"Investing" in comic merchandise

[COI]

We've beaten the topic of investing in comics to death, so here's another angle:

 

On recent threads, there has been mention of Superheroes never dying out of pop culture, even if comics eventually do. So that being said, what about other quality comic related items( I emphasize quality).

 

We've spoken a bit about Original art, but what about stuff like Statues/Busts, action figures, and other similar items? Anyone collect this stuff? And what are some opinions about the investment potential? For statues and busts in particular, production #'s are pretty low, and demand is high.

 

An example would be GI Joe. The comics are not hard or too expensive to collect, but for you 80's kids, have you checked out the older toys recently? Crazy prices! I myself am not a "Joe collector"( ) but I sold a MOC Cobra Commander for $1000 a year ago!

 

Also, I saw an episode of a show called "The Incurable Collector" which highlighted Bowen busts as an investment idea for the reasons I mentioned above.

 

Any thoughts on the potential value of this kind of non-comic superhero merchandise? Any collectors on this board?

[delekkerste]

Any thoughts on the potential value of this kind of non-comic superhero merchandise?

 

I think the value of these "comic derivatives" will depend, to a large extent, on the overall health of the comic book hobby.

 

I'm skeptical on the appreciation potential of things like Bowen busts...they are, in the truest sense, a "manufactured collectible", with limited production runs, etc. I think most "successful" collectibles are those that were initially widely produced and distributed (so as to become very recognized by the public), but not conserved well (especially in grade), leading to price appreciation as nostalgic buyers/collectors scramble to find the best specimens. I think that criteria fits for most of the major collectible categories out there.

 

Gene

[TomG]

There are numerous types of comic memorabilia that exist. This includes action figures, statues, big little books, premium rings, pinback buttons, and a lot of other items. Many of these items have had a great track record over the past 20+ years.

 

Tom

 

 

 

[COI]

will depend, to a large extent, on the overall health of the comic book hobby.

 

I think that may not particularly be true. It's the first instinct of a comic collector to think this way, but I've seen otherwise.

 

As has been mentioned, many of these characters are Icons of pop culture. There are people out there who may not care much about the comics, but would like a nice piece of artwork(statues, original art etc..) depicting some of these characters. I know of one guy in particular who collects bowen busts and statues, but does not own, or care to own a single comic. That's one of the things that sparked the question.

 

they are, in the truest sense, a "manufactured collectible", with limited production runs, etc. I think most "successful" collectibles are those that were initially widely produced and distributed (so as to become very recognized by the public), but not conserved well (especially in grade), leading to price appreciation as nostalgic buyers/collectors scramble to find the best specimens.

 

That I agree with.

[joe_collector]

Andrew, there are some opportunities, but research the market a bit, and as with your comics, concentrate on the older issues and stay far away from the Modern crapola.

 

Keep in mind that Bowen Busts may be quite an ironic name.

[COI]

Keep in mind that Bowen Busts may be quite an ironic name

 

 

I actually have no interest in these busts, or investing in them. Some of them look nice in their close up pics, but when see them in person they're so small and insignificant looking.

 

The reason Bowen has put so much production emphasis in them is because they take a hell of a lot less work and money to produce, and sell better to the open market due to affordability. Personally, I'd rather have one of the full-sized statues, than 5 or 10 of those busts.

[clobberintime]

I hate to admit but I have been completely sucked in by all of it! I have a good many of those bowen Stats and get most of the action figures that come out to. Also have complete sets of every Hero Clix edition. Just got the new Superman figures and they are awesome, the new line of marvel figues is top notch, also have the original set of Spawn figures, Famous covers stuff and some megos. I also like the old aurora monster models, transformers and Godzilla stuff. I don't really buy that stuff for investment - i just love the looks of it and am glad it's available! But those statues have a very good after market.

[aardvark88]

Have a Hero Clix Hulk. Surprised at the quality of sculpting & painting at such a low price point. No wonder the teens try to collect them all.

[COI]

I've haven't bought any of that kind of stuff because once you start, it can be very easy to lose control.

 

The only exception I make are full-sized statues, particularly Bowen's line. The detail and craftsmenship on them is incredible, like on the DD red and yellow. And there aren't a million of them either. I've also noticed that full sized statues do have a terrific after market value, and prices have slowly continued to climb on most.

