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Hard-to-find Trade Paperbacks and Hardcovers

Started by Scott Goodman,

160 posts in this topic

the blob

the blob

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hmmm, a survey of most of my local shops seems to indicate 25-50% discounts on the marvel masterworks with 700-1100 copy print-runs. i wish i had been paying attention and checking for the really low print-run ones at those discounts, as there were about 4X as many in stock 2 months ago, but I guess a lot got bought up as stocking stuffers and what not.

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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Conan Chronicles vol. 6 (from Dark Horse) was selling for good prices for awhile. Not sure if they still are.

 

One thing to be aware of with some of the Marvel Masterworks or Premier Classic books: The books themselves are the same, only the dust jackets are limited in any way. As in, the book is the same book, just with one bookstore cover and one limited comic store cover. Not a big deal, but you should be aware of that.

 

I've been buying trades and hardcovers for years. One thing I haven't figured out yet is any sort of rhyme or reason on which books start selling for more than cover price. I know it has to do with going OOP (so it hurts a book when there's a second printing), but there's no way of knowing that when a book first hits the shelf.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that very few people care about first printings the way I do. It's a big deal for book hunters, but with comic fans, it's not a big deal. Heck, with some Masterworks or books like the Bendis Daredevil oversize HCs, second prints are actually more sought after due to better coloring, better paper, or additional material.

 

I never thought the Thanos TPBs were anything special because it wasn't Jim Starlin's finest work and I was seeing them all over the place. Then, they were gone and now they all go for about $50 each. Really nice copies go for way more.

I also still see the Punisher Max HC for cover price at my local shop, but it goes for around $125 online.

DC and Marvel are very strange about what they let fall out of print (OOP). The first Question trade paperback is out of print, but the others are all still in print (or were a few months ago). The same goes for Hawkman Vol. 1, whereas the others are all still in print. With Green Lantern so popular now, you'd think ALL of the GL trades would be in print, but most of the Kyle Rainer TPBs are out of print and sell for way above cover price.

I see Secret Wars in TPB form now selling for anywhere from $20 to $95 and I am amazed. And that's for EACH AND EVERY PRINTING!

It's really too hard to predict what is going to go up in value. Things I think will be valuable usually aren't and things I pass on always go up.

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Stronguy

Stronguy

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Many of the early Absolute editions are tough to find. Absolute Authority v1 usually brings about $300. Absolute LOEG v1 is $200-$250. Absloute Planetary is about $175. Even Absolute Hush seems to bring $150.

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Pirate

Pirate

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Oh, and I'm with Flying Donut. Abe is a great place. That and alibris. I bet I buy 90% of my "used" books through those venues.

 

Donut, are you a big book buyer, too? Or just comics?

 

half price books opened up an online thing with a lot of the same abe booksellers

 

 

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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I have been checking and the Marvel Masterwork Variant trade paperbacks have really tiny print runs. I bought the Marvel Masterworks X-Men yesterday in a comic shop and it reprints issues 112-120 of the Claremont/Byrne series and it has a print run of 550. Yes, you read that right! I was shocked. But, then I started checking the print runs of some of the others variant trade paperbacks and they, too, are short-printed. Some are around 1,000 and others are way lower. But, who would have ever thought that the Uncanny X-Men Marvel Masterworks would have a print run of 550?

These Marvel Masterworks variants are so much better looking than the regular editions. Those painted covers on the regular editions against the black backgrounds are almost ugly.

But, I hardly ever see these turn up in shops. They are almost never available on shelves. But, I see them on eBay for cheap.

Eventually, when these things are all bought up, they will go up in value.

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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So far, of the 22 Marvel Masterworks variant trade paperbacks I have researched, the rarest is the Fantastic Four Vol. 4, which is limited to just 483 copies, and features Fantastic Four Annual 2 on the cover. The highest print run of the variants is 1,422 for the Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 variant TPB. The next highest is 1,208 copies for the Fantastic Four Vol. 1 variant TPB.

