulty than asking 500K in Binghamton, NY for similar square footage.

 

As for dips,..and such,...who knows,...it's a market,...ANYTHING can happen,...heck,.....comics in the 90's got decimated,....oa can forseeably (and probably will) as well.

 

My thesis, however,...is merely that oa will grow at a higher rate than comic books.

 

Id bet if you named the top 5 comics,..and I named the top 5 oa pieces,...the probability is the rate of growth will be higher in oa. Moreover,.....I believe the less expensive stuff, and mid-range stuff will similarly yield higher rates of return than the general swath of comics.

 

Ultimately,..however,...collect what you enjoy,..but I do believe,..purely based on investment analysis that oa prices will 'out-perform' comics.

[fantastic_four]

If someone owned an ASM #1 in 9.6 I'd say they can get 4 nice Original art Covers,..and to me,...that has more value than a book you keep in your safe deposity box.

 

Hadn't ever thought about the fact until you mentioned it that it's tough to keep original art anywhere besides your house. Guess that means if you want to be safe, insurance is absolutely non-optional for original art collectors, whereas for comic collectors, it's optional if you choose to protect your expensive books by keeping them under lock and key.

[DESTRO-migration]

Heck ff,

 

I keep a block of gold & a gun in my safe along with my Detective #29,...and recognize these items are non-displayable assetts. OA on the other hand demands to be displayed,..and if you're possessions own ya,...such that you dont wont to see them,....then ya probably shouldnt have em'. The CGC'ed book in the safe psychology is old school -- and very typical of collector pathology.

 

But to address your point with respect to 'insurance carrying costs',..negligible when you're makinh over 35% - 100% on your investment,...year over year.

[Mithril Man]

But to address your point with respect to 'insurance carrying costs',..negligible when you're makinh over 35% - 100% on your investment,...year over year.

 

When you called me a dumb [#@$%!!!] you lost 1/2 your credibility....you've just lost 100% of it. See ya...

[DESTRO-migration]

what a dumb-as$

[shrunkenhead]

 

when you're makinh over 35% - 100% on your investment,...year over year.

 

[Forbush-Man]

Destro,

 

It's Apples to Oranges!

You don't have the bucks to buy any OA right now anyway!

 

I'm going to go make myself a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich®, shower, do laundry and look for some paperwork I need. I may even decide to clean out the inside of my car. If I do, I'll be sure to PM you, or just start a new thread!

 

Bye-bye now!

[DESTRO-migration]

I swear,...you comic book collector's are 'an entrenched bunch' -- but denying math is,..well,..UN-American. Are we not the last frontier of reason ?

 

Listen,...Covers in 98' were going for $8500 -- Calculated at 20%

 

YR 1...........$8500

YR 2...........$10200

YR3............$12240

YR 4...........$14688

YR 5...........$17625

YR 6...........$21150

YR 7...........$25380

 

And,..many items are growing at rates that easily exceed 20%

 

Will this continue I dunno,...

 

but damn,....why are people like Gilligan,..AKA Shrunkenhead, Mythril,...and other collectors of comic books so obtuse,..whether discussing original comic art as fine art,...or discussiong financial value,....its as if your intentionally dumb ?

[THE_BEYONDER]

I swear,...you comic book collector's are 'an entrenched bunch' -- but denying math is,..well,..UN-American. Are we not the last frontier of reason ?

 

Listen,...Covers in 98' were going for $8500 -- Calculated at 20%

 

YR 1...........$8500

YR 2...........$10200

YR3............$12240

YR 4...........$14688

YR 5...........$17625

YR 6...........$21150

YR 7...........$25380

 

And,..many items are growing at rates that easily exceed 20%

 

Will this continue I dunno,...

 

but damn,....why are people like Gilligan,..AKA Shrunkenhead, Mythril,...and other collectors of comic books so obtuse,..whether discussing original comic art as fine art,...or discussiong financial value,....its as if your intentionally dumb ?

 

Why not compare NM+ prices of comics from '98 to 2005?

 

I assume that many books increased by large percentages....

[drbanner]

http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=815&Lot_No=3390&src=pr

 

http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=815&Lot_No=3384&src=pr

 

http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=815&Lot_No=3391&src=pr

 

http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=815&Lot_No=3386&src=pr

 

Nice pieces, but my question is how much have the buyers' of those Kirby pages that came to market about 5(?) years ago been able to make by flipping them subsequently? I mention those pages as there was a good bit of hoopla surrounding their release, and I imagine much of that stuff has traded hands since then so there should be some available data. If OA was/is a good investment, then people would have been able to make some money flipping those. Can you shed any light on this with any sales figures?

 

Of course I have to wonder if the 2nd/3rd generation flippers of those same pages can continue to make money off them over the next 5 years?

[drbanner]

I swear,...you comic book collector's are 'an entrenched bunch' -- but denying math is,..well,..UN-American. Are we not the last frontier of reason ?

 

Listen,...Covers in 98' were going for $8500 -- Calculated at 20%

 

YR 1...........$8500

YR 2...........$10200

YR3............$12240

YR 4...........$14688

YR 5...........$17625

YR 6...........$21150

YR 7...........$25380

 

And,..many items are growing at rates that easily exceed 20%

 

Will this continue I dunno,...

 

but damn,....why are people like Gilligan,..AKA Shrunkenhead, Mythril,...and other collectors of comic books so obtuse,..whether discussing original comic art as fine art,...or discussiong financial value,....its as if your intentionally dumb ?

