NM books - how far back do they go?

[valiantman]

 

I thought this table might spark some discussion...

(but I think I'll wait and make my own comments later.)

[blowout]

Illustrates the point pretty well that mass comic book collecting started around 1964. Anything prior to this is tough to find in NM.

[sfilosa]

Excellent Chart my Man.

 

My comments would be:

 

1) Look at the total "Lack of Submissions" in the Post-Code period of 1955-1961.

 

2) I wouldn't focus too much on NM compared to total submissions after 1970 just because most of these books "wouldn't justify" being graded unless they were NM's.

 

3) It shows when Marvel redid their titles in 1968, they obviously published a whole lot more copies. Not only are there a slew of books, but also a slew in high-grade.

[blowout]

It shows when Marvel redid their titles in 1968, they obviously published a whole lot more copies. Not only are there a slew of books, but also a slew in high-grade.

 

They published more because thats when comic book hoarding/speculating actively started.

[jjreason-migration]

Up until 1968 Marvel was only allowed to ship so many titles per month - so said their distributor, who happened to be DC. The 1968 re-vamping occurred when Marvel finally broke free of this confinement, and could finally put forth the number of books they felt would sell. Of course, they did start shipping many more books at this time.

 

Obviously nothing good came out in 1997 eh?

 

Who can explain some of the other peaks and valleys? What is the big submission from 1982? Dark Knight was 1983 no?

 

[BigMan]

Hey Valiantman, I find that spike interesting from 1968 to 1970. There is a huge amount of submissions during that time but the NM spike did not increase that much in comparison. Can you find me an avg grade for submissions per year for the three years and to compare it with the amount of submissions that are VF or better for each of the three years.

[drbanner]

Wow...that mid to late-90's dip is enlightening. Could those Marvel re-launch issues (Heroes Reborn, etc.,.) be hidden/uncovered gems?

 

Wonder how this compares to the total number of books published? According to Gerber, comic book production numbers peaked in 1952 at around 74 million books/month, dropping to less than 5 million/month by 1962, and dropping to about 2 million/month in the mid-late 70's.

 

Courtesy of The Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books: Volume One (the greatest comic book publication ever produced!):

 

[valiantman]

Hey Valiantman, I find that spike interesting from 1968 to 1970. There is a huge amount of submissions during that time but the NM spike did not increase that much in comparison. Can you find me an avg grade for submissions per year for the three years and to compare it with the amount of submissions that are VF or better for each of the three years.

Here are the average Universal grades for a dozen years around that time...

1961 (495 issues, 2616 submissions, 6.75 avg. universal grade)

1962 (571 issues, 4856 submissions, 6.62 avg. universal grade)

1963 (555 issues, 7913 submissions, 6.60 avg. universal grade)

1964 (587 issues, 10375 submissions, 7.14 avg. universal grade)

1965 (634 issues, 9239 submissions, 7.81 avg. universal grade)

1966 (711 issues, 10479 submissions, 8.15 avg. universal grade)

1967 (715 issues, 8983 submissions, 8.40 avg. universal grade)

1968 (633 issues, 15461 submissions, 8.45 avg. universal grade)

1969 (603 issues, 8059 submissions, 8.62 avg. universal grade)

1970 (556 issues, 5525 submissions, 8.66 avg. universal grade)

1971 (585 issues, 7438 submissions, 8.66 avg. universal grade)

1972 (672 issues, 7004 submissions, 8.88 avg. universal grade)

 

Universal submissions CGC 8.0 or better...

Year VF or better

1961 1032

1962 2000

1963 3213

1964 5094

1965 5818

1966 7462

1967 6996

1968 12122

1969 6683

1970 4612

1971 6226

1972 6241

[FlyingDonut]

Big submission from 1982 must be Wolverine 1. Dark Knight was 1986.

[valiantman]

Big submission from 1982 must be Wolverine 1. Dark Knight was 1986.

The "big submissions" had me wondering too...

So I made this list to help us out.

[BigMan]

Hey Valiantman, I find that spike interesting from 1968 to 1970. There is a huge amount of submissions during that time but the NM spike did not increase that much in comparison. Can you find me an avg grade for submissions per year for the three years and to compare it with the amount of submissions that are VF or better for each of the three years.

Here are the average Universal grades for a dozen years around that time...

1961 (495 issues, 2616 submissions, 6.75 avg. universal grade)

1962 (571 issues, 4856 submissions, 6.62 avg. universal grade)

1963 (555 issues, 7913 submissions, 6.60 avg. universal grade)

1964 (587 issues, 10375 submissions, 7.14 avg. universal grade)

1965 (634 issues, 9239 submissions, 7.81 avg. universal grade)

1966 (711 issues, 10479 submissions, 8.15 avg. universal grade)

1967 (715 issues, 8983 submissions, 8.40 avg. universal grade)

1968 (633 issues, 15461 submissions, 8.45 avg. universal grade)

1969 (603 issues, 8059 submissions, 8.62 avg. universal grade)

1970 (556 issues, 5525 submissions, 8.66 avg. universal grade)

1971 (585 issues, 7438 submissions, 8.66 avg. universal grade)

1972 (672 issues, 7004 submissions, 8.88 avg. universal grade)

 

Universal submissions CGC 8.0 or better...

Year VF or better

1961 1032

1962 2000

1963 3213

1964 5094

1965 5818

1966 7462

1967 6996

1968 12122

1969 6683

1970 4612

1971 6226

1972 6241

 

Yup definately no shortage of late 60's early 70's high grade considering over half of all submissions are VF or better from 1966 to 1972. Thanks a lot.