MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS - THE RANKINGS 17 17

[kevhtx]

Thanks! 

Yeah, I think so too. Its not a huge issue. I have other books that are like this too. I had looked it over and it looked like it could be adjusted, but I was probably being overly optimistic. But, I just don't have the energy to deal with it at this point and I shouldn't risk it on such an expensive book. 

[obsidian00]

 

Nice color and signature placement... Congrats on the book!!!

1 hour ago, kevhtx said:

Hey guys, so I got my Batman 608 RRP, but theres a slight issue. You'll see on the right side, cover seems to be off as it goes towards the bottom. Take a look and see what you think. I think its not seated correctly in the slab. I don't think its a pressing issue and its not "spine roll". I think it happened when they put it in the slab? Seems odd. I would think if I contact them and send back they could adjust it?

 

[Jaydogrules]

Hello again fellow variant fiends!

 

Just put the finishing touches on the list, with lots of new copy. Couple of movers and shakers this time 'round in the Dirty Dozen:

 

Here it is...

 

***MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS 2017, Q2 EDITION***

 

#12- Ms. Marvel #2 (2014)-  Entering the list at #12 this nearly perfectly rendered cover by Jorge Molina was a 1:50, and features the new Ms. marvel, Kamala Khan, standing atop a roof, blowing a bubble with a school bus in the background.  It immediately captures the viewer's eye, and in one image, perfectly encapsulates all of the best and most notable parts of the character.  The first couple of 9.8's to market broke $2k, but the book has more recently gone in the $1550 range as other copies have come to market.

 

 

#11- X-23 #1, Dell'Otto (2010)- A great and hot artist lodges his first cover here. Combined with the fact that X-23 may be Marvel's hottest female character right now, a very well received introduction in the film Logan, serious discussions for a solo film, and a breath-taking cover that may be one of her best depictions to date, and you have a book that has recently hit $1700 in a 9.8, $1000 in a 9.6, and $800+ raw.

 

#10- Walking Dead #100, Lucille/Red Foil Editions (2012)- The introduction of the iconic Negan in these crazy- rare issues had some people paying as much as $1800 for a 9.8 since word first leaked that he would (finally) be making his appearance in the show. Prices for a 9.8 remain in the $1700+ range, and seem poised to continue to do so as the rarity of these and the continuing popularity of both the book, the show, and the character, should keep this on the list for the foreseeable future and beyond.

 

#9- Black Panther #1, Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Like a (female) panther leaping from the forest, this entrant remains at the #9 position. Actually released 7 years ago, this book only recently got discovered by JSC fans and became an instantly hot item. The first 9.8 copy to hit the market went for a whopping $3700! While a subsequent 9.8 copy sold for $2400 the fact that copies continue to pop up only intermittently should keep this one in good stead, and especially for those who grabbed one before the price explosion.

 

#8- Amazing Spider-Man #700, Ditko (2013)- This 1:200 book remains in the #8 slot as this book continues to show impressive strength in 9.8 yellow labels, with copies continuing to sell for well over $2000, and for several hundreds of dollars raw, even in rough condition.  By the looks of things it seems these are drying up into collections, as renewed interest in many ASM 700 variants in general continue to push it forward, with this one easily being the cream of the crop. 

 

 

#7- Spawn #185, Sketch (2008)- Has anyone seen a single copy of this book for sale since I first started this list? I haven't. Talk about ridiculously rare? Geesh! One of Image's original and longest running titles checks in here with its most valuable RI variant to date. Clocking in at $2750 the last time a 9.8 copy came up for sale publicly, the scant census numbers should keep rare variant chasers on their heels and this book in high value and esteem for the foreseeable future.  Given the recent interest in Spawn sketch covers, one could only imagine what one of these would go for if one came up in a no reserve auction.

 

#6- Uncanny X-Men #510 Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Without a doubt the most valuable and hard to find convention book out there, 9.6 copies of these have sold for $2800, and only proves once again that Campbell + crazy rarity + beautiful pin-up art = salivating fans and $$$. With a raw copy of this also cracking $2000 recently, all things considered, it wouldn't take much for this book to jump up higher on this list, although it slips one spot this time, mostly due to a lack of copies being offered in awhile.

 

 

 

#5- Siege #3, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- This bizarre retailer incentive that involved destroying other comic books, a super hot artist, and one of Marvel's most trendy characters flossing on the cover are the perfect recipe to catapult this book to $2300+ in a 9.8, and extremely strong figures in all down grades on the rare occasion one comes up for sale.  This one moves up a notch on the list this time due to a yellow label recently selling for a whopping $3775. 

