MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS - THE RANKINGS 17 17

[ygogolak]

I would assume Batman 608 RRP would fall under that same category, but it doesn't have a UPC and it looks like it was released the same month.

[Jaydogrules]

All right guys, based on new information brought to my attention I have updated the Dirty Dozen. Thanks to all for your continuing suggestions and contributions.

 

 

 

 

#12- Batman #1 Sketch Cover (2011)- Batman, Batman, Batman. It's not surprising that the most popular DC character would have a spot (or two) on this list. This hard to find cover easily breaks $1k in a 9.8 nowadays, and why not? It's the first issue in the run in one of the best artistic pairings on the title ever.

 

#11- Amazing Spider-Man #700, Ditko (2013)- A ridiculous 1:200 ratio made this ridiculously expensive right out the gate, with some SS copies skyrocketing as high as $4000 upon its initial release. It has since settled down, but a recent uptick in prices, coupled with the strength of its sales in almost all down grades, as well as what it gets in a yellow label earns this the #11 spot.

 

#10- Amazing Spider-Man #688, J. Scott Campbell (2012)- Did you really think we'd get very far on this list without seeing a JSC? Typically known for his pin-up work, this cover by him is actually kind of scary, and has broken $1500 in a 9.8 and has flirted with $600 raw as the folks who missed it when it first came out (or did not even realize it was a JSC cover) scramble to add it to their collections before it moves even further up the list.

 

#9- X-23 #1, Dell'Otto (2010)- Another great and hot artist lodges his first cover here. Combined with the fact that X-23 may be Marvel's hottest female character right now, a rumoured movie appearance, and a breath-taking cover, and you have a book that has now fetched $1500 in a 9.8 and $600+ raw.

 

#8- Walking Dead #100, Lucille/Red Foil Editions (2012)- The introduction of the iconic Negan in these crazy- rare issues has some people paying as much as $1800 for a 9.8 since word first leaked that he would (finally) be making his appearance in the show. Depending on how they ultimately end up depicting him there, these books could easily move up the list!

 

#7- Siege #3, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- A bizarre retailer incentive that involved destroying other comic books, a super hot artist, and one of Marvel's most trendy characters flossing on the cover are the perfect recipe to catapult this book to $2000+ in a 9.8.

 

#6- Spawn #185, Sketch (2008)- One of Image's original and longest running titles checks in here with its most valuable RI variant to date. Clocking in at $2750 the last time a 9.8 copy came up for sale publicly, the scant census numbers should keep rare variant chasers on their heels and this book in high value and esteem for the foreseeable future. Shout out to Topnotchman for pointing this awesome book out.

 

#5- Batman #608 RRP (2002)- The granddaddy of the RRP's (and possibly all modern variants) makes the top 5. And why not? It's Batman, a first appearance of a new villain, and Part One of a story line that put the Batman title back on top. Oh yeah, and it has Jim Lee art. With prices at well over $3,000 for 9.8's and copies seeming to have disappeared into personal collections, don't expect to get this one on the cheap ever again (if you can even find one).

 

 

#4- Uncanny X-Men #510 Partial Sketch Cover, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Without a doubt the most valuable and hard to find convention book out there, 9.6 copies of these have sold for $2800, and only proves once again that Campbell + crazy rarity + beautiful pin-up art = salivating fans and $$$. All things considered, it wouldn't take much for this book to jump up higher on this list.

 

#3- Wolverine #1, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- Yet another JSC cover, this one his best, lands at #3. Featuring a stocky Wolverine bulging out of Deadpool's costume, this book easily commands $3k+ in a 9.8 and is very strong in all down grades, as well as raw. It was another "destroy comics" incentive to retailers, an incentive that was so derided in the industry that it has yet to be repeated, but resulted in a book with a very low print run and insatiable demand. It was the uber-high sales prices of this book a couple of years ago that really got the JSC train going at 100 miles per hour, and if it ever stops chugging along, people will still be paying big money for this book.

