Undervalued Gems

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Undervalued Gems

Post by StarBrand »

If you had to pick one comic that is undervalued the most, which one would it be? In other words, a comic you have long thought should sell for a lot more, but so far just doesn't seem to go up in price.
Last edited by StarBrand on Tue Mar 01, 2016 11:22:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by jaspersk »

Im starting to wonder if everything isnt overvalued
How much prices have gone up. I still need an
Af15 hulk 1 tos 39 tta 27 jim 83 xmen 1
These books and many have jumped in value.
Did a search yesterday supposedly scarce
Iron man 55 has 100 copies for sale,
Hulk 181 100 copies, af 15 about 50 for sale
Maybe Golden Age hero books are undervalued
Maybe Great Golden Age cover art
For horror, pinup girl books are undervalued
Based on how highly valued variant covers are worth
I dont see much undervalued any more
Gwenpool variant $150.
Maybe the books that are undervalued
Are key independent books like bone 1
Cerberus 1 that you hardly see for sale
Clearly there are a bunch of comic prices
Jumping every week based on the tv shows
Maybe the Avengers Kree-skrull war books?
Maybe the Daredevil 111 aja variant?
Maybe the Marvel 50th anniversary 1:50s
Maybe all the beautiful Alex Ross Marvel
1:75, 1:300
Clearly everything Valiant Variant wise
With most books under 500
Maybe a lot of Boom 1:20 variants
With similar print runs under 500
Maybe many IDW Tmnt 1:10 variants?
Maybe a Chew #1 1st printing if you can find one
Probably all the late Acclaim books
All it takes though is one investment site
Pumping a book up then they are all gone
Maybe some of the Dc 75 anniversary variants
The new 52 batman, green lantern,
Justice league, blackest night, flash
Watchmen 1:100-1:250 books. The
Superman unchained 1:300
Batman incorporated 1:100s
Damian son of batman sketch covers
Journey into mystery 1:50s
Fearless defenders 1:50
Manara variant covers
Avengers vs xmen 1:200s

Maybe those are undervalued
But maybe the market is way too high now.

Buy cheap or buy only what you like.
Maybe Groo?
Everything has its day then prices go down
I just hope to at least break even some day

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by jaspersk »

Buy cheap and youre less
Likely to lose. Buy variants from
Midtown when they have 75% off sales
Buy Variants from booksamillion on sale
I just bought 40 for .90 each
Buy variants from hot topic when they
Clearance them plus have bogo
Ive bought tons for a $ a piece.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by greg »

StarBrand wrote:If you had to pick one comic that is undervalued the most, which one would it be? In other words, a comic you have long thought should sell for a lot more, but so far just doesn't seem to go up in price.
Kneel. Before. Zod.

General Zod is a household name, and his first appearance is older than Spider-man, but you can get a nice slabbed copy of his first appearance for just a couple hundred bucks.
Anything above a CGC 5.0 is one of the Top 100 copies on the CGC census after 16 years of grading.

The first appearance of the Phantom Zone would also be a great comic to own, since the Phantom Zone villains were important in the Superman movies and they're also important in the Supergirl t.v. series.

Turns out that the 1st Phantom Zone is the same comic as 1st General Zod. A two-for-one on household name first appearances. If they had appeared in Action Comics first, it would be thousands of dollars. But they're in Adventure Comics... which has less name recognition, so the price has stayed low.

Adventure Comics #283

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

Interesting. The reason I asked this question is there have been a few comics over the years that I couldn't understand why they never went up in price and thought they should be going for much more than they were. But eventually those went up to where I more or less thought they should be. So I was looking for those types of situations in other board members' ideas on this.
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by greg »

StarBrand wrote:Interesting. The reason I asked this question is there have been a few comics over the years that I couldn't understand why they never went up in price and thought they should be going for much more than they were. But eventually those went up to where I more or less thought they should be. So I was looking for those types of situations in other board members' ideas on this.
I was doing some number crunching on key issues about 10 years ago when I was working on the CGC census data and it seemed obvious to me that Action #1 and Detective #27 needed to be multi-million dollar books in high grade, because they were so much more important and rare relative to all those books in the market which already sold for $100,000+. At the time, neither of those books had crossed the million dollar mark. Now, it's a given that even a mid-grade copy is likely to reach a million.

