Market Comic Watch

[Escaflown4]

For those of you that collect X-Men, I would pick up a few more copies of Astonishing X-Men #2 if your LCS still have them available. Since the series have been getting rave reviews, I have decided to pick up the series myself. I had such a hard time finding issue 2, but I lucked out yesterday and finally found a LCS that had one copy left for cover price. Any case, it seems this issue seems to be severely under ordered and there has been some serious activity on ebay. The book is currently selling for $10-15 average. This is for the regular cover and not just the variant. A repeat like USM #5? Hmmmm

NYX #3 rose up to an average of a whopping $40 on ebay. I think it's reaching the peak of speculation. Those that's holding multiple copies of this issue should start unloading it soon before the price starts tanking.

[sd2416]

where did you find this info?

[Escaflown4]

For the Astonishing X-Men #2, I checked all the ebay auctions that ended within the past month and the average price went for $10-15. Even some of th LCS here have been selling them for $15 and they all told me that they only have a few copies compared to the other issues. I don't know where to check the exact print runs, but issue 2 was indeed a pain in the *SQUEE* to track down.

My reference to NYX#3 is based on my collecting experience and conversations with many comic dealers around. Too much speculation was fed into the book and it's reaching the imploding stage. It's already well known that X-23 is not Wolverine's daughter. It's all due to Wizard's hype like what they did to the early Valiant books back in the 90's. The price you see now is called the "Speculated Value" of the book and not it's true worth. Who knows, it might still be a key issue depending on how well Marvel executes the character. At the moment, the dealers I know are pretty much unloading their extra copies. I would still keep 1 copy of it, but if you got extras, it's time to unload.

[sd2416]

any other tidbits of info you have?

[Escaflown4]

Not much info at the moment, I'm in Virginia with my girl at the moment. The only other info worth mentioning is that most LCS have been trying to put in re-orders for Astonishing X-Men as they have been selling like hotcakes. The only issues they could get more were #1,4 & 5. So look at a price hike for issues 2 & 3 in the upcoming months, but I would emphasize more on #2.

[KO2003]

It's funny, I have seen buy-it-now auctions for Ast. X-men #2 in the $2.99 to $6.99 price range. People seem to pass them up.

I have hoarded #1's and #2's of most of the "hot" modern books for the past 3 years. It's much easier to put together complete title runs if you have the first three issues. I have about 7 Astonishing X-men #2's but I have not sold any copies yet.

[sonicdan]

Thor 80 and 81 are picking up steam as well.
I found one of each at my LCS last week at cover price.
I sold #81 on ebay with a 9.99 BIN and #80 sold a couple days ago
at $16.00!

Astonishing X-Men is one of my favorite books right now.
I've been picking up doubles of each so far except for #2.
Our shop under ordered and sold out the day it came out.
We carrry newstand edition comics where I work and we didn't
even get that one.

DAN

[Escaflown4]

It's funny, I have seen buy-it-now auctions for Ast. X-men #2 in the $2.99 to $6.99 price range. People seem to pass them up.

I have hoarded #1's and #2's of most of the "hot" modern books for the past 3 years. It's much easier to put together complete title runs if you have the first three issues. I have about 7 Astonishing X-men #2's but I have not sold any copies yet.

Trust me, if you have multiple copies of #2, you should hold on to them for now. This book seems to be severely underordered and sold out in most places. You will definitely see some type of price hike for it. However I can't say the same for issue 1 as they printed tons of extra copies of re-orders.

[Escaflown4]

Thor 80 and 81 are picking up steam as well.
I found one of each at my LCS last week at cover price.
I sold #81 on ebay with a 9.99 BIN and #80 sold a couple days ago
at $16.00!

Astonishing X-Men is one of my favorite books right now.
I've been picking up doubles of each so far except for #2.
Our shop under ordered and sold out the day it came out.
We carrry newstand edition comics where I work and we didn't
even get that one.

DAN

Yeah the last few issues of Thor are extremely hot now, but I wouldn't invest in them for long term. Thor's death is just not a character to sustain any high price value when you know they will bring him back.

Astonishing X-Men is another case. So far it's one of the best titles I've read out of all the modern books. Especially since X-Men is so popular, it can turn out to be equivalent to Byrne and Claremont's X-Men run back in the late 70's. This is a series where I can see the value retained over a long period of time once more people get into it.

