SUPERMAN #1 7.0 Blue THIRD highest graded copy coming to auction at CC 4 4

[Aman619]

or not.  To me its sole avenue for the kind of value increase you are suggesting is with the movies.  And even then it gets into the conversation of top GA comic, but never attains it.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Aman619

[Cat-Man_America]

On 11/12/2021 at 5:02 PM, Aman619 said:

or not.  To me its sole avenue for the kind of value increase you are suggesting is with the movies.  And even then it gets into the conversation of top GA comic, but never attains it.

Captain Marvel came pretty close to winning that game in 1941; still fun & impressive at 80 years...

[Larryw7]

I think the Fawcett books had much better writing than DC or Timely.

[pemart1966]

On 11/12/2021 at 12:16 PM, Mmehdy said:

From an early GA collectors standpoint, I would say 1972...73 Irving Bigman, who was a very famous GA comic book dealer would bring his Action 1 and Whiz 2 with him to conventions. Early on, Whiz 2 was neck and neck with Action #1, with the overall numbers and I asked him after going up to his room and him letting be flow thru A1, Whiz #2 they did not mind it,  which is better, his answer I never forget his answer, no one is better but Whiz 2 is rarer. I consider the origin story of Whiz #2 one of the greatest if not second greatest stories and art in the GA period. That was so good in my opinion, everything that came after that was not on that level. If you have not read or looked at this story for a long time, check it out on the web....

 In answering your question, I consider Whiz #2 the most underpriced GA comic book today. It never caught up, the rarity factor helped keep the price down, because of the less sales of the book vs A1 or D27. Dont get be wrong, I still am a champ for Cap #1 as the best GA buy out there in the long run, as the difference between 1938...1939 and 1941 in terms of years difference fades away Cap #1 and the year 1941 stigma vs Marvel 1939 etc.

The cover and origin story for Whiz #2 is just fantastic, and that is why collectors, especially older collectors respect this book, its the man that beat superman at the newsstands and over time, will reclaim the proper value and recognition it deserves.

No doubt that the book alone is cool albeit clearly aimed at the younger comic reader of the day with its simplified art and dialogue.  

I get why it's respected but after the the two learned answers to my questions (yours and Cat-Man's) I'm still at a loss to equate the continued mega prices that this book commands for essentially a dead character.  In fact, I can't think of any other similar scenario.  Most, if not all other mega keys have strong connections to the present.  This one does not.  

You said that you consider Whiz 1 underpriced.  I might go so far as to call it overpriced keeping in mind that rarity doesn't necessarily equate to mega prices.  

I think that the definitive answers still elude me...

[Mmehdy]

On 11/13/2021 at 6:02 AM, pemart1966 said:

No doubt that the book alone is cool albeit clearly aimed at the younger comic reader of the day with its simplified art and dialogue.  

I get why it's respected but after the the two learned answers to my questions (yours and Cat-Man's) I'm still at a loss to equate the continued mega prices that this book commands for essentially a dead character.  In fact, I can't think of any other similar scenario.  Most, if not all other mega keys have strong connections to the present.  This one does not.  

You said that you consider Whiz 1 underpriced.  I might go so far as to call it overpriced keeping in mind that rarity doesn't necessarily equate to mega prices.  

I think that the definitive answers still elude me...

The reason why I say underpriced, based upon the history in terms of golden age hero’s and the golden age universe  and  I totally did  not agree with that” captain marvel is dead”  quite the contrary  I enjoyed the new movie and look forward to the sequel.

 In the total golden age context Captan Marvel is in the top 5… now price wise it is not…. But I predict there is great potential for this book and captan marvel #1 with jack kirby art, I think eventually and historically these two books will catch up… quality always rises to the top over time… and for the $$$ in today’s hectic market… what a great bang for the buck, especially added to the fact that this book in 6.0 blue is very rare…. I think when buying GA comic books, especially this one it is a leap of faith when purchasing a book which is five or six figures. So my opinion is buy the book and take rarity and grade and label into consideration, but historically you cannot go wrong with greatness time will be very kind to these great GA classics

 

Captain Marvel is one the greatest golden age hero’s   alive, or frozen like Steve Rogers and FYI…he is not dead period.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Mmehdy

[BLUECHIPCOLLECTIBLES]

On 11/12/2021 at 9:16 AM, Mmehdy said:

From an early GA collectors standpoint, I would say 1972...73 Irving Bigman, who was a very famous GA comic book dealer would bring his Action 1 and Whiz 2 with him to conventions. Early on, Whiz 2 was neck and neck with Action #1, with the overall numbers and I asked him after going up to his room and him letting be flow thru A1, Whiz #2 they did not mind it,  which is better, his answer I never forget his answer, no one is better but Whiz 2 is rarer. I consider the origin story of Whiz #2 one of the greatest if not second greatest stories and art in the GA period. That was so good in my opinion, everything that came after that was not on that level. If you have not read or looked at this story for a long time, check it out on the web....

