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I'm constantly surprised by the sky-high cost of some comics on the collectors market, and I bet I'm not the only Crivvie who feels that way. Whether or not some of the high asking prices are ever realised or whether the mags languidly linger in limbo is probably known only to the sellers, but it takes just one buyer to fork out a huge and unrealistic sum for one issue and, suddenly, just about every seller with that same comic will suddenly hike up the price of it.
I can understand Action Comics #1 going for a fortune, and Detective Comics #27 and the like, because these issues in any kind of decent condition are scarce and truly fit the description of 'rare', but why do some single issues have stratospheric figures attached to them when the ones either side of them are seemingly not worth anywhere near as much?
Introduction of a character or storyline, death of a superhero, etc? So what? There were just as many numbers of that issue printed as the ones before and after so they're far from hard to find. Some of the proffered 'reasons' for the increased value of certain comics therefore seem a bit arbitrary to my mind. Take Giant-Size Thor #1 (above) for example. I'm not quite sure why a copy of this comic has an asking price of over £1,000 on eBay at the moment, but the seller seems to think it's worth that amount.
There are several other copies from around £15-£20 up into the hundreds, but considering it's a reprint comic that re-presents the main stories (in reverse order) from the first two Thor King-Size Annuals/Specials, it surely isn't worth anywhere near some of the asking prices (even some of the lower ones) - especially as the reproduction of some panels and pages is markedly inferior to their initial printings and have some shoddy retouching to boot. (I'm of the firm opinion that one of the reasons why inker Vince Colletta is much-maligned by some Kirby fans is due to numerous dodgy reprints.)
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| Click to enlarge for a better comparison |
I don't have the energy at the moment to give you more than one example, but that should surely suffice. Above, on the left-hand side of the 'page' is the first printing, on the right-hand side is the reprint - see the difference? Who'd fork out a fortune for such inferior presentations, especially as there are better, more recent reprintings in other publications, such as Volume 2 of the Thor Epic Collection?
Well, me, I sadly have to admit - but not anywhere near the examples I've just mentioned. I can't claim superiority though, because there are instances when I've paid far more than I'd have preferred to for certain comics and toys, but only because I wanted to own them far more than I wanted or needed the money for anything else. I'm therefore just as guilty as anyone of potentially upping the market prices of some items for the next buyer, in my quest to acquire certain collectables.
I suppose that if it's not something we particularly want, we'll scoff at the mentality (or envy their funds) of those who fork out extravagant sums for things, but when it's an item we feel we can't live happily without, then cost is no hindrance if we can afford it without having to live on beans for a decade.
So which category do you fit into? And have you ever paid a huge amount for something that you felt you simply had to have and later regretted it, or are you glad you finally acquired it at whatever the price? Whichever, contritely confess or gleefully gloat about it in our conspiratorial comments section.
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(And I will get around to properly answering the comments left on the previous post before much longer, never fear. I want to do them justice however, and that means having to carefully consider my response.) [Now done.]
18 comments:
Some of these prices are surely a scam to see if someone is daft enough to pay that cost or worse - like you I have seen this very issue (in Glasgow) for less, in fact for £8.
I wont pay silly money for a comic but I will admit I have (to an extent) in the past (early 1980's) but no more than the equivalent of £20- £25 in todays money (I think one was £10 the other £6) and that was for 2 Neal Adams comics I had a wanted for years. I'm more than happy to have a poor copy of any comic if its a reasonable price rather than go for a better high cost edition.
I managed to pick up some nice Conan issues (40 and 48) for £2 each in nice condition and 3 early DC Superboy comics for £3 each in A1 Comics in Glasgow -I saw issue 40 of Conan for sale in Gumtree for £50!!!! I also got a good deal on a Beezer annual (1965) for £1 in an antique type shop in Paisley (the second cheap early Beezer I have purchased) it only had a one ripped page and lots of Leo Baxendale
There's currently a copy of Wham! #4 (1st appearance of Ken Reid's Frankie Stein) on eBay for £135, McS. I got a better condition copy in an auction for a tiny fraction of that price only a week or so ago. I guess if someone's earning footballer-type of wages, then a couple of hundred for something (or even a grand or two) probably doesn't seem like a lot. If you won a couple of million on the Lottery, would you still be unwilling to pay larger amounts for much wanted back issues?
Hmmmm good question. I would certainly pay a bit more but I wouldn't pay ludicrous prices for a comic that's worth £10 like the Thor issue.
I have Wham 4 ( not great condition though) but £135 is way too much of he\she sold it I'll put my Shame up for sale at half that cost in the morning.
I think with a few million to play with such amounts would seem like small change, but I'd still prefer to get things at the lowest prices possible, McS. Right, my scratcher beckons so I must heed the call. Off to dreamland for me until the realm of Morpheus has had its fill of my good self.
