Value of Comics from the 90's?

[Raphael]

I'm not sure about all of the members on these forums, but as my age is 22, I definately feel like one of the younger people that post on these boards.

 

I'd have to say that the comics that got me into comics were alot of the issues I read in the early to mid 90's. Even though I had read and been exposed to comics at an earlier age, it was reading Captain America around that time that really got me into both the character and comic books overall.

 

I know that almost all of the comics from around era generally do not sell for very much in terms of value, and the heroes reborn books seem like stuff that everyone wants to forget.

 

I recently slabbed a couple of books that really got me into comics, a couple of the final issues in vol. 1 of Cap, the issues I'm talking about were around 444 to 454, Waid and Garney's run. Checking the cgc census, it reveals that very very few of these issues are graded at all. And from personal experience, finding high grade books from that run is quite difficult.

 

My question is whether or not this is common for alot of the books during that time period (is it hard to find 9.8 copies of certain issues?), what were the print runs like? and when can I ever expect my cgc slabs from issues of that era to raise in value?

 

Thoughts and Opinions are appreciated.

[AnthaiHERO]

i feel that i'm in the same boat as you. i just turned 23 this year and definitely feel like i'm one of the younger members. but, for me my main collection are bronze to modern spideys which have quite a few slabbed books in the census. having so many slabbed books allows for finding people who may be willing to sell HG copies easier, then say vol. 1 of cap. the majority of my slabbed runs are 9.8s.

[Rodey]

The later 90's stuff I think had lower print runs. The comics during the 90's hey-day like Image and X-men #1 had TONS of prints. So that stuff is common.

 

Peace

[Big Daddy]

I'm a little bit older, 37, and I remember people being suckered into buying10 and 20 copies apiece of issues like these in the 90's. So there were tons printed. I think the reason there aren't a lot of these issues in the census is the cost involved in slabbing. People aren't as apt to slab a book that's only worth a couple of bucks when it costs $15.00 to slab them. Just my opinion though.

 

[Raphael]

Thanks for some input.

 

it's just that for me personally, i got a couple Cap books cgc'd and ss'd, and when I check the census, not only were mine at the top, but I was a bit surprised to see that my copies were among some of the only ones graded:

 

(mine are the ones that are Signature Series )

 

Cap #450 shows only 2 copies graded

http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_s...ssuedate=4%2F96

 

Cap #453 shows only 2 copies graded

http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_s...ssuedate=7%2F96

 

Cap #454 shows only 4 copies graded - it's also the last issue of the volume

http://www.cgccomics.com/census/grades_s...ssuedate=8%2F96

 

Volume 2 for the #1 issue has a bit more slabbed copies and Volume 3 has significantly more

 

Could I ever expect issues from that period in time to ever increase in value? Does the fact that there are so few slabbed copies mean anything for the scarcity of the issue in high grade?

 

I'm hoping that the issues towards the end of Cap. in vol.1 will increase in value someday. But what about the ends of all the other vol.1 titles that happened around the same time? Hulk, Iron Man, Avengers, Fantastic Four. When can we expect to see the value of the issues at the end of those runs increase in value?

[AnthaiHERO]

When can we expect to see the value of the issues at the end of those runs increase in value?

 

In my opinion, not for awhile unless a particular issue was marked by low print runs, a significant author or artist's first big work, or the introduction of a leading character.

[Raphael]

When can we expect to see the value of the issues at the end of those runs increase in value?

 

In my opinion, not for awhile unless a particular issue was marked by low print runs, a significant author or artist's first big work, or the introduction of a leading character.

 

[Ivanko]

First off, if you like it enough to slab it, never second guess your decision to slab it; if it will make you happy, go for it.

 

Second, keep in mind that the census just tracks slabbed books, not unslabbed. My guess is there are quite a few high grade well stored books from the 90's around, just not slabbed.

 

If print runs are low, then we might see an increase in years to come if a lot of people just throw out or beat up their collections because they aren't worth much. Is this possible? yes. Probable? I dunno, time will tell.

 

Now, SS books could be a different story. When current creators start getting up in age and stop doing shows, SS books could potentially be worth something. Potentially.

 

The important thing is that if you like it, do what you want, and never look back.

[Raphael]

First off, if you like it enough to slab it, never second guess your decision to slab it; if it will make you happy, go for it.

 

Second, keep in mind that the census just tracks slabbed books, not unslabbed. My guess is there are quite a few high grade well stored books from the 90's around, just not slabbed.