 In answering your question, I consider Whiz #2 the most underpriced GA comic book today. It never caught up, the rarity factor helped keep the price down, because of the less sales of the book vs A1 or D27. Dont get be wrong, I still am a champ for Cap #1 as the best GA buy out there in the long run, as the difference between 1938...1939 and 1941 in terms of years difference fades away Cap #1 and the year 1941 stigma vs Marvel 1939 etc.

The cover and origin story for Whiz #2 is just fantastic, and that is why collectors, especially older collectors respect this book, its the man that beat superman at the newsstands and over time, will reclaim the proper value and recognition it deserves.

At a glance you can say that the movie Shazam is "totally different" from the Captain Marvel character, but then as you see the origin in the same, the super details are the same (kid that says Shazam to become here), the kid's name is the same; the "family" of heroes is the same; the villains are the same; the tone is very similar, etc.  It's essentially the 1940s character brought to life with some changes made during the 70s

 

[jimbo_7071]

On 11/11/2021 at 7:40 PM, pemart1966 said:

OK...I'm going to ask questions about this book (Whiz #1) that have been bugging me for decades.

What is it about this book that causes it to be held in such high regard?; that therefore causes it to be on just about every GA "Top Ten" list?; that therefore causes it to fetch 6 figures (possible record for this copy?) regularly?  I don't understand it.

This character, for all intents and purposes has been "dead" for nearly 70 years now as has his extended universe.  Yes, there was a brief 70s revival and the recent film but neither was sufficient to justify what we've seen with this book for decades now.

It was deemed to be essentially a Superman ripoff in court in its heyday.

Yes, it was a HUGE seller in the 40s but suffice to say, there aren't many boardies that can boast to having bought ANY of the Captain Marvel family of books off of the rack.

I understand the numbers and popularity for most of the other big books:  Action 1; Marvel Comics 1; Detective 27 etc but Whiz #1 baffles me.  I just can't see what drives the HUGE interest for this book.  Anyone?

As much as I like the Big Red Cheese, I do think that your point is valid. It may be that older collectors are the ones keeping the prices for the book elevated. Younger collectors may have limited interest. It may not be a top 20 book or even a top 50 book a generation from now. We may get to the point where the only GA books being widely collected are ones that tie in with the current Marvel and DC universes. That will be a sad day for the hobby.

 

For better or worse, some hobbies do fade over time. We can't predict what hobbies will be popular in fifty years. Fifty years ago, how many people would have predicted that collecting tennis shoes would become a major hobby?

Maybe collecting COVID masks will be next. That will be what kids of a certain generation will remember most about their childhoods. (There are quite a few different designs out there; I'll bet some people are already collecting them.)

[woowoo]

[Terry JSA]

On 11/14/2021 at 4:51 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

Younger collectors may have limited interest. It may not be a top 20 book or even a top 50 book a generation from now.

As a younger collector I can confirm that I have little to no interest in owning a Whiz Comics #1. But at the end of the day it’s a scarce GA book and it’s going to command a premium for that reason alone besides it being the 1st Captain Marvel/Shazam. 

The character outsold Superman at one point too, but I think it’s an underrated book.

[gadzukes]

Who are younger collectors?  I'm 59 and consider myself a younger collector.

[pemart1966]

On 11/14/2021 at 11:37 AM, Terry JSA said:

As a younger collector I can confirm that I have little to no interest in owning a Whiz Comics #1. But at the end of the day it’s a scarce GA book and it’s going to command a premium for that reason alone besides it being the 1st Captain Marvel/Shazam. 

The character outsold Superman at one point too, but I think it’s an underrated book.

Scarcity does not necessarily lead to demand which in turn leads to high prices.  There are a lot of scarce GA books that don't come near this one in price terms...

[Aman619]

On 11/14/2021 at 4:51 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

As much as I like the Big Red Cheese, I do think that your point is valid. It may be that older collectors are the ones keeping the prices for the book elevated. Younger collectors may have limited interest. It may not be a top 20 book or even a top 50 book a generation from now. We may get to the point where the only GA books being widely collected are ones that tie in with the current Marvel and DC universes. That will be a sad day for the hobby.

 

For better or worse, some hobbies do fade over time. We can't predict what hobbies will be popular in fifty years. Fifty years ago, how many people would have predicted that collecting tennis shoes would become a major hobby?

Maybe collecting COVID masks will be next. That will be what kids of a certain generation will remember most about their childhoods. (There are quite a few different designs out there; I'll bet some people are already collecting them.)

I always thought that that those ubiquitous AOL floppy disks everyone used to get every week or so and were for free on checkout counters everywhere that came in hundreds (thousands) of different configurations and designs would be popular collectibles for the same reason…. So far nothing… maybe generations need to have positive memories for an object to become collectible later on.. 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Aman619

[woowoo]

On 11/14/2021 at 10:38 PM, gadzukes said:

Who are younger collectors?  I'm 59 and consider myself a younger collector.

