• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Hard-to-find Trade Paperbacks and Hardcovers

160 posts in this topic

I'm having trouble finding these trade paperbacks and when I do they are usually priced way out of my range:

 

Lost in Space: Voyage to the Bottom of the Soul

Master of Kung Fu Max

Thanos: Samaritan (heck, all of the Thanos trade paperbacks are tough!)

Thor: Vikings

Wolverine Deadpool Weapon X

Dreadstar Definitive Edition HC

Green Lantern The Power of Ion

The Phantom: The Ghost That Walks

Flash: Crossfire

 

There are many others that I'll think of, I'm sure, but these are some that I've had a tough time finding.

Anyone else know of any rare trade paperbacks? I'm a trade paperback collector and actively look for some of the rarer TPBs. I'm interested in other trades that people know of that might be rare or hard-to-find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that miracleman trade is hard to get and pricey i hear

 

All four trades are pricey, but not too hard to find. The hardcovers are VERY pricey and not too hard to find, either, if you're willing to pay the price for them. The biggest problem with these trade paperbacks is that they WERE tough to get when the Miracleman craze hit big in 2001 and prices started to skyrocket. But, more and more copies have come out of the woodwork since then and there isn't a day when a MM Vol. 3 isn't available for around $200 on eBay. Now, I do think that's a bit too high, even though I paid $164 for my first copy back when I was trying to read the entire series. I just bought a set of volumes 1-3 for $200 and the Olympus is in Near Mint and the others are VF/NM-. I thought it was still too much, but I know the Olympus sells for that in really nice shape.

I think these are easier to get than what most sellers want buyers to know and I think they are overpriced right now. The big obstacle to them EVER going down in price is that I seriously doubt Marvel will ever be able to own or reprint the Eclipse series. For a good example of why I believe that, check out the Miracleman shirt on the Grafitti Graphics web site. IF Marvel had the rights to the Alan Moore-Neil Gaiman Miracleman, they would be using the updated, M-on-to-of-M "MM" logo, rather than the really lame side-by-side MM logo from the original Marvelman series from the 1950s. I think there is too much involved in getting the rights to these stories and I think Marvel will go ahead with NEW stories before they ever get the good Miracleman stuff back in print.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That one really confuses me: It was a very popular Omnibus and Marvel eventually reprinted it all in a set of three trade paperbacks. It is very expensive. I've seen copies sell on eBay for nearly $200. I was fortunate that two other copies came available at the same time as I was bidding on a copy on eBay and I won it for $134, which wasn't too bad, just $34 over the cover price. I wish Marvel would go back and reprint some of their pricier Omnibus editions, but I understand they believe there is more money to be made in trade paperback "Ultimate" editions like the Bendis Daredevils they are producing now and the Tomb of Draculas that caused the TOD Omnbus Vol. 1 to not be reprinted.

The Eternals Omnibus is pretty tough to find, too, maybe even tougher than the New X-Men. It was a good reprint of some of Kirby's crazier concepts, but I'm sure it didn't have the print run of the New X-Men, which, at the time it was printed, was still a pretty hot run on the book.

A really tough New X-Men book is Volume 3 of the hardcovers, which reprints the Silvestri run. I think there's one on eBay right now and it's already at $69. I have two sets of those, bought for cover price, because I wanted a set to read and a set to keep for my library. The HC Volume 1 goes for cover and Volume 2 is a little higher, but Volume 3 is really tough to find and NEVER sells for cheap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There i a Nightwing TPB that sells pretty good too.

 

I discovered that one by accident when I sold some trades a few years ago. I was surprised when that particular one got bid up to around $40 or so. The cover price must have been between $10 and $15.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish Marvel would go back and reprint some of their pricier Omnibus editions, but I understand they believe there is more money to be made in trade paperback "Ultimate" editions like the Bendis Daredevils they are producing now and the Tomb of Draculas that caused the TOD Omnbus Vol. 1 to not be reprinted.

I think part of the issue is that, like with any publishing/printing venture, there has to be a certain level of demand to make a second printing profitable. X amount of copies have to be printed and sold. Does a $200 aftermarket price justify a second New X-Men Omnibus printing? Tough to say. 2c

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ran across an Alias Omnibus at a comic shop in Huntington, W.Va., a few months back, but didn't purchase it. Then, when I went back, someone had already bought it, the Frank Miller Daredevil and the Bendis Daredevil. Oh well, at least I did get the TMNT Collected Volume 1 for cover price, which is an expensive book on eBay.

