ComicLink March Focused Auction
The March 2012 ComicLink Focused Auction ended last week and here is a late Auction Highlights submission.
Marvel remains the dominant player in these Focused Auctions. Of the top 50 books sold 40 were Marvels, 9 were DC while a CGC 9.2 copy of E.C.’s War Against Crime #11 grabbed the 50th spot.
Spider-Man dominated this auction! Of the top 50 comics sold 15 were Spider-Man issues, there were 4 copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 alone that cracked the top 50.
Sometimes when I have insomnia I like to spend time chasing seemingly trivial statistics! Did you know that the top 50 books of this auction generated just under $240,000 and that the 15 Spider-Man books accounted for almost $92,000 or 38% of that total? This is a bit above the Spidey norm I discovered a while back in Market Trends.
There were 15 early Marvel Keys in the top 50, 16 if you count Avengers #4!
Anyway let’s have a look at a few auctions that caught my eye.
Showcase #4, DC Comics, (October, 1956) Graded by CGC at 6.0 with Off White to White pages sold for $6,850.00 on ComicLink on March 28th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 6.0 is $4,950.00.
So someone paid a 38% premium over guide for the book that revived the Flash. I’ve always thought Showcase #4’s importance is overstated. I’ve always championed Fantastic Four #1 as the book that truly revitalized the hero genre post Golden Age.
A couple of things are true though, first off that his is a tough book to hunt down. Consider the 730 CGC’s Fantastic Four #1s or the 1064 Amazing Fantasy #15s and you have to admit the paltry 155 graded Showcase #4s almost seem scarce. You also have to admit that the book did signal DC’s new commitment to the superhero genre that did directly lead to Marvel publishing FF #1.
Regardless of what I say this is a very revered and very collected comic book. The CGC 6.0 grade puts this copy in the top 20% of grade quality. A good pick up for the price.
Advantage Buyer.
All-Star Comics #58, DC Comics (February, 1976) Graded by CGC at 9.8 with White pages sold for $707.00 on ComicLink on March 29th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $90.00.
OK so in 1976 DC introduces Power Girl. Good character but not a great one. Also, there are tons of 1976 comics are still out there in very nice shape. About 8% of the 250 graded copies of this book are 9.8s so if you consider there are tens of thousands of these things kicking around then…
I think $707 is too much to pay for a relatively comic book introducing a mid tier hero.
Advantage Seller.
Mighty Crusaders #1, Mighty Comics Comics (November, 1965) Graded by CGC at 9.6 with White pages sold on ComicLink for $$356.00 on March 28th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $110.00.
I really liked this book! I was actually in the bidding into the high 200s. This auction had a great selection of these Mighty Comics Group books including a great high grade run of Fly Man! I think these Archie heroes are undervalued and it was nice to see them show well in this auction.
This book got over 3 times 9.2 guide for the 9.6 and I think it should have been higher.
Advantage Buyer.
Girls Romance #141, DC Comics (June, 1969) Graded by PGX at 9.2 with Off White to White pages sold for $61.00 on ComicLink on March 27th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $28.00.
What kind of an idiot would pay more than double guide for a PGX 9.2 of a nothing DC Romance run book?
I proudly step forward and point out to you a couple of things. The first is that this is one of only three comics that I know of that depict the mom battling it out with the daughter over a guy! This thing should be worth even more! The second is that if you hold it in the light a certain way it almost looks like a 9.4!
Advantage Buyer – or is that obvious only to me?
Dracula #3, Dell Comics, (February, 1967) Graded by CGC at 9.4 with Off White to White pages sold for $30.00 on ComicLink on March 27th. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $40.00.
See! This is the cool thing about these ComicLink Auctions. There is so much to choose from that a few really great comics are almost given away.
Case in point Dracula #3, part of Dell’s abortive foray into the hero genre in the mid 1960s. Dell has probably sold more comics than any other publisher and to think that they couldn’t crack the hero genre is interesting to say the least.
This is a great pick up.
Advantage Buyer.
So let’s hear it, I know Charlie picked up a beautiful CGC 9.8 copy of Daredevil #168, how about you?
I picked up a handful of later issue FF (#100 and earlier) 9.4’s for well under book. I was happy.