The other book that seems insanely low, relative to its importance and number of copies in existence is high grade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 first printing.
Mid-grade copies are $3,000... for a CGC 6.0 to CGC 8.0. If it were any other comic selling for $3,000 at the mid-grades, that would mean that the CGC 9.4 would probably cost $20,000... with the 9.6 and 9.8 much higher.

Instead, the last sale for CGC 9.4 TMNT #1 was $5,000. The upper grades for TMNT #1 are a ridiculous bargain.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by greg »

Thought of another one... Star Wars #2. The focus is on Star Wars #1 for good reason (Vader, Luke, Leia), but there's no Han Solo, Obi Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, or Millenium Falcon inside Star Wars #1. They first appear in #2.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by Elveen »

Greg, I like both of your suggestions.

Really like the Zod book.

If I was going to try and "invest" in a book (buy it now, hold for a bit in hopes it would go up) I'd look to a Marvel 1st app that could be a lead character in a few movies.

Some of these have already been going up on spec (WBN #32), but that is the type of book I'd be looking at. maybe Marvel Spot #5. Maybe Iron Fist 1st app.

I can also see the Black Panther really becoming a popular character. But all of these books have already started to heat up, some of the them, BIG TIME.


And then I'll just throw in Harby Wars #1 just for fun.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by greg »

Elveen wrote:Greg, I like both of your suggestions.

Really like the Zod book.

If I was going to try and "invest" in a book (buy it now, hold for a bit in hopes it would go up) I'd look to a Marvel 1st app that could be a lead character in a few movies.

Some of these have already been going up on spec (WBN #32), but that is the type of book I'd be looking at. maybe Marvel Spot #5. Maybe Iron Fist 1st app.

I can also see the Black Panther really becoming a popular character. But all of these books have already started to heat up, some of the them, BIG TIME.


And then I'll just throw in Harby Wars #1 just for fun.
That's one of the big problems with the recognized keys... they're already high prices.

One thing that I'm trying to decide if it's a trend or a temporary result of demand is the high prices on mid-grade modern books. For example, New Mutant #98 and Batman Adventures #12... slabbed under CGC 9.0.

For example, $320 for a CGC 6.0 of Batman Adventures #12 sold on January 19th. :o
The highest price paid for a CGC 9.6 in 2012 was $200.

There's probably not many copies of Batman Adventures #12 in existence that wouldn't grade CGC 6.0 or better...
so how many copies could have been purchased in 2012 for around $20 to $30 that would EACH now be $320 in CGC 6.0?

Similar story for New Mutants #98... a CGC 8.0 sold for $319 in January.
CGC 8.0 isn't a high grade for moderns... especially with comic pressing being so common now.

The biggest growth (percentage gain) is easily the "low grade" copies of books like Batman Adventures #12 and New Mutants #98... and now it's too late.
So, in addition to asking what's the next big book, it looks like the focus might need to be on how cheap is it to pick up lower grade copies.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

Greg,
Do you think low grade TMNT 1s are also undervalued? Also, very interesting info on those sales amounts of the lower grade modern keys. Makes you wonder if that is a trend and will hit books like V1s eventually.
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by greg »

StarBrand wrote:Greg,
Do you think low grade TMNT 1s are also undervalued? Also, very interesting info on those sales amounts of the lower grade modern keys. Makes you wonder if that is a trend and will hit books like V1s eventually.
I'm not sure if all TMNT #1s are undervalued. It's the kind of comic where buyers seem to be willing to pay $2,000 to $3,000 to own an authentic first printing, but they're not always willing to pay more to own a high grade copy (even though the high grades are much tougher). It seems like the $2,000 copies might be $3,000 on a different day, so from that standpoint there is possibly "buy low" (at $2,000) and "sell high" (at $3,000), but I don't know if I'd say the $3,000 mid-grade copies are undervalued.