 

Also, Bowen's contract with marvel is up, which means no more production of new statues. There's a new company doing it(Marvel direct? Diamond direct?) but the quality isn't as good.

 

 

[TomG]

Does anyone collect the Dark Horse Classic Comic Characters statuettes?

[clobberintime]

They are great little figures! I have no idea how the game is played though! I just picked up the latest edition this week. I paid about $150 for the whole set with the uniques - great stuff with Abomination, Hulk, iron man, sauron, ice man, colossus etc. If you have not seen the new Superman action figs look for them. Bizarro, brainiac, and Superman are out now. also got all those JLA maquettes - very nice work there too. The new hulk mini is sharp and I just got that FF book end set which is fun. That Superman Statue with the eagle on his arm I like a lot too - from Superman 14 i think?

[Mushroom]

I also used to collect the 70's megos, especially the Bat's. I have been out of touch for a long time. What has been the market performance for these older figures. Surely that would be a guide as to collectability and investment potential.

 

I must say I got out of collecting figures when they started to produce a million Bat and Spidey figures that didn't even look like them.

[TomG]

Mego figures are great! Do you have either the Bruce Wayne or Grayson figure? The Batman with removable mask is also a great figure.

 

Tom

[fantastic_four]

I own most of the Bowen statues, but I can't stand busts. And I haven't seen any decent statues at all out of Diamond yet, so I'm pretty disappointed in Bowen losing the contract. I really want a good statues of Juggernaut, Iceman, and Venom, but I'm afraid nobody will ever make them like Bowen could've...

 

As for the topic of the thread--I would think superhero merchandise could have a longer viable lifespan than the comics themselves. As long as the characters are popular in some medium like TV and film, items like statues will also be popular.

[Mushroom]

I have the Bruce Wayne (but not the Grayson), I have three Bat variants. The removeable mask is a classic. They all have their capes, gloves and boots intact. I have them on the same shelf as my Astro Boy, my Gigantor and a very rare Prince Planet.

 

Having said all of the above, an interesting twist on the superhero collectable market would be around the collecting of japanese tin toys from the 60's. There would have been at least 20-30 producers and they covered Japanese heroes, Disney and US heroes. Now these collectables have a massive market (low supply), have gone up in value nearly every year and look especially sweet.

 

One of the appeals of these toys is that the market is not limited to fanboys.

 

I also think that transformers and other 80's toys also have a chance given that such a large majority would have been played with rather than kept MOC.

 

 

[yertle]

but for you 80's kids, have you checked out the older toys recently?

 

Ugh, don't get me started. About 4 years ago when I took my hiatus from comic collecting I turned to toy collecting mainly trying to obtain those great '80s toys I loved so dearly.

 

I look back and wonder what the hell was I doing! I'm now the proud owner of an Optimus Prime in box, Jetfire, Grimlock, Voltron (giant size cats) and a variety of other Transformers that I owned when I was a child. I guess you could say I was trying to re-live my childhood again. But I can now say that those items I bought will never be sold and I'll hand them down to my children someday, hopefully.

 

 

 

 

[TomG]

I always loved Transformers. Fortress Maxiumus was one of the best figures they made towards the end of the run. It was nice to see that Hasbro has released collector's editions of several of the figures recently. I am looking forward to the Unicron figure.

 

Tom

[comicartfan]

I used to be a huge toy collector prior to collecting comics and I found the toys were more unstable in terms of investment. they are harder to store, keep mint, etc...and have a more limited demand than comics or statues.

 

I have been collecting the statues recently, picked up the Hulk mini (also have the large one) and the value doubles almost immediately.....and this new Batman Jim Lee statue that is coming out is going to appreciate quickly. I ordered two of them...and all the Super Friends Marquttes I grabbed also.

 

 

[clobberintime]

I picked up an original Omega Supreme awhile ago - still works perfectly with the tank and in walking robot mode!

[blowout]

I have been looking at the Hero Clix figures in the stores and they are pretty cool, and darn cheap considering how much work went into them. I am thinking of picking some up, but from a collecting point of view, not sure about the investment potential.

As far as comic related items being valuable in the future, there doesn't seem to be many historical example other than the comic books themselves. The whole comic book trading card thing was big for a while, but you can pick all those old cards up for pretty much cost now.