Any 80's books have silver age potential

[rabidwolf]

Wanted to get people's opinions on whether they think any 80's books(books I collected when I was a kid) will reach the growth and investment potential of silver age books like spidey, FF, X-men, etc. It seems like all original character concepts were explored in the golden age and silver age. Are there any 80's characters that stand out or have this potential 20 years from now?

[sterlingcomics]

Only time will tell. Most of the people here will say "no" due to their knowledge of the hobby and the fact that no many people here rant and rave on 80s comics. That segment of the population that would have interest haven't weighed in yet IMO.

[dc360]

Venom?

[sterlingcomics]

Venom?

 

And you are saying...?

[ComicSupply]

I would say some certainly have some good potential.

 

Dc Presents #26, Teen Titans #2, ASM #298-300, New Mutants #98 etc etc. Of course you would be needing them in high grades and they would be good investments.

 

Take for instance an ASM #252 CGC 9.8 I sold to some goofball on the boards who flipped it 2 months later for a $200+ profit.

[dc360]

Venom?

 

And you are saying...?

 

Venom/the whole Black Costume saga is a sure keeper. Definite investment-class stuff, I'd think. It's been pretty solid for the past 20 years, no? Why should that change? The only way i see it depreciating is if ALL comics depreciate.

[sckao]

Venom?

 

And you are saying...?

 

Venom/the whole Black Costume saga is a sure keeper. Definite investment-class stuff, I'd think. It's been pretty solid for the past 20 years, no? Why should that change? The only way i see it depreciating is if ALL comics depreciate.

 

SO you're saying Alien Symbiote? ASM #252... Marvel Team-Up #141...Secret Wars #8...

 

Or Venom ASM #298

 

And then ASM #361-363... Introduction of Carnage

 

Or his cameo in Web of Spider-man #18?

[ComicSupply]

Venom?

 

And you are saying...?

 

Venom/the whole Black Costume saga is a sure keeper. Definite investment-class stuff, I'd think. It's been pretty solid for the past 20 years, no? Why should that change? The only way i see it depreciating is if ALL comics depreciate.

 

SO you're saying Alien Symbiote? ASM #252... Marvel Team-Up #141...Secret Wars #8...

 

Or Venom ASM #298

 

And then ASM #361-363... Introduction of Carnage

 

Or his cameo in Web of Spider-man #18?

 

I would say no on the Team Up and the #361-363. Those are very very common.

[sterlingcomics]

Venom?

 

And you are saying...?

 

Venom/the whole Black Costume saga is a sure keeper. Definite investment-class stuff, I'd think. It's been pretty solid for the past 20 years, no? Why should that change? The only way i see it depreciating is if ALL comics depreciate.

 

Oh yeah...there are issues that have already been defined as keepers....I'm referring to the overall robustness for issues in that age group. As Russ indicated, there will be clear winners, solid performers, duds, and deadwood. I still think there are hidden gems out there that haven't been "brought out" yet, which is my point.

[Calamerica]

My opinion:

 

No.

 

Too many comics were printed until the late 1995 - 1999 era. Despite the lower runs of USM( Ultimate Spider-Man), please take into consideration that the 1980 on up comic book market WAS unlike the 1960's and earlier; the comics are pre-paid and distributed by Diamond, right???

 

The 1950 - 1975-ish comic books were distributed by the publishers themselves, with specific numbers pre-arranged for total print runs. The unsold ones were returned back to the distributors/deliverers for credit. The <b>STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP</B> used to be printed once a year for each specific issue.

 

Today, the LCS has to eat the unsold comics if they over-ordered or blow them out cheap or trade/give them away. They cannot get credits like they used to be able to do.

 

Also the <b>widespread</b> comic book hoarding did not take place until the mid-to-late 1960's, and most of them did not know how to properly care for the comics; most did not even bag-and-board them - that came a little later and <b>Rogofsky</b> was one of the first to sell bags to the public. Monkey-see-monkey-do and it is unclear who the first comic book hoarders were, but when OTHER antique/book/magazine dealers saw one do this - they all jumped on the bandwagon.

 

During the 1970's comic book hoarding became widely known, more comic book shops opened up, and the <b>OVERSTREET</b> guides started comic out. The comic book world was evolving to what it is now.

 

The Moderns, such as Bronze, Copper ages, etc. are NOT going to be close to the Golden Age/Silver Age( GA/SA) comic market. Comparing comic versus comic taking from the GA/SA age vs. Moderns - for every SA/GA that is NM- 9.2 there will be 1,000 - 10,000 or more that are NM- 9.2 Modern age. Severe disparity of the short supply of high-grade GA/SA versus the abundant over-printed/overstored Moderns. The prices cannot rise significantly enough to get close to the GA/SA market we have today. Having stated this, should the Modern prices rise somewhat, other factors will have affected the price increases other than supply - movie releases, newer interest from a certain age group. One area that the Modersn do have over the GA/SA guys/gals is that the latter are dying every year. The Modern folks are still around, and in probably in decent numbers but I am not a Demographic Surveyer.

