The Dumb Reason that I'm collecting Silver Age Again 0

[Westy Steve]

After many years of collecting mostly Bronze Age and later books, I've returned to collecting Silver Age for the dumbest of all reasons:

Because now it seems to be more affordable than the demand driven books in the 9.0 and higher grades.

And don't even get me started on the wonderful non-key silver age books out there....they seem cheap.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Westy Steve

[KirbyJack]

I get it.

To me, the SA book is easily preferable. 

[flashlites]

I got back in about 6-7  years ago after more than a decade of being away.  Finding affordable issues has been relatively easy especially with all the online options now. So glad I got back into ths S.A. game!

[Mr.Fantastic]

I just returned to comic collecting this year.  I think affordable applies to what you are seeking to buy at the moment.  Currently I'm looking for Marvel SA #1 keys, but the price is going up faster than I can save for them.  

[rjpb]

Marvel SA keys have seen about a 10 fold increase in value in commonly available grades over the last decade, in no small part due to the success of the Marvel cinematic universe, and also following a decade of only modest increases that may have made them seem undervalued ten years ago. For some of the lesser keys the exponential increase has been even more dramatic, and the introduction of any supporting character or villain with longevity warrants a premium, no matter how minor.  And with the more popular titles like Spidey and X-men, it seems values have increased 50-100% on just about every issue with a 12 cent cover price in just the last three months. None of this stuff is remotely scarce in low to mid grade, but the market is a seller's market to a degree I don't recall. The blue chip keys may never be a bad investment, but it feels like the wrong time to start collecting SA Marvels. 

Of course, none of this seems as crazy as what were $10 copies of Eternals #1 a decade ago, selling for a grand these days. 

[Westy Steve]

3 hours ago, KirbyJack said:

I get it.

To me, the SA book is easily preferable. 

Exactly. Don’t get me wrong Spidey 300 has Mary Jane in a négligée.  I’m definitely a fan of the book but it just doesn’t make sense for me to buy books like that right now. And I think people are spending all their money chasing a few books and leaving bargains in their wake.  

[HuddyBee]

1 hour ago, rjpb said:

None of this stuff is remotely scarce in low to mid grade, but the market is a seller's market to a degree I don't recall. The blue chip keys may never be a bad investment, but it feels like the wrong time to start collecting SA Marvels. 

I agree, tho to be fair BA Marvel isn't looking too different from SA Marvel in terms of price jumps.

Maybe its time for the OP to jump into SA DC... 

[Albert Thurgood]

1 hour ago, Westy Steve said:

Exactly. Don’t get me wrong Spidey 300 has Mary Jane in a négligée.  

How can you see that when the book is stuck in a slab?

[KirbyJack]

10 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

Exactly. Don’t get me wrong Spidey 300 has Mary Jane in a négligée. 

Yeah. Pics or it didn't happen.

[WolverineX]

16 minutes ago, KirbyJack said:

Yeah. Pics or it didn't happen.

I forgot about that.  That's a uber key

[Bluemedgroup]

12 hours ago, rjpb said:

Marvel SA keys have seen about a 10 fold increase in value in commonly available grades over the last decade, in no small part due to the success of the Marvel cinematic universe, and also following a decade of only modest increases that may have made them seem undervalued ten years ago. For some of the lesser keys the exponential increase has been even more dramatic, and the introduction of any supporting character or villain with longevity warrants a premium, no matter how minor.  And with the more popular titles like Spidey and X-men, it seems values have increased 50-100% on just about every issue with a 12 cent cover price in just the last three months. None of this stuff is remotely scarce in low to mid grade, but the market is a seller's market to a degree I don't recall. The blue chip keys may never be a bad investment, but it feels like the wrong time to start collecting SA Marvels. 

Of course, none of this seems as crazy as what were $10 copies of Eternals #1 a decade ago, selling for a grand these days. 

I don't know.  I feel like there never is a wrong time to start collecting SA Marvels, because those books will always appreciate in value.  There might be dips just like the stock market, but overall it will continue to gain.  

