With the State of the Union in Washington, DC recently behind us I thought it would be a good time to conduct a State of the Comic Book Market. The State of the Market is... still in a bear market. About 10 months ago, I blogged about the State of the Market in 2024. At that time, I asked "have we hit bottom?" Nearly a year later, the answer to my question is clearly "no."
When I wrote that blog in early 2024, I didn't have the tools at the time to accurately assess the overall state of the market. I had to use particular key issues (Amazing Fantasy #15, Incredible Hulk #181, and Amazing Spider-Man #300) as proxies for the entire market. But now, GoCollect has provided us with the Collectible Price Index, a concept similar to the S&P 500, Nasdaq, or the Dow Jones with an index for each comic book "age" (e.g., Silver, Bronze, Copper Ages). This tool takes a much broader view by assembling blue chip comics from each Age and assembling them into several composite indexes.
Big Spenders Club: Up Barely 1%
Not every index displayed has bearishness during the past year. The Big Spenders Club CPI which contains 34 of the most valuable comics of all-time, including Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, and Marvel Comics #1, eked out a small 1.16% gain over the past 12 months:
While that isn't much of a gain, at least we know there will always be steady demand for the most significant books of all-time even in the worst of market conditions. Three books in the Big Spenders Club CPI that boosted the Index over the past year were Fantastic Four #1 (adding an additional 106 points to the Index), Tales of Suspense #39 (adding 48 points), and Whiz Comics #2 (adding 32 points). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 acted as a tiny bit of a drag.
Golden Age: Up Over 5%
The Golden Age CPI was the best performer over the past year producing a 5.44% gain for the year.
While that pales in comparison to the S&P 500's 14% gain over the past 12 months, 5.44% would still have beaten inflation. Some books in the Golden Age CPI that helped drive these gains were Detective Comics #38 (adding a robust 182 points to the Index), Suspense Comics #3 (adding 101 points), and Detective Comics #31 (adding 48 points).
Silver Age: Down Nearly 5%
After the Golden Age, things start to go downhill. The Silver Age CPI is down 4.78% for the year:
For your average Joe collector, this Index is full of grails (1st appearances of Doctor Doom, Hal Jordan, Black Panther among many others), so it surprises me that it continues to lose steam without any sign of hitting the floor. Several early ASM books contributed to these losses including Amazing Spider-Man #3, #4, and #14:
On the other hand, one ray of light was Our Army at War #83 which posted some nice gains over the past year.
Bronze Age: Down Nearly 6%
The losses continue to pile up as we move onto to the Bronze Age with the Bronze Age CPI losing 5.69% over the past year:
Big Bronze Age books like Werewolf by Night #32 and, the book that kicked off the Bronze Age, Green Lantern #76, experienced some steep losses over the past 12 months.
But all is not doom and gloom. If you look at the last six months for the three most important books of the Bronze Age -- Hulk #181, House of Secrets #92, and Giant-Size X-Men #1 -- we see all three have appreciated in value.
Perhaps it's a sign of better things to come?
Copper Age: Down Nearly 7%
Not surprisingly, things get worse with the Copper Age CPI; the Index is down 6.78% during the past year:
Evil Ernie #1, The Batman Adventures #12, and Caliber Presents #1 were the three culprits most responsible for those losses, dragging the Index down by a combined 31 points over the past year. There are some bright spots though with the two biggest books of the Copper Age, The Crow #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #300, both up substantially over the past three months:
Modern Age: Down Over 10%
By the time we reach the Modern Age CPI, we've officially reached correction territory with a drop of over 10% during the past year:
Of the 50 books in the Modern Age CPI, only seven of them posted gains over the past 12 months: Invincible #1, Something is Killing The Children #1, The Walking Dead #19, The Boys #1, Sentry #1, Incredible Hulk #449, and Hulk #1. Five of those seven were boosted by TV shows and movies that have recently come out (e.g., Invincible on Amazon and Captain America: Brave New World) or will come out soon (Thunderbolts).