 

There may be one or two exceptions - a Modern with some break-through character or a recall print error of 200 might be a $2,000 comic but that is going to be about all.

 

Please reply with thoughts or comments - you never know - the guys/gals here at the CGC Forum are pretty sharp and they might be able to teach me a thing or two about Moderns.

 

CAL the GA/SA Collector!!!

[THE_BEYONDER]

Venom?

 

And you are saying...?

 

Venom/the whole Black Costume saga is a sure keeper. Definite investment-class stuff, I'd think. It's been pretty solid for the past 20 years, no? Why should that change? The only way i see it depreciating is if ALL comics depreciate.

 

SO you're saying Alien Symbiote? ASM #252... Marvel Team-Up #141...Secret Wars #8...

 

Or Venom ASM #298

 

And then ASM #361-363... Introduction of Carnage

 

Or his cameo in Web of Spider-man #18?

 

I would say no on the Team Up and the #361-363. Those are very very common.

 

I think ASM 361 will do okay. Keep in mind that Bagley did the art for those issues....and the USM fanboys may go after it.

[sterlingcomics]

Good point about the publication numbers and distribution process, Cal. I'm kinda ignoring these aspects...just speaking to the "key" or popularity contest. Obviousy, scarcity is just one factor that determines price. We've all seen on a regular basis how "hot" commodities tend to do while even though availability is not a problem. It defies laws of supply and demand from my vintage point.

 

Take a look at the "Scarce in HG" USM issues, Marvel Zombies or the latest Civil War craze for instance.

[ComicSupply]

My opinion:

 

No.

 

Too many comics were printed until the late 1995 - 1999 era. Despite the lower runs of USM( Ultimate Spider-Man), please take into consideration that the 1980 on up comic book market WAS unlike the 1960's and earlier; the comics are pre-paid and distributed by Diamond, right???

 

The 1950 - 1975-ish comic books were distributed by the publishers themselves, with specific numbers pre-arranged for total print runs. The unsold ones were returned back to the distributors/deliverers for credit. The <b>STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP</B> used to be printed once a year for each specific issue.

 

Today, the LCS has to eat the unsold comics if they over-ordered or blow them out cheap or trade/give them away. They cannot get credits like they used to be able to do.

 

Also the <b>widespread</b> comic book hoarding did not take place until the mid-to-late 1960's, and most of them did not know how to properly care for the comics; most did not even bag-and-board them - that came a little later and <b>Rogofsky</b> was one of the first to sell bags to the public. Monkey-see-monkey-do and it is unclear who the first comic book hoarders were, but when OTHER antique/book/magazine dealers saw one do this - they all jumped on the bandwagon.

 

During the 1970's comic book hoarding became widely known, more comic book shops opened up, and the <b>OVERSTREET</b> guides started comic out. The comic book world was evolving to what it is now.

 

The Moderns, such as Bronze, Copper ages, etc. are NOT going to be close to the Golden Age/Silver Age( GA/SA) comic market. Comparing comic versus comic taking from the GA/SA age vs. Moderns - for every SA/GA that is NM- 9.2 there will be 1,000 - 10,000 or more that are NM- 9.2 Modern age. Severe disparity of the short supply of high-grade GA/SA versus the abundant over-printed/overstored Moderns. The prices cannot rise significantly enough to get close to the GA/SA market we have today. Having stated this, should the Modern prices rise somewhat, other factors will have affected the price increases other than supply - movie releases, newer interest from a certain age group. One area that the Modersn do have over the GA/SA guys/gals is that the latter are dying every year. The Modern folks are still around, and in probably in decent numbers but I am not a Demographic Surveyer.

 

There may be one or two exceptions - a Modern with some break-through character or a recall print error of 200 might be a $2,000 comic but that is going to be about all.

 

Please reply with thoughts or comments - you never know - the guys/gals here at the CGC Forum are pretty sharp and they might be able to teach me a thing or two about Moderns.

 

CAL the GA/SA Collector!!!

 

I pretty much 100% agree with you here but I must say the amount of say ASM #50's I have gotten over the years in collections dwarfs the amount of ASM #300's I have gotten.

 

If anything is going to be hot in 20 years it would be comics printed from 2000-now. The print runs are so low that if a book sells out and is hard to find it is a pricey item. Take for instance Star Wars Tag and Bink the first mini series. Easy $30-40 set and only 5 years old.

[dc360]

My opinion:

 

No.

 

Too many comics were printed until the late 1995 - 1999 era. Despite the lower runs of USM( Ultimate Spider-Man), please take into consideration that the 1980 on up comic book market WAS unlike the 1960's and earlier; the comics are pre-paid and distributed by Diamond, right???

 

The 1950 - 1975-ish comic books were distributed by the publishers themselves, with specific numbers pre-arranged for total print runs. The unsold ones were returned back to the distributors/deliverers for credit. The <b>STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP</B> used to be printed once a year for each specific issue.

 

Today, the LCS has to eat the unsold comics if they over-ordered or blow them out cheap or trade/give them away. They cannot get credits like they used to be able to do.

