What comics do you want in 10 years?

[SuperBird]

looking at non-CGC Hulk 340 realized eBay sales, it averages to less than $20 in nm. Spiderman 300 goes for $60ish, but the rest of the McFarlane issues go for very little. These books cost much more back in the day, so while they still retain some slight value, they have proven a negative investment unless you bought them fresh off the newstand at cover price.

 

I totally agree with your comments, however.

[DKB]

You can look at non-CGC copies all you want. Look at slabbed copies. Slabbing is the best way to realize your investment, and since we are talking investment here...

 

Fact is, there exists a Marvel book from the late 80s that sells for $750. That alone says to me that it would have been a great investment at the time. If I invested in 10 of the nicest copies of Spidey 300 I could find when it came out, and they scattered evening among 9.4/9.6/9.8, I'd be doing pretty well selling them now. Ditto 298, 299, and the books in the lower 300s.

 

Good luck finding others though.

[SuperBird]

Slabbing and HG copies are a whole other animal, one that I personally think is merely a speculative bubble, such as Valiant comics, BW independents, X-Men #1, and Spider-Man #1 before them. These things are not good investments, but you can make alot of money right now selling them.

 

If the 9.0 copy is worthless, in the long run a 9.8 copy is worth merely a multiple of worthless.

[Holku]

As for Spawn, weren't there like 2 million copies eventually printed of #1? I thought they were still printing that comic well into the print run of #4 or #5 because Wal-Mart or somebody decided to sell a package deal with them in it. Either way, it was the highest selling comic of all time back then...no way that's ever going to be considered rare enough to be worth anything again.

 

I think that NXY #3 has a chance, if 40,500 can be considered a "small print run". But there are no variants, no reprints, and it has only about 2/3 of the copies as #1 and #2 of the series.

 

I think She Hulk #1 is one. That book, especially the CGC 9.8 just keeps going up and despite already being on her fourth series (She Hulk vol 2) they've done a lot with her and and she's involved in a lot of things from Avengers, to FF, and the Magistrati membership. Resembling Incredible Hulk #1 on the cover doesn't hurt either from a nastalga point of view.

 

I'm struggling to think of any book that would have the double audience like a Hulk 181 does with both Hulk and Wolverine fans fighting over high grade copies of the issue. Or a better example would be X-Men 94 or Giant-Size X-Men where you have fans of X-Men and different characters fighting over high grade copies. If there were something similar today it would offset a little bit the higher modern print runs.

[SuperBird]

NYX #3 only has a chance in NYX becomes a major major character in 10 years. I just don't see it. She reminds me of 100 other HOT HOT SEXY HOT comic characters that were worth something and are now worthless.

 

She Hulk #1? less than zero chance. She's a 3rd tier female version of a moderately popular character who can't keep her own series from being cancelled 4 times over.

 

I don't think Hulk 181 or XMen 94 / GS are expensive on account of crossover between fans of the different characters. They are key issues because they introduced the most popular super heroes of the last 30 years.

 

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

 

The main problem with anything printed after 1980 or so is that it was most likely bought by a comic book collector, who saved it in nice condition, as opposed to a reader. who would not have cared about condition. Even IF a new character were to come around with sustainable long-term popularity-- which is doubtful, as none have been created since Wolverine-- his first appearance comic book would doubtless be saved by everyone who bought it, rendering it a longshot investment at best.

[valiantman]

Slabbing and HG copies are a whole other animal, one that I personally think is merely a speculative bubble, such as Valiant comics...

 

Any investment will have only three variables.

Purchase Price Paid

Length of Time

Sale Price Realized

 

In particular, since you mentioned it... high grade Valiant comics are speculative, to be sure,

but depending on the Purchase Price Paid... they have a lot of potential.

 

I have purchased dozens of copies of single Valiant issues and none of them

have been up to CGC 9.8 standards. If I could purchase a CGC 9.8 for

two or three times the ungraded "NM" price... that is a fantastic way to get the book.

 

I doubt if I will be proven wrong for seeking out the best copies available

at a price that is reasonable to me.

 

Post-1980 books need to have two components to be a successful investment.

1) A print run that is low enough to make the book hard(er) to obtain in high grade

2) A following, particularly a cult following, that is not likely to "give up" even if the title ends

 

Your list above seems to be a good list for capturing both components.

