All things Valiant. 0

[Bosco685]

Cool stuff. I missed the boat because of stupid girls.

 

That's why you meet the right one early on in life and then you don't have to chase more needlessly.

 

[B-Smooth]

Cool stuff. I missed the boat because of stupid girls.

 

That's why you meet the right one early on in life and then you don't have to chase more needlessly.

 

Sounds great, in theory. But I had to sift through an entire mine to find the right gem.

[Gatsby77]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

[Bosco685]

 

Remember only a few years back when there were less than 25?

[valiantman]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

 

Last sale was $1,130

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131614180864

 

[B-Smooth]

 

I need to start picking up some Valiants.

[AGGIEZ]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

 

Last sale was $1,130

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131614180864

 

 

That's just crazy...seeing 4-figure prices for Harbinger #1, BA #12, NM#98, etc. make me think the end is nigh...

[valiantman]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

 

Last sale was $1,130

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131614180864

 

 

That's just crazy...seeing 4-figure prices for Harbinger #1, BA #12, NM#98, etc. make me think the end is nigh...

... or possibly that some 20+ year old comics have a trajectory similar to some 30+ and 40+ year old comics that used to be 20+ year old comics that no one could believe were selling for so much 10 and 20 years ago.

 

When I was 16, it would not have surprised me that the "first appearance of Wolverine" was selling for hundreds of dollars... no matter how common it was... even with the Mile High II supply... and Hulk 181 was only 18 years old. Harley Quinn may be just as popular today as Wolverine was then... and BA 12 is now 22 years old... with a lower print run than Hulk 181.

 

Valiant 1990s are a different kind of collectible... similar to EC Comics from the 1950s.

They weren't from the big two publishers, but they were popular and had a strong "cult" following.

What's a little more "promising" than the EC Comics trajectory is that Valiant has new books again 20 years later...

with 3+ years of consistent monthly comics which have been reviewed/nominated quite well.

 

EC might have been even bigger today as collectibles if they had come back in the 1970s with the same "irreverence" they had pre-code.

[AGGIEZ]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

 

Last sale was $1,130

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131614180864

 

 

That's just crazy...seeing 4-figure prices for Harbinger #1, BA #12, NM#98, etc. make me think the end is nigh...

... or possibly that some 20+ year old comics have a trajectory similar to some 30+ and 40+ year old comics that used to be 20+ year old comics that no one could believe were selling for so much 10 and 20 years ago.

 

When I was 16, it would not have surprised me that the "first appearance of Wolverine" was selling for hundreds of dollars... no matter how common it was... even with the Mile High II supply... and Hulk 181 was only 18 years old. Harley Quinn may be just as popular today as Wolverine was then... and BA 12 is now 22 years old... with a lower print run than Hulk 181.

 

Valiant 1990s are a different kind of collectible... similar to EC Comics from the 1950s.

They weren't from the big two publishers, but they were popular and had a strong "cult" following.

What's a little more "promising" than the EC Comics trajectory is that Valiant has new books again 20 years later...

with 3+ years of consistent monthly comics which have been reviewed/nominated quite well.

 

EC might have been even bigger today as collectibles if they had come back in the 1970s with the same "irreverence" they had pre-code.

 

Can't disagree with any of that...but Harbinger? Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Valiant books...but Wolverine is Wolverine, arguably the #4 most recognizable superhero on the planet behind Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Harbinger? I guess eventually everything is OLD and therefore raised in collectible value, but I didn't think I'd see the day when some of these books went for what they're going for today...

 

Do you know for a fact that IH #181 has a higher print run than BA #12? Curious...

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

Do you know for a fact that IH #181 has a higher print run than BA #12? Curious...

 

Yes, without a doubt..

 

While we don't have the exact numbers for either, we DO know that Hulk #181 had a paid circulation avg of 202k copies (meaning, copies sold) and BA #12 had orders of 19,200 from Cap City, which probably represents about 80,000 copies total, Direct and newsstand.

 

Hulk wasn't setting the sales world on fire, but BA came out in an environment where the market didn't pay a lot of attention to this adjunct Batman title. It was a particularly low selling title at the time.

 

Interestingly, this was during Knightfall, which catapulted Batman back on top of the comics market again. The latter part of Knightfall beat the pants off everything else in the market. Batman #500 won its month, and was the 7th best selling comic of 1993....which would be #1, if not for the return of Superman and Turok #1.