I don't know what to think about the mid-grade modern keys situation. It's likely that it is related to the high prices of the top grades. Perhaps collectors are saying that they're not willing to pay the going rate for a top copy, but they are willing to pay 20% to 30% to own an authentic "nice" copy. I don't know how many Valiant books will reach that "too expensive in near mint, so I'll pay 20% for a mid-grade" level. It seems like it might not matter until the near mint prices get close to $1,000. That's where New Mutants #98 is (around $750+), and it's where Batman Adventures #12 used to be.

When you think about how nice most 6.0 to 8.0 comics are... not mint, but not trashed either... all pages intact, just a little wear on the cover, no soiling, nice colors, etc. That is sort of "cheap" to be 20% of the near mint price.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by eschnit »

It's a Valiant issue, Shadowman 8, introduction to Master Darque.

DC Batman 232, intro to R'as

Marvel Incredible Hulk 180, cameo intro to Wolverine, but still intro

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

I like that Shadowman 8 pick. Lately it seems copies have been coming out of the woodwork, but I like that book long term.
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by Elveen »

Mentally I just can not wrap my head around SM 8 ever being a money book, let alone even a somewhat money book. There are just to many of them. I don't know what the print run is compared to other Valiant books of the time. But I've just had so so many of these and seen so so many of these. I had so many of these I use to include a free copy with ever book I sold.

But I also did that with XO #5 for a bit also but not the the same extent.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

How many books from the 90s have high print runs and are worth bank? Lots of them, and many have higher print runs than SM 8. It's just a matter of time for that book imho. :)
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by Elveen »

StarBrand wrote:How many books from the 90s have high print runs and are worth bank? Lots of them, and many have higher print runs than SM 8. It's just a matter of time for that book imho. :)
I can see it, it's 1st Darque. One of my favorite characters and my very favorite from back in the day.
But, man, just so so many of them.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by nycjadie »

Valiant - There are plenty here who will disagree with me, but I think Harbinger 15 first Livewire is the biggest bargain. I sell them as soon as I receive them for $45-50. It's a pretty common issue, but this character has exploded since VEI relaunched.

And for the doubters, even VEI has admitted Livewire's roots come from V1.
Image

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

Do you mean you sell CGC 9.8 copies for $45-50 of Harbinger 15?
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by nycjadie »

Yes, 9.8s.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by IMJ »

Strange Tales #135.
-1st Hydra
-1st Hydra Agents
-1st S.H.I.E.L.D.
-1st Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
-1st Helicarrier
-1st Flying Car
-1st Nick Fury as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
-1st Life Model Decoys (L.M.D.)
-1st Nick Fury story in Strange Tales (replacing the Human Torch)

This is a huge book for Marvel continuity surrounding Marvel's Earth-grounded stories, and basically each of these IP's are now a household name after being embraced in such a prolific manner throughout the MCU. Current aggregate guide value as VF is about $500.00, yet it's listed for less on eBay, and I see it under guide in stores now and again as well. When this generation's young movie watchers embrace the Silver Age back-issue market, we could be looking at a long term key sought after hobby-wide the likes of Iron Man #55.

Without Strange Tales #135, there would be an unfathomable chunk missing from the Marvel Universe. This book is truly an undervalued and under-appreciated Silver Age key.

