TMNT

You are completely right, E. I used to love this thread... But as it seems as the price goes up, the nastier it gets in here. Money brings out the best I guess...

Yes, I don't mean to imply that covid is THE cause, as like has been mentioned, there are a number of factors that have for a long time been brewing. But the question remains, why now? Why this moment? None of what has been mentioned (low print run, 30 year property, etc.) is new. So here's a question for the group: Had Covid not occurred, do you think prices from Feb - Aug 2020 would have exploded as they have regardless? I'm not asking if down the road would we have got there... I'm taking now, in this moment. If the answer is no, it might be worth considering when investing in this book. Perhaps covid pushed over the edge what would have happened naturally in a few years... Or perhaps covid has people spending in the moment differently than they might once its gone. Either way, knowing that such an outside force is having such a major impact on the movement of the book, its important to consider future price fluctuations when Covid is gone/under control. It's hard to predict under the best of times but moreso in this Covid Era. Those making money in the now, congratulations and enjoy... My suggestion is just to be mindful that there might be more at play than simple "the book is hot hot HOT!!"

This book, like most TMNT collectibles (comics, comic art, toys, etc.) has been undervalued for years. So it makes sense that at some point prices would increase. To those that think its completely due to market manipulation, I think you're wrong. There is legit demand. But to those that think its just demand, you're wrong too. There is absolutely at least some manipulation going on when you have any item (be it a stock, comic book, etc.) that has seen the amounts market gyrations going on that we've seen lately. And with a book like this, where there are only a few hundred graded out there, it'd be relatively easy to do. Without a doubt there are a number of speculators on this book (including people here on the boards) that are also taking part in moving the needle buy buying multiples of the book at any price. So what is going on here? Is it because of the "rule of 30" where it being a 36 year book and it was due to a nostalgic increase Maybe, but it was just a 35 year book and we didn't see this going on, even with a fresh comic and tv show. Is it because of Seth Rogen movie hype? Puhlease...no one knows about this or cares and again, we've not seen anything like this with previous big movies. It's not like its about to hit theaters anytime soon. Is it due to limited print run? Well, it's ALWAYS had a limited print, nothing new there. In fact, there are MORE books available now at all grades than there has been before. Perhaps a combination of the above or something else? So what else has been going on in tandem with this book's meteoric rise? There really is only one thing: Covid. Other investments across the board are seeing record highs as well. People still with jobs are making more money than ever in the markets. And collectibles are on fire as people harken back to the good ole' days and try to buy pieces of their childhood back when things were simpler and maskedless. So that for me is the real wildcard in all this, when Covid ends or gets under control and people can leave their house and start spending money on vacations, experiences, etc. will this book stay on fire? I would've expected to see an increase...but not like this. Not where every book in every grade is nearing 5 figures roughly over night. When 4.0 2nd prints are suddenly 1K+ books. Anything in excess, whether too much ice cream or sudden $10,000 shifts in funny books, is generally never a good idea. So where the dust settles will be interesting to see.

Nothing to settle about there at all, my friend! I always thought the snow effects were so cool in those pages. I owned a couple back in the day but none now... Maybe one day!

Yup, those are the final original pen and ink pages from 1985 that Kevin and Pete passed back and forth when creating the book. The original pages are so great in hand

I only have one left myself... hung up in this spot of my Sewer. Here's a quick pic from a moment ago, you can see scans of the original art on my CAF. Love looking at Raph eye to eye everyday!

Alright, feeling good about this now, surely third bump the charm!

Price drop!

C'mon, surely someone has a copy for me?

Just added a couple pages of early Turtles art for sale at the top of page. Thanks for looking!

Thanks a bunch! Now to just find a copy... Fingers crossed for me folks!

Anyone know what 7.0 - 8.0 are fetching? So I can prepare the old piggy bank...

You and me both! Really hoping to get one soon

Sold my first print a while back and have the itch to get one back. I can pay outright or I have a 9.6 SS 2nd possibly for trade if interested and early turtles art as well. Hit me up!