Now i know why you have a Superman 1 

[Bronty]

Its scarce and a significant first appearance, best book of the publisher, but yeah, a pretty dead character.    In a world where nice copies of classic cover books with little to no interesting content can be 100k, I don't think the prices Whiz 2 gets are out of line.    I wouldn't call it under or over priced personally.    

Also, with nice copies of Marvel Family 1 now being valuable I think the next whiz 2 at auction has to do pretty well.    Its a far better book than Family 1.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Bronty

[jimbo_7071]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:38 AM, gadzukes said:

Who are younger collectors?  I'm 59 and consider myself a younger collector.

Well, I'm 47 and definitely wouldn't consider myself a younger collector. I think of younger collectors as the ones who grew up after comic books were no longer ubiquitous—the ones who are more in tune with the DC and Marvel Universes because of the movies and TV shows than because of the comic books themselves. The ones who didn't grow up buying comics off of spinner racks in order to read them. I would think that most collectors under 35 probably fall into that category—maybe even most collectors under 40.

[Terry JSA]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:02 AM, pemart1966 said:

Scarcity does not necessarily lead to demand which in turn leads to high prices.  There are a lot of scarce GA books that don't come near this one in price terms...

I know not all scarce GA books are in demand as I was just saying that for this particular book. It’s the 1st appearance of Captain Marvel and it’s a book you don’t see very often. He’s a major character and I can understand why a lot of books won’t come close in terms of price.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Terry JSA

[jimjum12]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:30 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

Well, I'm 47 and definitely wouldn't consider myself a younger collector. I think of younger collectors as the ones who grew up after comic books were no longer ubiquitous—the ones who are more in tune with the DC and Marvel Universes because of the movies and TV shows than because of the comic books themselves. The ones who didn't grow up buying comics off of spinner racks in order to read them. I would think that most collectors under 35 probably fall into that category—maybe even most collectors under 40.

There is definitely a line of demarcation in regards to ubiquitous. When we were growing up, one of the first things you saw when entering a 7-11 was the spinner rack. Kids today do buy comics but not like before.... so the impact of cultural significance doesn't really exist for them like it does for us.... and there has always been this hushed assumption that their lack of concern will one day sound the death knell for the hobby. Out of sight out of mind. The person wanting a Whiz 1, at this point, is probably 60 YO or more. I probably wouldn't take out a mortgage on the Farm to fund it, but for those who are "flush" ... the scarcity and historical significance to the medium would probably be enough to compel them. Honestly, it's not at the top of my Lottery List. The only major GA keys that I would even want if I was loaded are Tec 27 and Cap 1. But I'm not "That Guy" that buys them. Me ? I have to decide which week I'm getting take-out  GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Terry JSA]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:30 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

Well, I'm 47 and definitely wouldn't consider myself a younger collector. I think of younger collectors as the ones who grew up after comic books were no longer ubiquitous—the ones who are more in tune with the DC and Marvel Universes because of the movies and TV shows than because of the comic books themselves. The ones who didn't grow up buying comics off of spinner racks in order to read them. I would think that most collectors under 35 probably fall into that category—maybe even most collectors under 40.

That would be me. I’m 19 and I grew up during a time where DC dominated Cartoon Network and the MCU was just starting out.

I can confirm I was not buying comics off of spinner racks. 

[Mmehdy]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:07 AM, jimjum12 said:

There is definitely a line of demarcation in regards to ubiquitous. When we were growing up, one of the first things you saw when entering a 7-11 was the spinner rack. Kids today do buy comics but not like before.... so the impact of cultural significance doesn't really exist for them like it does for us.... and there has always been this hushed assumption that their lack of concern will one day sound the death knell for the hobby. Out of sight out of mind. The person wanting a Whiz 1, at this point, is probably 60 YO or more. I probably wouldn't take out a mortgage on the Farm to fund it, but for those who are "flush" ... the scarcity and historical significance to the medium would probably be enough to compel them. Honestly, it's not at the top of my Lottery List. The only major GA keys that I would even want if I was loaded are Tec 27 and Cap 1. But I'm not "That Guy" that buys them. Me ? I have to decide which week I'm getting take-out  GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

The spinner rack played a very important role for me as a beginning collector, each week or maybe two times per week a different store, I can remember like yesterday at the drug store spinner rack in San Mateo looking at FF Ann#1....and saying to my mom we have get this, I took it home and it blew my mind, one of the best or not the best marvel annuals of all time, only 25 cents...like yesterday. The spinner racks, you had to be there to understand the joy and unknown each week of going and discovering.

Edited November 16, 2021 by Mmehdy

[jimjum12]

On 11/16/2021 at 1:00 PM, Mmehdy said:

The spinner rack played a very important role for me as a beginning collector, each week or maybe two times per week a different store, I can remember like yesterday at the drug store spinner rack in San Mateo looking at FF Ann#1....and saying to my mom we have get this, I took it home and it blew my mind, one of the best or not the best marvel annuals of all time, only 25 cents...like yesterday. The spinner racks, you had to be there to understand the joy and unknown each week of going and discovering.

I made special trips. It was years later before I realized that new books arrived each week. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)