More than FMV
CNBC and Fox Business covers securities and other mainstream investments. Mirroring those network's reporting of data for stock exchanges, GoCollect reports the sales of graded comics. The site also uses an algorithm to create a FMV from those sales for different grades of issues. There is a piece of data on the GoCollect site that many hardcore collectors and collectible investors still NEVER EVER pay attention to even when that avoidance costs them money.
Unicorn or a Horse
Recently a long time collector indicated that they were going to finally do it. The buyer was going to purchase his bucket list book of X-Men #1. This individual wanted it and he said price would not be an obstacle. Reviewing the numbers unveiled something quite shocking hiding in plain sight. There were close to 6,700 total copies in the CGC census. Then it was factored in all the ungraded copies that still may be in existence out there. That made the buyer realize that this book was quite common. Demand might be high but so too is the number of copies out there for sale. If you can afford it then it will not be that hard to find. He had to remain objective and not let emotions get in the way. He still wanted the book but at a realistic price. A simple review of eBay revealed an X-Men 2.5 was listed for $5,100. That is less than the GoCollect $5,500 FMV but within the 30 day sale average. Demand may be there but so too are the copies.
Hard to Find
Invincible books are hot right now. People are searching for early issues with little success for these books at shows and comic book stores. The reason is the their low print runs. A 9.6 Invincible #1 has an FMV close to a .5-1.0 X-Men #1. This book is roughly 40 years younger than X-Men #1 and yet there is less than a third of the number of Invincible #1 in the CGC census. Invincible #1 may not stand the test of time that the X-Men has nor surpass it in popularity, but that scarcity factor makes it sell for a premium nonetheless. Many investors and collectors of Invincible would not shock the world if they wanted to trade a 9.8 Invincible #1 for a 2.5 X-Men #1. The fact of how hard it is to find might make it justifiable to some. Here are some other books that collectors and investors may be wise to seek out now because of their unique attributes besides also being rare.
Deals Might be Real Steals
Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1
This book was once an investor's darling. Fans of this book were overpaying based upon the hope this powerful hero would one day appear in the MCU. Books flooded CGC but after all those submissions less than 1,600 exist in the GGC census. A 9.8 has an FMV of $575 with only 391 copies in the universal grade. That is a significant drop in the price these books were once fetching. This book is rare and having such an important first appearance for an alpha character likes this makes that FMV a tragedy. Speculators have fled this book but their loss is other's gain. The potential still exists for an MCU appearance but this character is important beyond that hope. Buy it now while the price is down on this rare key.
Imagine a time when fans got tired of Star Wars. That was the case with the old Marvel Series. Stories were subpar. Art was pedestrian. Eventually the series was cancelled. This was the last issue and it had very few copies produced. Years later a little over 2100 exist in the universal CGC census. In the 9.8 grade 143 copies exist and yet the FMV is $675. Many completionists have a hole in their collections and no matter how much force they use, finding this book seems always beyond their reach. This book is important and rare. That is a deadly combination and should make this issue more valuable than its current FMV.
Another Star Wars book on this list should not surprise fans. This book featured an incredible anniversary border that every issue Marvel produced that month featured in 1986. The problem was this book was geared to younger fans. Fans who owned this book looked at the pictures as they ate their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. True comic book geeks could not be caught dead with this kiddies book at their local comic book stores. The risk of ridicule from ones peers was too great. Anniversary issue completionists who now hunt for this border book will find only 113 issues in the CGC universal census with 29 graded at 9.8 (FMV $600). Want to really find a needle in a haystack? Seek out the newsstand variants. Hard to find without those jelly stains.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
This book is an interesting one based upon the data. A little over 1600 copies exist in the CGC universal census. A 9.8 has an FMV of only $200 with around 277 copies in that grade. That is less than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 9.8 FMV of $950 (approx. 3800 copies in census). There is not much of a difference between these two books to justify such a huge discrepancy in the FMV. This book rarely shows up at shows or for sale on eBay, thus offering great potential when earlier issues continue to skyrocket in value. Remember, even non-key early issues in a popular series like Amazing Spider-Man sell for big dollars in higher grades.
Back in the day everyone was reading Spawn. Fantastic art and a new character that enthralled the masses. Then tastes changed. People matured. They sought out new things. Retailers ordered less than 25,000 copies of this issue. That should not have happened for this key book. Originally a toy, Mandarin Spawn made his first appearance here. Less than 500 copies exist in the CGC census with only 293 in 9.8 (FMV $130). The 90 day average for this book in that grade is $102. Spawn #1 with over 13,000 copies in that grade has an FMV of $120. Are we starting to see some value in Spawn #165?
This issue was basically a trial to see if this printing company could produce a comic economically for a profit in 1939. Needless to say it was not produced in very great numbers. Golden Age collectors and investors bid rabidly when this book comes up for sale even though it is not historically or artistically significant. Six total copies exist in the CGC census (4 universal plus 2 restored). The last copy, a 6.0, sold in October 2024 for $28,612 and that price was a steal. This writer has seen collectors bid blindly hundreds in auctions on this issue with only poor quality images to guide them. In one incident, that book ultimately turned out to be a mere photocopy of the original. This issue is that rare with only five sales listed in the GoCollect data. If you snooze you will definitely lose when legitimate copies of this book come up for sale.
This is the first issue of the series containing the gothic character that has appeared in numerous movies and a television series. Still less than 1000 copies exist in the CGC census because this was an independent comic. Back in the day there were a ton of these type of series to choose from released by numerous publishers. A saturated market caused Caliber Press to not produce many issues. Very few copies exist in any grade. Even a 4.0 copy has an FMV of $450. The all black border is hard to find in higher grades so those issues' prices are probably beyond the reach of many. Do not give up on the Crow. Even the first appearance of the Crow in Caliber Presents #1 has a little over 1000 copies in the census and yet a 9.8 has an FMV of $2150 (118 total copies).
This writer has written about the first appearance of Sabrina the Teenage Witch in previous columns. She has appeared on television and in cartoons for decades, yet less than 300 copies exist in the census. That is too low a census population for this key rare book. On June 21 a 4.0 copy sold for $1400, well above the $500 FMV for that grade. The justification for that overpayment was this issue was a $.15 price variant. Very few people know this book even exists. A regular copy is still rare and offers a bargain but a variant of that book is truly unique. If you can find one buy it. One was seen at a comic book convention but did not last long at all.
The fact that this series was marketed to children made the print runs very small when other books were selling out during the 1990s. Older fans still saw this book and laughed at this cover realizing the intended audience was children. Controversial covers sell and this issue is very controversial. The sexual innuendos for this cover were pun-tastic. Less than 400 copies were ever graded with only 19 receiving the coveted 9.8 grade. Those issues have an FMV of $1000. Even a 6.5 has an FMV of $150. The hard part is only 148 sales have been reported. This book is rare but you never know...some still may exist in places where other Alf comics are gathering dust.
Ewoks #10 had at least the Star Wars tie-in for it. Muppet Babies #10 had nothing going for it but the anniversary border. Try to find it now. Good luck! A TOTAL of 62 copies exist in the CGC census yet a 9.8 has only an FMV of $450. A 7.0 has an FMV of $70. This book is one of the hardest books to find for border collectors and thus the reason it was mentioned last in this article. It is a very sore spot for those collectors and investors looking to satisfy collector's needs. An eBay search found zero books for sale! Heritage Auctions has sold one book on April 15 of this year. That $288 sale was for a 9.8 newsstand edition. This was five days after a 9.8 direct edition sold for $485 on eBay. The supply then dried up for this title. Happy hunting because for border collectors who need this book to complete their run there is nothing good about this rare book.
