Collectible Comics You Bought Years Ago and Have Gone Nowhere 0

[valiantman]

1 hour ago, the blob said:

1 hour ago, SkyJuice said:

Alot of the 1st issue by the Valiant comics, anyone still remember them? 

Well, Harbinger 1 is still worth something.

Most people who jumped into Valiant jumped in too late.  They have Bloodshot #1, Hardcorps #1, Ninjak #1, Turok #1, but their Harbinger issues start around #10. 

The valuable Valiant issues of 1991 to mid-1992 still have value - but the "so hot the day it came out" 1993 and later books don't... pretty much like everything else from 1993.

[Ken Aldred]

10 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

i bought my Howard the Duck off the rack and sold it a year later for $20  !! (a small fortune back then for a 16 year old !!) i'm not sure if it even worth $20 today ? some 40+ years later

It did get hot again after the Guardians of the Galaxy end credits scene and the film speculators then moving in, as did Fear 19.  No idea if it has maintained its value.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[the blob]

2 hours ago, valiantman said:

Most people who jumped into Valiant jumped in too late.  They have Bloodshot #1, Hardcorps #1, Ninjak #1, Turok #1, but their Harbinger issues start around #10. 

The valuable Valiant issues of 1991 to mid-1992 still have value - but the "so hot the day it came out" 1993 and later books don't... pretty much like everything else from 1993.

I jumped in after they were all worthlessish, but never did find a Harbinger 1 in a dollar box.  I buy the pre-unity and the near the end of the title books when I see them out of habit.

[Juno Beach]

2 hours ago, valiantman said:

Most people who jumped into Valiant jumped in too late.  They have Bloodshot #1, Hardcorps #1, Ninjak #1, Turok #1, but their Harbinger issues start around #10. 

The valuable Valiant issues of 1991 to mid-1992 still have value - but the "so hot the day it came out" 1993 and later books don't... pretty much like everything else from 1993.

Besides picking up Harbinger #8 for the Miller cover your post is uncanny how it's exactly what I did. 

[valiantman]

10 minutes ago, Juno Beach said:

3 hours ago, valiantman said:

Most people who jumped into Valiant jumped in too late.  They have Bloodshot #1, Hardcorps #1, Ninjak #1, Turok #1, but their Harbinger issues start around #10. 

The valuable Valiant issues of 1991 to mid-1992 still have value - but the "so hot the day it came out" 1993 and later books don't... pretty much like everything else from 1993.

Besides picking up Harbinger #8 for the Miller cover your post is uncanny how it's exactly what I did. 

I might be "valiantman" but that doesn't mean there aren't lots and lots of other "valiantmen" like me. 

(...or at least, lots of other "valiantmen" like who I was in the early 1990s.  I've managed to buy enough unique Valiant items in the past 25 years that there aren't many who can even hope to be like me now.) 

Edited December 4, 2020 by valiantman

[vaultkeeper]

My Giant-Size Man Thing hasn't gone up in a long time.

[Morganmi]

4 hours ago, valiantman said:

Most people who jumped into Valiant jumped in too late.  They have Bloodshot #1, Hardcorps #1, Ninjak #1, Turok #1, but their Harbinger issues start around #10. 

The valuable Valiant issues of 1991 to mid-1992 still have value - but the "so hot the day it came out" 1993 and later books don't... pretty much like everything else from 1993.

I did the same thing also. Stopped buying most of my Marvel and DC titles and started buying Valiant because the stories weren't doing it for me. Really enjoyed the Valiant line for a while then I started losing interest in them also. Somewhere around 95 I'd completely lost interest in all new comics and after that only bought old comics and the occasional Heavy Metal mag which were still enjoyable. 

[valiantman]

19 minutes ago, Morganmi said:

I did the same thing also. Stopped buying most of my Marvel and DC titles and started buying Valiant because the stories weren't doing it for me. Really enjoyed the Valiant line for a while then I started losing interest in them also. Somewhere around 95 I'd completely lost interest in all new comics and after that only bought old comics and the occasional Heavy Metal mag which were still enjoyable. 

Acclaim (the video game company) bought Valiant in 1994, though they didn't "start over" on the titles until 1996-1997... but it was obvious that things had changed greatly after Jim Shooter left (after the Unity storyline in 1992) and Acclaim came in (around 1994).  Valiant had a tiny window of "wow" books, if you were a reader, but most people missed them by arriving after Unity.   In some ways, it's like Marvel 1961-1963, which are so much bigger on the key issues than 1964+.