When I got into collecting a couple years ago, I split my money between some overpriced SA Marvel keys and some below FMV DC keys as DC was recommended by others because they were undervalued and a good value pick.  

Now in 2021, the DC keys have been stagnant for past 3 years while my Marvel keys went up 3x in value.  Looking back, I wish I hadn't bought any DC keys and had put it all in Marvel keys.  

[Shrevvy]

4 minutes ago, Bluemedgroup said:

Now in 2021, the DC keys have been stagnant for past 3 years while my Marvel keys went up 3x in value.  Looking back, I wish I hadn't bought any DC keys and had put it all in Marvel keys.  

I know the feeling. I have some DC (minor) keys that are taking up space. I sold some a little while ago, but have thought about selling more. I still get tempted though. I passed on a Hawkman #1 for $25 recently, but thought about picking it up. What 1964 Marvel #1 can you get for $25? Maybe I could get a Nick Fury #1, but no Subby #1 or the like (despite being 4 years younger). DC seems cheap, but the demand is not there.

[HuddyBee]

1 hour ago, Bluemedgroup said:

Now in 2021, the DC keys have been stagnant for past 3 years while my Marvel keys went up 3x in value.  Looking back, I wish I hadn't bought any DC keys and had put it all in Marvel keys.  

I think with DC, one should be looking more towards long term growth. With everyone and their mother buying Marvel, I don't think it makes sense to assume that DC will spike just like Marvel did with the MCU. However, because of the MCU, DC books aren't getting nearly the same amount of attention they used to get 10+ years back, and therefore aren't gaining value at the same rate. So now is probably the best time to buy SA DC, though not for a short term gain, but for long term. But of course if you don't like DC, then don't but DC.

But for all of us DC fans, I think right now is definitely more of a buyers market. But don't think that DC will always be a buyer's market, or that Marvel will always be a seller's market, both markets looked very different just 10 years ago.

Although I will say there are some surprising SA DC books that have had some impressive short term gains. I purchased a low grade copy of Hawkman #4 back in 2016 for $40, that's now probably worth $250. And I imagine the gains on higher graded copies are much greater.

[Bluemedgroup]

11 minutes ago, HuddyBee said:

I think with DC, one should be looking more towards long term growth. With everyone and their mother buying Marvel, I don't think it makes sense to assume that DC will spike just like Marvel did with the MCU. However, because of the MCU, DC books aren't getting nearly the same amount of attention they used to get 10+ years back, and therefore aren't gaining value at the same rate. So now is probably the best time to buy SA DC, though not for a short term gain, but for long term. But of course if you don't like DC, then don't but DC.

But for all of us DC fans, I think right now is definitely more of a buyers market. But don't think that DC will always be a buyer's market, or that Marvel will always be a seller's market, both markets looked very different just 10 years ago.

Although I will say there are some surprising SA DC books that have had some impressive short term gains. I purchased a low grade copy of Hawkman #4 back in 2016 for $40, that's now probably worth $250. And I imagine the gains on higher graded copies are much greater.

Wolverinex just said in another thread that Hawkman 4 5.5 just sold for $1500. Substantial bump with the movies news from Bad Robot. 

Luckily I bought a Hawkman 4 5.0 last year for $500. 

[rjpb]

1 hour ago, Shrevvy said:

I know the feeling. I have some DC (minor) keys that are taking up space. I sold some a little while ago, but have thought about selling more. I still get tempted though. I passed on a Hawkman #1 for $25 recently, but thought about picking it up. What 1964 Marvel #1 can you get for $25? Maybe I could get a Nick Fury #1, but no Subby #1 or the like (despite being 4 years younger). DC seems cheap, but the demand is not there.

I don't see DC SA keys ever being as popular as their Marvel counterparts.

1) The Marvel cinematic universe has elevated awareness of even 2nd tier Marvel characters above may DC characters from the same era. More people know who Hawkeye is than Hawkman. This could conceivably change, but I'm doubtful.

