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[Josh-A-Tron]

Yeah, it's funny when that happens. Had a couple of books like that too; a Detective 395 CGC 9.4 that I bought for $350 back in 2004-ish I sold for $1500 a couple of years later. Another was a JIM 109 CGC 9.2 I paid $650 for in 2002; sold it in 2005 for $1800. Books get on people's radars and all of a sudden explode.

Batman 227 is an odd one. It has gotten crazy in the last couple of years, and all based on the cover.

Yeah the price fluctuation kinda goes in circles. Like Tales of the Teen Titans #2, it spiked when Deathstroke was in Identity Crisis, then died back down and I'd imagine it's due again with his resurgence on the Arrow TV show. Yep, good'ole Neal Adams cover. The story isn't anything crazy, but I still love the book just for the Adams art.

 

[brucecamblzchin]

Adams art is so good man.

 

[m.c.d.spargo]

I collect golden age comics in addition to statues. There are so many issues you'll probably never get in any condition, even if you have deep pockets, because they just rarely pop up for sale. And when they do, the competition for them is brutal and you'd better be willing to open up that wallet if you even want to stand a shot. Then there are the legit grails that are not only insanely expensive, but are simply locked tight in collections. The best known copy of Action Comics 1 has been in the hands of a single individual since 1982. Everyone knows who has it, and he's received offers in the millions of dollars and turned them down. This is what the term "grail" needs to be reserved for.

I love this hobby, but there is no equivalent to this and never will be. But we're still pretty fortunate and have collections that the vast majority of the world's population wouldn't be able to assemble. The cool thing about this hobby to me isn't the value or rarity of these things, but seeing everyone's unique collection. No two people have the exact same pieces displayed the exact same way, and that's what makes this a fun and unique way to spend thousands of dollars.

You can't really say that for sure because this hobby hasn't been around that long. Maybe in fifty years some of the rare statues will be worth a ton because a lot of them will get broken and damaed over time. There might be some guy who wants to buy the Doom PF for $50,000 some day.

 

[-COI-]

If Sideshow came out with a Neal Adams inspired, classic costume Bats PF, I'd lose my mind.

 

[-COI-]

You can't really say that for sure because this hobby hasn't been around that long. Maybe in fifty years some of the rare statues will be worth a ton because a lot of them will get broken and damaged over time. There might be some guy who wants to buy Doom for $50,000 some day.

It's possible, I suppose. But the thing about this hobby is that these pieces improve with time. If multiple Dooms are made over the years and decades, and they come out better and more intricate every time, what would be the incentive to pay a huge premium for the first one? I think a lot of the demand for pieces like the Doom PF have to do with a lack of options for specific characters in specific scales.

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

If Sideshow came out with a Neal Adams inspired, classic costume Bats PF, I'd lose my mind.

View attachment 102116

Bought, instantly.

 

[brucecamblzchin]

If Sideshow came out with a Neal Adams inspired, classic costume Bats PF, I'd lose my mind.

View attachment 102116

Yep.

They could make Bat PFs for years and they'll all sell.

 

[m.c.d.spargo]

It's possible, I suppose. But the thing about this hobby is that these pieces improve with time. If multiple Dooms are made over the years and decades, and they come out better and more intricate every time, what would be the incentive to pay a huge premium for the first one? I think a lot of the demand for pieces like the Doom PF have to do with a lack of options for specific characters in specific scales.

Comic art and stories usually improve with time as well. What would have been the incentive to buy the first Batman or Superman comic since the art and stories were going to keep getting better and more intricate? Collectors don't pay ridiculous amounts of money for things because they're the best, they do it because they're rare.

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

Comic art and stories usually improve with time as well. What would have been the incentive to buy the first Batman or Superman comic since the art and stories were going to keep getting better and more intricate? Collectors don't pay ridiculous amounts of money for things because they're the best, they do it because they're rare.

There's that, and its significance. I mean ASM #300 isn't exactly rare, and realtively speaking it's not that old, but a 9.8 copy is still going to set you back a few hundred, because Venom can only debut in one issue. Same goes for the older books. There's only on issue with "the first appearance of (insert comic icon here)", statues don't really have that as an appealing factor.

 

[brucecamblzchin]

Yeah, first appearances will always be valuable even if they're a bit ordinary like how Wolverine looked at first lmao whats with those whiskers?

 

[brucecamblzchin]

I must say I like the digital option for comics too; I saw that Frog Thor statue coming and read it was based on a comic, quickly searched 'frog Thor' in comixology and had the relevant issues in about a minute for a few dollars. Story is hilarious too, art is fantastic I mean this panel made me lol and lol that they published the story;

 

[-COI-]

Comic art and stories usually improve with time as well. What would have been the incentive to buy the first Batman or Superman comic since the art and stories were going to keep getting better and more intricate? Collectors don't pay ridiculous amounts of money for things because they're the best, they do it because they're rare.

The nature of collecting something like comics differs wildly than statues. For one thing, early issues of pop-culture icons have significance that extends beyond hobbies and into cultural significance. There's nothing historically or culturally significant about old statues. Further, comic books are sequential and lots of collectors aim at completing sets going back decades, which entails buying decades worth of books. And if not completing runs, collectors will often put together collections that consist of all the appearances of a favorite character, or a "key" collection including all the significant comics of a specific company or era. Statues aren't sequential, and no one in their right mind would try collecting every statue ever made over the course of decades; it's just no feasible. So the comparison of collecting statues to comic books is apples to oranges.