 

Also the <b>widespread</b> comic book hoarding did not take place until the mid-to-late 1960's, and most of them did not know how to properly care for the comics; most did not even bag-and-board them - that came a little later and <b>Rogofsky</b> was one of the first to sell bags to the public. Monkey-see-monkey-do and it is unclear who the first comic book hoarders were, but when OTHER antique/book/magazine dealers saw one do this - they all jumped on the bandwagon.

 

During the 1970's comic book hoarding became widely known, more comic book shops opened up, and the <b>OVERSTREET</b> guides started comic out. The comic book world was evolving to what it is now.

 

The Moderns, such as Bronze, Copper ages, etc. are NOT going to be close to the Golden Age/Silver Age( GA/SA) comic market. Comparing comic versus comic taking from the GA/SA age vs. Moderns - for every SA/GA that is NM- 9.2 there will be 1,000 - 10,000 or more that are NM- 9.2 Modern age. Severe disparity of the short supply of high-grade GA/SA versus the abundant over-printed/overstored Moderns. The prices cannot rise significantly enough to get close to the GA/SA market we have today. Having stated this, should the Modern prices rise somewhat, other factors will have affected the price increases other than supply - movie releases, newer interest from a certain age group. One area that the Modersn do have over the GA/SA guys/gals is that the latter are dying every year. The Modern folks are still around, and in probably in decent numbers but I am not a Demographic Surveyer.

 

There may be one or two exceptions - a Modern with some break-through character or a recall print error of 200 might be a $2,000 comic but that is going to be about all.

 

Please reply with thoughts or comments - you never know - the guys/gals here at the CGC Forum are pretty sharp and they might be able to teach me a thing or two about Moderns.

 

CAL the GA/SA Collector!!!

 

I pretty much 100% agree with you here but I must say the amount of say ASM #50's I have gotten over the years in collections dwarfs the amount of ASM #300's I have gotten.

 

If anything is going to be hot in 20 years it would be comics printed from 2000-now. The print runs are so low that if a book sells out and is hard to find it is a pricey item. Take for instance Star Wars Tag and Bink the first mini series. Easy $30-40 set and only 5 years old.

 

Agreed. Biggest thing fighting high prices in 1980s-1990s books is the fact that despite everything: these books had way higher printing runs than needed, and there's just more supply than the demand could ever warrant for a price jump.

 

Unless someone started collecting and destroying all of these issues....

[HouseofComics.Com]

If anything is going to be hot in 20 years it would be comics printed from 2000-now. The print runs are so low that if a book sells out and is hard to find it is a pricey item.

 

I buy those every chance I get though I never have time to even look through them and get them on the site.

 

 

 

Take for instance Star Wars Tag and Bink the first mini series. Easy $30-40 set and only 5 years old.

 

That's amazing, considering how weak Star Wars comics seem to sell. And only $3 each in Overstreet (surprise). Well, another one to remember.

 

Marc

[sterlingcomics]

I am personally amazed at how some of these recent books do in CGC 9.8 or better, Marc.

[rabidwolf]

I agree with Cal...print runs are a serious consideration(big 80's print runs). Isnt that what killed the valiant universe in the early 90s

 

The only book I can really think of that has this potential is TMNT 1. Low print run plus a whole new base of characters. I cant really think of any other books from the 80s that could be as successful that introduced brand new charaters. would have been intersting if Mirage had tried to create a whole univers of characters off these characters

[Calamerica]

This has turned out to be a VERY interesting Thread and everyone here has contributed substantially.

 

Now the trick is to load up on the Issues most likely to demonstrate price appreciation and stock up now.

 

Of course if one likes the Moderns as an enjoyment factor, that is great as well, but the "readers" rarely concern themselves with the aspects the comic book investor does.

 

Yes there was the info about ASM 50 lots of copies - but I am sure that he had 40 years or so to collect them versus a year, maybe 5 tops, to scarf up a modern issue to collect.

 

Just a few random thoughts - but please keep posting!

 

CAL the Collector!!!

[Johnny G]

Take for instance an ASM #252 CGC 9.8 I sold to some goofball on the boards who flipped it 2 months later for a $200+ profit.

 

 

What can I say? I saw an opportunity and jumped on it! I alway's wanted to set a GPA record

 

Got anymore???

 

John

[juggernaut]

TMNT #1 - Low print run

Amazing Spiderman #300 - Best character of the 1980's and 1990's

Dark Horse Presents #1 - Small print run

Avengers Annual #10 - Great story and action

Miracle Man Olympus (Hardcover) - Hard to find

Whitman Pre-Packs - Hard to find

Batman: The Killing Joke - Best story ever written

Pre-Unity Valiants and variants - Best character development since Silver Age

Daredevil #168 - 1st app of Elektra

DC Comics Presents #26 - 1st app. of New Teen Titans

Simpson comics and video game comics - Popularity (you heard it here first!!)

Wolverine LS #1 and Wolverine #1 - Most popular character ever

New Teen Titans #2 - Best villian of the 1980's

Gi Joe #1 and Transformers #1 - If movies do well

 

This should help you!! These are 1980's or early 1990's books that have silver age potentials.