Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit??? 43 43

[Hamlet]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:18 PM, mjoeyoung said:

No, no, no.  It is the origin and first appearance of Doll Girl. 

The owners of Doll Man #37 are going to be rich when the Doll Girl movie is announced. 😉

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:19 PM, Hamlet said:

Yes, at nosebleed grades the early Marvels can be challenging, but it’s still much, much easier than most GA books.  There are 21 copies of Avengers 9 in 9.4 or better on the census.

 There are 18 total copies of Master Comics 25 on the census.  A 9.4 copy hasn’t even shown up on the census.  That is not atypical for the Raboy Masters.  

 

You're moving the goalposts a bit.  Your original statement:  "Owning pretty much any SA Marvel in just about any condition is solely about being willing to pony up the money."

I'm trying to say that based on my own experience, it turns out that's not really true.

[bc]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:06 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

You're moving the goalposts a bit.  Your original statement:  "Owning pretty much any SA Marvel in just about any condition is solely about being willing to pony up the money."

I'm trying to say that based on my own experience, it turns out that's not really true.

How about you are both right.....

If you check out the registry sets for Avengers 1-100, you can find that book in that grade.

However, you will probably have to "pony" up the cash, organs, children, gold bullion and more to get it from the current custodian.

-bc

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:17 PM, bc said:

How about you are both right.....

If you check out the registry sets for Avengers 1-100, you can find that book in that grade.

However, you will probably have to "pony" up the cash, organs, children, gold bullion and more to get it from the current custodian.

-bc

I'm going to let this go, but ... while we're all familiar with the maxim that "everything has its price," folks in this community should know better than most that from a practical standpoint, most of the books in personal collections (as opposed to books owned by dealers and flippers) are simply not for sale until the moment they suddenly are.

[dikran]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:13 PM, mjoeyoung said:

Comic genres.  As far as I can tell there have not been any new Disney comics since 2008, and DC publishes Looney Tunes on a quarterly basis.  There was the nostalgic resurgence in the early 90s, but, for the most part, this genre died along with Gold Key in the early 80s.

There’s also the fact that Carl Barks actually made GOOD books, Scrooge, Gyro, Beagle Boys were all originally from comics before becoming TV mainstays. I didn’t buy a GA book before I was 45 and I was born in 1974 so the 80s was my jam. Now I have a fantastic Duck collection I cherish a lot more than the GI Joe and Transformers books I grew up on. Dells and Gold keys may be plentiful but really high grades are tough to come by and usually cause feeding frenzy bidding. 

[MAR1979]

On 6/16/2023 at 9:31 PM, dikran said:

There’s also the fact that Carl Barks actually made GOOD books,

"The Good Duck Artist"

While way, way, way before my time I wanted a classic Barks cover example.  I settled for a reprint, which still wasn't easy to find. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by MAR1979

[Randall Dowling]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:18 PM, mjoeyoung said:

How many young people know or care about once popular characters like Tarzan

I don't like your words.  I don't even care if it's true, it shouldn't be spoken out loud. 

 

[lou_fine]

On 6/16/2023 at 10:06 AM, Robot Man said:

I bought my BA stuff off the racks so I never had to pay up for any of them.

Were you a condition conscious type of collector back then when you were buying your BA books off the shelves or more of a reader type of collector who read then and then tossed them into the box in the corner of your room?    

[Pantodude]

Collectors love their stuff so valuation prospects often may not be as big a deal.  Ideally to the moon with it all. But I don't share the doom and gloom, which seems like a knee-jerk reaction to recent flux.    Difficult to address adequately in a post, esp while still in bed!  But here goes. 

For GA, seems like the Looney Tunes #1 (so many big 1st apps and all of them on the cover)  falls into the category of those books that even regular Joes realize should be long-term gems.  Star Trek 1 and Scooby Doo 1 come to mind-- franchises which had undeniably huge but enduring impact, but they also enjoy relatively limited supply for a non-GA book (especially in high grade). Or like Batman and Detective Comics and early Superman, which appear to remain run-worthy ala early Spidey. Or like many Timely titles, Centaurs, Frazetta funnies, and well-known classic covers (GGA,  PCH, Schomberg, Nazi-Hitler and other war covers for example)--that remain trophy-case worthy regardless of periodic hype. First issues of key GA titles also  appear to fall into this forever-ish group, like JIM1, ST1, Pep1, etc, but I wouldn't be surprised if many GA first issues do, too. Many collect firsts regardless of hype.  And Looney Tunes #1 with that yellow cover,  a niche category onto itself.  

Ultimately any cool GA book may be fine long term due to supply, but I expect especially a book like Looney Tunes 1 whether or not Bugs Bunny shares the big screen with MJ or Lebron as recently as 2021, or the next generational sports talent.

SA has some keepers, too, not just AF15, but like high grade Silver Surfer 1 and 4 (too legit to quit?) etc. But SA's forte lies in its enduring broad appeal, with so many key appearances and popular artists, that keep supply in check. The pullback since 2022 was expected, but SA "should" be fine long term, esp Spidey, Hulk, FF, X-Men (these titles look like they'll even remain run-worthy investments long term, too, in part because there are so many key appearances). And of course those special DC keys.  Those first appearances including team firsts like Avengers 1 and BB28 have arguably become forever-ish books, despite the inevitable volatility due to supply.  Much more can be said here, but I'll leave it at that.  

