What's the Market on Disney Books? 0

[Mac Man]

I have ALWAYS loved the covers of the GA Disney Books, but given the prices, I'm forced to look at them from a collector / investor POV.

With that in mind, do you believe that Disney books are an investment worth making? And if so, which one should collectors pursue (again, presupposing the collectors are already Disney fans and would enjoy the comics, too)?

[gadzukes]

34 minutes ago, Mac Man said:

I have ALWAYS loved the covers of the GA Disney Books, but given the prices, I'm forced to look at them from a collector / investor POV.

With that in mind, do you believe that Disney books are an investment worth making? And if so, which one should collectors pursue (again, presupposing the collectors are already Disney fans and would enjoy the comics, too)?

I love the Disney comics too.  But.... I have never felt they were a good investment.  I have a bunch but purely because I love them.

However.... the closer we get to:

The 100th anniversary of Disney (in 3 years)

The 100th anniversary of Mickey (in 8 years)

The 100th anniversay of Donald (14 years)

There's bound to be a huge uptick in Disney comics corresponding to those events.

[tth2]

A Four Color #9 in CGC 9.4 with C-OW pages just sold for $38k.  'Nuff said.

[Bookery]

As pertains to non-key mid-grade Disneys, I heard that in France there's a small shop, tucked out of the way, not sure where... but I think it's near Marseilles.... Anyway, I heard they were able to sell a couple of issues last year.

 

[gadzukes]

1 hour ago, tth2 said:

A Four Color #9 in CGC 9.4 with C-OW pages just sold for $38k.  'Nuff said.

Simply unbelievable that a 9.4 of that comic exists.  Disney comics were probably read more times on average than any other comic.

[path4play]

Not an expert in this area but it seems as if Disney and Warner Brothers have dumped and walked away from anything that has a sniff of the 'ole days.  Whether collectors do to is different issue but over long term my guess is yes.

 

[Bronty]

2 hours ago, tth2 said:

A Four Color #9 in CGC 9.4 with C-OW pages just sold for $38k.  'Nuff said.

Is that higher than past sales?

What are your thoughts on FC9?   Personally I think #29 is the better book.    You can really see the 'shared' duties on #9 when you look at the interior pages.   

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

HIgh grade keys seem to be strong and will probably hold value but if you are looking for a windfall I might look elsewhere. However finding these books in 9.0 and above is nigh on impossible as they were great books designed to appeal to kids and they loved them to death. That paradigm yields an endless supply of well loved readers for anyone who wants to put a collection together on a budget.

However books from the early forties are in shorter supply than anything after say 1946 or 1947 sort of corresponding with the wartime paper drives. I've actually seen quite a bit of strength recently in the pre-Barks WDCS in all grades which is surprising.

MM#16 Phantom Blot seems to do great in all grades and a 9.0 copy of that would knock it out of the park. Some of the early  non-duck Disney Four Colors are beautiful books and seem undervalued to me but there may just be more copies available than folks who want them. Additionally, many of the crossover Disney collectors may be unaware of some of these more obscure issues. My personal favorites are the Three Caballeros (great Kelly artwork), Thumper meets the Seven Dwarfs (very obscure), and Snow White. I've had a hard time locating a copy of the early Dumbo book and that is elusive in decent condition.

[comicginger1789]

I would stay away from Disney books as an investment. Far away.

Yes, there are certain issues (as with any collectible) that always have value. But they are few and far between. Yes you will always have Disney fans who will pay for nice condition books but there are lots out there of the non key stuff. Plus, I feel like most Disney/Mickey/Donald fans are older. Or at least I have not met any collectors younger than 35 who are hardcore into the comics. I may be wrong but I just feel like the demand is not there and I doubt it will be. 

If you can get som ekey issues now, sure, in a few years when we hit some Disney milestones, you could see a nice return. But in terms of collecting them beyond that, well it had best be because you enjoy them and not because you hope to have a gold mine worth of books in the future. 

