Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Record Breaker #1




















Action Comics #1              Sold for $3,207,852.00
June 1938                                                  Aug. 24, 2014 on eBay

Key Issue Notes
1st appearance and origin of Superman
1st appearance of Lois Lane
1st appearance of Krypton


Back in 2014, pristinecomics.com put this beast of a comic up for auction on eBay. I remember seeing it being advertised months before the auction started. There was advertising for it everywhere. I especially remember seeing the ad in the 44th edition Overstreet Price Guide when it came out. It was really big news in the comic world because you almost never see this comic at this grade available for auction. So far, there are only 3 copies of Action Comics #1 on the CGC census graded at 9.0 VF/NM, but only two of those have a blue Universal label. The third is a restored copy. There are no copies graded above a 9.0.


From Overstreet Price Guide 44th Edition
I had the auction on my eBay watch list purely out of curiosity. There is no way a poor working guy like me could ever afford a comic of this magnitude. Finding an Action Comics #1 in any grade is gonna be up there in price and probably well out of my price range. When the auction ended, I was amazed at how much this copy ended up selling for. Over 3.2 million dollars. The last time the a 9.0 VF/NM first appearance of Supes was up for auction was in 2011. This copy has become known as the Nicholas Cage copy. It sold for 2,161,000.00 which was a record at that time. That's over a million dollars less than this latest sale. This is definitely an investment worthy comic for those who can afford it. I can't imagine how much it will go for the next time it comes up for auction, whenever that may be.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Monday, March 28, 2016

The Flash #125




DC Comics - Dec. 1961

Key Issue Notes
1st appearance of the Cosmic Treadmill

The other day, a friend of mine asked me if The Flash could travel through time.  The answer to that question is "Yes he can". That got me thinking of when was the first time he actually did travel through time. That lead me to this comic here, The Flash #125. This comic holds the first appearance of the Cosmic Treadmill. It was built by Barry Allen (AKA The Flash) and is how The Scarlet Speedster is able to travel to the future and past. Now, I'm not 100% sure that this is the first time that The Flash actually travels through time or not, but since he can't travel through time without the treadmill, there is a good chance that it is. If anyone knows for sure, please chime in in the comments section.

Taking a look at the CGC census, there aren't a lot of graded copies. To date, there have only been 67. Two of them are graded at a very high 9.6 NM+. I couldn't find any sales data for any 9.6 NM+, but I did find one for a very respectable 9.4 NM. In 2006, a 9.4 NM copy of The Flash #125 sold for $3250 at icollector.com. That's a lot of moolah. I'm sure it has a lot to do with there being so few high grade, near mint copies in the market. However, There are some 8.0 VF and 8.5 VF+ copies out there that you can get for a fraction of that price.


Values of Flash #125 on GoCollect
As we look at the sales chart from gocollect.com, you can see that there have been very few sales on the eBay. I looked at the active listings on eBay and found only one graded copy available right now and ComicLink.com only has three. There are a quite few raw copies though. This is a somewhat overlooked key issue at the moment, but as this comics key issue status becomes more well know there may be more graded copies that hit the market. It also may be a key issue that many people don't really care about and the amount of graded copies won't really change. Either way, If you're looking for an affordable earlier Silver Age key issue in a VF - VF+ condition, this one may be one to look into before it ends up on the radar of someone else.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Friday, March 25, 2016

Superman #76






























DC Comics - May 1952

Key Issue Notes
1st meeting of Superman and Batman
Learn each others identities


With Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice hitting the big screen today, I thought I'd share with everyone, who may not already know, their first meeting in comics.

It only took 11 years after the introduction of Batman and 12 years after Superman in comics, two of DC Comics biggest superheroes, to finally meet in the pages of the Golden Age classic Superman #76.


