What's your 2012 classic comic deal of the year?

[Jezebel Bond]

Granted, if it makes you happy, and/or if it makes you money, who am I to complain? I just don't get how these two books go for similar amounts of money.

You might be overlooking something...if your World's Finest #2 was in NM condition as our Spideys are...you'd be well into several thousand dollars territory...this is what a slabbed VG copy is selling for...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Worlds-Fines...item2578d67e06

Spidey #700 might be a stunt but it's also one of the most well hyped books for 2012...it's uncommon for a comic to have a regular cover price of $7.99 (it's 100+ pages) and still sellout a 1/4 million copies in one day...

[MRP]

The difference for me is that the Ditko variant is not a new piece of Ditko art, it's the unused cover for Amazing Fantasy #15 which was first published in Marvel Tales #137 (cover dated March 1982), so the cover is not unavailable elsewhere, the content of the issue is not unavailable elsewhere, 250K + copies sold of a book that normally sells in the 65K range and a second print is already in the works-so where is the unmet demand going to come from that is going to give that book long term value? World's Finest has held its value and increased over time, variants and modern comics tend to decrease over time, though there are exceptions when they achieve true scarcity of supply for the level of demand. I don't see where the sustained demand for the Ditko variant is going to come from. Like Shaxper said, if you want it, and got it fine, if you can turn it quickly and make money fine, but I think its a book where taking a longer term view would net you the book much cheaper down the line when the demand has died off and sellers have few potential customers willing to pay for those currently inflated prices. It just seems a high risk investment for a short term window of high return opportunity to me.

But then I have been wrong before.

-M

[shaxper]

You might be overlooking something...if your World's Finest #2 was in NM condition as our Spideys are...you'd be well into several thousand dollars territory...this is what a slabbed VG copy is selling for...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Worlds-Fines...item2578d67e06

Of course, the range of prices we pay based upon condition is a whole other debate with an odd kind of logic at its core. Whether a comic critical to comic history has a few creases on the cover or comes in 9.8, it's still the same book, isn't it? I see the point of paying up to a hundred more for better condition, but to pay more than 10x the price of a lower condition copy that is intact, readable, and maintains some level of eye appeal makes no sense to me.

But I digress.

The point being, given the choice between spending $200 on an ultra rare variant of a supremely hyped marketing event or buy a lower grade key issue from the Golden Age and walk away with significant change to spend on something else, I know what I'd do. I don't really see how the two options are at all comparable. Granted, I got a steal on my WS #2, but I've gotten virtually every key issue I ever wanted in the $250 price range, including a VG Avengers 4, a G Batman 8, 9, and 10, a G Showcase 22, a VF- GL #1, etc. Does this Spidey 700 variant really hold equal intrinsic value to you?

[Jezebel Bond]

The point being, given the choice between spending $200 on an ultra rare variant of a supremely hyped marketing event or buy a lower grade key issue from the Golden Age and walk away with significant change to spend on something else, I know what I'd do. I don't really see how the two options are at all comparable. Granted, I got a steal on my WS #2, but I've gotten virtually every key issue I ever wanted in the $250 price range, including a VG Avengers 4, a G Batman 8, 9, and 10, a G Showcase 22, a VF- GL #1, etc. Does this Spidey 700 variant really hold equal intrinsic value to you?

Apples and oranges. An example of a classic Spidey I spent $810 on last year would be a VF+ copy of ASM 14. Part of 14's appeal would be its debut of the Goblin, being a classic Silver Age book, and being rare in the sense of not too many VFs being around almost 50 years later. If given a single choice, ie opportunity cost between that classic #14, and a Ditko variant of #700 for the same money...I'd certainly take the #14.

700's appeal is completely different where the scarcer variants are concerned. These were simply produced in vastly smaller runs. I like owning a scarce 'event' book even if its scarcity is due to a publishing ratio or small press run (such as the Midtown variant). You mentioned 'given the choice' but I didn't have to choose...I had some discretionary comic book capital that I could use on these types of books too.