[pooroldman]

8 hours ago, Bookery said:

As pertains to non-key mid-grade Disneys, I heard that in France there's a small shop, tucked out of the way, not sure where... but I think it's near Marseilles.... Anyway, I heard they were able to sell a couple of issues last year.

 

Hey....no soup for you!

[circumstances]

If I ever got any in a collection I was always grateful to get rid of them for whatever.

[Tri-Color Brian]

In the olden days...1970s...I bought a few nice higher grade Disneys just because I liked them.  I don't care if I ever make money on them.  I doubt I will ever sell them...  But as for the original question...I doubt I would pay high dollar today to invest in any Disney comic.  There are too many of them...

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

10 minutes ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

In the olden days...1970s...I bought a few nice higher grade Disneys just because I liked them.  I don't care if I ever make money on them.  I doubt I will ever sell them...  But as for the original question...I doubt I would pay high dollar today to invest in any Disney comic.  There are too many of them...

That’s a nice group Brian and illustrates what Disney comics collecting is about. Fun high quality books for a reasonable price! 

[Tri-Color Brian]

1 minute ago, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

That’s a nice group Brian and illustrates what Disney comics collecting is about. Fun high quality books for a reasonable price! 

Thanks.  I have a lot more, but I think these are some of the highest grades in my collection.  I started picking up some WDC&S post issue #110 a couple years ago in mid grade because they were so cheap, but I am not an active Disney collector or hunter...I just love the stories. 

[jimbo_7071]

3 hours ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

In the olden days...1970s...I bought a few nice higher grade Disneys just because I liked them.  I don't care if I ever make money on them.  I doubt I will ever sell them...  But as for the original question...I doubt I would pay high dollar today to invest in any Disney comic.  There are too many of them...

I agree. Census numbers have been rocketing upward on most 40s WDC&S books.

That said, Mickey Mouse and the Phantom Blot has been on my want list since I was a kid. Even if it has more downside that upside, I'd still bid on the right copy.

ETA: I just paid close to $300  for this one even though it's a very common book with very little demand. What can I say? I like the artwork, especially on the back.

Edited March 15, 2020 by jimbo_7071

[Stingrayiii]

I still think they are a bargain. I collect them and keep 7.0 and up. I prefer 8.0 and up as they can get pricey in the 9.0s.

[Tri-Color Brian]

33 minutes ago, jimbo_7071 said:

I agree. Census numbers have been rocketing upward on most 40s WDC&S books.

That said, Mickey Mouse and the Phantom Blot has been on my want list since I was a kid. Even if it has more downside that upside, I'd still bid on the right copy.

ETA: I just paid close to $300  for this one even though it's a very common book with very little demand. What can I say? I like the artwork, especially on the back.

Cool book, but it really puzzles me why Disney artists did not draw an accurate depiction of the Disneyland layout at that time...

[batman_fan]

We shall see in May how Disney books do.  Heritage has an amazing array of high grade issues coming up for sale.  I know I will be watching quite a few and hopefully bidding on some.

 

Added a small sample of what is coming up on HA

Edited March 15, 2020 by batman_fan

[sacentaur]

14 hours ago, Bronty said:

What are your thoughts on FC9?   Personally I think #29 is the better book.    You can really see the 'shared' duties on #9 when you look at the interior pages.   

Doesn’t matter much to me if Ducks are a good investment or not, I enjoy owning them.

FC 29 is my hands down all-time favorite Duck book, so I sprung for this raw mid-grade back in January... and am very happy I did (near white pages, too).

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

3 hours ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Cool book, but it really puzzles me why Disney artists did not draw an accurate depiction of the Disneyland layout at that time...

We’ll for starters they had probably never been there as that book would have come out shortly after Disneyland opened and was probably produced before it opened in July of ‘55. Additionally, they were trying to jam as much as possible into the cover rendering and took much liberty with whatever information they had.

By the way have you ever seen the original concept art for Disneyland by Herb Ryman? It’s been reproduced but I’ve been lucky enough to see the original in person; an amazing piece of work.