Mr. F Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Good morning, all! Hope I'm posting this in an appropriate place... I've come looking for some advice. When I was 16 (over half my life ago), I was given a copy of Showcase 22 for Christmas. GL was my favorite character for years, and it was a huge gift. Since getting it, it has--literally--sat in a drawer. Last year, I got it graded, and it came to a 3.0. I'm 37 now, and I view the book as an investment for my daughter going to college (in about 10 years). I know that the book is roughly worth 1500-1600. I've been thinking about selling it now and turning the profit into a copy of Incredible Hulk 181 (probably looking to spend a bit to get an 8.0). In your opinion, 10 years from now, which would be better piece to have (Showcase 22 or Hulk 181). I understand that there are far more of the Hulk out there, but Wolverine is more popular than GL.... Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sludgesicle Man Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Showcase 22 IMO has a lot more room to grow. Hulk 181 is an extremely hot book but the market is flooded with them. If DC could put some good GL films out, it has such a rich mythology, that the GL universe could stand alone as its own franchise. Mr. F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950's war comics Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I have to agree with @Sludgesicle Man Showcase 22 has more room to grow in the next ten years than IH181, not sure if either one will outpace a tax deferred college savings plan though ComicConnoisseur, Mr. F and FoggyNelson 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 You should hold on to the Showcase 22. I purchased a raw copy over 10 years ago for roughly $600 and had it graded a couple of years ago. It came back a 5.5. I have sold a lot of books from my collection but am holding on to it because I believe that the book still has a lot of room to grow. Mr. F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grube09 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Tough call. Many people have been preaching the slow down of IH 181 for years, but the facts are that it just hasn't slowed in popularity & growth...really ever. Until that actually happens, I'm on the side of continued growth for IH 181. GL and other DC characters certainly have room to grow given the scarcity of books and lack of any decent big screen movies to get the new generation excited. Out of the DC universe I see GL & Flash as the untapped resources. It's hard to say if it will happen or not, though. If this is a pure $$ move, I'd get the nicest 181 you can get. Mr. F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlowUpTheMoon Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Old school DC for the win. Mr. F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 It would be a really tough call if you were buying both of them but since you already have the SC 22 then I'd keep it. You will incur at least a 10% fee when selling it and then you have to go thru a ton of effort to get a IH 181 for a good price to insure you are not overpaying. Mr. F 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimik Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Both books will appreciate over time. If you want a Hulk 181, save up for a bit and buy the highest graded copy you can afford. That way you can enjoy both over time. Mr. F, Artboy99 and piper 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattn792 Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Now is a tough time to enter the Hulk 181 market as the book has been on quite a surge since the middle of last year. While I wouldn't expect it to depreciate much, if at all, from current prices, the bigger question is has the price plateaued for the foreseeable future? I don't think so, but it's still a commodity subject to market forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryanfromottawa Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 There has also been speculation that the green lanterns will be making an un announced appearance in the justice league movie, if that happens, there will definitely be growth in the showcase 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I would actually pick a 9.0 IH181 to grow faster than the 3.0 Sh22, both in the short and long term. chrisco37 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knightsofold Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 If I was shooting to help out my daughter in 10 years, I'd go with the SC22. There are way too many hulk 181's out there. SC22 came from before people started hoarding comics in 1965. If in 10 years comics have lost appeal, 181 will have so many on the market all trying to undercut each other. A buyer's market. SC22 would be the rarer key so prices would be more stable. Key+age advantage. If in 10 years comics are even more popular, SC22 would be in even more demand since supply is limited. Comparing IH181 to SC22 in entry level grade and highest grade low they're similar, but highest SC22 wins by a longshot. Also, IH181 has over 10 times the amount of SC22 on the cgc census (9,621 ih181) vs. (814 sc22) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimik Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 As we have seen with other key books, the number of copies