[shaxper]

Apples and oranges. An example of a classic Spidey I spent $810 on last year would be a VF+ copy of ASM 14. Part of 14's appeal would be its debut of the Goblin, being a classic Silver Age book, and being rare in the sense of not too many VFs being around almost 50 years later. If given a single choice, ie opportunity cost between that classic #14, and a Ditko variant of #700 for the same money...I'd certainly take the #14.

700's appeal is completely different where the scarcer variants are concerned. These were simply produced in vastly smaller runs. I like owning a scarce 'event' book even if its scarcity is due to a publishing ratio or small press run (such as the Midtown variant). You mentioned 'given the choice' but I didn't have to choose...I had some discretionary comic book capital that I could use on these types of books too.

I suppose then, in a sense, we're in agreement. One is worth more to both of us than the other. You're still willing (and able) to spend a wad of cash on both, but you attribute more value to one than the other.

I guess that's why I find it odd that the market has dictated that such a modern day variant go for that kind of price. I suspect it's because there isn't much of an overlap between modern and classic comic collectors (note: "collectors," not "readers") and thus few collectors are making that comparison in how they choose to spend their cash. Otherwise, I have to think most collectors would be putting that hard earned cash towards historic key issues first and foremost, and spending significantly less on new variants of a similar scarcity.

And, as a final point, most Golden Age non Batman/Superman titles are far more scarce than modern day variants because no one saved them back in the day. My most valuable comic book is More Fun Comics #60, an early Spectre story of which I've only ever seen two other copies ever show up on ebay (my copy was also listed on ebay before I bought it direct from the dealer). So, with presumably less than a hundred remaining copies in existence (and very possibly a lot less than that) I still got the book in G+ for $550 -- and it's the Spectre's ninth ever appearance, Dr. Fate's fifth ever appearance, and arguably the second most famous Bernard Baily Spectre cover ever drawn.

[MRP]

Apparently those Ditko variants aren't as rare as everyone thought...Marvel still has copies left and will be making them available to retailers as an incentive with the second prints of ASM #700, this time at a 1:250 ratio. So now retailers can get snag up those variants and try to sell them on ebay while many copies of ASM 2nd print will be unsold as fodder retailers used to get the variants....

link:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/01/...-second-print/

-M

[benday-dot]

Considering Witch queen has Conan meet prince Tarascus two decades too early, it's no contest for this particular continuity nut!

The art on both was pretty good, though.

I'm not super hung up on this particular anachronism, although I agree it is a bit of a bee under the bonnet of REH world building, the later being a rather special thing indeed. Still, I mostly based my (slight) preferences on the Kwapisz art. I hardly dislike Buscema, but if Witch Queen falters in continuity, the exquisite Kwapisz backgrounds lend such an air of verisimilutde to REH and Conan's world that I think a measure of compensation is gained.

[MRP]

I'm not super hung up on this particular anachronism, although I agree it is a bit of a bee under the bonnet of REH world building, the later being a rather special thing indeed. Still, I mostly based my (slight) preferences on the Kwapisz art. I hardly dislike Buscema, but if Witch Queen falters in continuity, the exquisite Kwapisz backgrounds lend such an air of verisimilutde to REH and Conan's world that I think a measure of compensation is gained.

I never get worked up over Conan chronology or continuity, because Howard never did. He never worked out a timeline of Conan's life, just knew the broad sweeps, and didn't write the stories in any kind of order. Fans took on the challenge of building a chronology of when which story fit where, and Howard was glad of the attention and enthusiasm. supporting their efforts, but never felt in necessary. Aside from his Hyborian Age essay, Howard never put much effort into Conan's personal history, seeing the tales instead as those told around a fire by Conan in his old age or by those who knew or heard of Conan. His emphasis and focus was on telling a ripping adventure yarn, not on filing out the history of his character's life.

So if Conan the Rogue is a ripping Conan yarn, I'm good, no matter if it varies from events of other Conan yarns.

-M

[Max Hauser]

Excuse the rubbish picture, and the awful (no longer with us carpet). You can hopefully see New Mutants 92, Sandman: Midnight Theatre, ASM300, Batman Adventures: Mad Love and an Saga of the Swamp Thing. All in VFN nick.

All for £5. Oh yeah...