 

 

#4- Wolverine #1, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- Yet another JSC cover, this one his best, lands at #4. Featuring a stocky Wolverine bulging out of Deadpool's costume, this book easily commands $3k+ in a 9.8 and is very strong in all down grades, as well as raw. It was another "destroy comics" incentive to retailers, an incentive that was so derided in the industry that it has yet to be repeated, but resulted in a book with a very low print run and insatiable demand. It was the uber-high sales prices of this book a couple of years ago that really got the JSC train going at 100 miles per hour, and if it ever stops chugging along, people will still be paying big money for this book, and this one will likely be the one book for which he is most remembered in the years to come.  In this writer's opinion, this will end up being the one book that Campbell is best known for.  The fact that it combines two of Marvel's most popular characters and a Wolverine aping Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking sense of humour truly does showcase Campbell at his finest. 

 

#3- Amazing Spider-Man #678 (2012)- This now classic and oft-reprinted and homaged cover features Mary Jane in mid-possession by the alien symbiote known as Venom. Its character mash-up and spoof elements made it an instant hit right out of the gate and it never looked back. A 1:50 variant released when ASM sales were barely cracking 50,000, this book has gone for $3500 in a 9.8 (on the rare occasion they're offered), and as much as $1000 for an 8.5! So strong is the pull of this book that it raised to prominence (and value) most, if not all of the other "Venom Variants" that were released outside of the ASM title that same month, which has now led to a brand new batch of Venom-themed variants coming in 2017. A raw copy has now also broken $2100, and its scarcity on the market, its "modern grail" status, and presence in the ASM run should keep it at the top of this list for a very long time. 

 

 

#2- Amazing Spider-Man #667, Dell'Otto (2011)- Dropping to #2 this time, but only because there haven't been any copies offered for sale for six months, it was nearly two years ago back in September, 2015 when a VF/NM-ish raw copy of this sold for over $2000 that, in retrospect, seems to have kicked off this "next-level" of prices that people are now willing to pay for even raw copies of some of these truly rare books. At the time, such a high price paid for a raw modern book, no matter how rare, raised more than a few eyebrows, but since then we have seen similar stratospheric prices paid for multiple other books, including this one, which beat its own record when another, VF-looking raw copy sold for $2500 six months later, and a 9.6 copy hit $4k in June, 2016. As a side bonus, the multiple blockbuster sales of this one book officially put the name "Dell'otto" on the map, and raised his profile to the A-lister status shared by other hot and talented artists with names like Campbell, Hughes, and Lee. Possibly one of the rarest books of all in the entire ASM run, it iwas a 1:100 that was originally offered to retailers after they had already submitted their orders for the month, on the heels of the massive ASM 666 retailer variant event, and to make matters even more dicey, there was another variant offered at the same time for weeks beforehand, with a competing incentive, that seemed to cause dealers to either not notice the Dell'otto or not bother to order it at all.   It truly is a completionist's nightmare, and a rare variant hunter's wet dream. Hardly ever offered for sale, in any condition, there are reports of just 225 of these being produced. , and the more time that passes, the more that number looks to be accurate, as however few copies there are seem to have already disappeared into permanent collections, and it is a veritable feeding frenzy when a copy does find its way to market. If there is such a thing as "Golden Age rarity" in the Modern Age, the ASM 667 Dell'Otto has it, and at this rate, there could easily come a time when years go by without a copy seeing the light of day.

 

 

 

#1- Batman #608 RRP (2002)- We have a new sheriff in town.  The granddaddy of the RRP's (and arguably all modern variants) vaults to #1. And why not? The combination of it being Batman, a first appearance of a new character,  Part One of a story line that put the Batman title back on top, deep within the run of a popular, long running title, 15 years old, ridiculously rare, and by the highly regarded Jim Lee, might make this the "perfect variant".   With multiple public sales of 9.8's breaking $5k, and even a couple eclipsing $5500, 9.6's reaching $2300 and raw copies hitting $2100, and copies seeming to have all but disappeared into personal collections, don't expect to get this one on the cheap ever again (if you can even find one).  Like a few other long time entries on this list, this book will probably end up being synonymous with our current Age of comics. 

 

 

***Falling Off The List For Now***  Captain Marvel #14, 1:30 Variant (2013)

 

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

-J.