Primer #2

Grendel 1-3 (bw)

Miracleman (all)

Flex Mentallo 1-4

Flaming carrot #1 mag size

Visions 1-5

some of the Valiant books

 

... as well as TMNT and Albedo mentioned earlier.

[Rodey]

Nyx #3 I still have a problem with. I started a thread a month ago about it. I'm afraid this is going to fall into the Cable/Gambit category.

[Lazyboy]

I think that NXY #3 has a chance, if 40,500 can be considered a "small print run". But there are no variants, no reprints, and it has only about 2/3 of the copies as #1 and #2 of the series.

 

Isn't there a NYX TPB, a NYX/X-23 HC and a Marvel Must Haves that all reprint the issue?

[followtheleader]

Slabbing and HG copies are a whole other animal, one that I personally think is merely a speculative bubble, such as Valiant comics...

 

Any investment will have only three variables.

Purchase Price Paid

Length of Time

Sale Price Realized

 

In particular, since you mentioned it... high grade Valiant comics are speculative, to be sure,

but depending on the Purchase Price Paid... they have a lot of potential.

 

I have purchased dozens of copies of single Valiant issues and none of them

have been up to CGC 9.8 standards. If I could purchase a CGC 9.8 for

two or three times the ungraded "NM" price... that is a fantastic way to get the book.

 

I doubt if I will be proven wrong for seeking out the best copies available

at a price that is reasonable to me.

 

Post-1980 books need to have two components to be a successful investment.

1) A print run that is low enough to make the book hard(er) to obtain in high grade

2) A following, particularly a cult following, that is not likely to "give up" even if the title ends

 

Your list above seems to be a good list for capturing both components.

Primer #2

Grendel 1-3 (bw)

Miracleman (all)

Flex Mentallo 1-4

Flaming carrot #1 mag size

Visions 1-5

some of the Valiant books

 

... as well as TMNT and Albedo mentioned earlier.

 

I agree with your assessment. Concerning Moderns, I may be biased, but the early issues of Walking Dead seem to fit the bill. I guess the key is, will people still want the book after the series is cancelled. I can't see why not though. As long as Kirkman doesn't screw it up, it will go down as a classic. And the print runs are proving to be a beoooottccchhhh for a quality grade (hell, any grade for some issues).

[SuperBird]

The problem with Walking Dead is that it will be in print as TPB forever, allowing fans to read the series without dropping major coin. Plus, I'm not entirely sure it will be seen as a classic down the road. I LOVE the concept, but it's missing energy- to me, atleast.

[joe_collector]

Post-1980 books need to have two components to be a successful investment.

1) A print run that is low enough to make the book hard(er) to obtain in high grade

2) A following, particularly a cult following, that is not likely to "give up" even if the title ends

 

I don't see this as a barometer of a "current investment", but simply an indication of consistent prices. Under this scenario, there is virtually no upside, and whatever the prices are now on books like Primer 2 and Miracleman, is probably where it's going to stay for a long while.

 

There will never been another Hulk 181, or even a WWBN 32.

 

Basically, I don't see any post-1989 comic having any investment upside, and only a few from 1980-88 will show any real increases.

[SuperBird]

I agree. I'll take it a step further, I don't see any post 1955 book having any significant investment upside. I think the market has effectively maxed out, or is close to it, on SA and BA books.

[valiantman]

There will never been another Hulk 181, or even a WWBN 32.

 

Basically, I don't see any post-1989 comic having any investment upside, and only a few from 1980-88 will show any real increases.

 

If we're talking about books that we would want to "invest in" for the next 10 years,

then I believe there are quite a few that would be "another WWBN 32", investment-wise.

 

What was WWBN worth in 1996? What is it worth today? What was the increase?

 

If we're talking about "investments", it's all about the percent increase, not the dollar amount.

 

If there were $100 books that became $1000 "keys" in the past 10 years...

then that's the same "investment gain" as a $10 book becoming a $100 book in the next ten years.

 

I would say there are quite a few post-1989 comics with investment upside...

particularly in the "$10 books can easily become $100 books" scenario.

 

Do I think that any post-1989 books will "catch" Hulk181 or WWBN32?

Probably not, and if so, only the rarest of the manufactured collectibles (Batman 608 RRP, etc.),

but if we're talking about "investing", you can't get in on Hulk181 or WWBN32 for $10 or even $100.

It's too late to get a deal on an established key... decades too late.

 

Today, you'll already be shelling out "big money" to buy ANY of the classic keys.

