Market Trends – Movie Later, Cash Now

First there was The Thanos Effect and now we have the Panel Effect?

Last week at a San Diego Comic Con panel Marvel announced plans for a Summer 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy movie release.

I quickly scanned the market activity around Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (their 1st appearance from Jan/69).

A CGC grade 9.6 copy sold in January 2012 for a solid $1179 (the 9.2 guide value is $115). Copies at auction have been sparse since the movie news broke but I did find two.

Another CGC 9.6 just sold a few days after the movie announcement for a tidy $1800. Boy I bet the guy that sold in January feels good about that!

The second copy I found is still active as of this post, it’s an eBay listing of a CGC 7.0 copy and it’s at $202 with 2 days left which is pretty darn good when you consider the last CGC 7.0 copy that sold in January 2012 sold for $22!

I checked the the Big B Comics stock and found that we had 2 copies out for sale. They’ve since been pulled and are now in the back room awaiting a “price re-evaluation”.

Walter Durajlija
Walter Durajlija

Walter Durajlija is an Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner. He owns Big B Comics in Hamilton Ontario.

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7 Comments

  1. I’ve got a mid grade copy as part of an MSH run. Walt, do I break up the run and cash out now, or in 2014… or do I let it ride for a sweet retirement?

    Are you watching CL? NM#98 currently at $4 bills! This book is hot… I’d rather stock up on this as a pure speculative play… agree?

  2. Who’s to say Charlie! If the movie is good and if they cameo in Avengers the Guardians could be back in the game and thus their old books could sustain and appreciate in value!

    I know a guy with half a stubby box of New Mutant #98’s, I think 58 was the count he gave me. Crazy!

  3. The other book that is suddenly tough to find is Incredible Hulk #271 – according to CGC the first appearance of rocket raccoon. There seems to be some dispute over this, because the character appears in a slightly different form (he’s English) in Marvel Preview #7, the series in which Star-Lord also debuted. In any case I expect all the first appearances of the assorted Guardians of the Galaxy will become hot.

  4. I was wondering too if I should cash in now or wait till 2014. The minute I heard rumors of GotG movie I was able to find for really cheap two MSH #18’s mid and high grade, two high grade Hulk #271, two Marvel Preview #4 (first Star-Lord), a Marvel Preview #7 (first Rocket Raccoon) and several GotG vol. 2 #1s. To test the waters I sold one MSH #18 and a GotG #1 on ebay for $170. I think it’s all hype right now from SDCC. As tempting as it is to cash in now, I think I’m going to wait till we get an actual Guardians trailer or a post-credits scene. Then I’ll cash in from the hype and maybe buy myself a NM #98. lol

  5. I do love variety books like Marvel Super Heroes. I wish Marvel would produce one of these in the traditional square bound newsprint format (keep it cheap and cheerful). It’d be a great opportunity to experiment and try out new characters… without making big promises or commitments.

    I was collecting DHP but it looks too slick… and at $7.99, way too expensive for a monthly.

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