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Value of Misprint Comics
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66 posts in this topic

I had a discussion with a few friends recently about the value of rare misprint comics, and I thought it would be an interesting question to pose to this forum. Many misprints, errors, and recalls have enough copies in circulation that a critical threshold of public sales exist to determine a market. Whether it's the Secret Wars #1 blue Galactus misprint, a double cover, or the infamous first printing of Batman: Damned, each has a fairly defined market.

But what if the misprint is so rare that there are only a few or maybe even only 1 copy that exists? The question came up due to the Hawkman Zaffino variant cover issue below. The full color cover is the intended variant cover. However, there are 2 copies that have been found in the wild of the black, white, and blue cover and one copy of the pink cover. These "variant variants" were not solicited and clearly appear to be misprints. How would one go about ascribing value to this misprints?

I have my thoughts, but felt it would be an interesting example to bring up here. What do you think?

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Hawkman-Cv25-var.jpg

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51 minutes ago, kav said:

They are not really all that valuable.  Rarity does not automatically equal value.  

Do we know that for sure?  When we were young'n's, a misprint was a defect.  Modern collectors nowadays seem to love being able waive a comic in someone else's face to incite jealousy because the other person doesn't have one.

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1 minute ago, FineCollector said:

Do we know that for sure?  When we were young'n's, a misprint was a defect.  Modern collectors nowadays seem to love being able waive a comic in someone else's face to incite jealousy because the other person doesn't have one.

I mean there are plenty of misprints-each one is different is all but as a whole they do not command some strong price.  The demand isnt there.

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5 minutes ago, Qalyar said:

Ironically, with misprints, extreme rarity sometimes hurts value because it limits visibility and demand. There are lots and lots of one-off errors in comics. There are certainly collectors who enjoy them, and to those collectors, they may demand a premium. But it's tough to find a market for them.

When a single error occurred on a slightly larger block of copies, you get things like the black Venom cover, or the blue panel Sandman, or similar comics. Then, there's enough copies to make it a viable collectible, and not just a unique aberration, and the value often reflects the rarity.

These? No real idea.

There's one guy on ebay he has a teen titans with a marvel cover or something and thinks that makes it a JACKPOT.  He was asking $1,000,000 if I remember correctly.  Jackpot fever is a killer, man.  I estimate a book like that as worth MAYBE $40.  Nobody cares.

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19 minutes ago, Qalyar said:

Ironically, with misprints, extreme rarity sometimes hurts value because it limits visibility and demand. There are lots and lots of one-off errors in comics. There are certainly collectors who enjoy them, and to those collectors, they may demand a premium. But it's tough to find a market for them.

When a single error occurred on a slightly larger block of copies, you get things like the black Venom cover, or the blue panel Sandman, or similar comics. Then, there's enough copies to make it a viable collectible, and not just a unique aberration, and the value often reflects the rarity.

These? No real idea.

These are my thoughts almost exactly. Like @kav says as well, "jackpot fever is a killer." The owner of 2 out of 3 of these particular misprints has them listed on eBay for $4,000 and $7,000 for the grey and pink respectively. I'd wager they're likely worth less than a $100 each. Perhaps as low as $20.

Edited by Varanis
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7 hours ago, Varanis said:

Whether it's the Secret Wars #1 blue Galactus misprint, a double cover, or the infamous first printing of Batman: Damned

:facepalm: Those aren't misprints. And was there actually a second printing of Batman: Damned #1?

Technically, a double cover isn't a misprint, either. But at least we know what you mean there.

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10 hours ago, kav said:

There's one guy on ebay he has a teen titans with a marvel cover or something and thinks that makes it a JACKPOT.  He was asking $1,000,000 if I remember correctly.  Jackpot fever is a killer, man.  I estimate a book like that as worth MAYBE $40.  Nobody cares.

For those who haven’t seen it before:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mega-Rare-Error-Comic-DC-Teen-Titans-6-Marvel-Two-In-One-74-Inside-CGC-7-5/263527921090?hash=item3d5b7cf5c2:g:-sAAAOSwXL1cbDtV

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10 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

And was there actually a second printing of Batman: Damned #1?

Well, what I think is being mentioned here is the "Uncorrected proof advance readers copy" wordless variant sent as a 1/store promo to select retailers. However, those were created on purpose; they aren't errors like the Venom Lethal Protector books, the blue panel Sandman, the no-die-cut Tick, or the freaky chartreuse Spawn on the back cover of Malibu Sun 13 error copies.

