It’s been more than a month since Fantastic Four: First Steps debuted in theaters. Let’s take a look and see how the index is faring.
3-Month Overview
The Fantastic Four CPI dropped 1.4% between May 25 and August 17. That’s nearly twice the drop of the previous three months. Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon occurrence for issues associated with a film release to lose value once the movie premieres. Worse in this case, however, there was little to no build up in value prior to the film’s release. So, what we’re seeing is a plummeting in value nearly across the entire index.
The Good
Instead of starting with books that have lost value, however, let’s start with a few bright spots. Fantastic Four #36, the first appearance of Medusa, made a huge leap up the charts thanks to the first ever sale of a 9.8 graded copy. It went for $24,000 in a June 29 Heritage auction. The highest sale prior was $20,400 for a 9.6 in a 2021 Heritage auction. 9.4 grades saw a 13.6 rise in value following the sale. However, most other grades were down or flat.
H.E.R.B.I.E.’s first appearance in Fantastic Four #209 continued its rise and is the clear beneficiary of the character’s substantial appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s up 7.8% over the past three months. The average price of a 9.8 has risen 41.9% and the 90-day average price is up to $350 compared to the 1-year average of $262.
Fans are still intrigued by Doctor Doom. It just looks like they’re more willing to speculate on cheaper issues of FF than more expensive ones. Fantastic Four #247, with its classic John Byrne drawn Doom cover, is up 26.2% over the past 90 days. This book is beginning to eclipse earlier Bronze Age issues and the average for a 9.8 has nearly doubled in price.
The Bad
Put simply, Fantastic Four #48 continues to crater. It dropped 10.6% over the past three months. At this point, supply has far outstripped demand and the price will likely continue to tumble. The average price of a 9.8 has fallen 16.6% and nearly every other grade is dropping as well. Its index value is now down to May 2021 levels, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it fall below 2020 values soon.
After holding steady earlier in the year, Agatha Harnkness’s first appearance in Fantastic Four #94 took a tumble, dropping 4.8%. There was no magic that could help this issue as declines could be seen in nearly every grade that sold. While it’s still at a far higher price than it was five years ago, it’s hard to see it increasing in value any time soon short of the character making a surprise appearance in Avengers: Doomsday.
The Ugly
When the premiere issue has the biggest drop in index value, you know it’s an ugly time. Fantastic Four #1 fell 10.8%. It wasn’t just the 25% decline in value in the 9.2 grade that caused the damage. The low grade copies really took a beating: 3.0 down 12.7%, 2.5 down 16.6%, 2.0 down 14%, 1.0 down 16.1%, and 0.5 down 26.4%. When the lower grades fall like this, it’s a troubling sign for the market as a whole, as its clear that more budget conscious collectors aren’t willing to pay what they used to.