Do to overcrowding on a cruise ship, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are forced to share a room. While they are both worried that their secret identities will be revealed, a jewel thief starts a fire on the docks to make a distraction for his getaway. The always clever Bruce Wayne comes up with a plan to change into his Batman costume without Clark Kent finding out he's Batman. He tells Clark that he's tired a is going to sleep. Under the cover of darkness, Bruce then changes to become Batman. But, Clark had the same idea. As the lights were out, Clark also changes into Superman. These are two really clever guys. I mean, what could go wrong? Well, the light from the fire shines through the window of their room revealing their secret identities to each other. That in a nutshell is how the two realize who each other is. To me, it's a little corny. But it was a different time.



Values for Superman #76
on GoCollect
Let's talk about some sales now. So far, there are 199 copies of Superman #76 graded by CGC. Two of those copies share the graded highest at a 9.6  NM+. Now, with so few copies in the CGC census, there are even fewer sales as you can see by the chart. I couldn't find any sales data for a 9.6 NM+, if there even are any. However, in Sept 2014, an 8.5 VF+ sold on eBay for $3250 (also shown in the chart). It's a well known key issue and obviously not cheap. Even low graded copies could cost you many hundreds of dollars. 4.0 VG copies have sold over the $1000 mark. So if you're looking to add an already graded copy of this comic to your collection, don't expect it to be an easy find, or a cheap one. I wish you luck on your hunt.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Amazing Spider-Man #129


Marvel - Feb. 1974

Key Issue Notes
1st appearance of the Punisher
1st appearance of the Jackal


I just started watching season 2 of Daredevil on Netflix and I must say I'm really liking it so far. As most of us know, season 2 introduces us to Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher, and Amazing Spider-Man #129 has his 1st appearance.

Amazing Spider-Man #129 also has the first appearance of Miles Warren as The Jackal. The Jackal isn't a hugely popular villian in the Marvel Universe, but he does play an important role in the Spider Clone saga, but that is another story that I'll get to at another time. Just in case you were wondering, the first appearance of Miles Warren is in Amazing Spider-Man #31. 

The Punisher starts out as an antagonist for everyone's favorite web slinger. He's hired by The Jackal to get Spider-Man out of the picture, but eventually, The Punisher realizes that Spidey isn't the bad guy that The Jackal made him out to be.

There's no shortage of graded copies of ASM #129 out there. There are a staggering 6956 copies graded by CGC so far. I'm sure there are even more with CBCS and PGX copies out there. Unfortunately there isn't any census data from those two companies. Hopefully they will have a census soon. There are 91 copies graded at 9.8 NM/M by CGC. Wow!! Of those 91 copies, 4 are Signature Series and 1 is a Restored copy. You should have no problems finding a nice high grade copy to add to your collection but don't expect it to be cheap.

Values for Amazing
Spider-Man #129
on GoCollect
Even with a large number of graded copies out there, Amazing Spider-Man #129 is a very sought out comic and has been for a long time. The Punisher is definitely a lot of peoples favorite anti-hero. If you're looking to get a nice high grade copy you should expect to shell out some bucks for it as CGC 8.5 VF+ copies are starting to sell around the $900-$1000 range and CGC 9.4 NM copies are going for well over $2000 now. It's not a rare or hard to find comic but as you can see from the chart on the right,  demand for this book is high and all grades are in the green and way above the average sales. You may want to do what I did and take a chance on a raw copy. That could save you a little bit of money, but you never know if you're buying a comic that is complete or if it's been restored. I'll leave that decision up to you.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Monday, March 21, 2016

Aquaman #11






















DC Comics - Sept. 1963

Key Issue Notes
1st appearance of Mera
1st Dimension Aqua
1st appearance of Leron
1st appearance of Xebel



There are a lot of key issue notations for Aquaman #11 but right now, the biggest is the first appearance of Mera. The character was recently cast for the new Aquaman movie starring Jason Momoa as the titular character. Who is going to play along side him as his wife? Amber Heard is who. With a release date of July 27, 2018 it's going to be a while before we get to see them in action together.


