Do you love Gambit that much?

Is that Gambit? Jubilee?

Hopefully it's not a hijack to ask the more general question: What are the likely short and long term trends in "collectible comics" from Marvel and DC? Is the death of baby boomers in the next 10 years going to release a flood of back issues into a weakening demand, resulting in free-fall in prices forever? Or were the buyers of 90s comics sufficiently young that they are likely to retain and even increase their value for decades to come?

Character debuts always are more collectible.

It's expensive because it's his "1st appearance." Is it worth it? I mean, in what sense? If you are a completest, or you love Gambit, sure. Otherwise... no?

Note I said "1st appearance" in quote there. In terms of the story's chronology, yes, it's the first part of his story.

However, thanks to a scheduling snafu, the story that follows this one - X-Men Annual #14 - was actually printed two weeks earlier. So in terms of the real world, the first appearance of Gambit in a comic book is X-Men Annual #14, which costs a fraction of what #266 costs. So if you just want to have his 1st appearance, there's a way to save some money.

It jumped a bit when the Gambit movie was announced, but now that the Disney/Fox merger is complete that project is likely dead, so prices could cool, or Disney/Marvel Studios could announce something with Gambit creating another spike in demand and drive prices up. Like it or not, demand for first appearances in the current market is driven by projects in other media. Announcements of movies or tv shows featuring characters drives up demand for 1st appearances of those characters and keys price increases, as the collectible market is demand driven not supply driven. None of the Marvel keys from the Silver Age to present are scarce, so more becoming available won't really affect pricing, people not wanting to buy them however will cause prices to crash. As long as demand stays steady or increases, prices will remain relatively stable or increase.

The other major factor fueling demand for stuff is nostalgia. Knowing the current wave of the nostalgia cycle can help you gauge whether demand for something will rise of fall. Gambit's 1st appearance is also right in the middle of the current nostalgia zone. Kids reading comics in the 90s when he 1st appeared are now in their 30s and 40s, the prime nostalgia market, and 90s toys, video games and pop culture is all seeing a surge in popularity and prices, so until that wave subsides, I doubt you will see prices drop for books like X-Men 266.

The 70s nostalgia wave is mostly over, except for stuff being featured in current pop culture, the 80s wave has already peaked but not gone away just yet, and the 90s wave is on the rise, and even the early 2000s wave is starting to simmer as we move towards the 2020s.

So if you are looking to get X-Men 266 on the cheap, you are about 8-10 years too late or 8-10 years too early. Between potential media projects and the current nostalgia wave, prices for that book are peaking not subsiding, so the question you have to answer is is the going price worth it to you? Only you can answer that and that is the only answer that matters to you. DO you love and want the book enough to pay the price? If yes, then it's worth it to you, if no, then it's not worth it to you. No one else can answer that question for you.

-M

PS if you just want to read it, get a digital copy or find it in trade.

It's only extremely rare occasions I pick something up that's way under-priced to hold on to as a collectible, but in this case, even though I'm not a fan of the character, I'd hold on to it.

Highly doubt Disney isn't going to either A. put together a Gambit movie, or B. at the very least have him in the X movies.

As far as reading, mrp is right. Pick up a digital copy for $ 2 on Comixology.