Is now the time to be selling Fantastic Four #1?

[vaillant]

Comics were originally intended for an audience of what, 100-200 million people? Let's say 300 million people if we include some other English speaking countries like England and Canada. Now we are opening the doors to literally billions of people. BILLIONS. So the market has multiplied by several times.

Roy, that is an overt over-semplification. Just because everyone seems to be going to the movies, this does not mean comics did not reach super-wide audiences since the beginning. As serials they started on newspapers, not to mention in Italy they were already largely popular by 1934 (the year "L'Avventuroso" was launched, with Flash Gordon and other landmark syndicated strips).

 

FF #1 is fading in significance since the property does not resonate with today's young people or comic readers. I can remember starting to read comics in the late 80s as a youth (UXM #211 was the first book I bought off of the rack), and the FF seemed lame compared to other books I quickly bought like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. Was the FF a top title in the 60s? Definitely. However, it does not resonate with the young people today. At shows the only people asking for FF books are the 45+ year old crowd, who grew up when the FF was more relevant.

Well, you looked at the FFs at the worst possible time (no, actually that was in the early 1980s and mid-1990s).

The fact the FF possibly "does not resonate" (are we so sure? this should be tested a lot) with younger readers have some pretty easy explanation: Marvel put not much effort in making it vivid since the 1980s (Pacheco's run is a delightful exception, while Millar and Hickman are better left at their presumptuous, desacralized "science fiction"), no valid writers were hired that could bring back the grandiosity. And the grandiosity lies in two words: sense of wonder and heroism. Which, by no coincidence is also the same word used to describe one of the degrees of sanctity. The fact that the family is somewhat despised "at face value" has quite some weight too. It is equally difficult to write convincing villains, for the same reasons. ("Lineage" created by Charles Soule is a welcome exception).

 

But you liked "Sins Past", I wonder why I am still losing time talking to you…

[bluechip]

I buy SA Fantastic Four for the stories in the comics. A well done movie would have just been gravy on top. I'm never selling mine. (see note at the bottom of the FF #50 splash!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just wait until young people with money, looking for culture in other corners of the world realize how cool these works of art are and how they represented something that will never be repeated. A simpler time, a time of innocence and a time where childhood dreams were real.

 

These stories were the stuff of magic.

 

FF #1 is fading in significance since the property does not resonate with today's young people or comic readers. I can remember starting to read comics in the late 80s as a youth (UXM #211 was the first book I bought off of the rack), and the FF seemed lame compared to other books I quickly bought like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. Was the FF a top title in the 60s? Definitely. However, it does not resonate with the young people today. At shows the only people asking for FF books are the 45+ year old crowd, who grew up when the FF was more relevant.

 

That being said, FF #1 will likely still have a place with Marvel collectors going forward regardless of what type of movies are produced and by whom for the simple fact it is the start of the Marvel SA. I think that as time passes other more popular Marvel SA keys will likely surpass it in price (it looks ASM #1 and TOS #39 have the best shot in the short term), but it will still hold decent value as long as there is a relatively healthy hobby.

 

There was a time when X-Men was considered a dead title, Nick Fury was a nobody from two dead titles, Iron Man was a D list character, and if you asked anybody who was Hawkeye they'd have said the guy from MASH or Last of the Mochicans. Hell, there was a time when Spider-man was considered undoable in film and a washout on TV

[bluechip]

Comics were originally intended for an audience of what, 100-200 million people? Let's say 300 million people if we include some other English speaking countries like England and Canada. Now we are opening the doors to literally billions of people. BILLIONS. So the market has multiplied by several times.

Roy, that is an overt over-semplification. Just because everyone seems to be going to the movies, this does not mean comics did not reach super-wide audiences since the beginning. As serials they started on newspapers, not to mention in Italy they were already largely popular by 1934 (the year "L'Avventuroso" was launched, with Flash Gordon and other landmark syndicated strips).

 

FF #1 is fading in significance since the property does not resonate with today's young people or comic readers. I can remember starting to read comics in the late 80s as a youth (UXM #211 was the first book I bought off of the rack), and the FF seemed lame compared to other books I quickly bought like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. Was the FF a top title in the 60s? Definitely. However, it does not resonate with the young people today. At shows the only people asking for FF books are the 45+ year old crowd, who grew up when the FF was more relevant.

Well, you looked at the FFs at the worst possible time (no, actually that was in the early 1980s and mid-1990s).

The fact the FF possibly "does not resonate" (are we so sure? this should be tested a lot) with younger readers have some pretty easy explanation: Marvel put not much effort in making it vivid since the 1980s (Pacheco's run is a delightful exception, while Millar and Hickman are better left at their presumptuous, desacralized "science fiction"), no valid writers were hired that could bring back the grandiosity. And the grandiosity lies in two words: sense of wonder and heroism. Which, by no coincidence is also the same word used to describe one of the degrees of sanctity. The fact that the family is somewhat despised "at face value" has quite some weight too. It is equally difficult to write convincing villains, for the same reasons. ("Lineage" created by Charles Soule is a welcome exception).

 

But you liked "Sins Past", I wonder why I am still losing time talking to you…

 

What happened at Fox with the FF is that the company has never understood why any version of the FF was any good, They bought something they didn't really like themselves. Remember this is the company that could've had Star Wars forever and didn't think it would be more than a kiddie flick that would make 50 million of they were lucky. And having lost Darth Vader, they still don't get why the character that inspired him (Dr. Doom) could be seen by the audience as anything but a joke. They got the FF but they don't "get: the FF.

[namisgr]

Agreed. The company that 'gets' the FF is Pixar, which in making The Incredibles made what is to my way of thinking a great FF movie.

 

I don't understand why Pixar isn't making more animated superhero movies.

