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Why is ASM1 so expensive relative to it's peers?
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55 posts in this topic

On 12/5/2018 at 12:12 AM, Knightsofold said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but surprisingly, ASM#1 was valued more than AF15 for a period of time.  

Mike, ASM1 oddly was very desirable in the 70s and 80s. I know a guy who chose an ASM 1 over an AF 15 at the same price in 1979 because it was a “#1” issue. It’s a head scratcher to us now as why anyone would pass on an AF15. 

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23 hours ago, Chillax23 said:

ASM1 is a great book and while AF15 will always be THE KEY spidey book ASM1 is certainly next in line and a top 10 Marvel Silver Age book.

What I wonder is whether/how much more ASM1 would be worth if it contained the First Spider-Man - i.e., I think if Spidey appeared in ASM1 first (and AF15 did not exist) then ASM1 would be more expensive than AF15 currently is - or to put it another way, I wonder how much more AF15 would be worth if it was also the start of Spider-Man's flagship title ....... obviously we will never know what the delta would be, but I think it would not be insignificant.

Interesting idea, it makes me wonder what asm#2 would be worth if asm1 was the 1st app.  

Would asm#2 (the 2nd app of SM in this scenerio) be worth as much as ASM#1?  I highly doubt it.  

The majority of ASM#1 is from the #1 and the debut the solo hero title, waaaaaay less from 2nd appearance, or the “out of reach so I’ll settle” theory.  I can’t think of any 2nd app books that command 1/2+ the value of a 1st appearance besides #1s.  (Superman #1/batman #1/wonder woman #1)

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1 hour ago, Primetime said:

Mike, ASM1 oddly was very desirable in the 70s and 80s. I know a guy who chose an ASM 1 over an AF 15 at the same price in 1979 because it was a “#1” issue. It’s a head scratcher to us now as why anyone would pass on an AF15. 

I chose an ASM #1 over AF#15 at Sidebottom's shop in the 80's.  I wanted to complete the run.  If I bought AF #15, I would've had 2 runs that needed completing.
Given the current prices, I do wish I bought the AF #15 instead, as ASM #1 would have remained affordable for a lot longer - giving me a better opportunity to own both.

 

I will say I prefer ASM #1 over AF #15  :whatthe: 
It has twice the number of pages featuring early Spidey and it does recap the events in AF #15, so as a run collector who likes to read (and re-read) the Ditko/Romita run it's more satisfying than reading AF #15 and then skipping to ASM #2.  That would be more of a gap, in my opinion.
Sure, the AF #15 story is classic, but I find the 2 stories in ASM #1 to be pretty good, too, on par with the origin story.

I suppose if I valued first appearances more (like most seem to do), and if I regarded my collection more like pork-bellies than entertainment, my view might be reversed.  :D 

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1 hour ago, Primetime said:

Mike, ASM1 oddly was very desirable in the 70s and 80s. I know a guy who chose an ASM 1 over an AF 15 at the same price in 1979 because it was a “#1” issue. It’s a head scratcher to us now as why anyone would pass on an AF15. 

Thats because a lot of folks don't collect titles anymore.  When I started collecting in the 70s, the goal was to get every appearance of the titles or characters you loved.  ItThis was before the volume of reprints (archives, masterworks, omnibus) we have now, and the goal was to get the full story.  Collecting SA comics was NOT about "keys" (most of what are now called keys were just issues back then), unless you were a "speculator" (which was a bad word).  So if you were collecting ASM, but not other spidey titles, you might want ASM 1 more than AF 15.  

The better analogy might be to comics like Special Edition Comics 1 (8/40 - the first comic book devoted solely to GA Captain Marvel) versus Captain Marvel Adventures 1 (Spring 1941 - first issue of Captain Marvel's solo series) or Harvey Hits 3 (11/57 - first comic devoted solely to Richie Rich) versus Richie Rich 1 (11/60 - first issue of his solo series).  Ponder this basic quesiton:  Which of these comics are more valuable and why?  

From today's perspective, it might be hard to tell.  From the perspective of the 70s and 80s?  It's obvious.