 

If print runs are low, then we might see an increase in years to come if a lot of people just throw out or beat up their collections because they aren't worth much. Is this possible? yes. Probable? I dunno, time will tell.

 

Now, SS books could be a different story. When current creators start getting up in age and stop doing shows, SS books could potentially be worth something. Potentially.

 

The important thing is that if you like it, do what you want, and never look back.

 

some good words there. the cap books i mentioned that i got slabbed were done out of sentimental value, as those Cap books were the ones that got me into the character.

 

i wish i could find/meet some of those people that have those high grade books from that series.

 

some good incite there though. thanks!

[deamentia]

I think I have a few high grade Caps from Vol 1 just before the series was canceled. Got 'em from some 50 cent bins a few months ago! I'd love to get more books slabbed - especially moderns, but the reality is slabbing costs are not cheap and when it comes down to it, I could use "slabbing money" for books I want or to slab books I have, the former always wins out haha.

[shiverbones]

I used to think anything 1984 and up had almost no potential, but I am actually starting to rethink that. I have been buying books from my youth, specifically the 1978-1988 period, and thought it would be a lot easier then it is to find run books in 9.4+. It has been easier to find late 70's books in high grade then 1986-1988 for me. I do think part of this is because there is no monetary impetus to sell a book worth $3, so most are just buried in collections. I also have a smeaking suspicion that those collections aren't going to be 9.4+ when they do come out. I took care of my books very well back in the day, and they tended to be 9.0 tops now that I think back to them. I look at a the plea to buy HG raw copies of the Death of Kraven storyline in our marketplace as an example. No one has offered the books to the guy, you'd think several people would have extra HGs, but I guess not.

 

Does this spill into the 90's...that I don't know about. Certainly not any hoarded book, no way. Run issues of things like cap, hulk, iron man, thor... books that were slipping off the radar maybe. I do think it will depend on how many people your age decide to get back into it. As far asI go, 1990 is REALLY pushing it for any book I want to own, it has to be KILELR for me to go after it. So you definately need the buying pool to make any difference. 7 9.8's of a run issue of thor doesn't mean anything if only 6 people want them.

 

Buy what you like , get the best you can, and if you make profit down the line, that is a bonus!

[Earl Davis]

The duration of the print run expolsion of the 90's is often overstated. It really only lasted in a big way from 1991 to 1993.

 

Earl.

[Pirate]

I'm a little bit older, 37, and I remember people being suckered into buying10 and 20 copies apiece of issues like these in the 90's. So there were tons printed. I think the reason there aren't a lot of these issues in the census is the cost involved in slabbing. People aren't as apt to slab a book that's only worth a couple of bucks when it costs $15.00 to slab them. Just my opinion though.

 

 

I bought 75 or more Xforce 1 and the xmen gatefold 1. Those were the days

[BlowUpTheMoon]

 

I bought 75 or more Xforce 1 and the xmen gatefold 1. Those were the days

 

[joe_collector]

I used to think anything 1984 and up had almost no potential, but I am actually starting to rethink that.

 

The cut-off for me, when I noticed that the final group of kids was leaving the hobby en masse, was around 1988-89.

 

After that, I have serious doubts for any longterm ramp-up in valuation.

[shiverbones]

that's right when I stopped caring about super-heroes. I had moved into indie/ Underground stuff in 1989, and didn't buy a marvel or DC hero book until around 2000. I was still reading vertigo in between there though.

[shiverbones]

I also wanted to point out, X-men is the one 80's title I have had ZERO trouble finding raw high grades of. ASM, shockingly much more difficult. I would have thought both to be a breeze. Batman has been the real surprise tough run in 9.4+ though, I would have thought that a snap too.

[the blob]

The cut-off for me, when I noticed that the final group of kids was leaving the hobby en masse, was around 1988-89.

 

After that, I have serious doubts for any longterm ramp-up in valuation.

----------------------------

 

When I was in law school in 1993/94, I used to work security in the afternoons at my LCS for store credit. The place would get flooded with kids every afternoon. Sure, they were buying Pokeman and sports cards too, but a lot were buying and reading comics.

 

Admittedly, those same kids seemed very disillusioned when I was hanging out there in let's say 95/96 when they realized all the stuff they had been buying in 1990-1994 was completely worthless and the stuff they paid cover price for was, literally, in the dime or quarter box and the owner wouldn't even pay 5 cents a book.

 

So, perhaps, nostaliga won't mean much for these junior speculators who got burned who are now in their early/mid-20s.

[gaz973]

Buy what you like , get the best you can, and if you make profit down the line, that is a bonus!

 

Words of wisdom .