Here's the rundown of the variant TPBs I've found:

(from highest print to lowest)

 

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 (variant #1) - 1,422

Fantastic Four Vol 1 (variant #2) - 1,208

Iron Man Vol 1 (variant #20) - 1,116

Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 (variant #11) - 1,096

X-Men Vol 1 (variant #3) 1,074

Avengers Vol 2 (variant #9) - 1,027

Avengers Vol 1 (variant #4) - 1,000

Fantastic Four Vol 2 (variant #6) - 1,000

Captain America Vol 1 (variant #14) - 993

Fantastic Four Vol 3 (variant #13) - 969

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 (variant #5) - 904

Incredible Hulk Vol 1 (variant #8) - 896

X-Men Vol 2 (variant #7) - 863

Silver Surfer Vol 1 (variant #15) - 863

The Mighty Thor Vol 1 (variant #18) - 857

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 (variant #16) - 841

Daredevil Vol 1 (variant #17) - 816

Silver Surfer Vol 2 (variant #19) - 800

Dr. Strange Vol 1 (variant 23) - 596

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 5 (variant #22) - 589

Uncanny X-Men Vol 3 (variant #24) - 550

Fantastic Four Vol 4 (variant #21) - 483

 

I have not been able to find information on Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3, but I do know one exists.

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JohnnyDeLicious

JohnnyDeLicious

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AFAIK, the Iron Man Volume 1 Masterworks has the lowest print run, under 400 copies. I've got a substantial portion of them (most of the first 100, some later), I'll take a look Monday or Tuesday. Keep in mind, that these are RE-Masterworks. (At least they started that way, reprinting the first 32 (33?) volumes, with some changes to what issues went where and remastered color, some remastered line art. This is one reason why the early issues don't command much of a premium. The most desired ones (at least a few years ago) were volumes 28-32 (or 33, can't remember). These were the last issues produced before the re-Masterworks began, and were only made with the HIDEOUS Comicraft dustjackets. So the "marble" variant editions were the only place to get these in a uniform trade dress if you had started collecting with the original issues (although the colors don't really match the new ones), and they had some of the lowest print runs in the line. Some of them were among the earliest to go into re-re-reprints (2nd printings of the re-Masterworks), definitely the Fantastic Four volume, and I believe the Thor. I found an extra copy of the X-Men volume (Enter the Banshee cover) and made a tidy profit (enough to question whether I should be collecting the variant volumes). Marvelmasterworks.com has a wealth of information on these, and other collected editions. The forums there are also quite useful for this sort of information.

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Scott Goodman

Scott Goodman

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AFAIK, the Iron Man Volume 1 Masterworks has the lowest print run, under 400 copies. I've got a substantial portion of them (most of the first 100, some later), I'll take a look Monday or Tuesday. Keep in mind, that these are RE-Masterworks. (At least they started that way, reprinting the first 32 (33?) volumes, with some changes to what issues went where and remastered color, some remastered line art. This is one reason why the early issues don't command much of a premium. The most desired ones (at least a few years ago) were volumes 28-32 (or 33, can't remember). These were the last issues produced before the re-Masterworks began, and were only made with the HIDEOUS Comicraft dustjackets. So the "marble" variant editions were the only place to get these in a uniform trade dress if you had started collecting with the original issues (although the colors don't really match the new ones), and they had some of the lowest print runs in the line. Some of them were among the earliest to go into re-re-reprints (2nd printings of the re-Masterworks), definitely the Fantastic Four volume, and I believe the Thor. I found an extra copy of the X-Men volume (Enter the Banshee cover) and made a tidy profit (enough to question whether I should be collecting the variant volumes). Marvelmasterworks.com has a wealth of information on these, and other collected editions. The forums there are also quite useful for this sort of information.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the information! I really appreciate it. I am going to see how much more information I can get on these so I know which ones are rare and which ones aren't. Those Comicraft covers were comicrap -- that's for sure. I hated those. I have a Fantastic Four Vol 1 with that dust jacket and it is the worst-looking Masterworks on my shelf.

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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

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So far, of the 22 Marvel Masterworks variant trade paperbacks I have researched, the rarest is the Fantastic Four Vol. 4, which is limited to just 483 copies, and features Fantastic Four Annual 2 on the cover. The highest print run of the variants is 1,422 for the Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 variant TPB. The next highest is 1,208 copies for the Fantastic Four Vol. 1 variant TPB.