 

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8 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

Thats because a lot of folks don't collect titles anymore.  When I started collecting in the 70s, the goal was to get every appearance of the titles or characters you loved.  ItThis was before the volume of reprints (archives, masterworks, omnibus) we have now, and the goal was to get the full story.  Collecting SA comics was NOT about "keys" (most of what are now called keys were just issues back then), unless you were a "speculator" (which was a bad word).  So if you were collecting ASM, but not other spidey titles, you might want ASM 1 more than AF 15.  

The better analogy might be to comics like Special Edition Comics 1 (8/40 - the first comic book devoted solely to GA Captain Marvel) versus Captain Marvel Adventures 1 (Spring 1941 - first issue of Captain Marvel's solo series) or Harvey Hits 3 (11/57 - first comic devoted solely to Richie Rich) versus Richie Rich 1 (11/60 - first issue of his solo series).  Ponder this basic quesiton:  Which of these comics are more valuable and why?  

From today's perspective, it might be hard to tell.  From the perspective of the 70s and 80s?  It's obvious.

 

very good points. I also forgot to mention that my friend in 1979 chose the ASM 1 because he was trying to complete the run in that title. It made more sense back then. Today's market is more focused on keys and dollar values...

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1 hour ago, rsouxlja7 said:

How do you think the values would change if the covers from AF15 and ASM1 were swapped? The cover on AF15 can't be topped, and I think ASM1's is one of the worst early Spidey covers. 

Perhaps a little, but the significance of the books would keep the vast amount of the value as it is today, IMO. 

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2 hours ago, spracknetch23 said:

I acquired my first ASM 1 this year, and I actually wanted it more than AF 15 because A. It helps complete my 1-400 run, and B. It was more in reach for me price-wise. 

Congrats. That's a huge achievement. I am curious why did you choose to go for 1-400 and not for a complete vol.1? (I go for the same run by the way - but I have 69 more books to go right now).

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18 hours ago, SECollector said:

Congrats. That's a huge achievement. I am curious why did you choose to go for 1-400 and not for a complete vol.1? (I go for the same run by the way - but I have 69 more books to go right now).

I had a collection up to Brand New Day, then realized I wasn’t interested in all the variants, and the stories after that. I then realized the last book I really cared about was 400, the “death” of Aunt May. So I cut the collection down to 1-400. All I need to complete it (outside of upgrades) is number 2 and 3. What’s your reasoning for 1-400?

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2 hours ago, spracknetch23 said:

I had a collection up to Brand New Day, then realized I wasn’t interested in all the variants, and the stories after that. I then realized the last book I really cared about was 400, the “death” of Aunt May. So I cut the collection down to 1-400. All I need to complete it (outside of upgrades) is number 2 and 3. What’s your reasoning for 1-400?

Not very different than yours - I just cant get me to find issues after 400 interesting in any ways. I initially decided to go for 1-300, but realised soon that I got attracted to loads in the 300-400. From the McFarlanes, to some of the stories and even a few of the gimmicks with the shiny covers and stuff that are just a cool part of the history. End of course the death of aunt May. But post-400... yawn. However knowing me, I will probably go for them at the end just to have it complete. Fortunately they are really easy and cheap to find, even as lots

Good luck finding number 2 and 3, they are amazing books and at the moment - in my opinion - #2 is undervalued. 

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21 hours ago, SECollector said:

Not very different than yours - I just cant get me to find issues after 400 interesting in any ways. I initially decided to go for 1-300, but realised soon that I got attracted to loads in the 300-400. From the McFarlanes, to some of the stories and even a few of the gimmicks with the shiny covers and stuff that are just a cool part of the history. End of course the death of aunt May. But post-400... yawn. However knowing me, I will probably go for them at the end just to have it complete. Fortunately they are really easy and cheap to find, even as lots

Good luck finding number 2 and 3, they are amazing books and at the moment - in my opinion - #2 is undervalued. 

How often do you find those with AF 15 + ASM 1 - current 810 (or whatever). I am curious how hard / rare etc it is to accomplish such a feat. 

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26 minutes ago, silentassassin said:

How often do you find those with AF 15 + ASM 1 - current 810 (or whatever). I am curious how hard / rare etc it is to accomplish such a feat. 

I finished that run, plus annuals. Highlight for me.

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