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War Comics
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Started by CycloneComics,

11,088 posts in this topic

Aman619

Aman619

Posted
Posted

Id go for the OAAW 83 on your list. But, lately 3K wont buy you much, not as much a just recently... So Sgt Fury#1 would be my second pick. Cant go wrong with an undervalued Marvel SA first appearance! There arent many left.

 

Frontline Combat is low in the census, but for lots of reasons that dont really speak to a scarcity. Marvels have a much larger fan base so there are lots more copies graded in all grades. OAAW 83 is truly scarce in High Grade. So the question becomes will 3K buy you a HG copy? The sales have been volatile this past year, so I cant answer that with any certainty.

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Wild Bill Kelso-migration

Wild Bill Kelso-migration

Posted
Posted
Id go for the OAAW 83 on your list. But, lately 3K wont buy you much, not as much a just recently... So Sgt Fury#1 would be my second pick. Cant go wrong with an undervalued Marvel SA first appearance! There arent many left.

 

Frontline Combat is low in the census, but for lots of reasons that dont really speak to a scarcity. Marvels have a much larger fan base so there are lots more copies graded in all grades. OAAW 83 is truly scarce in High Grade. So the question becomes will 3K buy you a HG copy? The sales have been volatile this past year, so I cant answer that with any certainty.

 

Thanks Aman!

 

I follow you. Ultimately, if 8.0 is the market’s consensus of a high grade book, it would be practically impossible for anyone to score an 83 for anywhere near $3K.

 

That’s why I initially mentioned 6.5 and then 6.0; I was testing value against grade thresholds for the book, and just wanted subject matter experts’ opinions. Thanks for yours good sir.

 

That said; I need to apologize to everyone who has responded to me thus far. I intended the original question to be hypothetical with regard to the amount. Although I am in reality seeking some of these books, I was bestowing a grade and price to the books in an attempt to find a balanced starting point. My hope was that if I stated an equalizing amount AND war boardies saw it as such, I would get answers that were based on myriad of other factors outside of money, including unique personal preferences.

 

The net result is that I am an utter failure and I need to think out my questions a bit better before blasting my way through the boards. My apologies…

 

Nevertheless, I still got incredibly helpful insight and it is highly appreciated.

 

I’ll go sit in the corner now.

 

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rjpb

rjpb

Posted
Posted

Don't know much about values for war keys - but I will say the least likely candidate would probably be the Don Winslow #1. This is a title that I have to believe there are more copies extant than there are people interested in collecting them. In general I think first issues of hard to move titles are way overvalued, as frequently there are individual covers that have greater demand that are valued at far less than first issues. I suppose Capt. Marvel completists may be interested in DW #1 for the cover appearance, but how many really want to spend 3K on the book?

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MrBedrock

MrBedrock

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Posted

If you had roughly $3K to spend on a single war comic, would you use it on a:

 

7.5 Don Winslow #1 (1937)

9.6 Frontline Combat #1

6.5 Our Army at War #83

8.0 Sgt Fury #1

or

9.0 Wings Comics #1

Yours,

Sooper Noob

From a fan's perspective I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. But from a long term investment standpoint there is probably an order of preference.

I think, and it sounds like most agree, that OAAW 83 is the most desirable, and most historic on the list. The question will be how many copies pop up that grade higher than 6.5 over the years. That really seems to be the median grade right now.

Sgt. Fury 1 is also a hot book right now. But historically it has been one of the Marvel keys that kind of lags behind, then goes through periodic price surges for what ever reason (now it seems to be fueled partly by the Avengers movie hype). And it is pretty tough in grade, though in relation to the other war books on your list it is the most common.

I personally love the Don Winslow #1. It is very scarce. It has a beautiful painted cover. And there is an argument to be made that it is the first war themed comic of any type. It is a big beautiful golden age book that is very overlooked by most collectors.

Frontline Combat #1 is great. Heck, I may be biased because I just won the last one the most recent C-Link auction. And I am thrilled to have it. I'm curious why you didn't include a comparably priced Two-Fisted Tales #1?

Finally, Wings #1. Joe Verenault had a high grade raw copy that we would loan back and forth for periods to see if one or the other would have better luck selling it. It finally sold, but it took an awfully long time. But I think that had more to do with price than demand. For a golden age #1 Wings is fairly available in grade. But as copies come to auction they seem to sell at a price discounted to guide and then disappear. That's a good thing. And that's because Wings #1 is actually a very cool comic. Long term I think it will always have an audience, but with no major character it is a book that has to be seen to be appreciated.

 

So here's my suggestion. Rather than pick one book for $3K try to cobble together $15K and see if you can get a deal on all five!

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MrBedrock

MrBedrock

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Posted
Don't know much about values for war keys - but I will say the least likely candidate would probably be the Don Winslow #1. This is a title that I have to believe there are more copies extant than there are people interested in collecting them. In general I think first issues of hard to move titles are way overvalued, as frequently there are individual covers that have greater demand that are valued at far less than first issues. I suppose Capt. Marvel completists may be interested in DW #1 for the cover appearance, but how many really want to spend 3K on the book?

The 1937 Don Winslow is different than the Fawcett series. Same character, but published much earlier, and in a different format. I wish I had a scan of one, but there have been a couple sold through Heritage.

