Crazy Run up on price than crash and burn. And I mean BURN! 3 3

[Alf Pogs]

4 hours ago, NoMan said:

do you remember what she was saying

 

She called and they had the book but everyone snapped 'em up so by the time she drove over they were all gone. I'm sure there were 150 copies in the back room. 

Reminds me of Astro City 1. I was waiting for it to come out but it never hit my LCS stands for some reason. Went over the hill and they were on issue 5 or 6. A few months later the back issue bins at my LCS have 20 copies of #1 for 10 bucks each.   

[thunsicker]

Not sure if it’s so much a crash as a stagnate while everything else skyrockets, but the Barks Duck books used to be some of the most expensive books.  Now, not so much.

[valiantman]

16 hours ago, thunsicker said:

Not sure if it’s so much a crash as a stagnate while everything else skyrockets, but the Barks Duck books used to be some of the most expensive books.  Now, not so much.

I love it when big books stagnate... most of the big will be big again if there's any chance that the property is still around... like Disney.  Not much risk of a generation not knowing who Donald Duck is... so... the buying opportunity for Barks is in effect.

[mysterio]

7 minutes ago, valiantman said:

I love it when big books stagnate... most of the big will be big again if there's any chance that the property is still around... like Disney.  Not much risk of a generation not knowing who Donald Duck is... so... the buying opportunity for Barks is in effect.

True, but it seems that a lot of the value was in the artist and not the material itself. Most books that were hot in the past for the art alone have not come back as well. X-men #248 comes to mind as a book that used to have value as first Jim Lee in the title but now nobody cares. Some McFarlane art held value, but generally only those tied to events that are also important (Hulk #340 cover is kind of an exception due to classic cover status). I wonder if artist collecting is becoming a thing of the past, and whether new generations will gravitate to their artists but not those of previous generations. 

[TheFifthHorseman]

37 minutes ago, valiantman said:

I love it when big books stagnate... most of the big will be big again if there's any chance that the property is still around... like Disney.  Not much risk of a generation not knowing who Donald Duck is... so... the buying opportunity for Barks is in effect.

I.e. mighty mouse #1

@bounty_coder

Edited June 1, 2018 by TheFifthHorseman

[TheFifthHorseman]

17 minutes ago, TheFifthHorseman said:

I.e. mighty mouse #1

 

also

@Comcav

Edited June 1, 2018 by TheFifthHorseman

[justafan]

1 minute ago, mysterio said:

True, but it seems that a lot of the value was in the artist and not the material itself. Most books that were hot in the past for the art alone have not come back as well. X-men #248 comes to mind as a book that used to have value as first Jim Lee in the title but now nobody cares. Some McFarlane art held value, but generally only those tied to events that are also important (Hulk #340 cover is kind of an exception due to classic cover status). I wonder if artist collecting is becoming a thing of the past, and whether new generations will gravitate to their artists but not those of previous generations. 

I was surprised by this as well when I got back into collecting but it would seem that the whole value in artist's art in comic titles has moved away from the comic issue and into the OA.  Jim Lee's and McFarlane's OA are still in high demand regardless of the issue.  If someone wanted to do the math and take the time you might be able to take the overall value lost in price per issue of X-men #248 (copies times peak value in grade) and see how closely it equals the price someone might expect to pay for the OA of X-Men #248 give or take a couple hundred thousand dollars.  OA as a collector's focus has likely stripped a sizable chunk of the available economy and demand from the value of comics (especially for things like artist's first for a title or famous covers).  Imagine if all OA was destroyed/unavailable and all you had were the comics?  I have no facts to support this and I know there are OA only collectors that don't buy comics and vice versa but I'm sure it is affecting the demand/price paid for comics at some level whether past or present.

[mysterio]

26 minutes ago, justafan said:

I was surprised by this as well when I got back into collecting but it would seem that the whole value in artist's art in comic titles has moved away from the comic issue and into the OA.  Jim Lee's and McFarlane's OA are still in high demand regardless of the issue.  If someone wanted to do the math and take the time you might be able to take the overall value lost in price per issue of X-men #248 (copies times peak value in grade) and see how closely it equals the price someone might expect to pay for the OA of X-Men #248 give or take a couple hundred thousand dollars.  OA as a collector's focus has likely stripped a sizable chunk of the available economy and demand from the value of comics (especially for things like artist's first for a title or famous covers).  Imagine if all OA was destroyed/unavailable and all you had were the comics?  I have no facts to support this and I know there are OA only collectors that don't buy comics and vice versa but I'm sure it is affecting the demand/price paid for comics at some level whether past or present.

That is a really interesting idea. I imagine it is one of those cycles where the people that cared about that art in the 80s and 90s now have the means to buy the original art rather than the comics. That removes a lot of the art-driven demand for those books, and the stories aren't important enough to buoy that demand, so you get X-Men #248 as a glorified dollar book these days.

In the current market any artist with a following is doing variant covers, which is really the manifestation of the same art-driven collecting we saw in the previous boom cycle. So the Del Ottos and Campbells aren't being collected in the same way as Lee or McFarlane were. Just the evolution of the collector market and rise of more manufactured collectibles featuring that in-demand art.

Edited June 1, 2018 by mysterio

[october]

46 minutes ago, mysterio said:

 I wonder if artist collecting is becoming a thing of the past, and whether new generations will gravitate to their artists but not those of previous generations. 