Here's the rundown of the variant TPBs I've found:

(from highest print to lowest)

 

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 (variant #1) - 1,422

Fantastic Four Vol 1 (variant #2) - 1,208

Iron Man Vol 1 (variant #20) - 1,116

Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 (variant #11) - 1,096

X-Men Vol 1 (variant #3) 1,074

Avengers Vol 2 (variant #9) - 1,027

Avengers Vol 1 (variant #4) - 1,000

Fantastic Four Vol 2 (variant #6) - 1,000

Captain America Vol 1 (variant #14) - 993

Fantastic Four Vol 3 (variant #13) - 969

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 (variant #5) - 904

Incredible Hulk Vol 1 (variant #8) - 896

X-Men Vol 2 (variant #7) - 863

Silver Surfer Vol 1 (variant #15) - 863

The Mighty Thor Vol 1 (variant #18) - 857

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 (variant #16) - 841

Daredevil Vol 1 (variant #17) - 816

Silver Surfer Vol 2 (variant #19) - 800

Dr. Strange Vol 1 (variant 23) - 596

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 5 (variant #22) - 589

Uncanny X-Men Vol 3 (variant #24) - 550

Fantastic Four Vol 4 (variant #21) - 483

 

I have not been able to find information on Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3, but I do know one exists.

 

26 copies of the Fantastic Four Volume 4 paperback

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helionaut

helionaut

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The ones I've been watching for are:

Exiles Childhood's End (I forget which volume, I know the cover, though maybe it's not hot anymore)

Conan hardcover vol 1 (the first Busiek/Nord one)

The Goon Fancypants Edition volume 1

Promethea Vols 2 and 4 hardcovers. 1, 3, and 5 are much more common. But the Absolutes are making them easier to find and cheaper.

From Hell S/N hardcover (I bought it when it came out, then flipped it in short order for about a third of what it sells for now)

Bone all-in-one hardcover edition (which I also owned at one point)

Sandman 1st print HCs

Adam Hughes' Cover Run has apparently dried up and prices are rising. Amazon dealers want 3 figures for it, which is way ahead of ebay, but maybe not for long.

And if I come across any DC Archives or Marvel Masterworks at Half-price or wherever, I'll check them out on ebay because sometimes they do spike up.

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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

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The ones I've been watching for are:

Exiles Childhood's End (I forget which volume, I know the cover, though maybe it's not hot anymore)

Conan hardcover vol 1 (the first Busiek/Nord one)

The Goon Fancypants Edition volume 1

Promethea Vols 2 and 4 hardcovers. 1, 3, and 5 are much more common. But the Absolutes are making them easier to find and cheaper.

From Hell S/N hardcover (I bought it when it came out, then flipped it in short order for about a third of what it sells for now)

Bone all-in-one hardcover edition (which I also owned at one point)

Sandman 1st print HCs

Adam Hughes' Cover Run has apparently dried up and prices are rising. Amazon dealers want 3 figures for it, which is way ahead of ebay, but maybe not for long.

And if I come across any DC Archives or Marvel Masterworks at Half-price or wherever, I'll check them out on ebay because sometimes they do spike up.

 

If you're looking for Sandman 1st Print hardcovers, look on eBay. I'm pretty sure I know a seller who has them up for sale. Right now. :hi:

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500Club

500Club

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The ones I've been watching for are:

Exiles Childhood's End (I forget which volume, I know the cover, though maybe it's not hot anymore)

Conan hardcover vol 1 (the first Busiek/Nord one)

The Goon Fancypants Edition volume 1

Promethea Vols 2 and 4 hardcovers. 1, 3, and 5 are much more common. But the Absolutes are making them easier to find and cheaper.

From Hell S/N hardcover (I bought it when it came out, then flipped it in short order for about a third of what it sells for now)

Bone all-in-one hardcover edition (which I also owned at one point)

Sandman 1st print HCs

Adam Hughes' Cover Run has apparently dried up and prices are rising. Amazon dealers want 3 figures for it, which is way ahead of ebay, but maybe not for long.

And if I come across any DC Archives or Marvel Masterworks at Half-price or wherever, I'll check them out on ebay because sometimes they do spike up.

 

If you're looking for Sandman 1st Print hardcovers, look on eBay. I'm pretty sure I know a seller who has them up for sale. Right now. :hi:

A former porn star, no doubt... hm

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Reno McCoy

Reno McCoy

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I wouldn't get too excited about the trades of those Marvel Masterworks. These books are already available in hardcover and in other forms of paperback. I think Marvel is limited their variant print run only because they know there won't be as big of a market for them with so many copies in one form of another of these stories.

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