Comic Book Collectibles That are Undervalued but Highly Treasured

GoCollect prides itself in being the one stop site when it comes to pop culture. Cutting edge industry insider interviews, market reports from sellers and buyers, and educational articles gives readers an advantage that can make money for investors while saving money for collectors. This requires writers to put more into articles than personal opinions. Recently during a trip to the Motor City Comic Con ("MC3") a treasure trove of rare collectibles were seen up for sale. The sad part was that many experienced hobbyists were not even aware such a grouping of items was available for purchase even though it was right before their eyes.

What We Know

Comic books are collectible. Millions of fans buy and sell these items. GoCollect can then place a fair market value for books based upon this sales data. A 8.0 copy of Detective Comics #27 sold at a Heritage Auction for a little over a half a million in 2013. Nine years later another 8.0 sold for $1.74 million at a Goldin Auction. The infrequency of an item selling makes it difficult, but not impossible, to affix an FMV for these books. Imagine an item even more rare than the first appearance of Batman, and sold more infrequently, how difficult it would be to attach a good FMV. Most know of one such area in comics.

The Picassos of Comics

Many comic book fans are at least aware of original comic book art. These are the pages drawn by comic book artists that will be turned into the comic books fans love. Prices vary based upon the artist, subject matter, and page layout. These pages are ironically, quite common. The reason is that publishers and artists kept these pages. There was an acknowledgement that these pieces of art were important and thus were saved. There is another form of these pages though that many collectors prize that gets less attention, but people should know of these ignored historical items.

Plates Not for Dinner

Comic book printing plates are made from those original drawn comic book pages and used to create the actual comic books. This process was done by potentially either one or several different regional printers to save shipping costs for the companies. The created printing plates were used then for their runs. This regional production system was the reason that Marvel test-marketed their $.30 and $.35 price variants back in the 1970s in certain geographic areas in the USA and why Canada has some of their own price variant editions.

Damn You Joe

This attorney reached out to one of his connections in the printing industry who had involvement with a major comic book company's printing jobs. He indicated that the printing plate creation, use, and life span were all governed by contract. This printing insider indicated that plates were to be destroyed after runs to eliminate the potential for printers to sell completed products on the side. The plates then were routinely shredded or melted down and recycled to make new plates. Attorneys ruin everything!!!! It should be noted that even the best laid plans of an attorney can be defeated by nefarious means. (This attorney is not recommending anyone commit a crime or breach a contract).

By Hook or Crook

Many times plates were saved from the scrap heap by parties involved in the process. Sometimes individuals in the printing plant may have "taken" a few plates as souvenirs of their employment or because they liked the images. Other times employees at the metal processing plant may have "rescued" these artifacts rather than see them destroyed. Whatever the methodology, comic book printing plates exist and are collectible, but...

The Numbers...

The truth is that these collectibles were not saved in any great numbers. Fear of possible lawsuits, criminal charges and loss of employment was a great deterrent that prevented more of these items being rescued. That makes those that survived quite rare. One may be able to find several copies of early Batman appearances up for sale. They even may be able to find a few pieces of original Batman art from early issues, but it is almost impossible to find a printing plate from that era because of the importance of metals during the war. The truth is during all ages of comic books there is a lack of supply on these collectibles, but that does not mean there are not those that collect them.

Motor City Comic Convention Discovery

Tim Hershberger of Lantern Comics is a collector dealer. He always has these finds that the majority of collectors would be oblivious to their significance both historically and economically. Imagine our surprise when there on his display in his booth were numerous printing plates. They ran the gamut of regular pages to comic book covers. Disney collectibles are always in demand and there before the masses was a pile of Disney comic printing plates. He also had other genres on display. One collector at the show knew how rare those items were and made a purchase on sight. Another media member heard of the discovery and had to mention it in their coverage. These items just do not come to market that often.

Needle in Haystack

Tim is an honest and reputable dealer. Even he said finding printing plates can be difficult for collectors. Once sold they stay in that new buyer's collection because the person does not want to give them up. The reason is that finding a replacement is next to impossible. That makes it imperative to those wanting these pieces of history to buy them when they see them.

Printing Money

Finding printing plates in the wild is again quite rare. Tim indicated that pricing plates for resale is quite subjective. As stated above for original art , prices can vary based upon several factors. Those same factors can be true with comic book printing plates. Another factor that increases the value of comic book printing plates is finding a complete run of plates. In several decades of searching this collector has yet to find a complete comic book in printing plate form. This makes even a complete story run of plates from an anthology comic quite a find and highly prized by collectors.

Value is There

Heritage sells a wide range of items and yet they have not sold a comic book printing plate in close to five years based upon my intern's quick search of their site. A search of "comic book printing plate" at Heritage Auctions revealed that their most recent sale was in October 2020. The item sold was one plate from Mickey Mouse #65 created from art by Jack Bradbury. The sales price was $264. It is difficult to find a relative similar item to compare prices, but an original page of art from a Bugs Bunny coloring book drawn by Jack Bradbury sold for $20 in February 2020 at Heritage. The rarity of these plates makes them sell at a premium when they come to market.

Eyes Wide Open

Many collectors and investors miss out on opportunities because they are so focused on certain areas. True treasures are out there, sought after by certain collectors that more people should be aware exists. Comic book printing plates is an area that more collectors and investors should become educated. Many times these items can be found for very small sums compared to what they are really worth to true collectors. How many people reading this article knew that a simple Donald Duck printing plate could sell for $500 on eBay just a few weeks ago?

The GoCollect Difference

Many columns written by GoCollect writers are intended to educate readers. The purpose is to expose hobbyists to other markets. Collectors usually are self-described specialists that dive into one area. Hobbyists should not be so focused and blind themselves to other possibilities. Decades ago fans were all over variant and new company comic books and ignored simple artists selling old comic book pages from their booths for the same price. Imagine now holding works from Perez, Adams, and Wrightson. Fortune favors the bold. Knowledge is power. Even a basic understanding of peripheral areas of the hobby could let you score the deal of a lifetime, but only if you open your mind.