Welcome to Blogger Dome! Here, bloggers will argue different topics involving the comic book market and industry. This will be a combination of the Big Bang Theory meets the WWE. Smack talk mixed with comic book debates. Bloggers going at each other to amuse and educate our readers. And we want to hear what YOU have to say about it. This is the Blogger Dome! Our Blogger Dome featured topic today is “Cameo First Appearance vs First Full Appearance”. I am Bud Weiser, the moderator for this historic event. I would like to welcome our readers to the final debate between our candidates for the office of President of Blogger Dome. Let us have the candidates introduce themselves!
My name is Joseph Overaitis
I want to thank the town of Gotham City for hosting this Blogger Dome debate. Go Gotham Knights! I want your vote because I am the better man for the job. What can be said about my candidate that has not been said already? My opponent, Harry Stone III, has still not commented on the record about where he stands on the Sokovia Accords.
How can you trust a man who is more difficult to pin down than the current whereabouts of Nick Fury? What does he think... that with a snap of his fingers I am going to disappear and stop advocating that First Cameos are the most worthy books in which to invest? He is as wrong now as he was when he recommended readers buy slabbed comics rather than raw and then get them graded.
Harry: Hello Everyone! My name is Harry Stone
Thank you for welcoming me to the beautiful city of Gotham. I have always been more of a good ol' Gotham Griffins fan myself, Go Green! But we're not here to talk sports, are we? We're here for the great Blogger Dome debate. My friend Sleepy Joe will try and distract you with witty comments and his best Mayor Aubrey James impression.
Are we really going to believe someone under investigation for aiding and abetting The Clown Prince of Crime during the recent Joker Wars? I, on the other hand, am a man of the people. I will give you nothing but truth, and the truth is that true first appearances are the best bang for your buck.
Let's get this debate going!
Round #1
Joseph: Agatha what a great question. I want to make my position as clear as an Infinity stone; a cameo first appearance is the place to invest. I am reminded of a quote from a movie that sums it up for comic book collectors, and that is "if you ain't first, you're last." That is something that has always been true. The problem for comic book collectors is a position taken by a company years ago that affected generations of collectors.
The Overstreet Price guide was the bible for comic book collectors and investors alike. This does not mean the guide was infallible. One of the greatest mistakes the guide made was in the use of the words "cameo" and "first full". The true "first" appearance of Wolverine is Incredible Hulk #180. The character is seen in complete form in that issue.
The same applies to Venom in Amazing Spider-Man #299. These are the true first appearances of the characters. Overstreet and other price guide competitors of the time used for years "cameo" for those issues and "first full" to denote the next issues that became more valuable.
Get with the times!
The days of comic investors blindly following misnamed appearances are over. If a cameo is the first true appearance of a character, then that is the issue that you should invest in. There can only be one true first. If you ain't first you are last, and no one wants to be last. Well, except for Harry Stone III.
Manipulated by Media
Round #2
Joseph: If you believe what Harry Stone III just dumped on you then you probably believe that Harley Quinn is an innocent woman. Harry, here are some facts that you cannot ignore and I got them from a reporter from the Daily Planet. Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134 is the first APPEARANCE of Darkseid. I will use the 9.0 FMV because a copy sold this month. The FMV for a 9.0 is $650.
Now let us look to a 9.0 copy of Forever People #1 that also had a sale this month. The FMV for a 9.0 copy of his "first" full appearance is $375. This issue came out only a few months after the true first cameo appearance and that issue is almost half the value of his true first appearance, however brief it may have been. This book has been around for years so even with Overstreet's faulty description the fans have sided with me.
Look at Gambit
Round #3
Joseph: Harry you kept blowing such hot wind with the last round that I thought you were, in fact, the Red Tornado. Let us get serious for the final round. People always put forth the Incredible Hulk #180 versus #181 example to prove that first full appearances are better to invest in than cameos. That is as much of a faulty premise as your position on the mutant registration act was decades ago. In truly understanding if a cameo first appearance or first full appearance is more desirable we must compare apples to apples. That is why I have always liked looking at two books that rarely get mentioned in these discussions.
The X-Men argument
Uncanny X-Men is one of the gold standards of comic book titles for collectors and investors alike. Many characters made their first appearances in this title. One of those characters that had a lasting impact in comics and has also appeared in film is Bishop. Uncanny X-Men #282 is the first appearance of Bishop that has been qualified as a mere cameo. Bishop only appears in the last panel of the issue like Wolverine did in his first appearance, but what is unique here is the cover appearance. Bishop is featured prominently on the cover of this issue.
This month, a 9.8 copy has an FMV of $240. Uncanny X-Men #283 again has Bishop on the cover. This issue is qualified as his first full appearance in that he is prominently displayed in the issue. If Harry's argument would be true then this issue would be more valuable than his mere cameo first appearance, and yet a 9.8 copy has an FMV of only $140 this month.
This proves that when all things are equal and the cameo and first appearance of characters both appear on the cover, the cameo will be more valuable. The cover factor was also important to the cameo and first full appearance of Darkseid. No covers and the choice was cameo. Both appearances on covers and the choice is cameo. Harry, I think this election victory is mine!!!!
What about ASM #316?
Post-Debate Cool-Down
Joseph: I may not agree with Harry Stone III on all the issues, but I do think we can find common ground on this one. Other comic book blog sites have recently started to promote the true first appearance as not the first cameo or the first full appearance as it has been known, but instead ads and other images. Foom #2 in the GoCollect price guide is an issue that features a comic contest that a mere fan drew a character named "The Wolverine" that had metal under his skin. Apparently, this is now the issue people claim investors and collectors should buy.
Dont forget...
In addition, Marvel Premier #19 is now being reported to be important. The reason is not that this book has the first appearance of Colleen Wing, but instead because it has an ad for Incredible Hulk #181. Please do not fall prey to these sites. Harry Stone III may be the only person on the planet who failed to see the plot holes in Wonder Woman 1984, but even he can not be as gullible as the writers making those recommendations.