[World Devourer]

Nice list, Jay. And yes, as I've said before this is the Variant Age. It is a more refined - if mercenary - version of the prototypical Chromium Age.

[Lethal_Collector]

A new  champion!  Too many sales support Bats as #1, just not enough D'O sales to make it up.  Cool list, buddy thanks for putting it together (again).

 

Jerome

[Jaydogrules]

My pleasure guys.  

-J.

[World Devourer]

There could also be a list - indeed a topic thread - devoted to the "Dark Market": those sales that are conducted privately. The trend at the moment is to view an item on Ebay and then contact the seller and work out a private deal (with Ebay not getting a cent).

 

[Broke as a Joke]

I wonder why these books are never put up in a no reserve auction?  

[Jaydogrules]

1 hour ago, Broke as a Joke said:

I wonder why these books are never put up in a no reserve auction?  

Huh?  

Six of the 12 have all sold at least once within the last 90 days in a no reserve auction.  

Another 3 of 12 have had 0 copies offered for sale publicly during the same time frame, or longer.   

-J.

[Jaydogrules]

5 hours ago, World Devourer said:

There could also be a list - indeed a topic thread - devoted to the "Dark Market": those sales that are conducted privately. The trend at the moment is to view an item on Ebay and then contact the seller and work out a private deal (with Ebay not getting a cent).

 

I suppose I could supplement the list with a Top 5 "Dark List" of confirmed private sales not done through eBay, added in with the public sales where appropriate.  It does change the list a bit, here it is, noted with confirmed price paid in a 9.8. 

5)  Siege 3 (Campbell)- $3775 (public)

4)  Uncanny X men 510 partial sketch (Campbell) - $4000 (private)

3)  ASM 678 VenoMJ- $5000 (private)

2)  Batman 608RRP- $5575 (public)

 

1)  ASM 667 (Dell'otto)- $9000 (private)

 

-J.

 

Edited June 23, 2017 by Jaydogrules

[jreezy]

Thanks for updating the list Jay. Can't argue with the batman RRP taking #1 spot

 

 

[Drbearsec]

On 6/20/2017 at 3:03 PM, Jaydogrules said:

Hello again fellow variant fiends!

 

Just put the finishing touches on the list, with lots of new copy. Couple of movers and shakers this time 'round in the Dirty Dozen:

 

Here it is...

 

***MOST VALUABLE MODERN VARIANTS 2017, Q2 EDITION***

 

#12- Ms. Marvel #2 (2014)-  Entering the list at #12 this nearly perfectly rendered cover by Jorge Molina was a 1:50, and features the new Ms. marvel, Kamala Khan, standing atop a roof, blowing a bubble with a school bus in the background.  It immediately captures the viewer's eye, and in one image, perfectly encapsulates all of the best and most notable parts of the character.  The first couple of 9.8's to market broke $2k, but the book has more recently gone in the $1550 range as other copies have come to market.

 

 

#11- X-23 #1, Dell'Otto (2010)- A great and hot artist lodges his first cover here. Combined with the fact that X-23 may be Marvel's hottest female character right now, a very well received introduction in the film Logan, serious discussions for a solo film, and a breath-taking cover that may be one of her best depictions to date, and you have a book that has recently hit $1700 in a 9.8, $1000 in a 9.6, and $800+ raw.

 

#10- Walking Dead #100, Lucille/Red Foil Editions (2012)- The introduction of the iconic Negan in these crazy- rare issues had some people paying as much as $1800 for a 9.8 since word first leaked that he would (finally) be making his appearance in the show. Prices for a 9.8 remain in the $1700+ range, and seem poised to continue to do so as the rarity of these and the continuing popularity of both the book, the show, and the character, should keep this on the list for the foreseeable future and beyond.

 

#9- Black Panther #1, Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Like a (female) panther leaping from the forest, this entrant remains at the #9 position. Actually released 7 years ago, this book only recently got discovered by JSC fans and became an instantly hot item. The first 9.8 copy to hit the market went for a whopping $3700! While a subsequent 9.8 copy sold for $2400 the fact that copies continue to pop up only intermittently should keep this one in good stead, and especially for those who grabbed one before the price explosion.

 

#8- Amazing Spider-Man #700, Ditko (2013)- This 1:200 book remains in the #8 slot as this book continues to show impressive strength in 9.8 yellow labels, with copies continuing to sell for well over $2000, and for several hundreds of dollars raw, even in rough condition.  By the looks of things it seems these are drying up into collections, as renewed interest in many ASM 700 variants in general continue to push it forward, with this one easily being the cream of the crop. 