As far as the other key notations, there's no word yet on whether or not Mera's home world, Dimension Aqua, will be in the movie. If it is then there is a small chance that Leron could also show up. Leron was a revolutionary that led a revolt against Mera and she was exiled to Earth where she met Aquaman.

There really isn't anything to say about the character Xebel, but according to the DC wiki, it is his first appearance so I did make a note of it above.

Looking around it's hard to find any graded copies online. There were only a few that I found so far, but looking through the CGC census, there aren't that many graded copies floating around out there. Suprisingly, there have only been 54 copies graded by them so far, and I know that there is a least one that was graded by CBCS because it was mine. I expect those numbers to change soon, and fast, with the news of Mera being cast.


Values for Aquaman #11
on GoCollect
Taking a look at the charts from GoCollect.com, there aren't a whole lot of graded sales. However, it isn't an easy comic to find that's already graded and that may be the reason for the low number of sales. There are a few raw, or ungraded, copies out there though. So if you're looking to get a copy of Aquaman #11, buying raw and sending it in to CGC or CBCS might be the way to go or you could wait for a graded copy to show up online.




Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect




Strange Tales #126

1st Dormammu











Marvel - Nov. 1964

Key Issue Notes:
1st appearance of Dormammu
1st appearance of Clea
1st appearance of the Dark Dimension


Doctor Strange is finally making his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie has been in production for a while and has a release date of Nov. 4th. Also, Kevin Feige (President of Marvel Studios) has confirmed for us that the Dark Dimension will be featured in the movie and Strange Tales #126 has the 1st appearance of the Dark Dimension. How much of the it will be seen in the movie is yet to be known so I guess we'll all have to wait for it to come out. 

However, when mentioning the Dark Dimension, we must also mention Dormammu, since he is it's ruler and Strange Tales #126 also has the first appearance of him. He may or may not appear in this film but I can almost guarantee that if the Doctor Strange movie is a success, he will appear in one in the near future.

But wait, there's more. We also have the first appearance of Clea. Clea is the  love interest of Doctor Strange. It would only make sense to add her to the cast as she is a big part in the life of Doctor Strange.



Values for Strange Tales #126
on GoCollect
At the time of this writing, there have been a total of 346 copies graded by CGC with 2 being a highest grade of 9.8 NM/M. Both are Universal grade. Surprisingly, demand for this book hasn't really taken off since the news came out. As you can see by the chart from gocollect.com, a lot of grades have seen a fall in price for graded copies. That could mean that either people are not fully aware of the key issue status, which seems unlikely, or it could be that they are just overlooking it for something else. Either way, that could be good news for you if your looking to get a deal on this comic.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Thor #132 - CGC 9.6

CGC 9.6







Marvel - Sept. 1966

Key Issue Note
1st appearance of Ego The Living Planet

I was looking at getting this comic for quite some time mainly because it was a very affordable Silver Age key issue at a very high grade and I wanted a high grade Silver Age comic in my collection. I finally pulled the trigger on it when I heard a rumor that Ego might be one of the characters in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. 

I've had my eye on this Thor comic for a couple of years now, but always put off buying it to get others comics that were higher up on my want list. Comics that might be out of my price range if I didn't buy them soon. The price of good ol' Thor #132 wasn't going anywhere. That was until, one day, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, and saw that Cosmicbooknews.com that Ego might be showing up on the big screen. There was also the rumor that Al Pacino was going to be the voice of The Living Planet. I figured that if I didn't snag this comic now, that it would soon shoot through the roof in terms of price. Especially in the current market. Any hint of a character making an appearance in a movie or T.V. show sends demand through the roof.


Another reason I got Thor #132 is because of the growth potential of it. I managed to get this copy for $280 which is a little higher than they were selling for but I still feel like I got a good deal on it.

In my opinion, this is a very undervalued key issue.  Even if the rumors turn out to be false, I think that a 9.6 NM+ copy will slowly be on the rise. 
Updated 1/03/2018


Find a copy here