[KO2003]

Thor 80 and 81 are picking up steam as well.
I found one of each at my LCS last week at cover price.
I sold #81 on ebay with a 9.99 BIN and #80 sold a couple days ago
at $16.00!

Astonishing X-Men is one of my favorite books right now.
I've been picking up doubles of each so far except for #2.
Our shop under ordered and sold out the day it came out.
We carrry newstand edition comics where I work and we didn't
even get that one.

DAN

Yeah the last few issues of Thor are extremely hot now, but I wouldn't invest in them for long term. Thor's death is just not a character to sustain any high price value when you know they will bring him back.

Astonishing X-Men is another case. So far it's one of the best titles I've read out of all the modern books. Especially since X-Men is so popular, it can turn out to be equivalent to Byrne and Claremont's X-Men run back in the late 70's. This is a series where I can see the value retained over a long period of time once more people get into it.

Actually, Thor didn't die and a Thor will definitely be back in the next series. I say a Thor because the one who became one with the universe is ah... in a restful sleep .
Quesada is continuing his ploy of perpetual restarts for Marvel titles to sell as many #1's of as possible. He actually admitted this to Wizard magazine in his famous" everybody wants to say they own the first issue of a title." And guess who gets the first umpteen issues off the press to get those CGC 10.0 printings. The ones that don't make the grade come back to Diamond for "reorders". That is one reason why the #2 issues are less prevalent. They are actually solicited by legitimate comic retailers.

I wonder when Overstreet will wake up and cry FOUL!!!!
Talk about a conflict of interest. Wizard retails comics and also publishes a comic price guide which establishes the prices in the back-issue market.
Come on Eliott Spitzer, you cleaned up the FEC, do something about the Comic exchange market!

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Come on Eliott Spitzer, you cleaned up the FEC, do something about the Comic exchange market!

A-freakin'-men.

The problem that Quesada isn't considering, of course, is there's a reason why Action #1 is the most valuable comic in the world: the title is STILL BEING PUBLISHED, with the SAME NAME.

Please...how many years do you think fans will buy into the 'relaunch' crap? Do you know how many X-related #1's there have been since 1991? I don't, but I guarantee you it's more than 30 (as in books with the word 'X' in the title, or STARRING X-Men, former or present, not counting one-shots, annuals, mini-series, or specials.)

Know how many there were from 1963-1991?

2

X-Men #1, 1963, and Giant Size X-Men #1.

That's it.

People are TIRED of #1's, there's no longevity to ANY title these days, and I guarantee you, people simply do not care about a #1 of a title that only lasted 43, 100, 146 issues if it's no longer being published. X-Factor #1, anyone? New Mutants #1, anyone? Excalibur #1, anyone? Heck, WOLVERINE #1, anyone? Punisher #1, anyone? Lobo #1? Sandman #1? Preacher #1? Animal Man #1? Swamp Thing #1?

There remains, to this day, no less than 4 DC series that have seen continual publication from the Golden Age: Action, Detective, Batman, and (Adventures of) Superman.

There is, however, only ONE title from the Silver Age of ANY company that has retained it's original numbering without interruption:

Uncanny X-Men.

Kinda sad, huh?

[sd2416]

this should be a weekly post keeping us up to date on current trends, hot books, etc.

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

I hear that new Adventures of Superman #500 is gonna be HOT! WAYYYY underordered! I've got a few stashed away, special for board members.

[depluto]

I hear that new Adventures of Superman #500 is gonna be HOT! WAYYYY underordered! I've got a few stashed away, special for board members.

Is that the one in the white bag!?!!

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

I hear that new Adventures of Superman #500 is gonna be HOT! WAYYYY underordered! I've got a few stashed away, special for board members.

Is that the one in the white bag!?!!

Totally. Normally, I sell these for $20 and up, but for board members....$10.

Half price, man!

[myron]

ok...you guys are just being plain mean...

[sd2416]

Has anyone else's comic shop sold out of the Titans/Legion Special and the titans issues with Legion?

[Escaflown4]

Is it me or does anyone else here think that X-Factor #6 & 24 are way undervalued key issues. Very rarely will you see these issues in the 50 cent bins, but you can still snatch these books on ebay for about $1-$2 a piece. For those that don't know what key issues they are, it's the first appearance of Apocolypse and Archangel. Also X-Men #4 (1991) is ripe for the picking. Omega Red certainly has alot of potential as a X-Men villain. I would pick up extra NM copies of these books while they're still dirt cheap.