So you'll need a growth of "10 times big money" to make the same gain

that a $10 becoming a $100 has.

 

For the record, I'm talking about "hobby investment", not "retirement investment".

If anyone is investing retirement dollars into ANY comic book of ANY age, that's just kooky.

[Holku]

I'm not as concerned about investing in these issues now in order to make money (though that would be nice) as I am concerned that it's going to cost me money ten years from now when I find out it's going to cost me $1000 to get a key book that I want that I could have had for even $40 now.

 

I wasn't trying to say that Hulk 181 and X-Men 94 were big BECAUSE they they cross multiple comic audiences, I'm just saying that makes them bigger than some of the others of the same nature from the same timeframe. To what degree we could argue all day.

 

And I stand by my pick of Savage She-Hulk #1. A She Hulk #1 CGC 9.8 ended yesterday for $108.50 with 15 bids.

 

Any X-Men fans want to take a stab at the latest X-Men lineup and point out anyone whose first issue may be worth picking up now rather than later?

[FlyingDonut]

For the record, I'm talking about "hobby investment", not "retirement investment". If anyone is investing retirement dollars into ANY comic book of ANY age, that's just kooky.

 

Disagree strongly. Why not invest some retirement dollars? A very small amount, and an amount you'll not afraid of losing, but why not? If I put $10,000 of retirement money into comics over the next 10 years, where I feel I know the market as well as anybody ( ), what's the difference between putting that money into a higher risk stock fund? (yes, I know, besides liquidity..) Or buying jewelry as an investment? Or a classic car? Or any other "collectible"? All investments, outside of t-bills, carry an inherent risk factor, and I can live with it.

 

Is the market going to tank? Probably. Do I believe there are blue chip comics that will retain value and show a 10-15% average annual rate of return? Definitely. Why shouldn't I "invest" a small portion of my retirement money into it? Again, I believe I know the market as well as anybody, and believe I know what I'm buying.

[valiantman]

For the record, I'm talking about "hobby investment", not "retirement investment". If anyone is investing retirement dollars into ANY comic book of ANY age, that's just kooky.

 

Disagree strongly. Why not invest some retirement dollars? A very small amount, and an amount you'll not afraid of losing, but why not?

 

This is the key point... if you can lose it and still be ok, then you're not "betting" your retirement.

[FlyingDonut]

For the record, I'm talking about "hobby investment", not "retirement investment". If anyone is investing retirement dollars into ANY comic book of ANY age, that's just kooky.

 

Disagree strongly. Why not invest some retirement dollars? A very small amount, and an amount you'll not afraid of losing, but why not?

 

This is the key point... if you can lose it and still be ok, then you're not "betting" your retirement.

 

[followtheleader]

The problem with Walking Dead is that it will be in print as TPB forever, allowing fans to read the series without dropping major coin. Plus, I'm not entirely sure it will be seen as a classic down the road. I LOVE the concept, but it's missing energy- to me, atleast.

 

Wow, I guess it's all perspective. For me, Walking Dead goes down as one of the top 5 story's I've ever read. Maybe even top 3.

 

On the flip side, classic takes a bit more than 1 person's perspective. It just seems to me that many are anxiously awaiting the new issue every month.

 

Only time will tell.

 

Pat

[EvilAsh]

The problem with Walking Dead is that it will be in print as TPB forever, allowing fans to read the series without dropping major coin. Plus, I'm not entirely sure it will be seen as a classic down the road. I LOVE the concept, but it's missing energy- to me, atleast.

 

Wow, I guess it's all perspective. For me, Walking Dead goes down as one of the top 5 story's I've ever read. Maybe even top 3.

 

On the flip side, classic takes a bit more than 1 person's perspective. It just seems to me that many are anxiously awaiting the new issue every month.

 

Only time will tell.

 

Pat

 

I completely agree with you, it's the first comic I normally read on a given week

[sundog-migration]

so if i was wanting comics to invest in then one rule of thumb is to stick toward the classics? i really dont expect to maake any money of my collection...but it would be cool for my son to get them one day and get some gems ...i mean what might the prices be for books printed in the 90"s in say 2050.? i know peaple are saveing their comics more today but i still think with collections thrown away and passed thru diffirent hands these high run isues are going to widdle down last months issue of avengers that had a 600,000 run might be the hot pick when theres onle a few hundred in fifty or sixty years.