 

[m.c.d.spargo]

There's that, and its significance. I mean ASM #300 isn't exactly rare, and realtively speaking it's not that old, but a 9.8 copy is still going to set you back a few hundred, because Venom can only debut in one issue. Same goes for the older books. There's only on issue with "the first appearance of (insert comic icon here)", statues don't really have that as an appealing factor.

AMS #300 in 9.8 is fairly rare and that's why people pay so much for it. If you tried to sell another issue of AMS #300 that was stomped on and had food spilled all over it you'd get a fraction of the money for it regardless to the books significance. People pay extra for the rarity and nothing else. If the the coolest character of all time was just created, his or her first appearance wouldn't be worth a dollar if they made a billion coppies.

The nature of collecting something like comics differs wildly than statues. For one thing, early issues of pop-culture icons have significance that extends beyond hobbies and into cultural significance. There's nothing historically or culturally significant about old statues. Further, comic books are sequential and lots of collectors aim at completing sets going back decades, which entails buying decades worth of books. And if not completing runs, collectors will often put together collections that consist of all the appearances of a favorite character, or a "key" collection including all the significant comics of a specific company or era. Statues aren't sequential, and no one in their right mind would try collecting every statue ever made over the course of decades; it's just no feasible. So the comparison of collecting statues to comic books is apples to oranges.

It's just simple supply and demand. It's far from apples and oranges. These characters are the same characters that are in these historically and culturally significant comic books. It very feasible for some rich guy to go back and try to collect all of the Sideshow Marvel, or DC statues decades from now and spend ridiculous amounts of money doing so. The characters that are more popular with great sculpts and low edition sizes that're undamaged will obviously cost that person more because they are harder to find. This is all just common sense. Rich people pay stupid amounts of money for all kinds of things (THINGS WAY LESS SIGNIFICANT BY ANY MEANS THAN THESE STATUES), so there's no telling what these things will be worth fifty to a hundred years from now.

 

[dan350zr]

Meh, Comics are dime a dozen now a days, every tom, d!ck and harry collects them. Only comics worth anything are pre 1970... Or in a really rare occasion something like the walking dead comics which became popular after the TV Show turned out to be a hit. But that's more the exception then the rule.

For the most part I can go on Ebay and look for any comic from the last 30 years and only have to pay a few bucks for it...

 

[Tbolt]

Meh, Comics are dime a dozen now a days, every tom, d!ck and harry collects them. Only comics worth anything are pre 1970... Or in a really rare occasion something like the walking dead comics which became popular after the TV Show turned out to be a hit. But that's more the exception then the rule.

For the most part I can go on Ebay and look for any comic from the last 30 years and only have to pay a few bucks for it...

There are deals to be had on Golden Age books too. I love collecting comics, it's what brought me into statue collecting. I used to have some amazing issues that my x-wife basically gave away...I cringe when I see what they go for. I pretty much only started back up out of spite, because I had long since stopped collecting. Turned out I still enjoyed it. I am still assembling, but have fairly easily put together a pretty nice collection in a little over 2 years time. The 90's comics crash has made some things more affordable in that regard. Really shrunk the marketplace of people buying. Thats one worry I have with these to, but just like my comics, I don't buy with the intention of selling. Just gives you an out if you need it though.

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

AMS #300 in 9.8 is fairly rare and that's why people pay so much for it. If you tried to sell another issue of AMS #300 that was stomped on and had food spilled all over it you'd get a fraction of the money for it regardless to the books significance. People pay extra for the rarity and nothing else. If the the coolest character of all time was just created, his or her first appearance wouldn't be worth a dollar if they made a billion coppies.

It's just simple supply and demand. It's far from apples and oranges. These characters are the same characters that are in these historically and culturally significant comic books. It very feasible for some rich guy to go back and try to collect all of the Sideshow Marvel, or DC statues decades from now and spend ridiculous amounts of money doing so. The characters that are more popular with great sculpts and low edition sizes that're undamaged will obviously cost that person more because they are harder to find. This is all just common sense. Rich people pay stupid amounts of money for all kinds of things (THINGS WAY LESS SIGNIFICANT BY ANY MEANS THAN THESE STATUES), so there's no telling what these things will be worth fifty to a hundred years from now.

Not really, an NM copy of ASM #300 is easily attainable and you really only need to walk into a comic shop or look on Ebay to find one. rarity in comics adds to it, but isn't the end all be all of pricing.

 

[JediSword]

It's either that or as print becomes an obsolete medium and anything found in print will immediately garner attention because it's no longer used. Kinda like old video games systems right now. They're completely obsolete but on the collectors market people are paying premium prices.

Just adding to the point. Its also nostalgia. Whatever is nostalgic to people of a given age group it is more valuable to them as well as newer fans of a contemporary iteration that want to have that connection to the past

Sent from the Bat Computer

 

[JediSword]

Not really, an NM copy of ASM #300 is easily attainable and you really only need to walk into a comic shop or look on Ebay to find one. rarity in comics adds to it, but isn't the end all be all of pricing.

The 9.9 graded is actually incredibly there are only less than a handful in the cgc records. Not to say that plenty more aren't out there lol

Sent from the Bat Computer

 

[JediSword]

Holy crap took me til now to catch up. So glad the ES talk has evolved to comics lol

Sent from the Bat Computer

 

[Josh-A-Tron]

The 9.9 graded is actually incredibly there are only less than a handful in the cgc records. Not to say that plenty more aren't out there lol

Sent from the Bat Computer

9.9 and 10 grades are so subjective imo I don't even bother looking for them. To me any, especially with silver/bronze age books if I can get an 8.0 or better thats fantastic.