Why is Spiderman #129 now a mega key comic ? 1 1

[Gatsby77]

39 minutes ago, comicginger1789 said:

Okay...sorry not ALWAYS. I was using that word in terms of my own life which began in the 90's. Still, when you think about a book that cost 20 cents in '74 to be a $10 in say '84, thats a x50 increase in ten years. It has increased even more since the 80's and early 90s when the character was everywhere and a bigger deal.

FWIW, it was a $200 book in 1989-1990 - the same price as (and equivalent popularity with) Hulk 181. For a while those books seemed to move in lockstep -- it's crazy to see how they've diverged since.

[KCOComics]

As a child of the 90s, punisher and wolverine were my two favorites. The punisher was hugely popular and had several solo titles. I probably read every Punisher War Journal comic cover to cover a dozen times.

When I started collecting, the first two big books I bought were hulk 181 and ASM 129. To a broke teenager in the late 90s, those two keys were much more affordable than the big silver age titles. I still have them both with no plans to sell. 

But besides Hulk 181, I can't think of a more worthy bronze age key.  I do love HOS92, but it's hard to argue that it's more worthy of key status than ASM129. 

 

[KCOComics]

2 hours ago, Gatsby77 said:

Why is ASM 129 key?

I'd argue primarily nostalgia. If you were collecting in the late 1980s-early 1990s (particularly 1988-1993), Punisher was a top 3 (maybe top 4) comic character.

It was like: Wolverine, Batman, Punisher...maybe Spider-Man ------> Everyone else.

If you weren't there in 1992-93, it's hard to describe how popular Punisher was -- three monthly titles and guest-starring everywhere.

At the time the list of top Bronze Age keys was incredibly short -- Hulk 181, Giant-Size X-Men 1/X-Men 94, ASM 129 ---> everything else. (Yes - even GL 76 and Conan 1 lagged well behind those books).

While Punisher has fallen off in importance in the decades since, ASM 129 still holds sway among the bulk of today's comic collectors, who are in their 40s and 50s and fondly recall that period from about 1986-1994 when Punisher was at or near the top of the A-list.

That he's had three movies and (arguably - with Daredevil Season 2) two TV seasons doesn't hurt either.

This is 100% right!  

When I was a kid, it was punisher, wolverine, Batman and for me, the X-Men because the cartoon was awesome! 

[Logan510]

1 hour ago, comicginger1789 said:

Okay...sorry not ALWAYS. I was using that word in terms of my own life which began in the 90's. Still, when you think about a book that cost 20 cents in '74 to be a $10 in say '84, thats a x50 increase in ten years. It has increased even more since the 80's and early 90s when the character was everywhere and a bigger deal.

It's all relative. As a kid in 1982-83 $10 was not a pittance, but it was not an exorbitant sum to me either.

On the other hand the gorgeous Avengers #1 they had on sale that was NM or better at $350 seemed very unattainable

 

[Deadpoolica]

[Ryan.]

2 hours ago, Jeffro. said:

3 hours ago, WoWitHurts said:

3 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

A key is a key is a key.

I see 0 value in trying to distinguish 1 "key" from another. Either an issue is important - or it isn't.

Are you saying there are not degrees in importance?

Even if there is, saying "mega key" instead of simply "key" means nothing. "mega" is completely subjective and ultimately doesn't mean anything quantifiable. It's just an adjective. I can say super key. I can say ultra key. I can say uber key. Nothing of that crap matters. It's just fluff. 

[kimik]

36 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

As a child of the 90s, punisher and wolverine were my two favorites. The punisher was hugely popular and had several solo titles. I probably read every Punisher War Journal comic cover to cover a dozen times.

When I started collecting, the first two big books I bought were hulk 181 and ASM 129. To a broke teenager in the late 90s, those two keys were much more affordable than the big silver age titles. I still have them both with no plans to sell. 

But besides Hulk 181, I can't think of a more worthy bronze age key.  I do love HOS92, but it's hard to argue that it's more worthy of key status than ASM129. 

 

What about GSX #1? That book is >>>>> significant than the 1st appearance of the Jackal.

[KCOComics]

2 minutes ago, kimik said:

What about GSX #1? That book is >>>>> significant than the 1st appearance of the Jackal.

Yes, your right! GSX1 is a biggie. For some reason I wrongly think of it as silver age. I think because it's an X-Men key. 

[kimik]

2 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

Yes, your right! GSX1 is a biggie. For some reason I wrongly think of it as silver age. I think because it's an X-Men key. 

Once the X-Men appear in the MCU again, that book will separate further from ASM 129.

[DavidTheDavid]

Because guns give a lot of guys hard-ons.

[Krismusic]

2 minutes ago, kimik said:

Once the X-Men appear in the MCU again, that book will separate further from ASM 129.

damn I was hoping prices would decline so I can get a copy of GSX1 

[kimik]

Just now, Krismusic said:

damn I was hoping prices would decline so I can get a copy of GSX1 

Lock in your Hulk #181 and GSX #1 now, especially while CGC 9.4 copies of GSX 1 are still relatively cheap.

[Krismusic]

22 minutes ago, kimik said:

Lock in your Hulk #181 and GSX #1 now, especially while CGC 9.4 copies of GSX 1 are still relatively cheap.

damn I just locked in a AF15 don't think I can do both a 181 and GSX... 

[kimik]

2 minutes ago, Krismusic said:

damn I just locked in a AF15 don't think I can do both a 181 and GSX... 

You could always sell the AF 15............

Just kidding. Save up and buy the best copies of each that you can when you are ready.

[KCOComics]

3 minutes ago, Krismusic said:

damn I just locked in a AF15 don't think I can do both a 181 and GSX... 

Because I'm a nice guy, and I would hate to see you miss out, I will trade you my hulk 181 for your AF15! 

It's a beautiful slabbed 7.0! 

 

[Krismusic]

11 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

Because I'm a nice guy, and I would hate to see you miss out, I will trade you my hulk 181 for your AF15! 

It's a beautiful slabbed 7.0! 

 

I am good thanks, I needed the AF 15 to complete my Spider-Man run, not going to part with it unless it's to upgrade.

[KCOComics]

8 minutes ago, Krismusic said:

I am good thanks, I needed the AF 15 to complete my Spider-Man run, not going to part with it unless it's to upgrade.

Oh yeah, I was totally kidding!  AF15 is a dream for me right now! I've considered selling books to go after it, but I'm just not ready yet. 

Congratulations on completing the Spider-Man run.  That's awesome! 

[Krismusic]

1 minute ago, KCOComics said:

Oh yeah, I was totally kidding!  AF15 is a dream for me right now! I've considered selling books to go after it, but I'm just not ready yet. 

Congratulations on completing the Spider-Man run.  That's awesome! 

thanks been working on it for quite awhile its currently 1-105 complete and 105-300 have all the keys just need some filler that I will probably do later on as its not much filler needed most of the filler is in the 200's

[Bronty]

5 hours ago, Logan510 said:

That's not entirely true. In the early 1980's I held a dozen copies in my hands at my LCS and they were $10 each, like an insufficiently_thoughtful_person I didn't buy any of them

 

Punisher mini series hadn't come out yet.   That was the game changer.

[Logan510]

9 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Punisher mini series hadn't come out yet.   That was the game changer.

Absolutely, I remember how the prices went up and kicking myself for not getting a sweet copy when I had the chance.