The GoCollect Collectible Price Indexes are fantastic for looking at trends for the top comics in each era. The overall Copper Age CPI may be showing a downward slide, but some comics are bucking that trend while others are exacerbating it. Let’s take a look at the Copper Age CPI to note some winners and losers over the past 90 days.
Downward Trends Continue
The Copper Age CPI continued its downward movement over the past three months, although we are beginning to see a general flattening of the curve. While it’s hoped that this trend will continue, we’ll have to check back in another few months to see what’s changed before we can determine if the Copper Age index is at least treading water.
The Main Man crushed the competition over the past three months with Lobo’s first appearance making huge gains. It’s all thanks to Jason Momoa’s confirmation as the character in James Gunn’s DCU films. It’s a role he was born to play and fans celebrated by purchasing this book for ever higher prices. We still have a long way to go before we see Momoa as Lobo in a movie and we’ve already seen prices plateau and even drop a little bit from recent highs. So, it should be interesting to see if it can retain its value for the long term.
Last time around, this book was the biggest Copper Age CPI winner. Now, it’s dropping harder than it rose. The 9.8 grade was the primary culprit, with the average sale price dropping roughly $22 in three months. The 9.6 and 9.4 grades carry their shame of the blame as well, although there have been slight upticks in the 9.0 and 8.5 grades. The increases in the late summer and into fall clearly weren’t sustainable.
The Death of Superman is one of the most well-known – and biggest selling – comics of the 1990s. As an easy to find collectible comic, it appears to be benefiting quite a bit from the release of the DCU’s Superman trailer. Despite its huge print run, there’s definitely a feeling of nostalgia for this one and its price point makes it very accessible for those seeking to capitalize on all things Superman.
It’s tough to see a book near the top of our index fall this much. The average price of a 9.8 has fallen $858 in 90 days. That’s a 25% drop. Unfortunately, we’re seeing drops in other grades that, while not as steep, are still falling at a decent clip. Without much in the news regarding Evil Ernie, it wouldn’t be shocking if the downward trend continues. However, with a smaller census size than many of the other books in the Copper Age CPI, just a few up sales could easily lift it once more.
The first issue of Frank Castle’s first solo mini-series saw a significant increase over the past three months. No doubt, recent sales are driven by the prominent role the character will play in Daredevil: Born Again. What makes the gains so interesting is that the average price of a 9.8 dropped $95 but the 9.6 rose $122. Combine that with gains in the 9.2 and 9.0 grades and a relatively flat 9.4 and you have a nice increase. If the 9.8 grade is able to rebound, this book could continue its upward trend.
One of the most celebrated of all Copper Age comics has taken a bit of a beating of late. The drops haven’t been significant in any one grade, but they have been across all grades. While the drop is certainly outpacing the index as a whole, I wouldn’t expect this to be a continuing trend.
Honorable Mentions
Two Copper Age Marvel mainstays, Silver Surfer #44 and Wolverine #1, made our list of honorable mentions with gains of 9.7% and 9.3% respectively. While on the loser side, news of Neil Gaiman’s troubles caused Sandman #1 to fall 10.7% and Sandman #8 to drop 11.9%
What are your thoughts on the Copper Age comic market? Let us know below.
