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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 8:46:41 GMT -5
I'v mentioned most if not all of these before, at least on the old CBR forum, but in any event ...
Prides & joys that aren't actual issues of comics --
The original pencils for an illo from a Skywald issue of Nightmare that Gene Day sent me circa 1976 in response to a complimentary letter I wrote him about his art & his fanzine, Dark Fantasy.
Marie Severin's cover rough for the final issue of one of my all-time favorite comics as a kid, Capt. Savage #19, on which her brother John of course based the actual cover.
The dozen or so original '50s sf digests I own with early Philip K. Dick short stories.
My autographed copy (obtained circa 2000 via eBay for around $30) of Morris K. Jessup's The Case for the UFO, the book which gave rise, via some bizarre by-ways, to the whole "Philadelphia Experiment" mythos, not too long before the author committed suicide.
The copy of the sumptuous Lovecraft at Last that I bought not long after it came out circa 1975. Thought my copy went away with the thousands of other volumes in my book collection after I got divorced in '85, but when my ex-in-laws were moving from Phoenix to North Carolina a couple of years after that, they came across a box of stuff that hadn't been included in a yard sale & left it with my ex-wife in Arkansas, & when she saw that some of the contents were things of mine, she called me up to have me come by & dig around. Lo & behold ...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 20:08:04 GMT -5
I think the skyrocketing cost of keys is because of an influx of collectors who don't read comics and only buy keys. The cost of Albedo #2 doesn't seem to make sense when you look at the print runs of any other Usagi comic. Where are all the fans? Sad to think most copies of Albedo #2 are probably owned by people who have never even read a Usagi story. I'm not sure I follow. The print run for Albedo #2 was minuscule, and most of those copies were handed out free to reluctant convention attendees who didn't know what it was, didn't care, and likely threw it out, not realizing they'd made a serious mistake until years later. It is a VERY rare comic. There's a whole page devoted to it at the official Usagi Yojimbo Dojo (though the content is out of date in some instances): usagiyojimbo.com/casl/comics/albedo-vol1-nr2/albedo2.htmlBut the price didn't spike until relatively recently. I have a feeling the people bidding them up don't read Usagi. They have a list of "keys" and try to collect them all. This is just another comic on the list. I don't think it's indicative of the fan following. The thing that makes me think this is literally every other issue of Usagi Yojimbo, or pretty much any comic he's ever appeared in, is still bargain bin material. The demand completely drops at the very next appearance, and never recovers. Just strange to me. Surely the print run to Albedo #3 was low too, or Usagi #1. |
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Post by maddog1981 on Jun 8, 2014 21:01:35 GMT -5
I forgot I have a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #129.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 9, 2014 5:02:39 GMT -5
But the price didn't spike until relatively recently. 2003, I believe. That was when Overstreet ran a feature on it. Overstreet had previously undervalued it considerably, listing it at $4 because the book was so rare that no one had reported it changing hands. The book had NEVER actually sold for that little. It was generally going for about $60-$90. Once Overstreet drew attention to it, non-readers did come running, but so did people who knew the character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and weren't aware that 1) it was it's own comic, and 2) it was good. So the book jumped to being worth about $250 overnight. After that, the condition-obsessed collectors got it on their radar (the all black, cheaply printed cover wore away easily at the spine) and 9.8s were selling for upwards of a grand. Yes and no. I agree that non-readers suddenly became interested, but the fanbase had always felt the book was undervalued too, and we were fine with paying the higher price for it. It made sense to us and was an affirmation of our belief that Usagi was a character deserving of more attention. Only because the larger public is uninformed. There are several other truly rare issues with very low print runs, but no one knows this other than loyal Usagi fans which, I suppose, supports your theory. Except that Albedo #3 had a significantly higher print run and came after Erma Felna (the lead feature of Albedo) had begun to attract some attention, so people did save this issue. It's VERY easy to find. Meanwhile, because #3 had too large a print run with many unsold copies, #4 had a much smaller print run once again and is worth some money (though it's nowhere near as rare nor as important as #2). Neither, actually. But Albedo #4 and the Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special (pre-dating #1) were. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2014 15:05:36 GMT -5
I guess it depends on what you consider a "low print run."
