Wall Street Journal Article on Comics & Pressing - Sept 23, 2005

[esquirecomics]

The online version of this article will not be available for long as the WSJ online is a subscription service, but for now you can access it here (I think):

 

Bang! Pow! Cash!

 

September 23, 2005

 

Bang! Pow! Cash!

 

By CONOR DOUGHERTY

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

September 23, 2005; Page W1

 

To raise $50,000 to help start his San Francisco law firm, Scott Bonagofsky parted with some of his most valuable possessions: early issues of "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Fantastic Four" comic books. "It was better than I did in the stock market over the last five years," he says.

 

Prices of comic books are going up, up ... and away! A near-perfect "Action Comics" No. 1, the book that launched Superman, lists for $485,000, up from $200,000 five years ago. Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers in Dallas sold a "Marvel Comics" No. 1 -- the debut of the Human Torch character -- for $172,500, an auction record. Since moving into the segment in 2001, Heritage has seen comic books rise to account for $15 million in annual sales.

 

As the market for these comics has expanded, it has created a niche for companies that rate comics -- which, in turn, has helped shore up collector confidence and boost prices further. At a time when many sales are made over the Internet, this has made it more difficult to sell restored comics as untouched, giving the segment more accountability.

 

The primary grading outfit is Comics Guaranty LLC, or CGC, a five-year-old company in Sarasota, Fla. CGC charges collectors $15 to $1,000 to rate a comic on a scale of 0.5, a ratty version, to 10, a pristine copy. Latex-gloved inspectors work in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room, assessing damage and checking for signs of restoration, such as new staples or color touch-ups. The comic is sealed in a clear plastic case with a label indicating its official grade. (Books that have been restored are given a purple label -- collectors call it the "purple label of death" -- which can severely reduce prices.)

 

Dents and Creases

 

While collectors generally applaud the rating standards, some resent that steep price increases have attracted investors to a field once limited to collectors drawn to the art and stories. Another complaint is that collectors are seeking higher grades by putting their comics through a heat and pressure process, called "pressing," that smooths dents and minor creases from a comic's cover. Some collectors consider pressing a form of restoration, similar to adding color or fixing a page tear. These critics say there's nothing wrong with fixing up comics, as long as it's flagged before a sale.

 

CGC does not indicate on its ratings when comics have been pressed. Steven Borock, CGC's president and primary grader, says that's because it's impossible to tell whether a comic has been professionally pressed (as opposed to, say, stored under a stack of encyclopedias). And unlike replacing staples or using markers to disguise creases, he says, pressing does not change the comic's composition. "When you're buying a used car, do you say to the guy, 'Hey, did you wash this?' " says Mr. Borock.

 

But because pressed comics can get higher grades -- potentially adding thousands of dollars to the most expensive comics' values -- critics say CGC's policy encourages sellers to press comics without disclosing it to buyers. Sparking further controversy: A company with some of the same owners as CGC, in the same Saratoga building, is launching its own restoration service, including pressing. Some collectors say the development has the potential to lead to more pressed comics and less transparency about each comic's life span. "To me, that is a conflict of interest," says Brent Moeshlin, owner of Quality Comix, a comic-book dealer in Montgomery, Ala.

 

Scott Schechter, marketing director for Certified Collectibles Group, an umbrella organization under which CGC and other collectibles ratings and preservation companies operate, say each company is set up as an independent entity to avoid conflicts. "The graders don't know whose books they're grading," he says.

 

Some collectors are touting "press free zone" on their Web sites, and even some pressers are taking a stand. Susan Cicconi, owner of Restoration Lab, a comic-book restorer in the Boston area, says she stopped pressing comics -- at $75 to $250 each -- when she suspected that some of her clients were selling comics without disclosing the process. "It was a ton of revenue for me, but I just really felt it was unethical," she says.

 

Old Lunch Boxes

 

The increasing interest in comic books taps into a retro craze that has seen collectors bid up prices of everything from vintage lunch boxes to 1960s muscle cars. It comes as Hollywood has continued to find success with comic-book characters: This summer, "Fantastic Four" brought in about $154 million in domestic box-office revenue, according to Box Office Mojo, while the latest installment of the Batman movie franchise, "Batman Begins," took in $205 million.

 

Bryan Yagi, an administrative judge in San Francisco who has been collecting for decades, says some of the fun got sucked out of the hobby when speculators came on the scene. They've "jacked up Action One into the six figures, and they don't really care," he complains, referring to the first comic to feature Superman.

 

Few vintage comics, of course, are in perfect condition: After all, "Tales From the Crypt" or the adventures of Wonder Woman were disposable stories bought by consumers on bicycles, in an age before Americans routinely saved ticket stubs or theater programs. Most of the best copies have been identified by collectors, and the most valuable comics, such as first-edition Superman and Batman books, are usually from known collections that have been sold and resold over the past few decades. The result is that prices at the high end have skewed: A near-mint copy of "The Amazing Spider-Man" No. 1 is valued at $32,500 by The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, compared with $875 for a copy in good condition.

 

For Mark Zaid, what began as a stack of memories has become a hefty nest egg. The Washington, D.C., lawyer began collecting when he was about seven, buying copies for 20 cents each. He returned to collecting in adulthood and today he has an insurance policy on his comics, stores most of them in protective casings, and keeps the priciest copies, worth more than $100,000, in a safe-deposit box. When Mr. Zaid wants to read about the Green Lantern in "All-American Comics" No. 16, he doesn't turn to his $30,000 copy, but a book of reprints he bought for $20. "It's not just collecting," he says. "It's investing."