 

 

#7- Spawn #185, Sketch (2008)- Has anyone seen a single copy of this book for sale since I first started this list? I haven't. Talk about ridiculously rare? Geesh! One of Image's original and longest running titles checks in here with its most valuable RI variant to date. Clocking in at $2750 the last time a 9.8 copy came up for sale publicly, the scant census numbers should keep rare variant chasers on their heels and this book in high value and esteem for the foreseeable future.  Given the recent interest in Spawn sketch covers, one could only imagine what one of these would go for if one came up in a no reserve auction.

 

#6- Uncanny X-Men #510 Partial Sketch, J. Scott Campbell (2009)- Without a doubt the most valuable and hard to find convention book out there, 9.6 copies of these have sold for $2800, and only proves once again that Campbell + crazy rarity + beautiful pin-up art = salivating fans and $$$. With a raw copy of this also cracking $2000 recently, all things considered, it wouldn't take much for this book to jump up higher on this list, although it slips one spot this time, mostly due to a lack of copies being offered in awhile.

 

 

 

#5- Siege #3, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- This bizarre retailer incentive that involved destroying other comic books, a super hot artist, and one of Marvel's most trendy characters flossing on the cover are the perfect recipe to catapult this book to $2300+ in a 9.8, and extremely strong figures in all down grades on the rare occasion one comes up for sale.  This one moves up a notch on the list this time due to a yellow label recently selling for a whopping $3775. 

 

 

#4- Wolverine #1, J. Scott Campbell (2010)- Yet another JSC cover, this one his best, lands at #4. Featuring a stocky Wolverine bulging out of Deadpool's costume, this book easily commands $3k+ in a 9.8 and is very strong in all down grades, as well as raw. It was another "destroy comics" incentive to retailers, an incentive that was so derided in the industry that it has yet to be repeated, but resulted in a book with a very low print run and insatiable demand. It was the uber-high sales prices of this book a couple of years ago that really got the JSC train going at 100 miles per hour, and if it ever stops chugging along, people will still be paying big money for this book, and this one will likely be the one book for which he is most remembered in the years to come.  In this writer's opinion, this will end up being the one book that Campbell is best known for.  The fact that it combines two of Marvel's most popular characters and a Wolverine aping Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking sense of humour truly does showcase Campbell at his finest. 

 

#3- Amazing Spider-Man #678 (2012)- This now classic and oft-reprinted and homaged cover features Mary Jane in mid-possession by the alien symbiote known as Venom. Its character mash-up and spoof elements made it an instant hit right out of the gate and it never looked back. A 1:50 variant released when ASM sales were barely cracking 50,000, this book has gone for $3500 in a 9.8 (on the rare occasion they're offered), and as much as $1000 for an 8.5! So strong is the pull of this book that it raised to prominence (and value) most, if not all of the other "Venom Variants" that were released outside of the ASM title that same month, which has now led to a brand new batch of Venom-themed variants coming in 2017. A raw copy has now also broken $2100, and its scarcity on the market, its "modern grail" status, and presence in the ASM run should keep it at the top of this list for a very long time. 

 

 

#2- Amazing Spider-Man #667, Dell'Otto (2011)- Dropping to #2 this time, but only because there haven't been any copies offered for sale for six months, it was nearly two years ago back in September, 2015 when a VF/NM-ish raw copy of this sold for over $2000 that, in retrospect, seems to have kicked off this "next-level" of prices that people are now willing to pay for even raw copies of some of these truly rare books. At the time, such a high price paid for a raw modern book, no matter how rare, raised more than a few eyebrows, but since then we have seen similar stratospheric prices paid for multiple other books, including this one, which beat its own record when another, VF-looking raw copy sold for $2500 six months later, and a 9.6 copy hit $4k in June, 2016. As a side bonus, the multiple blockbuster sales of this one book officially put the name "Dell'otto" on the map, and raised his profile to the A-lister status shared by other hot and talented artists with names like Campbell, Hughes, and Lee. Possibly one of the rarest books of all in the entire ASM run, it iwas a 1:100 that was originally offered to retailers after they had already submitted their orders for the month, on the heels of the massive ASM 666 retailer variant event, and to make matters even more dicey, there was another variant offered at the same time for weeks beforehand, with a competing incentive, that seemed to cause dealers to either not notice the Dell'otto or not bother to order it at all.   It truly is a completionist's nightmare, and a rare variant hunter's wet dream. Hardly ever offered for sale, in any condition, there are reports of just 225 of these being produced. , and the more time that passes, the more that number looks to be accurate, as however few copies there are seem to have already disappeared into permanent collections, and it is a veritable feeding frenzy when a copy does find its way to market. If there is such a thing as "Golden Age rarity" in the Modern Age, the ASM 667 Dell'Otto has it, and at this rate, there could easily come a time when years go by without a copy seeing the light of day.