 

#2- Amazing Spider-Man #678 (2012)- This now classic and oft-reprinted and homaged cover features Mary Jane in mid-possession by the alien symbiote known as Venom. Its character mash-up and spoof elements made it an instant hit right out of the gate and it never looked back. A 1:50 variant released when ASM sales were barely cracking 50,000, this book has gone for $3500 in a 9.8 (on the rare occasion they're offered), and still breaks $1000 in an 8.5! Raw copies routinely break $1000 and its scarcity on the market, its "modern grail" status, and presence in the ASM run should keep it at the top of this list for a very long time.

 

#1- Amazing Spider-Man #667, Dell'Otto (2011)- Really? Like, what else was it going to be? We're talking about a book that sells in raw, 8.0'ish condition for $2500. Possibly one of the rarest books of all in the entire ASM run, this book is a completionist's nightmare, and a rare variant hunter's wet dream. Hardly ever offered for sale, in any condition, there have been rumours and reports that as few as ~200 of these were produced. Whether this is true or not, however few copies there are seem to have already disappeared into permanent collections, and it is a veritable feeding frenzy when a copy does find its way to market. If there is such a thing as "Golden Age rarity" in the Modern Age (whether that rarity is "manufactured" or not), the ASM 667 Dell'Otto has it, and at this rate, there could easily come a time when years go by without a copy seeing the light of day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***Up and Comers***

 

 

Amazing Spider-man #648 Colour, J. Scott Campbell (2011)

 

 

Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Black Cat #1, J. Scott Campbell (2010)

 

 

 

Uncanny X-Force #20, Venom Variant (2012).

 

 

 

-J.

[bababooey]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

[Juno Beach]

Captain Marvel #14 1:30 variant is coming up on the three year mark. It should qualify then, no?

[Jaydogrules]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

Nothing you have pointed out is a "discrepancy". You just mentioned additional information I did not. I chose to write the little blurbs about each book as I saw fit and nothing I did write is factually incorrect.

 

Also, simply Re-reading the stated criteria in the original post will answer a lot of questions and any quibbles you may have regarding how I elected to rank the books.

 

**Edit-- I modified the narrative in the description for the ASM 700 Ditko to clear things up for you.

 

-J.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Jaydogrules

[Jaydogrules]

Captain Marvel #14 1:30 variant is coming up on the three year mark. It should qualify then, no?

 

Definitely a contender in six months if this is something we're still talking about then.

 

-J.

[bcphillips119]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

False... Mine sold for $2500 at the beginning of the year.

[Lazyboy]

I think it's a pretty cool list, whether it's agreed with or disagreed with. It took some time to come up with it, so kudos for that!

 

With WD being my forte, and with JJ mentioning this earlier in the thread, I would have to state that the Hero Initiative (105 copies) #100 would by far surpass the Red Foil/Lucille variants in nature of value/scarcity so if a WD ish should be on the list, it should be the HI 100 variant. But that's just my and not intended to persuade JDR from changing the list, because I can see the arguments made on the WD 100 RF/Lucille front.

 

Thanks for compiling it!

 

I agree the walking dead 100 hero initiative blanks are more rare and have at times sold for more than the Lucille/RF. But those were intended for original sketches and published with no variant art, and may not have even been intended to be released by the publisher at all in that form. It is the same reason I excluded recalled/error comics, as those are also a different beast than those on the Dirty Dozen list. The list is intended to be fluid, and I honestly did forget about Spawn 185, it should have made the original Dozen, but some of the more obscure or less applicable suggestions others have mentioned, I did consider and did not include because they honestly were not consistent with the others on the list (including the German Supergirl cover by Turner, which I did not include because it is a "foreign variant").

 

-J.

 

So now Panini (Deutschland) isn't a good enough publisher for your list? Only Marvel, DC and Image qualify?