Interest in artist collecting is very much alive and well on the Golden Age side. In fact, it's hotter than ever. Baker, Cole, Schomburg, Wolverton, Frazetta, etc covers draw a big premium and will continue to do so for a long time. 

Edited June 1, 2018 by october

[mysterio]

1 minute ago, october said:

47 minutes ago, mysterio said:

I wonder if artist collecting is becoming a thing of the past, and whether new generations will gravitate to their artists but not those of previous generations. 

Interest in artist collecting is very much alive and well on the Golden Age side. In fact, it's hotter than ever. Baker, Cole, Schomburg, Wolverton, Frazetta, etc covers draw a big premium and will continue to do so for a long time. 

That is good, and I have noticed that in GA as well. But is it me or does it seem to be waning a bit in SA and BA? I don't see the same level of interest in Kirby that used to be there, certainly, which is depressing. The BWS art in Conan doesn't seem to register like it used to either. Again, maybe it is just me, but wondering if anyone else has noticed a similar cooling of interests in specific artists from that era (at least to a lesser extent than used to exist in the 80s-90s).

[october]

6 minutes ago, mysterio said:

That is good, and I have noticed that in GA as well. But is it me or does it seem to be waning a bit in SA and BA? I don't see the same level of interest in Kirby that used to be there, certainly, which is depressing. The BWS art in Conan doesn't seem to register like it used to either. Again, maybe it is just me, but wondering if anyone else has noticed a similar cooling of interests in specific artists from that era (at least to a lesser extent than used to exist in the 80s-90s).

You may be right on SA/BA. All the heat seems to be on keys. 

....though Neal Adams stuff is eternally in demand. 

[mysterio]

9 minutes ago, october said:

You may be right on SA/BA. All the heat seems to be on keys. 

....though Neal Adams stuff is eternally in demand. 

Yeah, Adams would definitely be an exception as an artist that is maintaining serious interest in SA/BA.

Edited June 1, 2018 by mysterio

[deadleg]

On 5/31/2018 at 1:46 AM, Alf Pogs said:

Ranma 1/2

I would love to have a 9.8 copy of issue one. I've read about the first ten volumes so far. The story is fun, full of comedy, and Rumiko Takahashi's art is great. 

[Black_Adam]

18 hours ago, mysterio said:

That is good, and I have noticed that in GA as well. But is it me or does it seem to be waning a bit in SA and BA? I don't see the same level of interest in Kirby that used to be there, certainly, which is depressing. The BWS art in Conan doesn't seem to register like it used to either. Again, maybe it is just me, but wondering if anyone else has noticed a similar cooling of interests in specific artists from that era (at least to a lesser extent than used to exist in the 80s-90s).

I think Wrightson has picked up some heat since his unfortunate and untimely passing. And i still chase the Dave Stevens stuff.

[mysterio]

22 minutes ago, Black_Adam said:

I think Wrightson has picked up some heat since his unfortunate and untimely passing. And i still chase the Dave Stevens stuff.

Stevens and Hughes also count, but definitely more modern than what I was thinking. Haven't noticed the heat on Wrightson the way it has been sustained on Adams, but I'd be happy to see it. Love his work.

[Callaway29]

23 minutes ago, Black_Adam said:

I think Wrightson has picked up some heat since his unfortunate and untimely passing. And i still chase the Dave Stevens stuff.

Agree on Wrightson. CGC 9.4 ST1 signed by Bernie and Wein recently went for >$1k.  A Bernie only 9.4 went for half that just a month or two prior. I made, what I thought was, a strong play but no dice...and power to the seller because he got his price. Could be an outlier, time will tell...

[evilskip]

On 5/24/2018 at 12:23 PM, valiantman said:

Wasn't there a story about Fish Police #1 doing something like that?

(Before my time.) 

Yeah, Back in the late 80's I won a copy of this at a small Chicago comic convention as a door prize. Was disappointed, but it was free. Wound up trading it to a local shop for $30 worth of Silver Age Avengers, which made me very happy. Now it is back down to $3.

[mysterio]

1 hour ago, Callaway29 said:

Agree on Wrightson. CGC 9.4 ST1 signed by Bernie and Wein recently went for >$1k.  A Bernie only 9.4 went for half that just a month or two prior. I made, what I thought was, a strong play but no dice...and power to the seller because he got his price. Could be an outlier, time will tell...

That would have been tempting at that price with both of them gone. I feel fortunate to have seen them both at shows over the years. 

[Aweandlorder]

On 6/2/2018 at 10:17 AM, evilskip said:

Yeah, Back in the late 80's I won a copy of this at a small Chicago comic convention as a door prize. Was disappointed, but it was free. Wound up trading it to a local shop for $30 worth of Silver Age Avengers, which made me very happy. Now it is back down to $3.

Which now makes sense why the titles publisher name was "Fishwrap"

[F For Fake]

On 6/2/2018 at 1:12 AM, deadleg said:

I would love to have a 9.8 copy of issue one. I've read about the first ten volumes so far. The story is fun, full of comedy, and Rumiko Takahashi's art is great. 

I'm more of a Lum guy myself, but Ranma and Maison Ikkoku are both tremendous books, lots of fun.