2) Thanks to the limits on monthly titles until 1968, and Stan Lee being sole editor of the line, Marvel created a sense of an interconnected continuity among its titles that DC wasn't able to replicate. This was also aided by Marvel essentially starting from scratch in 1961 when building its SA continuity, despite later incorporating its GA and Atlas era history into its books. Despite Showcase #4 being seen as the start of the Silver Age, DCs transition into a new era is always muddied by the long standing titles and characters that never ceased publication. Jack Kirby also helped create a visual uniformity to the early Marvel era that DC lacked. 

3) Related to the previous point, SA Marvel has long held a stronger position in comic fandom, even though it took most of the 1960s for them to catch up to DC in sales. Comic fandom may have started the 1960s geeking out over their All-Star collections, but without Marvel, its hard to imagine it blowing up the way it did. Marvel comics are a part of the broader 1960s cultural landscape in ways DC is not, with the exception of the Batman television show, which always seemed a bit apart from the comics. You can feel Stan Lee's contributions is overrated, but you can't deny his status as a pop-culture icon that no DC writer or editor even comes close to matching.

Edited March 24, 2021 by rjpb

[HuddyBee]

40 minutes ago, rjpb said:

1) The Marvel cinematic universe has elevated awareness of even 2nd tier Marvel characters above may DC characters from the same era. More people know who Hawkeye is than Hawkman. This could conceivably change, but I'm doubtful.

It really is a shame about Hawkeye and Hawkman...

But on a serious note. I think it's possible to overestimate the importance of the MCU. For example look at the character Captain Marvel (the original Fawcett character). Back in the 40's he was the first hero to get his own movie serial, and he was the highest selling comic character of all time, selling 1.3 million copies a week. If you would've told anyone during that time that Captain Marvel would be long gone and forgotten in just 10-15 short years, people would've laughed. But look where the character is now, aside from the recent movie, he's been (sadly) dead in the water for the past 80 years.

I know these two scenarios are completely different, but I think it goes to show that pop culture phenomenon rarely stay. There's a lot of hype around the MCU, and that might not change, but it also might. Who knows what collecting will look like in 20 years?

I do know that for a long time SA Marvel and SA DC were pretty equal in terms of value between various counterparts. I would think that the market would eventually revert back to that after enough time. But I could easily be mistaken. Just my 

[rjpb]

59 minutes ago, HuddyBee said:

It really is a shame about Hawkeye and Hawkman...

But on a serious note. I think it's possible to overestimate the importance of the MCU. For example look at the character Captain Marvel (the original Fawcett character). Back in the 40's he was the first hero to get his own movie serial, and he was the highest selling comic character of all time, selling 1.3 million copies a week. If you would've told anyone during that time that Captain Marvel would be long gone and forgotten in just 10-15 short years, people would've laughed. But look where the character is now, aside from the recent movie, he's been (sadly) dead in the water for the past 80 years.

I know these two scenarios are completely different, but I think it goes to show that pop culture phenomenon rarely stay. There's a lot of hype around the MCU, and that might not change, but it also might. Who knows what collecting will look like in 20 years?

I do know that for a long time SA Marvel and SA DC were pretty equal in terms of value between various counterparts. I would think that the market would eventually revert back to that after enough time. But I could easily be mistaken. Just my 

I don't doubt the hype surrounding Marvel movie and television properties will fade at some point. Superhero movies may be around for the foreseeable future, but no genre dominates forever. Books that suddenly become "keys" due to such hype are going to be a risky investment, we've already seen books drop sharply after big run-ups, but A-list Marvel characters have already shown decades of longevity in the public consciousness, and I don't see them fading as thoroughly as some Golden Age faves did, or the Pulp characters that preceded them. SA DC does have it's cycles, where suddenly the bigger keys get "hot" again, but it doesn't seem to sustain the way interest does in the top-tier Marvel keys. Sometimes it's just the fact that they are relatively cheap that drives interest. When I was in my early teens in the early 70s, I was far more a Marvel fan than DC fan, but I remember buying books like SC #22 and #34, and B&B #34 precisely because they seemed so cheap for SA first appearances with 10¢ cover prices (which added to their appeal), 

[Westy Steve]

8 hours ago, KirbyJack said:

Yeah. Pics or it didn't happen.