thoughts on superman # 1

[action1kid]

in any grade,restored or unrestored i do not feel superman #1 is a rare book,not even a scarce book!...and by GOLDEN AGE STANDARDS maybe even a relitively common book...over 30 years i have seen many many different copies of this book.

this years s.d convention had plenty as does every big convention....the rarity of the book happens when it is unrestored,as i feel its stunningly beautiful cover made it a magnet for crayons as most superman number 1s are restored,probably more than any golden age key[along with batman 1]...i do feel at fine 6.0 and above[unrestored] it does become rare.......i got to thinking about it when i saw 4 restored copies on ebay this week....

[themegoguy]

It may not be as scarce as other golden age books, but its the law of supply and DEMAND. Nearly everyone would love to own the book, hence the astronomical price.

[non sequitur]

Census indicates that there are 45 copies, 31 of which are restored, so there is some support for the observation that unrestored copies are harder to come by.

 

But 45 copies, if accurate, is rare, though admittedly not as rare as many other GA titles. Demand obviously accounts for the pricing (census numbers generally illustrate that there are more #1 issues of a title than #2, yet the former will always be worth more due to demand).

 

But here's the most curious thing: if there are only 45 copies, why is there seemingly always 1 on eBay! Is there just a lot of 'churning' of the book (the commodity view), or is it a lot of fakes being passed off as the real thing (the counterfeit view)?

 

Either way: consistent availability on eBay and elsewhere to me seems to drive the price DOWN, and I wish it would become a little more 'rare' so as to increase the value. I don't expect that will happen until after the movie releases next summer.

 

I'd like to hear other thoughts on when people think Action1/Superman1 prices will peak.

[action1kid]

hi non sequitur//

45 copies are all that cgc has graded so far,dont go by that figure to support rarity,there are many many ungraded ones that cgc has even seen yet...i would think there are some 200 copies or so in exsistance,many ungraded...that figure is supported by the overstreet and gerber census[which i know can certainly be incorrect, my own observations would make me feel 150 or more exsists, this is an educated guess,i am not stating any facts

[action1kid]

i wasnt talking about demand in the issue,im strickly talking about the number of exsisting copies which cgc has graded only a small percentage of..im talking about all copies,graded,ungraded,restored and unrestored..i think thats needs to be said.

[action1kid]

i think a good reply to the question of the peaking of act1 and supes1 is

 

have they ever peaked before? and if so,what were the circumstances that caused the peak in the past?

[Apotheosis]

Either way: consistent availability on eBay and elsewhere to me seems to drive the price DOWN, and I wish it would become a little more 'rare' so as to increase the value. I don't expect that will happen until after the movie releases next summer.

 

I really don't see the movie doing much for the price of Supes #1. It's not like it's a title that the vast majority of people are unfamiliar with. Add into that the fact that it's a severely expensive book that no average movie goer can even think of affording. Let's face it... that book will only be bought by people that are already familiar with it and the movie coming out isn't going to make them say; "Oh... I forgot I wanted one of those."

 

Just my opinion anyway.

[Point Five]

I really don't see the movie doing much for the price of Supes #1. It's not like it's a title that the vast majority of people are unfamiliar with. Add into that the fact that it's a severely expensive book that no average movie goer can even think of affording. Let's face it... that book will only be bought by people that are already familiar with it and the movie coming out isn't going to make them say; "Oh... I forgot I wanted one of those."

 

Just my opinion anyway.

 

That's a good point. I don't think the success of Batman Begins had any impact on the GA Batman market, did it? In fact, I'd say the opposite: there's been quite an glut of GA Batmans on the market in the last 4-6 months, which (ironically) has made it a nice time to be a buyer...

[Bonds25]

in any grade,restored or unrestored i do not feel superman #1 is a rare book,not even a scarce book!...and by GOLDEN AGE STANDARDS maybe even a relitively common book...over 30 years i have seen many many different copies of this book.

this years s.d convention had plenty as does every big convention....the rarity of the book happens when it is unrestored,as i feel its stunningly beautiful cover made it a magnet for crayons as most superman number 1s are restored,probably more than any golden age key[along with batman 1]...i do feel at fine 6.0 and above[unrestored] it does become rare.......i got to thinking about it when i saw 4 restored copies on ebay this week....

 

Would it be too much to ask of you to actually capitalize your letters and use sentences with periods? Your posts are very difficult to read and I usually just skip over them because of it.

[action1kid]

Can do.

[action1kid]

I do not believe the Superman movies will help the key Superman comics either.

