Which would you rather: Green Lantern #76 or Batman#251? 1 1

[Comics4All]

7 minutes ago, Kripsys99 said:

@Randall Ries @Comics4All @JTLarsen @Wolverinex @rjpb @Readcomix @Terry_JSA @shadroch@Jeffro.

And the verdict is...

  Reveal hidden contents

I kept my copy of GL #76, and bought myself #251 in the end.

After considering all of your advice, I decided I had to make "both" an option - as both are great books for different reasons.

Looks like I'll be selling some more of my hockey cards, and weighing which of my kids goes to college!

Thanks to everyone for the advice - much appreciated and very informative! That said, next time I'll probably flip a coin so I don't end up talking myself into two comics!

 

In my collector's eyes ,as I have both issues, the clear answer was to keep them both!

Congrats! 

[Randall Ries]

30 minutes ago, Kripsys99 said:

@Randall Ries @Comics4All @JTLarsen @Wolverinex @rjpb @Readcomix @Terry_JSA @shadroch@Jeffro.

And the verdict is...

  Hide contents

I kept my copy of GL #76, and bought myself #251 in the end.

After considering all of your advice, I decided I had to make "both" an option - as both are great books for different reasons.

Looks like I'll be selling some more of my hockey cards, and weighing which of my kids goes to college!

Thanks to everyone for the advice - much appreciated and very informative! That said, next time I'll probably flip a coin so I don't end up talking myself into two comics!

 

Good enough! I didn't know that was an option. That was a tough choice. And look: You can tell your kids "Sorry. You will have to work part time as well to get yourself through college. You will be building character as well as getting a higher education." In that way, you can purchase a Bat 234 before it gets out of hand!

Congratulations! Show us a photo of your new family member when you can!

[Randall Ries]

4 hours ago, JTLarsen said:

Yeah, I think the top-grade copies may no longer hit the highs of yore but I don’t see the rest of the range actually going down. 
 

I suspect it’ll hold steady with some slight steady growth and not enjoy the insane leaps we’re seeing elsewhere.

That said, I suspect it’ll also have its moments in the spotlight now and again. Our field hasn’t yet fully reckoned with the importance of Neal Adams, I think.

Yes. I think #76 got up to $25-$30k in 9.6 for a few sales. Now we could get one for (only) $10k or less. I have always equated this book with HOS 92. They blow up in price more than value, then settle down and see incremental, reasonable growth.

I am grateful I was able to get put on to Neal Adams before I was even in my teens. His importance in the hobby cannot be overstated. I used to go through the annual OPG to look up Neal Adams c/a. He and the other important artists got special notation in the guide. IMO, he is the single most important artist in the hobby from the Bronze age forward. Alex Ross and Gabriele Del Otto are superb artists but they aren't Neal Adams level of important. Neal got Jerry and Joe PAID, you know?

[shadroch]

39 minutes ago, Randall Ries said:

Yes. I think #76 got up to $25-$30k in 9.6 for a few sales. Now we could get one for (only) $10k or less. I have always equated this book with HOS 92. They blow up in price more than value, then settle down and see incremental, reasonable growth.

I am grateful I was able to get put on to Neal Adams before I was even in my teens. His importance in the hobby cannot be overstated. I used to go through the annual OPG to look up Neal Adams c/a. He and the other important artists got special notation in the guide. IMO, he is the single most important artist in the hobby from the Bronze age forward. Alex Ross and Gabriele Del Otto are superb artists but they aren't Neal Adams level of important. Neal got Jerry and Joe PAID, you know?

All by himself,eh?

[JTLarsen]

1 hour ago, Randall Ries said:

Yes. I think #76 got up to $25-$30k in 9.6 for a few sales. Now we could get one for (only) $10k or less. I have always equated this book with HOS 92. They blow up in price more than value, then settle down and see incremental, reasonable growth.

I am grateful I was able to get put on to Neal Adams before I was even in my teens. His importance in the hobby cannot be overstated. I used to go through the annual OPG to look up Neal Adams c/a. He and the other important artists got special notation in the guide. IMO, he is the single most important artist in the hobby from the Bronze age forward. Alex Ross and Gabriele Del Otto are superb artists but they aren't Neal Adams level of important. Neal got Jerry and Joe PAID, you know?

