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Overlooked and Potentially Undervalued Long/Mid-Term
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Started by the blob,

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the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted (edited)

Now that a lot of copper age and modern age books are popping as semi-keys, I wonder what the next round (or round after that) of books to pop will be? Movies help, but also on their own merit?

 

Anyway, I'll start off with a couple of dollar box type books that I see having some potential, and not just because I have a stack of them (I don't) -- I buy these when I see them, not because they offer a quick profitable flip on ebay, they don't (turning $1 into $3 or $4 isn't that exciting), but I see them doing better long term. I'm not asking you to turn over your secret books that you find in dollar boxes and flip for $20 because "who the heck knew anyone was buying these?"...I'm looking for what you think might be a $10-$20 book in a year or three that is $1 now.

 

---------------

 

Marvel Tales 100 - OK, not CA, later Bronze. I have always liked this book, neat cover, 100th anniv jumbo size, don't see it all that much (so I should be hush hush about it here!)...it's like $4 or $5 in guide, I have sold a couple of copies, always for guide or a little better (recent ebay sales are along the same lines), but it's a book that most shops or show dealers are not going to pay attention to. I'm not saying this is a book that has taken off, but it's not worthless either. Plus, it has a solo Hawkeye story...which I believe is his first solo story (yes, he's teamed up with two gun kid or something like that, so maybe it's not a "solo" story, but he's not making an appearance in someone else's story or with the avengers). I always like it when a reprint book has some original stuff in it. Anyway, once another round of keys and semi-keys from this "era" get pulled out, I don't see why this can't be a $10 book. In high grade (9.6/9.8) it's already expensive, but mainly due to beig a square bound and tough in high grade I guess.

 

*****

 

Omega Men 10 (and 5 and 9)- 1st "full" Lobo story...his first app is #3 and it's an inconsistent $10-$25 book, he has 2 page cameos in 5 and 9...so maybe it's his 4th appearance, I dunno...Anyway, I've always liked Lobo. The Omega Men Lobo looks different than today's, but he's still a nasty SOB. Problem with this book is that there seem to be a lot of them, but heck, #3 littered dollar boxes for years after Lobo went out of style in the late 90s...definitely worth picking up this issue and the cameos for a buck a pop. The demand isn't there yet to make money on these, it's a long-term thing. If nothig else, paired with a #3 for sale, they make the auction look more appetizing as a set...

 

 

**********

 

Captain America 286/287. Deathlok returns. Awesome Zeck covers. I have always been able to sell sharp copies of these for guide, maybe a little more, which is saying a lot for your typical copper book. These were once expensive books in the 90s when Deathlok was hot. Anyway, I do see sellers listing 286 with highish BINs vs. guide, but I don't see it selling. Another longer term book I buy when I see them in the $1 box. Heck, I pulled one out of a $2 box at NYCC.

 

 

*******

 

Anyway, those are 3 (really, 4) from me for now. What about you?

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valiantman

valiantman

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Posted

Well, Valiant is publishing again... and the critics and current readers love them, so it's just a matter of time before more readers are on board through trades or picking up back issues at some point.

 

The first Valiant was 20+ years ago, so the current title characters now have first appearances that are approaching the 25 year mark.

 

It's hard to see how a book like CGC 9.8 X-O Manowar #1 from 1992 could be a bad investment around $60 to $80 now... since it has nowhere to go but up.

 

There are variants of random current issues of X-O Manowar that sell for more than a CGC 9.8 of his first appearance.

Yes, those variants are "rare" and they are the new "hot thing" for Valiant, but the long-term view would have to be that the first appearance is a stronger book.

 

Other books like CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 (1992) are floating in the $300 to $400 range, so there is room for it to drop... on the other hand, it has always been the "big key" for early Valiant, so who knows.

 

Several of the 20+ year old key first appearance books for current Valiant titles are under $100 in CGC 9.8 slabs.

 

Raw, most of these same first appearance books are under $10.

 

KEY Valiant first appearance books that are usually around or under $100 in CGC 9.8

Solar #3 (1991, first Toyo Harada)

X-O Manowar #1 (1992, first X-O Manowar)

X-O Manowar #4 (1992, brief first Shadowman)

Shadowman #1 (1992, first full Shadowman)

Eternal Warrior #4 (1992, brief first Bloodshot)

Rai #0 (1992, first full Bloodshot, HARDCorps, key storylines issue)

Shadowman #8 (1992, first Master Darque)

Archer & Armstrong #0 (1992, first Archer & Armstrong, but a limited gold variant exists)

Archer & Armstrong #8 (1992, first Ivar the Timewalker)

Solar #10 (second printing, 1992, first Eternal Warrior, first Geomancers)

Bloodshot #6 (1993, first Ninjak)

Shadowman #16 (1993, first Dr. Mirage)

Quantum & Woody #1 (1997 Acclaim title, first Quantum & Woody, two covers exist)

(potential upcoming interest) Magnus #5 (1991, first Rai, a likely 2014 title for Valiant)

 

KEY Valiant books that ARE ALREADY over $100 in CGC 9.8

Harbinger #1 with coupon (1992, first Harbinger team kids)

Solar #10 (first printing, 1992, first Eternal Warrior, first Geomancers)

Archer & Armstrong #0 Gold (1992, first Archer & Armstrong, gold variant)

 

http://valiantfan.com/valiant/first.asp

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the blob

the blob

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Thanks. A little more expensive by and large than I was thinking about...although a few of those are hanging out in cheapy boxes like Shadownman 8 and 16, A&A 8.