 

It's fine, and I'm sure that Supergirl book, as awesome as it is, would be at or near the top of the "most valuable foeign variants" list. (though it is also technically a foreign reprint, if I'm not mistaken).

 

-J.

 

Of course it's licensed and reprinted from DC. So?

 

It's a variant of Batman/Superman 4, published by Panini Deutschland. It has an alternate art cover, which you are now claiming is so important for this thread. Nothing you have said previously in this thread excludes it from consideration.

 

The criteria:

 

1) Book must be at least three years old. No newly released "hot" variants were used, as we all know, the vast majority of them do not hold value. The books used need to have shown some kind of staying power;

 

2) No recalled/error books were used. Those are not "variants" as intended by the publishers;

 

3) First prints only;

 

4) Blank covers and/or sketched books were not considered.

 

Seriously, a foreign reprint is a completely different animal than the other books represented on the list. Also, it's a REPRINT, which alone would exclude it from consideration.

 

-J.

 

1. There's nothing in the criteria that says books containing reprinted material don't qualify. The criteria only excludes subsequent printings of an issue.

 

2. You're not seriously going to try to tell me that interiors matter at all for the purposes of your list, are you?

 

 

[BarryAllen]

I wanna see a top 50 list.

[Jaydogrules]

I wanna see a top 50 list.

 

Ugh. You've got to be kidding. It's like defending a Master's thesis just for the Top 12.

 

Realistically I think I can do a follow up "Lucky 13" to get it to 25. After that, the field is just way too wide open.

 

-J.

[bababooey]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

False... Mine sold for $2500 at the beginning of the year.

You mean this one?

If no one bought it here for $899 and it sold elsewhere for 2500, good for you.

 

[bcphillips119]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

False... Mine sold for $2500 at the beginning of the year.

You mean this one?

If no one bought it here for $899 and it sold elsewhere for 2500, good for you.

 

 

yeah actually that one

[bababooey]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

Nothing you have pointed out is a "discrepancy". You just mentioned additional information I did not. I chose to write the little blurbs about each book as I saw fit and nothing I did write is factually incorrect.

 

Also, simply Re-reading the stated criteria in the original post will answer a lot of questions and any quibbles you may have regarding how I elected to rank the books.

 

**Edit-- I modified the narrative in the description for the ASM 700 Ditko to clear things up for you.

 

I kept watching your response change from edits but fell asleep.

No, none of your criteria clarifies the spin doctoring of your write ups...now let's do an exercise:

 

Reread the above two responses, as you'll see I never referred to the two write ups as containing "discrepancies" I said they were "very misleading" specifically for the reasons I documented - they still are. I have no doubt you wrote them as you "saw fit" because that is precisely why many take issue with the things you post.

 

I could point out a hundred instances where you have posted with a clear intent to influence the market when it comes to this handful of books that you continually promote on these boards. Clearly it's easier for you to promote these books by choosing data points that will convey the message you want, I just think a tighter list with accurate data would reduce the noise or friction you are getting from others, including me earlier in this thread when pointing out how estimated print runs were being presented in a biased way.

 

[ygogolak]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

Don't worry, the check is in the mail.

[paul747]

All variants are technically different printings... Saga should be on that list !

[Jaydogrules]

If you're going to mention price why don't you make an effort to put either current or accurate data in your write ups - any of the ones I checked are very misleading.

 

The ASM 700 Ditko in CGC 9.8 sells for a grand on a good day...the only number mentioned is the silly 4K prices when it was released.

 

The ASM 667 has two CGC 9.6 sales for $3550 which is an enormous amount that I presume you feel is low so your write up mentions a $2500 sale of a raw 8.0 ish copy.

 

It would be nice if others would step up and point out discrepancies in the data being presented here, it's too much work for me & I'm tired.

 

 

 

 

Nothing you have pointed out is a "discrepancy". You just mentioned additional information I did not. I chose to write the little blurbs about each book as I saw fit and nothing I did write is factually incorrect.