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Is it me or does anyone else here think that X-Factor #6 & 24 are way undervalued key issues. Very rarely will you see these issues in the 50 cent bins, but you can still snatch these books on ebay for about $1-$2 a piece. For those that don't know what key issues they are, it's the first appearance of Apocolypse and Archangel. Also X-Men #4 (1991) is ripe for the picking. Omega Red certainly has alot of potential as a X-Men villain. I would pick up extra NM copies of these books while they're still dirt cheap.

Too many copies of X-Men #4 out there for it to have much potential, sadly.

As far as X-Fac #6 and #24....again, too many copies out there. Apoc became a MAJOR bad guy in the 90's, BUT...he's a Thanos-who's-a-clone-of-Darkseid clone....ya know? And Archangel's gotten his real wings back, right? Big books in the early to mid 90's...not so much anymore. I still pick up #24's for $1 if I can.

[Escaflown4]

Is it me or does anyone else here think that X-Factor #6 & 24 are way undervalued key issues. Very rarely will you see these issues in the 50 cent bins, but you can still snatch these books on ebay for about $1-$2 a piece. For those that don't know what key issues they are, it's the first appearance of Apocolypse and Archangel. Also X-Men #4 (1991) is ripe for the picking. Omega Red certainly has alot of potential as a X-Men villain. I would pick up extra NM copies of these books while they're still dirt cheap.

Too many copies of X-Men #4 out there for it to have much potential, sadly.

As far as X-Fac #6 and #24....again, too many copies out there. Apoc became a MAJOR bad guy in the 90's, BUT...he's a Thanos-who's-a-clone-of-Darkseid clone....ya know? And Archangel's gotten his real wings back, right? Big books in the early to mid 90's...not so much anymore. I still pick up #24's for $1 if I can.

Yeah but don't forget that Hulk 181 also had a huge print run during the 70's. It's just a matter of time of when Marvel decides to bring Omega Red back into the X-Men books. He does have the capability to be as popular as Sabretooth. Apoc is still a major bad guy in the X-universe and Archangel's metallic wings have always been a fan favorite. Who knows, Marvel might give him back the metal wings. Since these books have been undervalued and sitting in alot of dollar boxes, it'll come a time where finding NM copies of them gonna be hard.

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Yeah but don't forget that Hulk 181 also had a huge print run during the 70's.

Uhhh...it did? About 100,000-150,000 surviving copies in 1974, after dealer returns, and years before the 'mint obsessed' came about.

Not sure where the 'huge print run' info comes from. Certainly not anything even comparable to X-Men 1991 issues. And I guarantee you, the vast majority of X-Men #4 are NM/M copies.

It's just a matter of time of when Marvel decides to bring Omega Red back into the X-Men books. He does have the capability to be as popular as Sabretooth. Apoc is still a major bad guy in the X-universe and Archangel's metallic wings have always been a fan favorite. Who knows, Marvel might give him back the metal wings. Since these books have been undervalued and sitting in alot of dollar boxes, it'll come a time where finding NM copies of them gonna be hard.

I don't think they're undervalued at all. Both books at $1 if you have them, to $3 if you don't, is about right on the money. Keep in mind, that's better than the 25 cents surrounding issues will sell for on the open market.

Don't get me wrong....Apoc and Arch are both solid X characters...whcih is why those books are worth more than the surrounding issues....but they're neither of them superstars, and this is AFTER Apoc's major influence in the X-titles of the 90's.

Keep in mind, even a major character like Punisher didn't 'take off' until more than 12 years after his first appearance, and he's a far more important character than those two, and he had much less competition in a MUCH less crowded Marvel Universe in the 80's. Sabretooth didn't take off until about 1990, and that was 13 years after he appeared. Apoc and Arch are only 18 and 16 years old, respectively, and have had to compete with a lot more characters for popularity.

However, I do have to disagree about Omeda Red. Far too unoriginal a concept to be a key.

[Escaflown4]

Yeah but don't forget that Hulk 181 also had a huge print run during the 70's.

Uhhh...it did? About 100,000-150,000 surviving copies in 1974, after dealer returns, and years before the 'mint obsessed' came about.