 

And definitely the last few issues of Solar, Magnus and Turok command a premium.

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the blob

the blob

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Wow folks, holding your cards close to your chest! Don't want to share any "secrets"... remember, I'm looking for stuff that is basically currently dollar box fodder and not worth more than $1-$4 on ebay (unslabbed, of course, anything might be so hard in 9.8 that it's worth a mint)...this could be a book you really like that you don't think the market appreciates...YET.

 

Here's another one I recently added to my list:

 

Justice League International annual 2 -- a great Joker cover. I dunno what's going on inside it, but i love the cover! Although printed in a glut period, I have to wonder how many people actually bought this book from a 7th tier DC title? (There are a bunch of copies up on ebay right now, true...)

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Garlanda

Garlanda

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Prior to her "getting better" with the New 52, I had considered a couple of Barbara Gordon Batgirl stories to be potentially hot... not sure what I think now. The Suicide Squad 49 with the Killing Joke cover call-back would probably be more in-demand if more people had seen it, despite the awkwardly-held revolver.

 

Suicide Squad #49

Suicide_Squad_Vol_1_49.jpg

 

Sowcase '94 #12

Showcase_94_12.jpg

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Point Five

Point Five

Posted
Posted
Justice League International annual 2 -- a great Joker cover. I dunno what's going on inside it, but i love the cover! Although printed in a glut period, I have to wonder how many people actually bought this book from a 7th tier DC title?

I bought it and it sucked. It is a great cover though.

 

 

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the blob

the blob

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Justice League International annual 2 --

 

from a 7th tier DC title?

 

meh

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League_International

 

:applause: JLI was a very popular title at the time. Hardly 7th tier at all

 

^^

 

My sincerist apologies to you DC nerds. I was confusing this one with Justice League Europe, which was eventually named JLI, and was indeed a 7th tier title. I did not realize that the 1987 re-boot of the Justice League was briefly also named Justice League International and spawned this particular annual. I see the JL Europe/International annual #2 was an armageddon cross-over, not this Joker stuff.

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the blob

the blob

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Justice League International annual 2 -- a great Joker cover. I dunno what's going on inside it, but i love the cover! Although printed in a glut period, I have to wonder how many people actually bought this book from a 7th tier DC title?

I bought it and it sucked. It is a great cover though.

 

 

Half the books out there are popular because of the covers!

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MrWeen

MrWeen

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I'll post one.

 

So Uncanny X-Men 282 has been heating up in CGC 9.8, mainly due to added attention the movie news brought. So...

 

Why hasn't Uncanny X-Men 317? She will also be featured in the movie...

 

I totally Agree, especially for the newsstand issue with the red stripe. I have been wondering about something else, I read somewhere that the first appearance of the AOA Blink was is X-Men Magazine 4. Anyone know the truth?

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the blob

the blob

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X-Men 317 is just going to take a while because of the # of copies out there (although that second print is maybe not so common?), though the same can be said for 282/283 (which, despite for years being virtually worthless in the real world still maintained $10-$12 values in guide... (while B.A. 12 and a host of others were still listed at cover price)

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the blob

the blob

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teen titans 39 and 44 are still undervalued I think

 

 

Ok, it's hard to say that 44, which is $50 in guide in NM-, sells for way more in 9.6/9.8 slabs and even fetches a nice $25-$50 raw, is really being undervalued or overlooked...if that book is in a dollar box it is a big mistake (OTOH, the same cannot be said for other parts of the Judas contract run, which seem to be ignored...I just fished the Teen Titans annual part out of a dollar box, though it wasn't so sharp)

 

39 OTOH, copies up on ebay for 99 cents, certainly fits the criteria of what I was looking for. "Last Robin" I guess...that'll work. 40+ years of being Robin.

 

Not to mention, the Perez run on NTT was tremendous and there SHOULD be a few more semi-keys/break-out books in there.

 

So while we're there, though it's getting harder to find them in dollar boxes and the guide does have them at a premium price, ebay does not really:

 

New Teen Titans 10 (2d Deathstroke) -- Probably should be more love for his second app, except he's not on the cover

 

Still ignored:

 

23 (1st vigilante (outside of costume) and 26 (1st terra) -- definite dollar box fodder

 

34 (4th deathstroke - on cover) -- dollar box fodder

 

I guess the problem is there is a ton of these books out there as it was a very popular series. On the other hand, this has never stopped anything else from popping.

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