 

Also, simply Re-reading the stated criteria in the original post will answer a lot of questions and any quibbles you may have regarding how I elected to rank the books.

 

**Edit-- I modified the narrative in the description for the ASM 700 Ditko to clear things up for you.

 

I kept watching your response change from edits but fell asleep.

No, none of your criteria clarifies the spin doctoring of your write ups...now let's do an exercise:

 

Reread the above two responses, as you'll see I never referred to the two write ups as containing "discrepancies" I said they were "very misleading" specifically for the reasons I documented - they still are. I have no doubt you wrote them as you "saw fit" because that is precisely why many take issue with the things you post.

 

I could point out a hundred instances where you have posted with a clear intent to influence the market when it comes to this handful of books that you continually promote on these boards. Clearly it's easier for you to promote these books by choosing data points that will convey the message you want, I just think a tighter list with accurate data would reduce the noise or friction you are getting from others, including me earlier in this thread when pointing out how estimated print runs were being presented in a biased way.

 

It's just plain tacky to sit back and heckle from the peanut gallery after someone else has already done all the work. The presumptions of your above post are far-flung and borderline offensive, as once again your myopic opinions cloud what is actually going on.

 

So let me clear things up for you one last time:

 

I DO NOT OWN MOST OF THE BOOKS THAT ARE ON THIS LIST. I DO NOT SELL COMIC BOOKS. I HAVE NEVER SOLD A COMIC BOOK. I AM ONLY A COLLECTOR AND A FAN.

 

Also, since you apparently have not been paying attention, the majority of the feedback from this thread has been positive, the only "noise or friction", as you call it, being largely "why not this book", or "why not that book", which I explicitly invited at the end of my first post. Guess you missed that too.

 

There is absolutely nothing "inaccurate" about any of the data that I presented or any of the top sales on any of the books (again, most of which I do not own) summarized in the blurbs. That is just, once again , the noise in your own head clouding what you are seeing.

 

But I will take it as a compliment that you (and a couple of others) believed that I either own all of these books, or that they are my "personal favourites". I deliberately wanted to convey a positive and enthusiastic tone about all of these books, because, at the end of the day, I'm a fan of comic books.

 

 

Back on point...

 

Paul, I thought the Saga RRP was a first print, but HarveySwick and others have shown that it is not. I know it sells for good money, trust me, I looked it up, but as a reprint it would be on another list, as I said earlier, a list could probably be made of the "most valuable variant reprints". The variant reprint market is an emerging sub-niche. All the other books on the list are first prints. In the interest of uniformity and having a level playing field by which to apply the criteria, later printings of books (and other books that fell into sub-niche categories) were not considered. As I said in an earlier post, in order for a list of the Dirty Dozen to even be possible, I had to find the sweet spot that applied to "most" books and the go from there.

 

Now I just need to decide if I have the stomach to put the next 13 out there.

 

-J.

 

[valiantman]

All variants are technically different printings... Saga should be on that list !

Not if Rule 3) First prints only;

 

Saga 1 RRP is a third printing.

[oldbsturgeon]

what about the books raw? how many break $1000 ungraded?

I don't look at that stuff personally as it doesn't matter to me as I won't own any of them, but like reading about this sort of thing.

[Kyle R.]

what about the books raw? how many break $1000 ungraded?

I don't look at that stuff personally as it doesn't matter to me as I won't own any of them, but like reading about this sort of thing.

 

Only one I can think of is the Dark Knight Master Race #1 Jim Lee Sketch

[Jaydogrules]

what about the books raw? how many break $1000 ungraded?

I don't look at that stuff personally as it doesn't matter to me as I won't own any of them, but like reading about this sort of thing.

 

Actually, decent looking raw copies of the top 7 have sold for $1000+ on a regular basis.

 

(The Jim Lee Master Race book is a series of OA on blanks that just came out a few months ago, for both reasons it wasn't considered for the list.)

 

-J.