[makeminemego]

I think an AGE APPROPRIATE CAST set in a Cold War space race, early 1960's setting could be a really intriguing flick. Don't think we'll see it anytime soon, but one can hope, right?

[zosocane]

FF #1 is fading in significance since the property does not resonate with today's young people or comic readers. I can remember starting to read comics in the late 80s as a youth (UXM #211 was the first book I bought off of the rack), and the FF seemed lame compared to other books I quickly bought like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. Was the FF a top title in the 60s? Definitely. However, it does not resonate with the young people today. At shows the only people asking for FF books are the 45+ year old crowd, who grew up when the FF was more relevant.

 

FF1 hasn't kept up with the other top 10 Silver books not because it doesn't resonate with today's youth or comic readers. It's because it's the only top 10 Silver book that doesn't have a solid movie franchise supporting it or the prospect of one. Movie franchises and TV shows -- not today's youth or comic readers -- are the kerosene that fuel growth for the top 10 Silver books. Look at how, following the 2011 GL movie bust, SC 22 was on a slow and quiet decline the last few years. That is, until WB in 2014 announced a reboot GL film, and coupled with the rumors of Chris Pine playing Hal Jordan, SC 22 is on the rise again. BB28 and JLA 1 were slow movers before a few years ago, then word of a JLA film hit the market and these books are hot.

 

FF was a top title in the 60s because Stan Lee and JACK KIRBY were the creative team. The Bronze Age was not particularly memorable for the FF. I remember as a kid in the 79 to 82 period that the then-current FF issues were dull at best and, like you, I was buying Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men (the latter because of a guy named John Byrne). Then around 82, John Byrne took on writing and drawing for FF. Overnight, FF becomes a top seller for Marvel, a run where we were privileged to some of the best comics ever produced.

 

The FF concept -- a quarreling super-hero family that fights celestial forces -- works and resonates with younger and older viewers alike. GOTG and the Incredibles have demonstrated that. FF just needs a studio that actually gives a damn about making a fine film. The muppets at Fox are clueless.

 

Vintage hits the nail on the head with Shazam f/k/a Captain Marvel. Before a year ago many younger comic buyers had only understood "Shazam" to be a song-identifying smartphone App or the second half of the name of a pop band. But the concept of a teen that blurts a word and, thunderclap!, he becomes an adult super hero that can take on Superman, that's as cool in 2015 as it was three quarters of a century ago in 1940, which is why WB is making a Shazam movie. Unlike Fox studios which produced the Trank FF on the relative cheap, WB is whipping out the check book to pay the likes of Dwayne Johnson/Rock to play Black Adam. That's a studio that actually gives a damn about making a good movie. Soon enough, young buyers at shows will be asking for those early Bronze Age Shazams that one couldn't give away a year or more ago. There's no good reason an excellent FF film cannot succeed.

 

[VintageComics]

FF #1 is fading in significance since the property does not resonate with today's young people or comic readers. I can remember starting to read comics in the late 80s as a youth (UXM #211 was the first book I bought off of the rack), and the FF seemed lame compared to other books I quickly bought like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. Was the FF a top title in the 60s? Definitely. However, it does not resonate with the young people today. At shows the only people asking for FF books are the 45+ year old crowd, who grew up when the FF was more relevant.

 

FF1 hasn't kept up with the other top 10 Silver books not because it doesn't resonate with today's youth or comic readers. It's because it's the only top 10 Silver book that doesn't have a solid movie franchise supporting it or the prospect of one. Movie franchises and TV shows -- not today's youth or comic readers -- are the kerosene that fuel growth for the top 10 Silver books. Look at how, following the 2011 GL movie bust, SC 22 was on a slow and quiet decline the last few years. That is, until WB in 2014 announced a reboot GL film, and coupled with the rumors of Chris Pine playing Hal Jordan, SC 22 is on the rise again. BB28 and JLA 1 were slow movers before a few years ago, then word of a JLA film hit the market and these books are hot.

 

FF was a top title in the 60s because Stan Lee and JACK KIRBY were the creative team. The Bronze Age was not particularly memorable for the FF. I remember as a kid in the 79 to 82 period that the then-current FF issues were dull at best and, like you, I was buying Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men (the latter because of a guy named John Byrne). Then around 82, John Byrne took on writing and drawing for FF. Overnight, FF becomes a top seller for Marvel, a run where we were privileged to some of the best comics ever produced.

 

The FF concept -- a quarreling super-hero family that fights celestial forces -- works and resonates with younger and older viewers alike. GOTG and the Incredibles have demonstrated that. FF just needs a studio that actually gives a damn about making a fine film. The muppets at Fox are clueless.

 

Vintage hits the nail on the head with Shazam f/k/a Captain Marvel. Before a year ago many younger comic buyers had only understood "Shazam" to be a song-identifying smartphone App or the second half of the name of a pop band. But the concept of a teen that blurts a word and, thunderclap!, he becomes an adult super hero that can take on Superman, that's as cool in 2015 as it was three quarters of a century ago in 1940, which is why WB is making a Shazam movie. Unlike Fox studios which produced the Trank FF on the relative cheap, WB is whipping out the check book to pay the likes of Dwayne Johnson/Rock to play Black Adam. That's a studio that actually gives a damn about making a good movie. Soon enough, young buyers at shows will be asking for those early Bronze Age Shazams that one couldn't give away a year or more ago. There's no good reason an excellent FF film cannot succeed.

 

I think I agree with all of the above.

 

 

[kav]

Now is definitely the time to be selling your FF #1. To me. For cheap.

[rabidwolf]

I really think people are overreacting based on a bad movie. The historical significance of FF1 cannot be denied. Silver age collectors will always see this as one of the most important books to have in their collection.