Edited December 5, 2020 by valiantman

[Morganmi]

7 minutes ago, valiantman said:

Acclaim (the video game company) bought Valiant in 1994, though they didn't "start over" on the titles until 1996-1997... but it was obvious that things had changed greatly after Jim Shooter left (after the Unity storyline in 1992) and Acclaim came in (around 1994).  Valiant had a tiny window of "wow" books, if you were a reader, but most people missed them by arriving after Unity.   In some ways, it's like Marvel 1961-1963, which are so much bigger on the key issues than 1964+.

Yea my collection goes precipitously downhill after 93 but but luckily It made it so I had more money to by back issues of the stuff I really liked. At least until I moved out if the US and stopped collecting for many many years, till recently got the bug again. 

[roccojoco]

How collectible or rare are the infamous 2007 Valiant Sneak Peak (sic) issues?  I've picked up two copies in the wild of the "trashcan" issue.

[PeterPark]

On 12/4/2020 at 12:30 PM, CatskillMike said:

In the late 70's I also came into possession of my 2nd Howard the Duck #1 by trading my extra copy of xmen 94 for it. Straight up.  The xmen 94 was a newstand copy in great shape. Maybe even unread. Seemed like a good deal at the time.

Howard the Duck 1 had a very nice bump around the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie...I mean, it's still no X-Men 94 but its definitely a key.

[followtheleader]

Peter Panzerfaust #1 for me.  DOH

Patrick

[batman_fan]

Loved them when they 1st came out.  The artwork was spectacular.

[valiantman]

On 12/5/2020 at 7:02 PM, roccojoco said:

How collectible or rare are the infamous 2007 Valiant Sneak Peak (sic) issues?  I've picked up two copies in the wild of the "trashcan" issue.

"Trashcan" is accurate.

 

The original price was $40 and you could probably find buyers at $40 today, but I'm not one.  Nick Barrucci at Dynamite tried to extort the legitimate owners of Valiant over trademark applications that he could never make any money without the copyrights he'd never have. He lost, and the only thing he got out of the whole deal was that insiders couldn't reveal he did it.  I'm not an insider, though, and it was definitely Barrucci at Dynamite trying to steal part of Valiant.  He did something similar with Edgar Rice Burroughs' Estate.

He's the kind of guy who would try to tell you Two Musketeers and Butterthumbs are just as good as the real candy bars.

 

[Pantodude]

On 12/4/2020 at 10:19 AM, SuperBird said:

Let me tell you a tale about Fish Police, Trollbloods, Samurai, Elflord, Gizmo, Flaming Carrot, Faust, and so many others...

Hey.  Don't hate on the veggies.  Flaming Carrot might not have taken off much since the mid-1980s, but it has held its own and actually gone up the last few years.  Flaming Carrot #1 sold in May 2019 for $325 (GoCollect) and $180 (GPA), both above the 2018 average.  Lower on the scale, even a 9.0 sold for $80 last month (GoCollect and GPA), while only averaging $30 in 2018.  My understanding is that Flaming Carrot has a longstanding, loyal fan base.   Will it pop one day like TMNT#1? Ask me after they make a movie...or three!  Still, you gotta luv that nuclear-powered pogo stick.   The title is surreal and unique, coupled with low numbers, so modest or greater gains are not out of the question long term for the highest grades?   

Edited December 7, 2020 by Pantodude

[SuperBird]

9 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

Hey.  Don't hate on the veggies.  Flaming Carrot might not have taken off much since the mid-1980s, but it has held its own and actually gone up the last few years.  Flaming Carrot #1 sold in May 2019 for $325 (GoCollect) and $180 (GPA), both above the 2018 average.  Lower on the scale, even a 9.0 sold for $80 last month (GoCollect and GPA), while only averaging $30 in 2018.  My understanding is that Flaming Carrot has a longstanding, loyal fan base.   Will it pop one day like TMNT#1? Ask me after they make a movie...or three!  Still, you gotta luv that nuclear-powered pogo stick.   The title is surreal and unique, coupled with low numbers, so modest or greater gains are not out of the question long term for the highest grades?   

Hey don't get me wrong, I love me some Carrot, and yeah, they have held their value decently over the years, Visions included. But inflation-adjusted? I took a beating.

 

[valiantman]

42 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

 My understanding is that Flaming Carrot has a longstanding, loyal fan base.   Will it pop one day like TMNT#1? Ask me after they make a movie...or three!

Flaming Carrot #16 is extremely undervalued for that specific reason. 

[JazzMan]

On 12/4/2020 at 10:08 AM, the blob said:

Well, Harbinger 1 is still worth something.

 

Why?  Serious question - I never understood why that book garnered so much $$.  Just because it's a Jim Shooter book?