See?  Sunshine all around!  

Edited June 17, 2023 by Pantodude
left out early Supes...fixed

[namisgr]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:19 PM, Hamlet said:

Yes, at nosebleed grades the early Marvels can be challenging, but it’s still much, much easier than most GA books.  There are 21 copies of Avengers 9 in 9.4 or better on the census.

 There are 18 total copies of Master Comics 25 on the census.  A 9.4 copy hasn’t even shown up on the census.  That is not atypical for the Raboy Masters.  

 

While SA in high grade and/or keys, especially Marvels, have much higher supply, there are also more collectors seeking them.  In the intermediate term beyond any short-term frenzies or bubbles, the supply/demand continues to set prices.

Edited June 18, 2023 by namisgr

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

On 6/16/2023 at 1:06 PM, Robot Man said:

I bought my BA stuff off the racks so I never had to pay up for any of them. I discovered GA very early and put my money there since it was just so much harder to find back then. Still is.

I just think the market on the other ages have caught up with the crazy prices folks have been paying for very common books. 

Indeed!

[namisgr]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:17 PM, bc said:

How about you are both right.....

If you check out the registry sets for Avengers 1-100, you can find that book in that grade.

However, you will probably have to "pony" up the cash, organs, children, gold bullion and more to get it from the current custodian.

-bc

Some don't come up for sale very often.  So while there are many more copies in the census of early SA Marvels in NM or better than there are high grade examples of most GA issues, there are more collectors of them as well.  

I used to own a copy of Lou's example.  It was locked away from the market in my collection for quite a while.  I sold it some time around 2010.  It's probably been locked away since.  There hadn't been one in this grade or higher available on the market for some time, and so this one was in great demand, and fetched what was easily a record price for the book and grade.  So despite the census numbers being comparatively high over those for most GA books, there are few examples coming to market and very strong demand for those that do, owing to a relatively large number of collectors wanting this issue in this grade.  The demand for SA Marvels that are difficult to find in the highest grades is still enormous, and shouldn't be underestimated.

Edited June 17, 2023 by namisgr

[The humble Watcher lurking]

On 6/16/2023 at 4:17 PM, mjoeyoung said:

Western, Romance, War, Crime, Funny Animal, Comic Strip characters.  Long term prognosis?  Their dead, Jim.

One genre not mentioned has been horror, especially Pre-Code horror. That seems to be the genre that seems to be the most popular after the superheroes genre. 

EC Comics like Carl Barks duck comics are gold standards.

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by The humble Watcher lurking

[whomerjay]

On 6/16/2023 at 4:17 PM, mjoeyoung said:

Western, Romance, War, Crime, Funny Animal, Comic Strip characters.  Long term prognosis?  They’re dead, Jim.

Given the frequency with which GGA, Sci-Fi, great artists, and cool covers exist in Romance, War, Crime, and even Western genres I find plenty of books of interest to pursue in these.  For example Crime Does Not Pay- so much to like about this title and I expect it will continue to attract more interest. Thirty years ago seemed like you couldn’t give this title away.

[whomerjay]

On 6/17/2023 at 9:44 AM, whomerjay said:

Given the frequency with which GGA, Sci-Fi, great artists, and cool covers exist in Romance, War, Crime, and even Western genres I find plenty of books of interest to pursue in these.  For example Crime Does Not Pay- so much to like about this title and I expect it will continue to attract more interest. Thirty years ago seemed like you couldn’t give this title away.

Except for #24 of course.

[comicartfan]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:32 PM, Hamlet said:

The owners of Doll Man #37 are going to be rich when the Doll Girl movie is announced. 😉

💰💰💰💰

I grabbed this in a recent Comic Link auction Glad I did 😉

[Robot Man]

On 6/17/2023 at 6:44 AM, whomerjay said:

Given the frequency with which GGA, Sci-Fi, great artists, and cool covers exist in Romance, War, Crime, and even Western genres I find plenty of books of interest to pursue in these.  For example Crime Does Not Pay- so much to like about this title and I expect it will continue to attract more interest. Thirty years ago seemed like you couldn’t give this title away.

I don’t know about 30 years ago, but like 45 years ago PCH and Crime anything other than ECs, were basically $1-3. books. In boxes under the tables. The bulk of my collection was bought on my hands and knees…

[Robot Man]

On 6/17/2023 at 7:00 AM, comicartfan said:

💰💰💰💰

I grabbed this in a recent Comic Link auction Glad I did 😉

Great book! Those late run Dollmans have been under the radar for quite some time. 

[Robot Man]

On 6/17/2023 at 5:47 AM, The humble Watcher lurking said:

One genre not mentioned has been horror, especially Pre-Code horror. That seems to be the genre to go after superheroes. 

EC Comics like Carl Barks duck comics are gold standards.

 

I don’t see that happening other than the fact most are getting so un-affordable that the average collector is pretty much priced out. 

[dikran]

On 6/17/2023 at 10:31 AM, Robot Man said:

I don’t see that happening other than the fact most are getting so un-affordable that the average collector is pretty much priced out. 

I don't think he meant ''to go'' but rather ''to go after'' after superheroes. PCH is here to stay.