My small side pick would be The Avengers #85, the 1st appearance of the Squadron Supreme. This is a key book to the wider Avengers Universe, as well as Marvel Cosmic, and also we might see some spillover interest from the hype surrounding DC's Justice League as well.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

Interesting analysis on Strange Tales 135.
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by Elveen »

IMJ wrote:Strange Tales #135.
-1st Hydra
-1st Hydra Agents
-1st S.H.I.E.L.D.
-1st Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
-1st Helicarrier
-1st Flying Car
-1st Nick Fury as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
-1st Life Model Decoys (L.M.D.)
-1st Nick Fury story in Strange Tales (replacing the Human Torch)

This is a huge book for Marvel continuity surrounding Marvel's Earth-grounded stories, and basically each of these IP's are now a household name after being embraced in such a prolific manner throughout the MCU. Current aggregate guide value as VF is about $500.00, yet it's listed for less on eBay, and I see it under guide in stores now and again as well. When this generation's young movie watchers embrace the Silver Age back-issue market, we could be looking at a long term key sought after hobby-wide the likes of Iron Man #55.

Without Strange Tales #135, there would be an unfathomable chunk missing from the Marvel Universe. This book is truly an undervalued and under-appreciated Silver Age key.

My small side pick would be The Avengers #85, the 1st appearance of the Squadron Supreme. This is a key book to the wider Avengers Universe, as well as Marvel Cosmic, and also we might see some spillover interest from the hype surrounding DC's Justice League as well.

Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription.. is more IMJ posts!

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by StarBrand »

:lol:
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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by IMJ »

The Eternals #2 (1976)
1st Celestials
1st Arishem the Judge
1st Ajak

A book from 1976 that has somehow escaped the market's current Bronze-Age madness. This book could stir the market at any time just as its' sister books such as Nova #1, Ms. Marvel #1, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 have in the recent past. Do a search for this book online and you'll find it relatively cheap everywhere, and online resources would seem to place this book at about 5 bucks in VF. Consider the obscurity of this series, but now consider that the storytelling device "Knowhere" has become a Marvel canon location both in the books and on film. Also remember that there was a Celestial appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, and that that Celestial was not just a generic giant, but was clearly modeled after Arishem.

Also consider that Marvel has moved forward substituting characters like Iron Man in place of Spider-Man, and the Inhumans in place of the X-Men and it's not hard to see that perhaps the Celestials will take Galactus' place in the MCU pantheon of cosmic giants. It's possible that we'll see the Celestials during the Infinity War, making them even more of a household cosmic curiosity.

Currently, this book sells for only a few dollars as VF or less. And given it's rather obscure series content, relevance to Marvel Cosmic stories, representation on film, and Marvel's recent penchant in media to substitute obscure IP's for popular ones, and you have a solid book in the very undervalued Bronze-era Eternals #2.

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Re: Which comic is undervalued?

Post by Elveen »

IMJ wrote:The Eternals #2 (1976)
1st Celestials
1st Arishem the Judge
1st Ajak

A book from 1976 that has somehow escaped the market's current Bronze-Age madness. This book could stir the market at any time just as its' sister books such as Nova #1, Ms. Marvel #1, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 have in the recent past. Do a search for this book online and you'll find it relatively cheap everywhere, and online resources would seem to place this book at about 5 bucks in VF. Consider the obscurity of this series, but now consider that the storytelling device "Knowhere" has become a Marvel canon location both in the books and on film. Also remember that there was a Celestial appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, and that that Celestial was not just a generic giant, but was clearly modeled after Arishem.

Also consider that Marvel has moved forward substituting characters like Iron Man in place of Spider-Man, and the Inhumans in place of the X-Men and it's not hard to see that perhaps the Celestials will take Galactus' place in the MCU pantheon of cosmic giants. It's possible that we'll see the Celestials during the Infinity War, making them even more of a household cosmic curiosity.

Currently, this book sells for only a few dollars as VF or less. And given it's rather obscure series content, relevance to Marvel Cosmic stories, representation on film, and Marvel's recent penchant in media to substitute obscure IP's for popular ones, and you have a solid book in the very undervalued Bronze-era Eternals #2.

I'll be honest.. fellas, this thread is sounding great. But.. I could use a little more IMJ posts . So.. let's take it again..


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