I was watching one of my favorite YouTubers, Mint-Hunter Comics, explain in this video that comic books signed by Hollywood stars sell for a premium at his shop (in Pennington, NJ). As we all know, CGC private signings with major celebrities can be very pricey; for example, a Robert Downey, Jr. signature cost $750 back in 2022.
Are they worth it from an investment standpoint? Let's take a look at a few case studies.
A Chris Hemsworth signature adds around $400 to $500 to The Mighty Thor #700 movie variant.
Let's first take a look at a comic that doesn't have a lot of intrinsic value on its own without a signature: The Mighty Thor #700 1:15 movie variant. High-grade raw copies of this issue sell for around $10 to $25 on eBay. It's hard to estimate the market value for a 9.8 universal blue label because there are only 13 total blue labels on the CGC Census, but I'm going to estimate that it might sell for around $125 to $175 based upon recent sales of high-grade raw copies on eBay (CGC case costs alone are around $80).
In comparison, there are 121 yellow label copies of this issue with Chris Hemsworth's signature on the CGC Census, 73 of which are 9.8s. Sales for a 9.8 yellow label with Hemsworth's signature vary widely, but the most recent publicly recorded sale was for a hefty $671 in September 2024:
On the other hand, just a few weeks ago, another 9.8 yellow label sold for under $450, and a 9.4 yellow label sold for $1,100 back in April 2023. That last one is a real head scratcher. At that point, the comic book bubble had already popped, but it looks like this buyer decided to catch this falling knife. It's difficult to estimate, but it looks like Hemsworth's signature does add around $400 to $500 to this particular issue.
Was it worth it? The CGC private signing with Hemsworth in 2023 cost $355. Once you include the cost of the book, pressing, and shipping, the total cost likely falls within the $425 to $450. If you received a 9.8, you'd probably earn a small return on your investment.
A Gal Gadot signature will add approximately $800 to a 9.8 copy of Wonder Woman #50 convention variant.
Let's take a look at a DC character as another case study. Like The Mighty Thor #700, there's a wide variation in sales for the Convention Photo Edition of Wonder Woman #50. As a baseline, the most recent 9.8 blue label sold for $231 about six months ago in November 2024. The all-time high sale was for $600, but that was nearly two years ago.
There are many more yellow label copies on the CGC Census than there are blue labels; 267 to 118 to be precise. A 9.8 yellow label sells somewhat frequently with five selling the past six months. One copy sold for $1,000 on eBay a few weeks ago. Notably, values have been holding steady over the past year with the 30-day average ($995) being roughly the same as the one-year average ($1,052).
The most recent sale for a 9.8 yellow label sold for $1,000 on eBay back on May 5th:
Was it worth it? This particular copy was signed by Gadot at a private signing in 2016 where her signature was priced at $225 (the most recent CGC private signing with Gadot in 2023 cost $355, by the way). Once you include the cost of the book (a high grade raw copy of this variant might sell in the $50 to $60 range), pressing, and shipping, the total cost likely falls in the $300 to $350 range. If you received a 9.8 back in 2016, you might have a chance to earn 3x on your initial investment.
I'll leave you with one last example. This amazing Marvel's The Avengers #1 signed by Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth (all in 2019), Mark Ruffalo in 2020, and Robert Downey, Jr. in 2022 sold for a whopping $10,000 on eBay a little over a year ago:
By my estimates, the witnessed autographs for all six actors along with the grading costs may have cost around $2,000 (Robert Downey's signature alone cost $750 per item at a private CGC signing in 2022). I'll leave the rest of the math in your hands, and perhaps hear your opinion in the comment section.