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It’s worth what someone is willing to pay.. i would value those two Hawkman’s each at $80 retail.. I don’t know the rarity of those two.. Hawkman is unfortunately not as popular as Superman or Batman so that hurts the market of buyers. I would put a higher BIN or best offer of $200 and hope to get the $80 for each 

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Misprints and miscuts are just a production problem that got past quality control. I'd say the thinking behind the fact they are "valuable" is incredibly flawed. I mean, is a CGC slab with the wrong label or attribution on it more valuable? No, it's a mistake. You wouldn't pay a premium for a CGC Amazing Spider-man 361 with a Ren and Stimpy #1 label would you? Of course not.

There are a few unique exceptions that result in a significant difference in the cover that makes the book more interesting. The classic FF #110 where the printing plates were switched around at the beginning of the print run, then fixed, but resulting in a bunch of them going out the door:

index.jpg.6477b97d3e833b60ea8a328526953687.jpg

And the "Blue Hologram" Wolverine #75 that I wrote extensively about here on the boards years ago that featured a "make-ready" version of the hologram that had a bright blue, non-prismatic look to it attached to the books during the setup registration process.

s-l300.png.325d0b85c59a0f11abe8a708df956b3a.png

Most collectors don't know (nor do they need to know) the process of printing a comic book before digital printing really became ubiquitous - and a lot of people think that these errors are somehow "valuable" when in reality, they are simply things that didn't make it to the trash bin during production.

Things like miscut comics (like the above mentioned book) are production flaws that detract from the eye appeal, and I believe they are worth less than their regular counterpart. Would you buy a severely mis-wrapped Golden Age book at a premium over a perfectly centered one?

I have a Strange Worlds #5 that had a printing flaw on it - I bought it for less than a regular #5 with no printing issues. Would I have paid more for it because - according to some people - it's more "rare" than the correctly-printed one? Hall Naw.

The spin sellers put on some of this stuff goes against established collecting logic, and I'll never really get that.

But, to each their own - if you think that it's unique and different, I'm not going to judge.

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On 7/12/2023 at 9:34 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Misprints and miscuts are just a production problem that got past quality control. I'd say the thinking behind the fact they are "valuable" is incredibly flawed. I mean, is a CGC slab with the wrong label or attribution on it more valuable? No, it's a mistake. You wouldn't pay a premium for a CGC Amazing Spider-man 361 with a Ren and Stimpy #1 label would you? Of course not.

There are a few unique exceptions that result in a significant difference in the cover that makes the book more interesting. The classic FF #110 where the printing plates were switched around at the beginning of the print run, then fixed, but resulting in a bunch of them going out the door:

index.jpg.6477b97d3e833b60ea8a328526953687.jpg

And the "Blue Hologram" Wolverine #75 that I wrote extensively about here on the boards years ago that featured a "make-ready" version of the hologram that had a bright blue, non-prismatic look to it attached to the books during the setup registration process.

s-l300.png.325d0b85c59a0f11abe8a708df956b3a.png

Most collectors don't know (nor do they need to know) the process of printing a comic book before digital printing really became ubiquitous - and a lot of people think that these errors are somehow "valuable" when in reality, they are simply things that didn't make it to the trash bin during production.

Things like miscut comics (like the above mentioned book) are production flaws that detract from the eye appeal, and I believe they are worth less than their regular counterpart. Would you buy a severely mis-wrapped Golden Age book at a premium over a perfectly centered one?

I have a Strange Worlds #5 that had a printing flaw on it - I bought it for less than a regular #5 with no printing issues. Would I have paid more for it because - according to some people - it's more "rare" than the correctly-printed one? Hall Naw.

The spin sellers put on some of this stuff goes against established collecting logic, and I'll never really get that.

But, to each their own - if you think that it's unique and different, I'm not going to judge.

I finally completed the "distorted holograms", except for the X-men #25 white and gold variants, last year. I've since noticed a drop in sales. I keep track enough to see if I over paid :makepoint: 

Some things like that I agree are a niche well within other niches, but are "unique" enough as you put it. Sometimes we need goals completed to continue getting the thrill of the hunt. For me sometimes it isn't so much that I believe "in the product" but it does bring some satisfaction, enough toward somewhat of a premium.

Again some will be here today and gone tomorrow, as far as niches, I'm sure. idk lol 

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