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Wild Bill Kelso-migration

Wild Bill Kelso-migration

Posted
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Don't know much about values for war keys - but I will say the least likely candidate would probably be the Don Winslow #1. This is a title that I have to believe there are more copies extant than there are people interested in collecting them. In general I think first issues of hard to move titles are way overvalued, as frequently there are individual covers that have greater demand that are valued at far less than first issues. I suppose Capt. Marvel completists may be interested in DW #1 for the cover appearance, but how many really want to spend 3K on the book?

 

Thanks for the response. Good to get different perspectives. It’s interesting to see that you only panned Winslow. I hope that means that all four of the other titles have a lot of merit. I am not surprised to see OAAW 83 get praise from most responding, but I think the others have potential as well. Speaking of which, I personally think that Don Winslow has promise (just as Mr. Bedrock does). I am not sure if the market understands these books yet… I am learning too.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

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Wild Bill Kelso-migration

Wild Bill Kelso-migration

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you had roughly $3K to spend on a single war comic, would you use it on a:

 

7.5 Don Winslow #1 (1937)

9.6 Frontline Combat #1

6.5 Our Army at War #83

8.0 Sgt Fury #1

or

9.0 Wings Comics #1

Yours,

Sooper Noob

From a fan's perspective I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. But from a long term investment standpoint there is probably an order of preference.

I think, and it sounds like most agree, that OAAW 83 is the most desirable, and most historic on the list. The question will be how many copies pop up that grade higher than 6.5 over the years. That really seems to be the median grade right now.

Sgt. Fury 1 is also a hot book right now. But historically it has been one of the Marvel keys that kind of lags behind, then goes through periodic price surges for what ever reason (now it seems to be fueled partly by the Avengers movie hype). And it is pretty tough in grade, though in relation to the other war books on your list it is the most common.

I personally love the Don Winslow #1. It is very scarce. It has a beautiful painted cover. And there is an argument to be made that it is the first war themed comic of any type. It is a big beautiful golden age book that is very overlooked by most collectors.

Frontline Combat #1 is great. Heck, I may be biased because I just won the last one the most recent C-Link auction. And I am thrilled to have it. I'm curious why you didn't include a comparably priced Two-Fisted Tales #1?

Finally, Wings #1. Joe Verenault had a high grade raw copy that we would loan back and forth for periods to see if one or the other would have better luck selling it. It finally sold, but it took an awfully long time. But I think that had more to do with price than demand. For a golden age #1 Wings is fairly available in grade. But as copies come to auction they seem to sell at a price discounted to guide and then disappear. That's a good thing. And that's because Wings #1 is actually a very cool comic. Long term I think it will always have an audience, but with no major character it is a book that has to be seen to be appreciated.

 

So here's my suggestion. Rather than pick one book for $3K try to cobble together $15K and see if you can get a deal on all five!

 

I pretty much concur -- on everything you’ve elaborated on. We are similar fans of the hobby.

 

I am unsure as to what we will see in the next few years with regard to the number of OAAW 83’s above 6.5 emerging into the market, but I am not expecting much. I am certain that something special will unearth for sure, however I just don’t believe they will ever make a show in quantity. I think this factor alone enhances the book’s overall performance potential (among the myriad of other reasons).

 

Anyway, I was trying to find the sweet spot in my original post, something that would make it equal to the other four books grades (it was geeky fun to try to find the book and the grade that put them on the same playing field). I don’t think I did a very thorough job… but, the one thing I have been able to glean from the discussions thus far – is that the OOAA 83 is a no brainer at 6.0 or 6.5 for $3K. I should have said 5.5. I believe that would have caused some pause.

 

Sgt Fury is on a tear. But I agree with you, it’s hard to determine what the driving factors are? Certainly, the movies, the lack of high-grade books (compared to superhero books from the 60’s), and the fact that Marvel completists want it - does not hurt its current momentum.

 

Glad that you dig Don Winslow. Whether you are talking the Merwil, Fawcett or Dell series, I think this character line paves the way for many future war based story arcs. I don’t know if it should get a ton of credit, but, I certainly think that they are underrated as a whole. Wonder how big the DW fan base is? Can’t imagine it’s too big. Huh?

 

Frontline and Two-Fisted Tales are a powerhouse in my mind. I understand that the market has reflected somewhat differently, but I believe (as stated earlier) that these books should be stronger overall. I mean just look at the stories, the art… The dang covers! TFT #30 winning that poll was a good sign. In answer to your query; I contemplated TFT 18, and I ultimately went with Frontline #1 in my sophomoric attempt to balance the hypothetical $3k scenario. I personally would love owning either – and am green with envy over your gem of a copy. Trade would ya?

 

Wings in general is a fun title. And I am with you; I don’t think until recently collectors started to pay it a tremendous amount of attention. But, times are changing and there seems to be a bigger audience for the various genres it satisfies. Wings, like Sgt Fury, have broader collector potential, so I bet it will be kept aloft just from that dynamic.

 

$15K huh? OK. I wonder how many bake sales that will take to do… ?

 

Edited by Wild Bill Kelso
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MrBedrock

MrBedrock

Posted
Posted

So, continuing the conversation, what other war books are, or have the potential to be, in the $3K club? Obviously G.I. Combat 87 is there. Would a high, high grade copy of Combat 1 or one of the other Atlas first issues get close? Two-Fisted Tales Annual would be around there.

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