[non sequitur]

I really don't see the movie doing much for the price of Supes #1. It's not like it's a title that the vast majority of people are unfamiliar with. Add into that the fact that it's a severely expensive book that no average movie goer can even think of affording. Let's face it... that book will only be bought by people that are already familiar with it and the movie coming out isn't going to make them say; "Oh... I forgot I wanted one of those."

 

Just my opinion anyway.

 

That's a good point. I don't think the success of Batman Begins had any impact on the GA Batman market, did it? In fact, I'd say the opposite: there's been quite an glut of GA Batmans on the market in the last 4-6 months, which (ironically) has made it a nice time to be a buyer...

 

The movie may have raised the PERCEPTION of value, which in turn led to more people becoming sellers, which then had the unintended effect of making it a buyer's market. I'd be interested in seeing if GP analysis can chart the prices of batman1/Tec27 prices in the wake of the movie (pre- and post-release).

 

But my point about the movie is that it revives the entire franchise, making the long-term market look a lot better. Were it not for Batman Begins, I don't think the Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney efforts would bode well for the long-term future of the title (thank god for the excellent animated series (plural)). Superman Returns may not be as critical in this regard, because the 70's movie is still extremely watchable, but I can't say the same for Michael Keaton and the Prince soundtrack.

 

I'd planned to sell my Sup1 in '06, but according to my own theory, I guess I should put that off until the '06 hype dies down, maybe in '08? Hopefully there will be sequels, as have already been announced for the most recent Batman.

[tth2]

I don't think the success of Batman Begins had any impact on the GA Batman market, did it?

No, but Batman is already a long-established movie franchise. When the first Batman movie came out and made big money at the box office, everything that was Batman-related, including the GA books, and particularly that was Joker-related, skyrocketed. There may have even been a stretch during this period where Detective #27 replaced Action #1 on the top of people's want lists and "most important comics" lists. I can't remember if Detective #27 ever replaced Action #1 as the most expensive book in Overstreet, though.

[action1kid]

it actually did for a short while

[non sequitur]

hi non sequitur//

45 copies are all that cgc has graded so far,dont go by that figure to support rarity,there are many many ungraded ones that cgc has even seen yet...i would think there are some 200 copies or so in exsistance,many ungraded...that figure is supported by the overstreet and gerber census[which i know can certainly be incorrect, my own observations would make me feel 150 or more exsists, this is an educated guess,i am not stating any facts

 

As a basis for comparison, how many copies would you say exist of Detective 27, Action 1 and Batman 1?

 

Given the recent sales activity/availability of Batman 1, I'd have to say that like Superman 1 it can't be that rare by GA standards.

[action1kid]

I would say of all copies that

 

75 copies of action 1 exsist

60 copies of detective 27 exsist

250 or more copies of batman 1.exsist

 

this is my opinion only based on observation and also the use of overstreet and gerber all over a great period of time...no facts here, its my opinion.

[non sequitur]

i think a good reply to the question of the peaking of act1 and supes1 is

 

have they ever peaked before? and if so,what were the circumstances that caused the peak in the past?

 

I guess it is the bedrock principle of the collecting community that these books CAN'T peak - it's impermissible, they can only go up. Because the contributors to the Overstreet guide all have a vested interest in prices continuing to escalate (either because of personal holdings, or the need to sell to investors, or both). I'd be interested to know if any of the GAs in the 'comic index' have ever had a dip in value since the inception of tracking them as an index. If they have not, then the value of the guide as a tool for value measurement diminishes.

 

Then we are right back to step one in trying to figure out what things are worth, and the real answer is that they are worth what someone else will pay for them on eBay. Filter's success or failure selling his Tec27 9.2 this week will therefore be important from my perspective (current high bid: $50K).

[action1kid]

The key books have never gone down..There has been years where they did not go up,but they never have gone down.Filters problem with his book is that it is heavily restored! You are not going to get north of 55g for a ext restored tec27 and the results will bare this out. Your going to have to count on a rich newbie to get those nose bleed prices.I was offered an ext restored action 1 for 47k a year ago by a major dealer.The hype now is that restored is making a comeback.But is it?Who is saying restored is making a comback?

[action1kid]

I might add[restored]does much more damage to silverage prices than it does to goldenage prices.

[tth2]

Given the recent sales activity/availability of Batman 1, I'd have to say that like Superman 1 it can't be that rare by GA standards.

Batman 1 is by far the most common of the GA mega-keys. I'm not sure if there is even another mega-key (restored or unrestored) that's within hailing distance.