COPPER AGE BOOKS FUTURE VALUES

[EwanUK]

arrgh - can't help it - I'm obsessed!!!

I can gaze at my MM no.15 9.8 all night...

 

Anyway, 1985 to 1987 were some of the best years in comics ever. Copper Age is the age, they came of age.

[joe_collector]

I remember in the 1980s how 70s comics were regarded as generally worthless! That's certainly changed now!

 

If I read this type of again....

 

Do you have any idea when bags and boards became available in the mass market? When comics shops regularly bagged and boarded their back-stock? When comic stores really took over, and allowed mass-buy-speculation by customers? Or when preview magazines became standard, and allowed customers to speculate months in advance?

 

Copper values are NOT just a pile of simplistic "Yo Jethro, I dun 'member when doz 70's comix were wort nuthin - sew da same ting'll happen wit 1980's books!" horseshat. There are real factors behind the opinions posted here, and while Bronze supplies are immense, the sheer numbers of these 1980's books, and their condition, is staggering.

[HouseofComics.Com]

When you couple all of that with the huge print runs (comparatively) on Copper Age titles (anywhere from 100,000 copies to 250,000 copies on mainstream titles)

 

The number I always famously remember was that X-Men supposedly was selling 400,000 copies a month to lead the pack. This was 1983 to 1986-ish. It was in all the trade press. Marc's Comic Corner was doing its part, ordering 10-30 extra copies each month for later sale.

 

Marc

[Norrin_Radd]

I remember in the 1980s how 70s comics were regarded as generally worthless! That's certainly changed now!

 

If I read this type of again....

 

Do you have any idea when bags and boards became available in the mass market? When comics shops regularly bagged and boarded their back-stock? When comic stores really took over, and allowed mass-buy-speculation by customers? Or when preview magazines became standard, and allowed customers to speculate months in advance?

 

Copper values are NOT just a pile of simplistic "Yo Jethro, I dun 'member when doz 70's comix were wort nuthin - sew da same ting'll happen wit 1980's books!" horseshat. There are real factors behind the opinions posted here, and while Bronze supplies are immense, the sheer numbers of these 1980's books, and their condition, is staggering.

 

Pet peeve? I've heard that before.

[joe_collector]

Pet peeve? I've heard that before.

 

I wonder if these guys believe that early-90's books will become ultra-valuable, just because "people said 1970's books would be worthless".

[ft88]

Every 80s collection I come across has X-men 130 something to 200 something. And these are from individuals not even previous dealers. Anybody and everybody who collected in the 80s bought X-men and related titles. They are the 1980's Topps baseball cards of comics.

[Jake01-migration]

very ture.Many of the X-Men books that were worth 20-25 bucks in the mid 80's are now only worth 40 bucks or so.Which i would imagine that 25 bucks back then is equivalent to 40 bucks today..possibly more.Atleast Avengers and hulk had print run's that were less than half that of X-men at the time.(correct me if i am wrong) If it is after 1980 or so i would be very selective about what i buy.

[Aman619]

I hear New Teen Titans #2 is a $100 book now. Go figure. Nothing like a massive shift in awareness and heat will do to a "common" book's sell price. There will be others from the 80s too in time.

[the blob]

"Atleast Avengers and hulk had print run's that were less than half that of X-men at the time.(correct me if i am wrong)"

 

I don't know about Hulk, but I would be surprised about the Avengers being so much less than X-Men. Particularly by the late 70s, the Avengers were getting a fair number of "hot" artists like Perez and Byrne working on the title.

[shadroch]

In the 1980s,Avengers didn't sell anywhere near X-Men.Not only didn't it sell close to the Xs as a new issue,but back issue sales were very poor. Most dealers,as Marc said,bought extra X books because they were steady back issue sellers.Avengers weren't, so the amount bought,as compared to the amount sold was even more in favor of the X-group.Most of my fellow store owners bought just enough Avengers to sell-out. The Hulk,esp. the issues leading up to 300 sold much better than the Avengers.When The West Coast Avengers came out,sales of the original title suffered even more.For a longtime the only post 200 Avengers issue that sold at all was 263,with the return of Jean Grey.While its considered somewhat of a classic today,the Avengers issues where the super-villians trash the mansion, and almost kill Herc, didn't make much of a buzz at the time.for most of its forty plus years,Avengers has been a bottom tier book,sales wise.

