Phantom Stranger 23 marked the start of the Frankenstein back up by Kaluta and was the first appearance of "DC's" Frankenstein character (though somewhat different than the character as revived by Morrison in 7 Soldiers and later appearing in the new52, but it is a Bronze Age first appearance for all of that). which might give it a bump in value form the issues around it.

-M

Big ticket books move fast and there is a core customer base for them. One shop near here that has been in business since the early 70s has a waiting list of customers waiting for certain high ticket books and when he gets one in he calls and it is usually sold before it ever hits his display shelves. I was actually surprised to see a 9.0 Hulk 181 last time I was in there (it has a $3-$K price tag on it) because he usually moves books like that quickly, and he basically said he has gotten and moved a half dozen in similar grade the last 6-8 months so had exhausted his wait list on it and was putting it out because of that. He had been getting complaints there weren't enough books like that in store for customers to get on impulse type purchases. So there is definitely a market for it, just not many of us here (though I suspect you would find more of that kind of buyer over on the CCG forums than here).

I also see a fair number of books like that move every time I go to a show. I don't remember if the Captain was with me at the time, but we were both at Buckeye Con in April up in Columbus and I saw one dealer move a high grade Iron Man 1, Avengers 57 and Strange Tales 110 and a handful of other books to the same buyer, and the transaction ran to 5 figures. An he said it was only the second biggest sale he had that day. And several other dealers there had similar sales that day. There were 2 distinct types of buyers there that day, people bargain hunting looking to fill in runs, and people looking to pick up high grade keys at the going rate.

There is a certain comic zeitgeist that permeates this site, but it is not reflective of the larger market as a whole, so I would make any assumptions on how well big ticket high grade books sell based on posts here. I'm a frugal buyer with very few things I am willing to spend on when I "collect" but there are some things where I will shell out money to get them (but for me high grade comics don't rank very high on that list). But I don't begrudge those that do either.

-M

Compared to some here, I feel like a bigger spender. But I too wonder who purchases variants and spends a pretty penny doing so. I sold several recently...one was really nothing special and for me, it was worth having an extra $40 in pocket than to own this particular issue. I do like to keep up on the market because for where I live, ebay is the only way I can buy. It is hard to get deals but when I see something I know I can upsell, I bid. If I can buy something I want as well at a reasonable price, I will.

For spending sake, I kept track since December of last year of all of my purchases and sales...in a couple months (for those interested) I can post the number of books I bought, a snippet of what I bought, and a total cost for the year. I did this because having just gotten married and bought a house this summer, I want to be mindful of my spending. I set aside an amount for the year and I want to see how well I fit within that amount.

There was a point in my life, from about 1977-1981, where I was making tons of money, had no debts, unmarried and low living expenses. I had money to burn and some of it went to comic collecting. I attended conventions regularly buying back issues and was known among certain regular dealers there, especially Sparkle City. I'm not sure what was the most expensive comic I ever bought, and remember, prices back then were much cheaper than now. 

One particular convention, Sparkle City offered me a choice between 2 comics, each for $800 in excellent condition






I had 24 hours to decide which one to buy. Either one was hard to find and seldom for sale in the shape I was presented.
I wound up getting the Superboy even if the Archie was about 8 years older

Yow. So Archie #1 is ranked at #12 of the 100 most valuable comics with a 9.4 grade going for $623,000. And Superboy #1 is not even on the list. 

My decision to go for the Superboy was definitely influenced by the fact I was already collecting old DC comics and had a run of Superboy from about #75 and up. And at the time of the early 80s, interest in Archie comics was extremely low

It's all water under the bridge now, because I sold the Superboy at some point in the late 1990s and made a nice profit, then sold my complete collection about 3 or 4 years ago

i certainly made a monumentally wrong decision, looking back from this perspective, and let that be a warning for anyone who asks me for comic book investment advise
 

The only books I paid some money for was my Avengers collection. All in mid to low grade of course, but I had to have them. I'm figuring from 10-60 a book. I'm only missing #1 and #4.

Unless come into some serious money to spare, I might have that gap til I die.