 

Write to Conor Dougherty at conor.dougherty@wsj.com1

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Comic Relief

As comic books fetch adult-sized prices, here are how near-mint versions of some groundbreaking titles have fared over the past five years.

 

COMIC (YEAR) 2000 PRICE 2005 PRICE COMMENT

Action Comics #1

(1938) $200,000 $485,000 Action Comics, one of the first comic titles devoted to superheroes, gave birth to Superman in this first issue. It's considered the holy grail of comic collecting.

All Star Comics #8

(1941) $25,500 $48,000 Wonder Woman made her debut in this issue, but in spite of her superpowers, she still got stereotyped in her day job -- as a secretary in the U.S. military.

Amazing Fantasy #15

(1962) $25,000 $42,500 This issue gave birth to Spider-Man, marking an era when superheroes' personal lives -- such as Spidey's love troubles -- are central to the plot.

Detective Comics #27

(1939) $175,000 $410,000 Batman arrived on the scene with this issue, a year after the introduction of Superman. Unlike "the man of steel," Batman has no special powers.

Looney Tunes #1

(1941) $10,500 $17,000 This classic book, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics #1, ushered Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd into the comic-book world.

X-Men #1

(1963) $6,200 $13,000 Marvel's X-Men are seen as symbols of a divided age: mutant heroes feared by those they protect.

 

Source: The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide

[Jeffreykli]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

[greggy]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

[Rip]

[Jeffreykli]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

[esquirecomics]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

 

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

[october]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

[divad]

Congrats guys! Very nice! Make us proud . . .

[tth2]

I'm going to have to wait to see the hard copy in print to confirm this is not a put on. If it really is a WSJ article, I have to say it's one of the best and most balanced articles about comic book collecting that I've seen in the mainstream media, and it also picked up on a lot of subtle nuances. Sounds like the reporter knows some of the board members (maybe is a board member? ) and was directed to other appropriate sources.

 

Scott, I guess the new firm is official? I sure hope so, given the public disclosure here!

[Jeffreykli]

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

 

Mark, you're the closer! They bring you in when the game's on the line.

[BradleyX2]

I have to say it's one of the best and most balanced articles about comic book collecting that I've seen in the mainstream media

 

 

I agree... EXCEPT for the title.

 

How many articles about comics since the late sixties have a headline similar to "Pow! Boff! Smack!" ?

[esquirecomics]

I'm going to have to wait to see the hard copy in print to confirm this is not a put on.

 

What, now I am a newspaper article fabricator? Oh man, just add it to the ever growing list of titles I have.

 

 

 

If it really is a WSJ article, I have to say it's one of the best and most balanced articles about comic book collecting that I've seen in the mainstream media, and it also picked up on a lot of subtle nuances. Sounds like the reporter knows some of the board members (maybe is a board member? ) and was directed to other appropriate sources.

 

Gosh, I wonder how in the world this could happen.

[HouseofComics.Com]

I agree... EXCEPT for the title.

 

How many articles about comics since the late sixties have a headline similar to "Pow! Boff! Smack!" ?

 

That's EXACTLY why we know it's a real article...

 

Nice piece.

 

Marc

[FFB]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

 

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

 

I made the opening paragraph of a story in the WSJ without even trying. How much effort do you dedicate to your media whoring?

[FFB]

I'm going to have to wait to see the hard copy in print to confirm this is not a put on. If it really is a WSJ article, I have to say it's one of the best and most balanced articles about comic book collecting that I've seen in the mainstream media, and it also picked up on a lot of subtle nuances. Sounds like the reporter knows some of the board members (maybe is a board member? ) and was directed to other appropriate sources.

 

Scott, I guess the new firm is official? I sure hope so, given the public disclosure here!

 

Yes Tim, we opened on Friday. We are going to send out announcements as soon as the three of us can decide on the design and one will be heading your way to HK as soon as the international mails can get it to you.

 

Which will probably be some time in the next decade.

[esquirecomics]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

 

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

 

I made the opening paragraph of a story in the WSJ without even trying. How much effort do you dedicate to your media whoring?

 

Yea, but who had to sell their comic books to start their own law firm rather than use their law firm profits to buy comic books? Nyah, nyah.

[FFB]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

 

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

 

I made the opening paragraph of a story in the WSJ without even trying. How much effort do you dedicate to your media whoring?

 

Yea, but who had to sell their comic books to start their own law firm rather than use their law firm profits to buy comic books? Nyah, nyah.

 

All in good time, my friend. All in good time.

[esquirecomics]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

 

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

 

I made the opening paragraph of a story in the WSJ without even trying. How much effort do you dedicate to your media whoring?

 

Yea, but who had to sell their comic books to start their own law firm rather than use their law firm profits to buy comic books? Nyah, nyah.

 

All in good time, my friend. All in good time.

 

I'm waiting. I might even be persuaded to give you a discount on some key GA books once you show me the green.

[sterlingcomics]

I had no idea CGC was located in Saratoga.

[FFB]

Wow, FFB made the WSJ? Now there'll be no stopping his ego!!

 

He knows I'm kidding. I left Zaid alone, didn't I

I also am friends with Yagi.

 

Does FFB think he can really compete with me with respect to the media? I THINK NOT!

 

Notice how he started the article and then faded away. It was up to me to handle the big finish.

 

I made the opening paragraph of a story in the WSJ without even trying. How much effort do you dedicate to your media whoring?

 

Yea, but who had to sell their comic books to start their own law firm rather than use their law firm profits to buy comic books? Nyah, nyah.

 

All in good time, my friend. All in good time.

 

I'm waiting. I might even be persuaded to give you a discount on some key GA books once you show me the green.

 

Give me some time to get things rolling, and I'm sure we'll be talking.