[Jake01-migration]

In the 1980s,Avengers didn't sell anywhere near X-Men.Not only didn't it sell close to the Xs as a new issue,but back issue sales were very poor. Most dealers,as Marc said,bought extra X books because they were steady back issue sellers.Avengers weren't, so the amount bought,as compared to the amount sold was even more in favor of the X-group.Most of my fellow store owners bought just enough Avengers to sell-out. The Hulk,esp. the issues leading up to 300 sold much better than the Avengers.When The West Coast Avengers came out,sales of the original title suffered even more.For a longtime the only post 200 Avengers issue that sold at all was 263,with the return of Jean Grey.While its considered somewhat of a classic today,the Avengers issues where the super-villians trash the mansion, and almost kill Herc, didn't make much of a buzz at the time.for most of its forty plus years,Avengers has been a bottom tier book,sales wise.

Would that be good for Avengers like the Byrne and Perez run's? also just the general fact that orders were nowhere near X titles?

[shadroch]

I can't answer as I wasn't running a store during that time.

I would guess that Bryne bought many X fans with him when he joined the creative team.

[Jake01-migration]

Sorry my question was concerning future values.If Avengers did poor sales in this era would certain issues like the Byrne and Perez runs make them desirable in the future?(Granted we are talking mid to late 70's and not Copper age but i assume the dismal sales went way into the 80's and probably then some)

Just curious...lower print numbers compared to other main books of the era coupled with Artists like Byrne.... would that not equal some desirablity for them down the road? Just a thought.

[delekkerste]

I hear New Teen Titans #2 is a $100 book now. Go figure. Nothing like a massive shift in awareness and heat will do to a "common" book's sell price. There will be others from the 80s too in time.

 

Yeah, but how many of those books will be able hang onto those price increases? NTT #2 at $100? Flavor of the moment, I'm afraid. I highly doubt it will be a 3-figure book 5 years from now. And that WC Avengers issue where Wanda starts flipping out? That's hot because it led to Avengers Disassembled (one of the worst storylines of all-time) and House of M (I'm in denial that this travesty is even happening)? Tell me we won't see this one back in the quarter or dollar bins in 5-10 years with the rest of the formerly hot '80s/'90s books.

[bigfiver69]

Another thought about future values of books 1979-1989.

 

Every year (for DC anyway) they were legally bound to print the previous year's printing and ciculation information. It's a good gauge for how many books got squirelled away.

 

X-Men? Daredevil? New Teen Titans? Someone on the list said that runs of these exist in EVERY 80s collection - and they're right. And the grades are probably very high. Circulation and sales on these books were huge!

 

I go back again to the mixture of quality and scarcity. Look at books from the early 80s with print runs under 150,000, and sales figures of half that or less. Then ask... 'despite the fact that it wasn't a good seller at the time, is this a good comic, with good art, stories, cover, etc.' That's where future value lies.

 

There are lots of bronze age books that will never be valuable because they were [embarrassing lack of self control] books. There's a reason that everybody wants Adams, Wrightson and Heath from that era - because they rocked!

 

As a war collector, Weird War is a great example. I think in 1980 or 81, sales dipped under 60,000. That was NOTHING back then. But there were great stories in some of those issues. Always got a great Kubert cover, solid stories, and art by guys like Steve Ditko. Not to everyone's taste, but these remain popular in HIGH GRADE! In ten years time, any late run NM Weird War Tales book is a $50 book. No question about it.

 

Gonna be the same for a lot of early 80s DC - Swamp Things, Jonah Hex, Mystery in Space, Time Warp, House of Mystery, Secrets of Haunted House, and character-based miniseries.

 

There's gold in them thar coppers.

 

Shep

[joe_collector]

And that WC Avengers issue where Wanda starts flipping out? That's hot because it led to Avengers Disassembled (one of the worst storylines of all-time) and House of M

 

Hmmmm, tell me more, as if it's a Byrne issue, I might have a few.

[nearmint]

I am amazed that the early Elementals,and the Justice Machine,for that matter don't sell for more.

 

Do most of the people on the boards even know who The Elementals are? I remember liking the series, but that was a LONG time ago.

[nearmint]

I hear New Teen Titans #2 is a $100 book now. Go figure. Nothing like a massive shift in awareness and heat will do to a "common" book's sell price. There will be others from the 80s too in time.

 

That's stupid money for that book. It's very common, and who cares about the first app. of Deathstroke?

[DKB]

I am amazed that the early Elementals,and the Justice Machine,for that matter don't sell for more.

 

Do most of the people on the boards even know who The Elementals are?

 

Um, who are The Elementals and what is the Justice Machine?

[whetteon]

I hear New Teen Titans #2 is a $100 book now. Go figure. Nothing like a massive shift in awareness and heat will do to a "common" book's sell price. There will be others from the 80s too in time.

 

That's stupid money for that book. It's very common, and who cares about the first app. of Deathstroke?