I agree with most of this, but I think HOS 92 is a different kind of book, one that IS valued more these days: First appearance of an iconic character with multimedia fan base.

[Randall Ries]

9 hours ago, JTLarsen said:

I agree with most of this, but I think HOS 92 is a different kind of book, one that IS valued more these days: First appearance of an iconic character with multimedia fan base.

Agreed. I guess I clumsily tried to say that I equate those two books in my mind as books that are constants. They go along and collect value incrementally. One will explode in value while the other remains constant, then the other will do the same. The difference in my opinion recently is that Wrightson died and HOS 92 went bananas.

[jjonahjameson11]

Just to add a bit more information to this discussion, the original cover art for GL 76 sold at auction for $442K in 2015, you know, back when all of the hype about owning a GL 76 in high grade was going on.  Numerous Original art ‘experts’ thought it would easily crack $500K (that’s $600K if you include the buyers premium), all because it was such a ‘classic cover, start of the Bronze Age, brought social relevance to mainstream comics, blah blah blah’. In the end, it was just a lot of hot air, as evidenced by its bid price.

By comparison, the cover to Batman 251 had a lot of things going against it, according to the original art experts.  There was mention of the wonky rendering of the Joker’s leg, it was missing the bottom caption paste up, the image of Batman was quite small...no way it would sell for more than the GL 76 cover, right???

we’ll surprise, surprise, it did.  It sold in 2019 via the same auction house as the GL 76 cover, and it sold for $600K.

[Kripsys99]

10 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

It sold in 2019 via the same auction house as the GL 76 cover, and it sold for $600K.

Just curious, when did the GL76 auction take place in comparison?

Interesting regardless. Thanks for sharing.

[Randall Ries]

3 hours ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Just to add a bit more information to this discussion, the original cover art for GL 76 sold at auction for $442K in 2015, you know, back when all of the hype about owning a GL 76 in high grade was going on.  Numerous Original art ‘experts’ thought it would easily crack $500K (that’s $600K if you include the buyers premium), all because it was such a ‘classic cover, start of the Bronze Age, brought social relevance to mainstream comics, blah blah blah’. In the end, it was just a lot of hot air, as evidenced by its bid price.

By comparison, the cover to Batman 251 had a lot of things going against it, according to the original art experts.  There was mention of the wonky rendering of the Joker’s leg, it was missing the bottom caption paste up, the image of Batman was quite small...no way it would sell for more than the GL 76 cover, right???

we’ll surprise, surprise, it did.  It sold in 2019 via the same auction house as the GL 76 cover, and it sold for $600K.

I remember the GL/GA OA auction. Isn't that the one where Neal Adams wanted a piece of the selling price? Or was given a piece of it? Seems I remember some controversy at the time.

But that happened in 2015. Before Bat 251 went Bat Guano bananas. By 2019, collectors understood how heavy 251 was and perhaps at least a factor in the higher hammer price. Do you think that's a reasonable assumption?

[jjonahjameson11]

39 minutes ago, Randall Ries said:

I remember the GL/GA OA auction. Isn't that the one where Neal Adams wanted a piece of the selling price? Or was given a piece of it? Seems I remember some controversy at the time.

But that happened in 2015. Before Bat 251 went Bat Guano bananas. By 2019, collectors understood how heavy 251 was and perhaps at least a factor in the higher hammer price. Do you think that's a reasonable assumption?

Yes, but both were sold at their respective peak of interest 

[Randall Ries]

5 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

Yes, but both were sold at their respective peak of interest 

Ah! I thought 76 had cooled off interest-wise in 2015. Shows what I know. Come to think, I overpaid for my 7.5 around that time. Either way, almost a half mill for a piece of cover art. The Joker was hot hot hot in 2019 as well. I wish I could have either piece. I wish I could afford to commission Adams to recreate the covers for me. They are both wonderful books to own. Since I was a teen I pined for a GL 76. When I started collecting again, that went straight to the bucket list. Bought a nice looking 7.5 (Pictured here in this thread). In fact collected the whole run of Adams GL/GA. I feel privileged to have both books.