On EBay at the moment, Mighty World of Marvel issue 198 is ranging from £160 to £530 on the basis that it’s the first appearance of Wolverine, even though it’s only a reprint of his first appearance. Unbelievable for a poorly printed (though admittedly nostalgic) black and white reprint. Also I hope you’re on the mend, Kid.
And what's more, as the issue was split into two for the reprint, it's only half of the first appearance of Wolverine. Wotta rip-off, eh? Thanks for the kind sentiment, but I'll never again be as fit as I used to imagine I was. Age, alas.
I was watching one of Chuck Rosanski's (owner of Mile High Comics in Denver) Youtube videos where he states that there are over 2 billion(!!!) back issue US comics still in circulation. With that volume, only the absolute rarest should command such high prices.
Regarding that Thor Giant - you're right that the reprint quality is atrocious. Presumably the original inked art had "disappeared" from the Marvel archives in the late 60s, so they had to photograph and touch-up either a copy of the original comic, or a photostat of the original pencils. Either way, it is amazing that quality control did not catch it.
I suspect what probably happened is that Vince Colletta's fine line work dropped out when the existing stats were recopied for colouring, and someone with no particular aptitude for art took a felt marker to them. I remember when I sent some restored pages to Marvel (for their Masterworks series) which were okay when they left me, but had quite a bit of line dropout when they were published. Again, they were inked by Colletta, but Marvel didn't help things by copying them to make needless lettering changes (some words had hyphens when first published, but the hyphens were removed and the words re-spaced), and then re-copying them for colour to be added. With every generation of copying, more detail is lost.
There is some sort of disconnect. I’m hearing a lot of collections are for sale due to us old collectors aging out.
And yet I’m told prices are going up.
I suppose some new collectors will still want old comics though, PS, so that they can try and own complete collections of a particular title. And sellers are a bit too 'optimistic' as to what some old comics are worth.
I have found that deals are to be had at conventions and local comic shops. Ebay is fine for finding that elusive item, so long as you don't mind over paying.
Actually, I have found great deals so long as I am willing to wait.
I can't believe Giant Size Thor is going for more than $2.00.
On another note, I have been looking for a replacement copy of E.C.Tubb's Earthfall, and am shocked by what people want for it. Replica reprints of DC and Marvel comics are also overdone, with Fantastic Four going for close to $100.
It took 3 years for me to find a cover priced copy of Space 1999 To Everything that Was. With patience, and a huge amount of self control, almost anything comes available. Then the hard part is, can I afford this now, or should I wait?
Yeah, those facsimile editions are racing up in price, eh? You're right that things pop up at far cheaper prices if one is prepared to wait, but that's the trouble with me; I'd much rather have something now to enjoy for as long as possible before I fall off the twig.
If anyone is given the opportunity to view these Kirby and Colletta THOR original art pages, they would be in awe of the beauty in those collaborations. The reprints are an embarrassment.
Agreed. See my post 'So... Vince The Prince Or Forgetta-Colletta?' to see how good Vince's inks originally were on Jack's pencils.
Kid, three bits of interesting information for you:
1) The next Conan Epic collection is published on September 28th.
2) Conan is leaving Marvel again and from 2023 the Conan licence will be held by Titan Comics so I don't know how that will affect future Epic collections.
3) Planet Of The Apes is returning to Marvel and there'll be reprint collections of the classic '70s comics. It also means the apes will be back at Marvel in time for the 50th anniversary of me buying POTA #5.
Thanks, CJ, but I knew about the first two already, though I heard it was Heroic Signatures own comic arm (is that Titan?) which would be publishing Conan strips from now on. The Marvel reprints of Conan will still be published by Marvel for the foreseeable future, I've heard.
For some odd reason I don't find myself much enthused over POTA's return. Must be getting old.
Kid, Heroic Signatures are separate from Titan but they've teamed up to produce Conan comics. Last week I bought the e-book of King Conan which collects King Conan #1-6 (December 2021-July 2022) and the story over the six issues was clearly a farewell to the Conan character from Marvel - will Conan ever be published by Marvel again? Apparently Conan goes out of copyright on January 1st 2028 so anyone will be able to publish Conan stories from then on.
I wonder if there's been a change of plan then, CJ, 'cos when this was reported a while back, Heroic Signatures (who own Conan Properties International (I think) said that they'd be using their own comics arm to produce Conan comics. I'm really only interested in Marvel's version, so I won't be buying any other company's - unless they're bloody brilliant. Apparently, Conan will continue in Savage Avengers (at least for the moment), but won't be referred to by name, he'll be called the Cimmerian.
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