does not matter as long as the demand is there re: price gains. Hulk 181 is the AF 15 of the BA. As such, the prices will continue to rise, but the rates will vary year to year. FWIW, the big jump in Hulk 181s has been more at the low grade (entry level) and high grade, but the mid grade copy prices are relatively clustered and have not seen large gains. This is similar to pretty much any other established SA or BA key over the past year or two. My - SC 22 (3.0) will not run up as quickly as a Hulk 181 since the demand is not as great and it is relatively plentiful in that grade for a SA DC key. Look at B&B 28 as an example (but still harder to find than Marvel SA keys - it is relative) - the book is easier to find in 4.0 and lower grades and as a result the price rise has stagnated. I expect SC 22 to play out in a similar manner - the sweet spot for price gains with DC SA keys is 6.0 and up. grube09 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimik Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 42 minutes ago, piper said: I would actually pick a 9.0 IH181 to grow faster than the 3.0 Sh22, both in the short and long term. Agreed, but if you can save up a bit it is better to own both. Ryanfromottawa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryanfromottawa Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 5 hours ago, kimik said: As we have seen with other key books, the number of copies does not matter as long as the demand is there re: price gains. Hulk 181 is the AF 15 of the BA. As such, the prices will continue to rise, but the rates will vary year to year. FWIW, the big jump in Hulk 181s has been more at the low grade (entry level) and high grade, but the mid grade copy prices are relatively clustered and have not seen large gains. This is similar to pretty much any other established SA or BA key over the past year or two. My - SC 22 (3.0) will not run up as quickly as a Hulk 181 since the demand is not as great and it is relatively plentiful in that grade for a SA DC key. Look at B&B 28 as an example (but still harder to find than Marvel SA keys - it is relative) - the book is easier to find in 4.0 and lower grades and as a result the price rise has stagnated. I expect SC 22 to play out in a similar manner - the sweet spot for price gains with DC SA keys is 6.0 and up. That's a good point and I totally agree with 6.0 + being the zone that would see price gains in do silverage keys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miraclemet Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 What's the page quality on the SC22? Good Pq is hard to find.... OW/W or W is considered verrrrry nice. Regardless I'd hold the SC22 until the JLA movie comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian48 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 I'd hold onto Showcase 22. My .02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. F Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 Wow! That's a ton to think about in here. It's made this decision infinitely harder than I initially thought that it would be. Regarding page quality: my copy is rated off-white to white. I've included a few photos. Like I said--I have held on to it more than anything as a sentimental thing. I wanted to sell it to flip for a IH 181, and I still may do so--at the same time, I'm thinking that I may hold until November to see if Justice League changes anything on this playing field. Here are a few photos. In other news: a year ago, my doctor mentioned a friend of his that inherited a large comic collection from his brother. The dude knew nothing about comics and asked me to take a look. Today, the guy finally got around to having me over. Among other things, he had a GL #1, Batman Adventures #12, Incredible Hulk 181...... I only looked a bit! He was going to sell the entire collection for $1000! I could have taken it off his hands, but that would've been karma coming back at me. As things stand, he told me that I can keep the Batman Adventures (likely a 9.0 - 9.2) if I spend 5 hours at his house, pulling the books that shouldn't be sold in bulk. Not bad! Thanks so much to all of you! This has been educational! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattn792 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Well, you could sell that Batman Adventures 12 and put those funds towards a 181... ADAMANTIUM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADAMANTIUM Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 (edited) I say this because my brother has long since told me if I die before him that he's taking my books to the first guy with money and is not going to haggle or try to get any estimated value.... I would say, since I've lost loved one's recently, that some just want to be done with it but good on you for telling him the comics may be worth more a $1000 might have satisfied him though with a full disclosure of the value and the work it's going to take to sell a book at a time. Glad you could help him though. I told my brother where my excel file is of what my comics cost, showed him his favorite character first appearances, showed him SS'd books; He holds firm that if I passed he wouldn't be able to handle selling "my stuff" and would get it taken care of a easy as possible. Edited August 11, 2017 by ADAMANTIUM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