 

Which cover sold for $8,500 in '98 that sold for $25k this year?

[justiceleaguer]

[nearmint]

I swear,...you comic book collector's are 'an entrenched bunch' -- but denying math is,..well,..UN-American. Are we not the last frontier of reason ?

 

Listen,...Covers in 98' were going for $8500 -- Calculated at 20%

 

YR 1...........$8500

YR 2...........$10200

YR3............$12240

YR 4...........$14688

YR 5...........$17625

YR 6...........$21150

YR 7...........$25380

 

And,..many items are growing at rates that easily exceed 20%

 

Will this continue I dunno,...

 

but damn,....why are people like Gilligan,..AKA Shrunkenhead, Mythril,...and other collectors of comic books so obtuse,..whether discussing original comic art as fine art,...or discussiong financial value,....its as if your intentionally dumb ?

 

Which cover sold for $8,500 in '98 that sold for $25k this year?

 

He said covers(plural), so we're going to need more than one example.

[DESTRO-migration]

I swear,...you comic book collector's are 'an entrenched bunch' -- but denying math is,..well,..UN-American. Are we not the last frontier of reason ?

 

Listen,...Covers in 98' were going for $8500 -- Calculated at 20%

 

YR 1...........$8500

YR 2...........$10200

YR3............$12240

YR 4...........$14688

YR 5...........$17625

YR 6...........$21150

YR 7...........$25380

 

And,..many items are growing at rates that easily exceed 20%

 

Will this continue I dunno,...

 

but damn,....why are people like Gilligan,..AKA Shrunkenhead, Mythril,...and other collectors of comic books so obtuse,..whether discussing original comic art as fine art,...or discussiong financial value,....its as if your intentionally dumb ?

 

Which cover sold for $8,500 in '98 that sold for $25k this year?

 

Most covers that came to market in 1998 sold for as little as $8,500. The Jack Kirby Fantastic Four 71 that just appeared in Heritage sold for roughly $8,500 in 1998. The Gene Colan Daredevil 27 cover was sold for $8,500 in 1998. These covers are now going for $25,000+++.

 

The John Romita Spiderman 53 cover that sold at Sotheby's in 1998 for $20,000 is now worth approximately $125,000 if it were to come onto the market and the Romita Spiderman 80 cover that was on Ebay a little over a year ago and sold for $15,000 would easily sell for $45,000 right now. Heck, the Mike Burkey just sold the Amazing Spiderman 101 cover for over $50,000.

 

And if you think these prices are ridiculous...think again. Consider that once you sell the piece, it may not appear on the market again in your lifetime. I kick myself for selling some of pieces that have not re-appeared in the market-place since I let them go.

[Mithril Man]

I've decided I'm on board with this OA thing. Using the return on investment he sited in the previous post (35%-100%), my initial investment of $10,000 could be worth as much as $10,240,000 in 10 years. You gotta admit that's darn good....

[Aman619]

Am I the only one who hears those prices and shakes his head in wonder? $125K for Romita cover? I can understand any price up to $50K for a great classic cover, but above that is just too much money to me.. Id feel much safer with a comic in that ballpark..

[DESTRO-migration]

Ah Mithrilman,

 

You only reveal to the board that you are not only a bad thinker, but your math skills are comparable to a baboon. I don't want you in my oa hobby anyways. You dumbas$.

 

Destro

[justiceleaguer]

Man, it's early in afternoon for a flamefest isn't it? Oh well, time to break out the marshmallows. Anyone got some chocolate, i'm in the mood for smores.

[drbanner]

I swear,...you comic book collector's are 'an entrenched bunch' -- but denying math is,..well,..UN-American. Are we not the last frontier of reason ?

 

Listen,...Covers in 98' were going for $8500 -- Calculated at 20%

 

YR 1...........$8500

YR 2...........$10200

YR3............$12240

YR 4...........$14688

YR 5...........$17625

YR 6...........$21150

YR 7...........$25380

 

And,..many items are growing at rates that easily exceed 20%

 

Will this continue I dunno,...

 

but damn,....why are people like Gilligan,..AKA Shrunkenhead, Mythril,...and other collectors of comic books so obtuse,..whether discussing original comic art as fine art,...or discussiong financial value,....its as if your intentionally dumb ?

 

Which cover sold for $8,500 in '98 that sold for $25k this year?

 

Most covers that came to market in 1998 sold for as little as $8,500. The Jack Kirby Fantastic Four 71 that just appeared in Heritage sold for roughly $8,500 in 1998. The Gene Colan Daredevil 27 cover was sold for $8,500 in 1998. These covers are now going for $25,000+++.

 

The John Romita Spiderman 53 cover that sold at Sotheby's in 1998 for $20,000 is now worth approximately $125,000 if it were to come onto the market and the Romita Spiderman 80 cover that was on Ebay a little over a year ago and sold for $15,000 would easily sell for $45,000 right now. Heck, the Mike Burkey just sold the Amazing Spiderman 101 cover for over $50,000.

 

And if you think these prices are ridiculous...think again. Consider that once you sell the piece, it may not appear on the market again in your lifetime. I kick myself for selling some of pieces that have not re-appeared in the market-place since I let them go.

 

Good stuff, looks like the opportunity for a decent return on your investment was in 1998, but not today.

 

If Burkey's selling, you know it's true...