Not sure where the 'huge print run' info comes from. Certainly not anything even comparable to X-Men 1991 issues. And I guarantee you, the vast majority of X-Men #4 are NM/M copies.

It's just a matter of time of when Marvel decides to bring Omega Red back into the X-Men books. He does have the capability to be as popular as Sabretooth. Apoc is still a major bad guy in the X-universe and Archangel's metallic wings have always been a fan favorite. Who knows, Marvel might give him back the metal wings. Since these books have been undervalued and sitting in alot of dollar boxes, it'll come a time where finding NM copies of them gonna be hard.

I don't think they're undervalued at all. Both books at $1 if you have them, to $3 if you don't, is about right on the money. Keep in mind, that's better than the 25 cents surrounding issues will sell for on the open market.

Don't get me wrong....Apoc and Arch are both solid X characters...whcih is why those books are worth more than the surrounding issues....but they're neither of them superstars, and this is AFTER Apoc's major influence in the X-titles of the 90's.

Keep in mind, even a major character like Punisher didn't 'take off' until more than 12 years after his first appearance, and he's a far more important character than those two, and he had much less competition in a MUCH less crowded Marvel Universe in the 80's. Sabretooth didn't take off until about 1990, and that was 13 years after he appeared. Apoc and Arch are only 18 and 16 years old, respectively, and have had to compete with a lot more characters for popularity.

However, I do have to disagree about Omeda Red. Far too unoriginal a concept to be a key.

Well we'll have to ask Greg for the exact print run of Hulk 181, but I remember he gave a number of over 200,000 copies when we debated a while ago. But I do agree with you that books like X-Men #4 has a larger print run. The only thing is this book has been sitting in most 50 cent bins for over a decade. I'm sure there's still a good amount of near mint copies out there, but over time, who knows. It'll just be a matter of time where Omega Red will take off and people will be flocking to the market for NM copies of X-Men 4. Even though you don't agree with me that Omega Red can ever get popular, but he does have a significant amount of exposure especially since he also appears in the X-Men streetfighting games. Capcom had lots of choices in deciding which X-Men character to incorporate into their games, but I'm pretty sure they must have seen some potential with Omega Red. Apoc on the other hand will always have some type of influence in the X-Universe as you agreed that he's one of the top bad guys. Marvel is already bringing him back in the next X-Men story arc where he plans to choose another X-Men as his 'prized' horseman. All I'm trying to say is these books are still relatively cheap and worth buying if you see them for like a buck or two in NM condition. Even you admited you would get them for a dollar right?

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Well we'll have to ask Greg for the exact print run of Hulk 181, but I remember he gave a number of over 200,000 copies when we debated a while ago.

No need to ask Greg, just look at the Statement of Ownership that covers that year.

Print run?

Surviving copies in 1974 after unsold (as hard as that may be to believe!) copies returned?

Surviving copies today?

There are a LOT of Hulk #181's out there, don't get me wrong, but it was a typical run for the day. It certainly wasn't huge by any stretch of the imagination...and remember...Hulk #181 had an attrition period of 6-7 years before people started pulling them for Wolvie's appearance, and there were VERY few stores to save them in the 70's.

But I do agree with you that books like X-Men #4 has a larger print run. The only thing is this book has been sitting in most 50 cent bins for over a decade. I'm sure there's still a good amount of near mint copies out there, but over time, who knows. It'll just be a matter of time where Omega Red will take off and people will be flocking to the market for NM copies of X-Men 4. Even though you don't agree with me that Omega Red can ever get popular, but he does have a significant amount of exposure especially since he also appears in the X-Men streetfighting games. Capcom had lots of choices in deciding which X-Men character to incorporate into their games, but I'm pretty sure they must have seen some potential with Omega Red. Apoc on the other hand will always have some type of influence in the X-Universe as you agreed that he's one of the top bad guys. Marvel is already bringing him back in the next X-Men story arc where he plans to choose another X-Men as his 'prized' horseman. All I'm trying to say is these books are still relatively cheap and worth buying if you see them for like a buck or two in NM condition. Even you admited you would get them for a dollar right?

Apoc is definitely a top tier X-villain...if he is maintained. I happily buy NM copies of X-Factor #6 and #24 for $1 each, yes.

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 2280642377

The cheap spell is officially over.

[whetteon]

Yup, I've been loosing lots of cheap bids lately so I'm assuming the market is back to healthy levels. GAME ON!