Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
The Spotlight format only allows passing references and hopefully some insightful tidbits sprinkled here and there. In other words I have to pick a book worthy of a birthday tribute to the Man. I’ve picked Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 because this book sticks out among the books that stick out, it represents Jack Kirby embarking on the most ambitious project of his career.
Legends #3, DC Comics, January 1987. The Suicide Squad made its first appearance back in September 1959 in Brave and the Bold #25. BB #25 is a great comic to own and very undervalued at its 9.2 guide value of $1,800. The book is a tough find though, it rarely comes up for auction so this week, rather than send you out on a mission impossible, I thought I’d lighten it up and send you after a book with potentially way more upside, at the very least it will be much easier, much more fun and much much cheaper to hunt down.
Daredevil #53, Marvel Comics, (June 1969). When I think of Daredevil comics to invest in I usually don’t go back to the sixties in my search. The Daredevil we know now was really born, like the X-Men in the bronze age of comics. The Black Widow team-ups, Death Stalker (formerly, The Exterminator), Bullseye, Elektra, and the Kingpin weren’t part of his life back then. Neither was Frank Miller...
Marvel Premiere #47, Marvel Comics, April 1979. This comic features the 1st appearance of the 2nd Ant-Man (Scott Lang).
Yeah, sure, measured against the Overstreet Price Guide’s assessment of $35 for a 9.2 grade this is an obvious pick. Marvel Premiere #47 has certainly grown hot over the past year and as of this post is getting about $120 for graded 9.2 copies and $190 for graded 9.4s.
This week I am turning the Undervalued Spotlight reigns over to guest writer Nelson da Rocha. Nelson is arguing that Amazing Spider-Man #96 deserves better than it is currently getting and I agree. Nelson gets to the heart of something I’ve briefly…
Love Diary #36, Charlton Comics, January 1965 This is a bit of a coup for the Undervalued Spotlight. I believe I’ve found a yet undiscovered prototype. I’m not sure you could even call it a prototype, to me it looks…
Young Love #104, DC Comics, June/July 1973. Happy Valentine’s Day, I hope yours is filled with Young Love! There are a lot of undervalued comics in the Romance genre but alas I’m faced with the same dilemma as our cover girl Theresa, I can only pick one.
EH! #4, Charlton Comics, June 1954 One of the most important factors that make a comic collectible is the cover. Of course the character is the primary factor in determining collectability and it’s followed by a plethora of other factors,…
Marvel Team-Up Annual #1, Marvel Comics, (December 1976) Here we have the 1st new X-Men team appearance outside the X-Men title. Better yet they make this appearance in a great little title called Marvel Team-Up, a Spider-Man title. Correct me…
Detective Comics #33, DC Comics (November 1939) Batman is one of the most important superheroes of all time, top three on everybody’s list and #1 on a majority of peoples list. Next to 1st appearances Origin issues are the most…
Micronauts #1, Marvel Comics (January 1979) After World War II Japan was a recovering economy that built cheap toys for export, primarily to Europe and North America. Japan being Japan began to improve their production quality and constantly came up…
Auction Highlights #67 ComicLink’s June Focused Auction ends Friday June 22nd. All the books listed below sold between Tuesday June 19th and Thursday June 21st. It was one of those Marvel top heavy auctions with the House of Ideas hogging…
Impact #1, E.C. Comics, April 1955 Last week I posted about the $45 million paid for Roy Lichtenstein’s Sleeping Girl. A great debate ensued on the merits of comic book art and whether some of it should be considered fine…
Military Comics #1, Quality Comics, August 1941 All the indicators seem to be telling me I’m wrong with this pick but I have a good feeling about this book and about the Blackhawks specifically. I like the Blackhawk property. Of…
Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #31, Dell Publishing, April 1943 What a difference 3 short decades can make. Back in 1982 in the 11th edition of the Overstreet Price Guide it was Donald Duck who ruled the roost. Of the…
Pep Comics #36, MLJ Magazines, February 1942 This is the 3rd time I’ve chosen a Pep Comic. Undervalued Spotlights #81 and #5 both featured great Pep issues and Pep #36 belongs right up there with them as far as I’m…
Brave and the Bold #79, DC Comics, August/September 1968 Neal Adams knew something was wrong with Batman even during the absolute height of the character’s popularity. In a panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con (with excerpts reprinted in…
Alpha Flight #106, Marvel Comics, March 1992. The history of comic books could easily serve as a rich resource for any anthropologist. Studying comic book history can shed light on the behavior, the social and cultural development of humans in…
Not Brand Echh #1, Marvel Comics, August 1967 Marvel Comics published a satirical parody filled comic called Not Brand Echh #1 in August of 1967. By 1967 the Mighty Marvel comic book beachhead was well established, the publisher was bursting…
Marvel Team-Up #15, Marvel Comics, November 1973 A pick for Halloween. As far as Bronze Age Marvel characters go Ghost Rider was one of the better creations. Motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephisto (Satan) in order to save…