 

The Cap City orders for Batman #500 were TEN TIMES that of #488, the official "prelude" to Knightfall.

[Bosco685]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

 

Last sale was $1,130

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131614180864

 

Although a huge comeback compared to sales of the past few years, wouldn't that still be low compared to what the early 9.8's sold for? I thought the high at one point was around $2,500.

[Gatsby77]

Yup.

 

But the point is a year ago, multiple copies were sitting unsold for $325.

 

Since the (supposed) movie announcement the price has nearly tripled.

 

Then again, we live in an age where Damage Control is spiking due to TV/movie rumors so yeeesh...

 

Personally, I never liked Harbinger. Other than Zephyr, the characters were pale derivatives of the X-Men, and Byrne took the concept of outcast mutants & outdid Harbinger at every turn with Next Men.

 

But as Valiant's first original property Harbinger paved the way for much better original titles like X-O, Rai & Shadowman.

[B-Smooth]

What's the deal with the three staples?

[Bosco685]

It definitely is quite the rise back for Harbinger #1 from its more common $300-$400 over the past few years.

 

But as Valiant's first original property Harbinger paved the way for much better original titles like X-O, Rai & Shadowman.

 

Since the character Rai came first (1991) before Harbinger (1992) in Magnus #5's flipbook format, I would think that is where the new characters started.

 

 

What's the deal with the three staples?

 

Valiant used three staples on Harbinger #1 along with paper that was slightly crisp. So you will see a spine opening on many copies where the staple broke the paper open. It's a nasty looking defect. I have a few examples like this, and yet the rest of the book will look perfect otherwise.

[valiantman]

Harbinger 1's up to 152 copies in 9.8.

 

+ 17 copies in the last 6 months.

 

Last sale was $1,130

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131614180864

 

Although a huge comeback compared to sales of the past few years, wouldn't that still be low compared to what the early 9.8's sold for? I thought the high at one point was around $2,500.

True, but there were 20 CGC 9.8 on the census when it went for $2,500 (twice).

There are 150 CGC 9.8 on the census now.

[valiantman]

It definitely is quite the rise back for Harbinger #1 from its more common $300-$400 over the past few years.

 

But as Valiant's first original property Harbinger paved the way for much better original titles like X-O, Rai & Shadowman.

 

Since the character Rai came first (1991) before Harbinger (1992) in Magnus #5's flipbook format, I would think that is where the new characters started.

 

I'd say you're both right.

 

Rai was first, but he was a "flipside" of Magnus #5, which was ordered by stores as Magnus #5.

 

The first time a store ordered a Valiant universe title that wasn't from Gold Key (historically) was Harbinger #1.

[valiantman]

What's the deal with the three staples?

 

Valiant used three staples on Harbinger #1 along with paper that was slightly crisp. So you will see a spine opening on many copies where the staple broke the paper open. It's a nasty looking defect. I have a few examples like this, and yet the rest of the book will look perfect otherwise.

There was a coupon included in Harbinger #1 through #6 that was a separate sheet of white cardstock.

It was possible for that coupon to slip out, so some of them got a staple to hold the coupon sheet. Some didn't.

Harbinger #1 exists with and without the center (third) staple.

[Bosco685]

There was a coupon included in Harbinger #1 through #6 that was a separate sheet of white cardstock.

It was possible for that coupon to slip out, so some of them got a staple to hold the coupon sheet. Some didn't.

Harbinger #1 exists with and without the center (third) staple.

 

All of mine have the third staple. I had never read there were copies with only two staples. Thanks for pointing this out, Greg.

[valiantman]

There was a coupon included in Harbinger #1 through #6 that was a separate sheet of white cardstock.

It was possible for that coupon to slip out, so some of them got a staple to hold the coupon sheet. Some didn't.

Harbinger #1 exists with and without the center (third) staple.

 

All of mine have the third staple. I had never read there were copies with only two staples. Thanks for pointing this out, Greg.

I can't remember if I checked all my copies, but I thought I had a couple with only two staples.

I just checked my reference and someone on the Valiantfans.com message board was talking about the 3 staple and 2 staple differences about 10 years ago.

[RockMyAmadeus]

I just checked my reference and someone on the Valiantfans.com message board was talking about the 3 staple and 2 staple differences about 10 years ago.