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jun 9, 2014 15:42:50 GMT -5
I guess it depends on what you consider a "low print run." The print run for Albedo #2 was 2000. That seems pretty low by any standards. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2014 16:48:38 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm talking about Albedo #3 and Usagi #1
Having trouble finding print runs, but I doubt they were anywhere near the lowest selling Marvel comic of the time.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jun 9, 2014 20:26:15 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm talking about Albedo #3 and Usagi #1 Again though, they had significantly higher print runs. I don't have the print run for UY #1, but here's the print runs for the Albedo issues: Albedo NR 1 (5-color cover) June 1984 - 500 Copies Albedo NR 1 (4-color cover) September 1984 - 1500 copies Albedo NR 2 November 1984 - 2000 copies Albedo NR 3 May 1985 - 10,000 copies Albedo NR 4 August 1985 - 6000 copies (source: usagiyojimbo.com/casl/comics/albedo-vol1-nr2/albedo2.html)Obviously, 10,000 is significantly more than 2,000, but also remember that Albedo #3 was actually purchased by its owners and then saved, whereas #1 and 2 were given away for free to passerbys at conventions. |
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Post by benday-dot on Jun 10, 2014 20:37:12 GMT -5
1)My collection of every Kirby penciled comic story cover dated Jan 1965 to his death. This includes all his magazine and extra-comics works. The only thing I am missing is Kirby's Black Hole the movie comic strip work. I can live without it.
2)My complete ACME Novelty Library original run.
3)My run of Conan the Barbarian 1-24 (finally picked a #1 in VG condition for 20.00 last fall)
4)My Wally Wood Artist Edition 1st printing (I have a bunch of these monsters but this is still the best one)
5)I can't decide on this last slot. There are a lot of prized individual books and complete (or nearly so) runs I could pick, but I'll go with my 1972 New English Library Dracula collection. It's kind of hard to find, but it's very, very cool to look at.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2014 22:35:34 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm talking about Albedo #3 and Usagi #1 Again though, they had significantly higher print runs. I don't have the print run for UY #1, but here's the print runs for the Albedo issues: Albedo NR 1 (5-color cover) June 1984 - 500 Copies Albedo NR 1 (4-color cover) September 1984 - 1500 copies Albedo NR 2 November 1984 - 2000 copies Albedo NR 3 May 1985 - 10,000 copies Albedo NR 4 August 1985 - 6000 copies (source: usagiyojimbo.com/casl/comics/albedo-vol1-nr2/albedo2.html)Obviously, 10,000 is significantly more than 2,000, but also remember that Albedo #3 was actually purchased by its owners and then saved, whereas #1 and 2 were given away for free to passerbys at conventions. Five times as many copies but only about half a thousanth of the value. You'd think it would be a $200 comic. That's how Spiderman works right? I think because the guy that wants a Spiderman #1 usually wouldn't mind having a Spiderman #2 as well. But the guy that wants an Albedo #2 (for the most part, I suspect) couldn't care less about any other Usagi appearance. There are other legitimately scarce Usagi issues, and they run about $20-$50. I think that's closer to the demand commanded by the actual pool of fans, like the several hundred dollars Albedo used to command before the "gotta slab 'em all" crowd added it to their list of "Copper Age Keys" which also happen to be the only comics they are interested in buying. I think the same thing is happening to Fantasy Quarterly #1. Of course not quite there with Albedo #2 yet, but a surprising demand that didn't exist before, I suspect boosted heavily by people who loke collecting first appearances of anything from any publisher but don't actually read Elfquest. |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jun 10, 2014 22:47:25 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, the growth of Fantasy Quarterly #1 was severely stunted because of a warehouse find. Sometime in the early/mid-80's, Wendy and Richard Pini found a case - I don't know how many copies, but my impression was quite a lot - of undistributed copies, which they then sold off via mail order. So for a long time, demand was met by a steady, readily available supply. I think the price had already jumped up quite a bit before this happened, but this caused it to plateau for years and years.
Going from memory on that one, but I think the gist is right.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2014 23:26:17 GMT -5
Great job using the quote function Dupont!
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Post by Rob Allen on Jun 11, 2014 10:18:23 GMT -5
I find that it's much easier to get the quote function to work right by using the "BBCode" tab rather than the "Preview" tab on the Reply screen.
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Post by kongat44 on Jun 20, 2015 22:14:39 GMT -5
#1 Amazing Spider-Man #8, the only Ditko issue I still own.
#2 a tie The Amazing Spider-Man #59, and Fantastic Four #73 the first Marvel comics I ever saw, these copies are not my brothers copies, rather picked up later.
#3 Marvel Super Heroes #14, the first comic I bought with Spider-Man in it. Again, this is not the original I had, where that went, I don't know, I think my brother Kevin gave a lot of comics away.
#4 Batman #181, the first super hero comic I ever bought.( This is my original copy, the middle pages re lost over time.)
#5 The Brave and the Bold #77 bought right after Marvel Super Heroes, this again is my original copy, and there are a page missing in the middle, again.
#6 The Amazing Spider-Man King Sized special (Annual) #8. This I bought a few years ago, it came from a newly remembered memory of a comic I had, I had to really think hard and use the internet to track down what this comic was, All I knew was the basic date, and that Spidey had some super hero guest stars.
Yes I know, that is really 7, but these comics mean something to me, of coarse the list might have been different before I sold my collection in 2009.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 21, 2015 5:08:26 GMT -5
I find that it's much easier to get the quote function to work right by using the "BBCode" tab rather than the "Preview" tab on the Reply screen. ok |
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