Another book that has surprised me with high prices when it does come up for sale is the Batman Strange Apparitions trade paperback reprinting the Marshall Rogers Batman run from the late 1970s. I very rarely see these come up for sale on eBay, and when they do, they usually always go for multiples of cover price. There's one on there now that has a BIN price of $89. Wow.

Those Nightwings have become easier to get and the prices have leveled out a bit. I have a full run and gave cover price for mine. A shop I frequent recenly sold a complete set at cover price.

The Avengers Assemble Vol. 1-3 seem to be tough to get, especially Vol. 2, which sells for a pretty penny.

The same with Punisher Max Vol. 4.

When these books go out of print, they go up in value.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fatale:Inherit the Earth hardcover from Broadway. The TPB pops up frequently enough but the HC is tough even when solid prices are gained in recent auctions ( $200ish).

 

A bit less tough are the Diamond Unity (VALIANT) TPBS, but they still do command a nice premium. I guess you might want to throw in the Magnus/Predator TPB as well. Isn't exactly rare but it does hit for a premium price tag.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Magnus/Predator trade paperback is, indeed, tough to get and always commands a high price tag when one pops up. It had been hitting the $150 mark at one time, but one sold recently on eBay for under $70.

Some recent trades that were sure to have had low print runs are the Vixen trade paperback, the Black Lightning Year One tpb, The Shield tpb (I mean, the Shield was selling around 5,000 copies of the monthly series, so does anyone believe the trade had even HALF that many readers?), those Simon Dark trades and the Red Tornado tpb. I check the back cover sticker prices at Books-A-Million and they always list how many were ordered of each book. Those trade paperbacks almost all were single-copy orders at each BAM that I checked.

I would also believe that the longer the Jonah Hex trades are published, some of the later ones will be tough to find in the future. I also noticed recently that as many of the hardcovers disappear from the shelves, some aren't ever being replaced, such as the Jonah Hex No Way Back HC, while there are plenty of Superman Earth One HCs sitting on the shelves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fatale:Inherit the Earth hardcover from Broadway. The TPB pops up frequently enough but the HC is tough even when solid prices are gained in recent auctions ( $200ish).

 

A bit less tough are the Diamond Unity (VALIANT) TPBS, but they still do command a nice premium. I guess you might want to throw in the Magnus/Predator TPB as well. Isn't exactly rare but it does hit for a premium price tag.

 

I have searched and searched for a Fatale HC and one was offered to me a few years back, but when I made an offer, the guy accepted, then upped the price and then upped it again until it had gone from $150 to $450 and then he admitted he wasn't really going to sell it anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the best kept secrets over the last few years is how much money can be made from Hard-to-find Trade Paperbacks and Hardcover’s. Think of 100 page giants from the 1970`s as they were reprints with a higher cover price, same with these with the Omnibus as the extremes(only 1500 to 2000 print runs) some of these Omnibus have such low print runs that they make Walking Dead look like a common for scarcity. 2c

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fatale:Inherit the Earth hardcover from Broadway. The TPB pops up frequently enough but the HC is tough even when solid prices are gained in recent auctions ( $200ish).

 

A bit less tough are the Diamond Unity (VALIANT) TPBS, but they still do command a nice premium. I guess you might want to throw in the Magnus/Predator TPB as well. Isn't exactly rare but it does hit for a premium price tag.

 

I have searched and searched for a Fatale HC and one was offered to me a few years back, but when I made an offer, the guy accepted, then upped the price and then upped it again until it had gone from $150 to $450 and then he admitted he wasn't really going to sell it anyway.

 

The ,last one I saw went over $200 on ebay and I was the underbidder a couple of years ago. Since then, I've only been looking sporadically so chances are one or a couple have slipped passed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't believe no-ones mentioned the House of M Excalibur Prelude tpb.

It's a £40 - £50 book on Ebay UK when one shows up

 

I didn't know that one was still considered scarce. I found three copies at a local comic shop in Kentucky for cover price. Same thing with the first two Deadpool trade paperbacks. Found those for cover price and resold them for multiples. I didn't know the Excalibur trade was still going for so much. Good information! Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites