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Is Giant-Size X-Men worth it?
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54 posts in this topic

I do have to say, I am still quite shocked by this. Only because Hulk 181 has something close to 12,000 copies on census for a 7.0 or higher, compared to GSX’s roughly 7,000 copies, and is substantially more expensive than a GSX, and yet everyone here is on the same page. 
 

I just didn’t expect that 

 

edit: they seem to have the same amount of copies on census lol  

Edited by D2
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On 3/25/2022 at 8:11 PM, D2 said:

I do have to say, I am still quite shocked by this. Only because Hulk 181 has something close to 12,000 copies on census for a 7.0 or higher, compared to GSX’s roughly 7,000 copies, and is substantially more expensive than a GSX, and yet everyone here is on the same page. 
 

I just didn’t expect that 

 

edit: they seem to have the same amount of copies on census lol  

it's supply + demand. wolverine continues to be a character with overwhelming demand. it doesnt matter how many graded copies there are as long as he (and/or she) remains a top tier character. 

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On 3/24/2022 at 1:09 PM, SuperBird said:

IH 181: FIRST WOLVERINE!

GSX-Men 1: First appearance of a bunch of characters that are "whatever". 

But overall, buy what you like, don't buy for investment. 

IH 181: FIRST WOLVERINE!

GSX-Men 1: First appearance of a bunch of characters that are "whatever".  SECOND WOLVERINE!

Edited by Off Panel
Now I know how to strikethrough text.
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I will happily go against the grain here, but please bear in mind that I have no real data on the investment potential of the discussed books.

Giant Size X-Men 1 is, in my opinion, the single most significant Bronze Age comic. Couple that with the fact that more than a few of us consider Hulk 180 to be the first appearance of Wolvie, and it makes an easy choice (for me). I would rather have GSXM1. Hell, with the price difference, you could probably throw in a Hulk 180!

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On 3/25/2022 at 8:11 PM, D2 said:

I do have to say, I am still quite shocked by this. Only because Hulk 181 has something close to 12,000 copies on census for a 7.0 or higher, compared to GSX’s roughly 7,000 copies, and is substantially more expensive than a GSX, and yet everyone here is on the same page. 
 

I just didn’t expect that 

 

edit: they seem to have the same amount of copies on census lol  

When the herd is buying, you should be selling.  When they sell, is when you buy.  Timing is everything.

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181 all the way.  

Don't worry about census numbers, the census is full of ghost numbers. That's just how many times they have given a grade to the book X number of times, not everyone sends back the labels.  So the census numbers are off and is not the end all, be all deciding factor of what or not to purchase.  I see Hulk 181 as "Investing in Wolverine"  Just like people invest in Spider-Man.  The more popular the character, the more expensive their 1st appearance is going to be. GSX 1 is great to have, but Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus aren't Wolverine.  That's why I traded away my Journey 83 7.0 years ago to get a 2.5 AF 15....Thor is great, but he's not Spider-Man.  Get a 181 now while the book is asleep, don't wait for a "market correction"  Once Wolverine is announced, you'd wish you had acted sooner. 

Edited by Kevin76
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On 4/2/2022 at 9:16 PM, KirbyJack said:

I will happily go against the grain here, but please bear in mind that I have no real data on the investment potential of the discussed books.

Giant Size X-Men 1 is, in my opinion, the single most significant Bronze Age comic. Couple that with the fact that more than a few of us consider Hulk 180 to be the first appearance of Wolvie, and it makes an easy choice (for me). I would rather have GSXM1. Hell, with the price difference, you could probably throw in a Hulk 180!

GSX 1 is just a new X-Men team.  One could argue ASM 299 is the 1st appearance of Venom. While it's great to have a Hulk 180, 181 takes the cake because the cover is so much better than the 180 and he's throughout the whole book and on the cover, not a small single panel on the last page. 180 just isn't as sexy as the 181.  

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On 4/2/2022 at 9:16 PM, KirbyJack said:

I will happily go against the grain here, but please bear in mind that I have no real data on the investment potential of the discussed books.

Giant Size X-Men 1 is, in my opinion, the single most significant Bronze Age comic. Couple that with the fact that more than a few of us consider Hulk 180 to be the first appearance of Wolvie, and it makes an easy choice (for me). I would rather have GSXM1. Hell, with the price difference, you could probably throw in a Hulk 180!

Yup, you are definitely going against the grain here 😆

 

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On 4/2/2022 at 9:16 PM, KirbyJack said:

I will happily go against the grain here, but please bear in mind that I have no real data on the investment potential of the discussed books.

Giant Size X-Men 1 is, in my opinion, the single most significant Bronze Age comic. Couple that with the fact that more than a few of us consider Hulk 180 to be the first appearance of Wolvie, and it makes an easy choice (for me). I would rather have GSXM1. Hell, with the price difference, you could probably throw in a Hulk 180!

The relationship between Hulk 181 & GS X-Men 1 is symbiotic in that both Wolverine and the new X-Men team benefit from one another in a way unlike any other in the history of comic books (we part on Hulk 180’s place but that’s for another thread). Wolverine is the greatest anti-hero in comic book history (Punisher comes in a close second). Ironically, Wolverine evolved inside the X-Men, a team of mutants like Logan himself who weren’t accepted by the “mainstream” non-mutants. Superheroes that followed were based more on Wolverine’s anti-hero character. Even Spiderman would grow darker as Marvel looked to ride the antihero wave during the 80s and 90s. What’s fascinating about Wolverine is that he’s the one character among the greatest comic book creations to experience this path- growing as an individual character but also simultaneously playing a major role in defining the Professor X’s team. It’s also why my daughter and her teenage friends all prefer Wolverine to Superman, Batman, and Spiderman (yes, Spidey!). The younger generations’ value individuality but also see the importance of collaboration and working as part of a team more so than ever. The X-Men that came out of the Summer of ‘75 went on to be the most popular and diverse Marvel comic book for the decades that followed and Wolverine surpassed Spiderman in popularity and remains in a place due to his character and anti-hero nature where reliance on movies won’t impact his role as Marvel’s greatest superhero creation. Like Babe Ruth, Wolverine can both pitch in an individual role and play the field as part of the team better than anyone else in history and maintain his antihero status! Wolverine isn’t a favorite character of mine and I’m no big fan of the new X-Men team that came out of the Summer of ‘75 because of my love for the “original” Marvel Superheroes of the Silver Age. Still, we owe more to Hulk 181 and GS X-men 1 in terms of the impact these books have had on comic books since than the simpler stories and issues characters faced in single issue Silver Age books. Moreover, the rise of diversity of characters that occurred during the Bronze Age laid the foundation for America and the comic book today- the greatest degree of demographic diversity and a desire for these newest Americans to identify with characters in the comics. That all started in the Summer of ‘75…

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GS X-Men 1 did not come out in the summer of 1975. While I don't remember the date, I recall reading it in the local park and it being pretty chilly out. I'd guess it came out in March or maybe April.  There should be plenty of date stamps to give the proper answer.

It's ironic that BJ brings up the supposedly simpler SA plots, as X-Men 93 reprinted part of a multibook story arc where Magneto had captured the X-men and Angel had flown to get help, only to run into the original Red Raven. 93 ends with a bang as the Avengers arrive, ready to do battle in the last panel, and the story was to be continued. #94 began the new stories and Marvel said the conclusion to the story from 93 would be published in GS X-Men #2 but it never was.  It was a few yearsd before I knew that the story concluded in an issue of the Avengers. 

There were no databases to look these things up at the time.

My personal opinion is that both #94 and #95 will double in value before either Hulk 181 or GS X-Men do, simply because they can. 

Edited by shadroch
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On 4/3/2022 at 12:48 PM, shadroch said:

GS X-Men 1 did not come out in the summer of 1975. While I don't remember the date, I recall reading it in the local park and it being pretty chilly out. I'd guess it came out in March or maybe April.  There should be plenty of date stamps to give the proper answer.

It's ironic that BJ brings up the supposedly simpler SA plots, as X-Men 93 reprinted part of a multibook story arc where Magneto had captured the X-men and Angel had flown to get help, only to run into the original Red Raven. 93 ends with a bang as the Avengers arrive, ready to do battle in the last panel, and the story was to be continued. #94 began the new stories and Marvel said the conclusion to the story from 93 would be published in GS X-Men #2 but it never was.  It was a few yearsd before I knew that the story concluded in an issue of the Avengers. 

There were no databases to look these things up at the time.

My personal opinion is that both #94 and #95 will double in value before either Hulk 181 or GS X-Men do, simply because they can. 

The “Summer of ‘75” is a personal reference that I’ve made a number of times so if you want to nitpick - be my guest👍. Also, you know what I’m referring to when generally describing Silver Age stories so there’s no irony on my part since there were exceptions of course as you’ve pointed out.

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I'm not sure what a personal reference has to do with the fact the book came out in the early spring and not the summer. Maybe you first read it in the summer but it wasn't a summer time release. 

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