Apologies for the late ComicLink Auction Highlights! Better late than never I always say.
The Comic Link September Focused Auction ended last week, all results below ended between Tuesday September 25th and Friday September 28th.
I found the auction to be quite interesting. Though there were no true blockbuster books, a CGC 9.0 Amazing Spider-Man #1 was the biggest sale closing at $27,805, there were some trends worth noting.
Of the top 50 sales, 5 were post 80’s comics with CGC 9.9 grades. New Mutants #98, DC Comics Special #26, Incredible Hulk #340, Amazing Spider-Man #252 and New Teen Titans #2 all made the front page. I’m not a big fan of CGC 9.9s and I don’t like them making the top 50 sales!
DC scored 8 of the top 50 books; its best showing was a CGC 5.0 copy of Showcase #4 that sold for $6,100.
News Flash! Spider-Man is carrying the collectible comic market! 19 of the top 50 sales (that’s a whopping 38%) were Spider-Man comics. What would we do without him?
Taped up, rat chewed, dog’s breakfast copies were getting great prices. There were 2 CGC 0.5 comics that sold for over $1,600, a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 and a copy of Suspense #3.
OK time to look at a few transactions a little more closely.
Amazing Fantasy #15, Marvel Comics, (August, 1962) Graded by CGC at 0.5 with Cream to Off White pages sold for $1,610.00. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 0.5 is $875.00.
OK 1st off what is an incomplete comic doing with a blue label? Isn’t it supposed to be green?
I’m sorry but this is a piece of crap, I mean look at it!
How does a rag like this get double guide? CGC 4.0s are getting 15% above guide and this thing gets double? Perhaps it’s the utility of ownership thing? Anyways I don’t get it and I hope you didn’t get it either.
Advantage Seller.
Captain Marvel #3, Marvel Comics, (July, 1968) Graded by CGC at 9.6 with Cream to Off White pages sold for $63.00. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $100.00.
Man oh man. This was my book. I threw it up on Clink thinking that nobody would want to buy a Cap Marvel #3 at the shop.
It turns out nobody wants to buy a Cap Marvel #3 online either.
Thing is I’ve always liked this cover and I thought the whole cosmic Marvel thing might breath some life into the book. It went too cheap!
Advantage Buyer
Herbie #10, ACG Group, (June/July 1965) Graded by CGC at 9.6 with White pages sold $210.00. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $130.00.
My buddy Marc won this auction! Yep, he won something like 10 of the Herbie’s that were up for sale.
Apparently now Marc has the #1 CGC registry set for Herbies! Yeah, I know, impressive!
You should have seen the kid (Marc is younger than me), he was running around the shop like a little school girl after his winnings. Yes comics can bring joy.
Advantage Buyer
X-Men #94, Marvel Comics, (August, 1975) Graded by CGC at 9.4 with Off White to White pages sold for $1,376.00. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $1,275.00.
In my opinion CGC got this one wrong. I think the binding error should push the grade of this book down to at least a 9.0. Aesthetically it just looks all wrong.
The fact that it got what most of the other CGC 9.4 copies have been getting is telling me that people do not want to believe their own eyes.
CGC can get it wrong now and again guys!
Advantage Seller
DC Comics Presents #26, DC Comics. (October, 1980) Graded by CGC at 9.9 with White pages sold for $2,445.00. The Overstreet price guide value for this comic at 9.2 is $80.00.
As I mentioned above this was one of 5 CGC 9.9s that made the top 50. We saw these modern 9.9s lighting it up at the last C-link auction so I guess we’ll be seeing more like this in the months to come.
This book won a neck and neck race against a 9.9 Hulk #340, beating it by $12. Both are the only CGC 9.9s.
Here’s an exercise, take the 83 CGC 9.8 copies of this book and put them next to this 9.9. I’d bet if we taped up the top so we can’s see the grade we’d get it wrong 1 out of 4 times.
I just don’t think we should be laying this much money down for the grade on the label.
Advantage Seller
So? Pick up anything?
Walt, how old are you? About 100? Kids are either your own children or adolescents, not grown men!
I think it is pretty well established that Walt is, in fact, 100.
Galahad and Billy were grown men too, so was that guy from Cisco!
A few thoughts:
1. “No true blockbuster books” ???????
Walt!
Immediately after saying that you tell us there was a NM copy of ASM #1! I know you don’t think this comic quite deserves to be the No. 2 ranked Silver Age book, but come on, it’s still the second ever Spider-Man story and the first issue of “the most collected title” in comics!
2. That AF#15 is simply horrible. As I always argue to Anthony: what’s the point of owning a Ferrari that has been totaled, is rusted to hell, has no doors, and has an engine that stalls when you hit 15 kmph? A classic collectible has to be presentable, or at least not make you weep or vomit when you look at it.
I could understand if the comic were a truly unique artifact like the sculptures on the Acropolis — (priceless no matter how damaged they are, because they’re each one-of-a-kind) — but there are many other Ferraris and many other AF 15’s out there (relatively speaking). Owning one that’s mutilated would just be depressing to me, not satisfying.
3. Recently I looked up ASM #300 and Vengeance of Bane on Comic Link and found AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN CGC 9.8 copies of each, all on sale on this ONE website at the SAME TIME (and even a couple 9.9 copies of Bane) …confirming for me that “slabbing” modern comics (not to mention paying over $1,000 for them) is utterly idiotic. Clearly they are not rare. Old comics are rare and collectible BECAUSE NO ONE THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE until decades too late. By 1990 everyone was bagging and boarding everything, even crap.
4. (On that note…) It’s probably very easy to win Herbie auctions because most sane people will not pay for human excrement. It can be found for free on a busy day in any public restroom.
5. Marc has been known to “run around like a little schoolgirl” on many occasions. Are you sure the auction had any real impact on his usual deviance?
Come on Thor! That was a VF/NM copy of ASM #1 and though a great book I just can’t call it a blockbuster.
The AF #15 was crap
The CGC 9.9s are way too volatile
Herbie fan are ya?
Walt you’d have to actually come into the store every once in a while to have witnessed this alleged “school girl dancing”.
Who is this Thor Odinson? I want to find him so I can punch him in the face in a super manly way.
That’s what I’ve learned from comics.
I am the bane of Herbie, that’s who. I will kick his tubby ass from Lundy’s Lane to Barrie.
I have one of amazing spiderman vol 1…