Too much bias on Marvel Walt! Showcase 4 is the
Action 1 of the Silver Age period !!
Good pick on the Love book though !
Most neglected comic in the world?? Marvel Comics 1.
Keep your AF15’S and watch the Marvel 1 leave it in
the dust!!! Too much spider webbing in the brain !!!
Well Stephen I was about to get into an argument with you about the Showcase #4 but then I realized you must have very sound judgement if you see the value in my Love comic pick up!
Lets just agree to disagree on the Showcase #4.
Walt,i highly respect Marvels contributions to our
love and respected comic book field. Everything with
in proper perspective however, historically speaking.
Thank you for sharing your time and efforts. Peace!
Is it just me or does that gentlemen on the cover of the romance book have a strong resemblance to Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four? Whoever paid 61 dollars for that surely has a few extra bucks to burn.
I also picked up this Heavy Metal #1. I probably could have gotten it cheaper if I sniped it at the last minute… but time is also money these days:
http://www.comiclink.com/img/comics/scans/RADD9486201232_1200.jpg
Since there is no comments made about the Pedigree Auction that ended a week earlier I thought I’d contribute. The highlight of this auction was the Green Lantern 76 cgc 9.8 selling for $15,500 – should have been on the undervalued spotlight. Most valuable non variant bronze age book with only 2 copies on the census in 9.8. What a bargoon! Whoever won this will see the returns in the future as no more 9.8’s should pop up in census unless cgc does another gift grade on a 9.6 press/sandwich job. The previous owner higradecomics on ebay bought it last yr on comiclink in hopes of a return. The 1 year return was a loss of 10% because he paid exactly the same price he sold it for- he just eats that 10% loss $1,550 plus the shipping fees. The buyer market on keys is so tight and most collector’s who overpaid are feeling the whip and do not want to spend as much as the glory days of 2008. With lesser disposable income, buyers are dumping and not accumulating even if it means taking losses sometimes very deep ones.
I forgot to mention that a Green lantern 76 cgc 9.8 sold for $37K 2 years ago. That buyers is scratching his head every morning and wondering where it all went wrong. He will find relief only in the fact that he didn’t buy RIM stock 2 years ago and is taking a smaller loss.
Frank, Walter declared “advantage buyer” for that same GL#76 when it was picked up on CL. Then it soon showed on on eBay at double the pick up price… but no bites. And finally let go on Ped, less 10%.
Perhaps the buyer played it all wrong, but what a gamble.
That is a tight copy. I’m sure you bought it for nostalgia but do you see growth in demand for Heavy Metal Charlie?
I think Mr. Storms at HighGrade enjoyed the prestige of owning this book, perhaps its power as a marketing tool even helped his business, perhaps he made a deal with Mr. Schmell for the listing? I’m just speculating here, both of these guys are very successful and have great business sense.
Regardless, it is a book now a bit out of favor but I remember a bout two years back AF #15 peaked out and actually retreated for a goo half a year, look at it now!
That’s highgrademagiccards, not Bob Storm of High Grade Comics:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GREEN-LANTERN-76-CGC-9-8-1ST-NEAL-ADAMS-GREEN-LANTERN-1031190007-/280840138700?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item4163606fcc
I kind of agree with your initial assessment but it’s a tricky time to try and flip a book like this. If I could afford to, I would have let it appreciate and wait for the right buyer.
Apologies, I stand corrected! In hindsight, Bob would have kept it til he got his price!
Its always a dangerous game to deal in books based on top grade scarcity, always a gamble!
The problem with this whole scenario is… everyone is watching. The original owner took a chance… perhaps his circumstance dictated that he sell the book for what ever he can get. The economy being what it is… the book sells for less then half his purchase price. The new buyer thinks he got a deal and tries to double up… But, the economy hasn’t changed, so he’s trying his luck.
Now there are 2 transactions on record at $15k… A trend forms and people who are seeing all this start to believe that $15k is the new value.
Had the new buyer hung on to the book… It would have appeared that got a bargain at $15k and perhaps make a decent profit down the road…
C’est la vie!
I’d like to see this kind of market correction on a whole lot of books that are currently overpriced regardless of a 9.8 grade. The bubble needs to deflate before it bursts.