 

 

 

#1- Batman #608 RRP (2002)- We have a new sheriff in town.  The granddaddy of the RRP's (and arguably all modern variants) vaults to #1. And why not? The combination of it being Batman, a first appearance of a new character,  Part One of a story line that put the Batman title back on top, deep within the run of a popular, long running title, 15 years old, ridiculously rare, and by the highly regarded Jim Lee, might make this the "perfect variant".   With multiple public sales of 9.8's breaking $5k, and even a couple eclipsing $5500, 9.6's reaching $2300 and raw copies hitting $2100, and copies seeming to have all but disappeared into personal collections, don't expect to get this one on the cheap ever again (if you can even find one).  Like a few other long time entries on this list, this book will probably end up being synonymous with our current Age of comics. 

 

 

***Falling Off The List For Now***  Captain Marvel #14, 1:30 Variant (2013)

 

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

-J.

Isn't Saga 1 Retail Incentive more valuable than a good number of the books on this list?

[Jaydogrules]

3 minutes ago, Drbearsec said:

Isn't Saga 1 Retail Incentive more valuable than a good number of the books on this list?

It's not on the list because it's a reprint with a new cover, not a variant (third print to be exact). 

If it wasn't a reprint and made the list it would be 10th. 

-J.

[Drbearsec]

8 minutes ago, Jaydogrules said:

It's not on the list because it's a reprint with a new cover, not a variant (third print to be exact). 

If it wasn't a reprint and made the list it would be 10th. 

-J.

Wow, learn something new.  I didn't realize it was considered a reprint and not a variant.  I'm not doubting you with this next question but am curious...  If that is indeed the case, why does the CGC label not say it is a reprint? I see the retailer incentive edition tag but nothing about a reprint.

[World Devourer]

There's also Wolverine #145 (Nabisvo variant). This one will creep in on account of rarity.

 

[ygogolak]

3 hours ago, World Devourer said:

There's also Wolverine #145 (Nabisvo variant). This one will creep in on account of rarity.

 

GPA last 9.8 sale was for $800 in Aug. 2015

Last 9.6 was $330 last month.

It doesn't sell that often.

[Jaydogrules]

6 hours ago, Drbearsec said:

Wow, learn something new.  I didn't realize it was considered a reprint and not a variant.  I'm not doubting you with this next question but am curious...  If that is indeed the case, why does the CGC label not say it is a reprint? I see the retailer incentive edition tag but nothing about a reprint.

CGC doesn't notate everything on their labels.  It has a publication date a month later than the first printing and its bar code indicates it is a third printing as well.   It was given out to the attendees at the summit that year, but it is still designated as a third printing.  

https://summits.diamondcomics.com/Home/1/1/54/787?articleID=118463

-J.

[World Devourer]

13 hours ago, ygogolak said:

GPA last 9.8 sale was for $800 in Aug. 2015

Last 9.6 was $330 last month.

It doesn't sell that often.

Because the 9.8 W is very rare. One sold on the Dark Market in May for the same price. It will rise.

[divad]

2 minutes ago, World Devourer said:

the Dark Market

The Dark Market? Are you sure it wasn't the Darkest Market? Did you have to use the TOR browser to find it? 

[SquareChaos]

On 6/23/2017 at 1:53 PM, Jaydogrules said:

I suppose I could supplement the list with a Top 5 "Dark List" of confirmed private sales not done through eBay, added in with the public sales where appropriate.  It does change the list a bit, here it is, noted with confirmed price paid in a 9.8. 

5)  Siege 3 (Campbell)- $3775 (public)

4)  Uncanny X men 510 partial sketch (Campbell) - $4000 (private)

3)  ASM 678 VenoMJ- $5000 (private)

2)  Batman 608RRP- $5575 (public)

 

1)  ASM 667 (Dell'otto)- $9000 (private)

 

-J.

 

This may be a useful thing to track for anyone looking to pay these type of prices for one of these books, but were I one of those people my very first question concern the difference between a private sale and 'confirmed' private sale.