Magicians never want to reveal their tricks - it provides them a competitive advantage over their peers. Comic book collectors and investors are the same way. Both are hesitant to reveal a discovery that could hinder their own goals. Prices go up when others find out about these secrets. This author was pointed to a book that could appeal to both demographics. The best part is that anyone reading this article has a chance to get in on the ground floor before it even goes to the printer. The book with this potential is Mickey Finnegan's Sanity: Rise of the Occult.
Mickey Finnegan: aka Swagglehaus
A fan's fan
One of the first things both collectors and investors should realize is that Mickey Finnegan is a comic book fan. He can dive into Ed Brubaker's Captain America stories, and then, on a moment's notice, quickly pivot to back-issue prices. During the pandemic, he created a YouTube channel dedicated to the hobby. He has one of the most-viewed comic book channels on the site.
Many outsiders attempt to enter the market under the guise that a comic book is simply pictures with word balloons. Even major publishers think producing a comic book is easy. They rush many subpar projects to market without implementing good quality controls. That is not the case with Sanity: Rise of the Occult. Finnegan knows comic books.
The devil is in the story's detail
Quality can never be sacrificed to produce a great comic book. Finnegan started his process with a complex horror story that brings Lovecraftian elements to a period mystery tale. This fusion of comic book genres by someone so passionate about the story only adds to the potential for this book.
Finnegan states that this is a true meshing of horror and mystery elements to create something unique. Fans of horror will not be disappointed while mystery fans will be provided a complex story whose mysteries will not be easily revealed. The story will be told in a six-issue mini-series, but he has more stories in development for this universe.
A picture is worth a thousand words
Every good comic book enthusiast knows that a good story will only move the needle so far. A competent artist is also needed to bring the story to life. Finnegan scoured the globe to find an artist who not only shared a passion for the project but also could bring the goods with their art. That search ended with the selection of Santiago Espina.
Espina follows the old-school craft of putting ink to paper. The use of shadows and night in the images provided for this article adds to the feel of the story. Collectors and those that love comic books will not be disappointed, but Finnegan brings something more to the table that should have speculators and investors salivating.
Friends Open Doors
Speculators, keep this to yourselves...
Speculators and investors are always looking for an advantage - anything that will give their purchase an extra element that could drive people to the item is desired. Sanity: Rise of the Occult has that attribute. Most creators enter into the comic book market with hopes that it will open doors for their creative property to leap off of the pages and be picked up for a television or movie treatment. They view their project as the next "Walking Dead" and only put in the bare minimum to produce a product.
This will then provide the creators with an opening to new careers and exposure. Comic books are thus only but a small part of the process. Finnegan is someone who bucks that formula because he is already a resident of the Hollywood community.
A legit player
Mickey Finnegan comes to the comic book industry via Hollywood. His corporate website indicates he is a noted writer and director who has worked with such notable brands as Miley Cyrus, LMFAO, Rebel Wilson, Bella Thorne, MTV, Dancing with the Stars, Pepsi, Fox, ABC, and others. His IMDb page is a who's who in entertainment. These types of connections could open the door for Finnegan much more easily than others. This means that a comic book story like this could find its way to the small or big screen much more easily than others because of his pedigree.
A writer who has written for television shows cannot help but see where the episodic breaks would appear from page to screen. The artist would also know what would and what would not translate well to these different mediums. That is important to speculators.
Key elements for investment
Investors want to eliminate risk as much as possible while hoping the return will be infinite. That is something that truly exists in this comic. The comic was featured on Kickstarter and met its target. Many projects like this do not. The combination of a proven industry professional working on a new project that already has a following will not be lost on certain executives and it should not be lost on comic book investors.
Variants
Another factor that also should not be lost is that the print run will be very small. No more than 5000 copies will be produced. As mentioned before, Mickey knows comic book hobbyists, so a limited run of variants will also be available to Kickstarter participants. An even smaller run of some variant covers will be marked as Kickstarter exclusives that will never be sold again. The only way to get in on these books is to make the appropriate tier donation.
Pearls of wisdom
GoCollect has a goal to bring innovation and beneficial information to collectors and investors. Not every story that is discovered makes writers take note. Instead, writers try to find something that is different and that uniqueness provides an advantage not possessed by other similar products or competitors. GoCollect then presents this information in a timely manner so that readers can benefit from the insight. This comic presents just such an opportunity.
Striking when the time is right
The series is produced by a comic book fan with a pedigree for media projects. The first issue has not even gone to press, and yet the Kickstarter campaign has already met its goal. Mickey also has a reputation among both hobbyists and media executives. Many entrepreneurs would not risk their professional reputation by entering into a project doomed to fail. Mickey Finnegan is no amateur entrepreneur. As a result, he has used all his industry knowledge to minimize those risks. This project is primed to succeed if he has his way.
So now what?
Sanity: Rise of the Occult is a book that readers may want to evaluate for themselves. Those that are interested will still have some time to see if they too can get in on those Kickstarter tiers. Others may want to stay tuned to Swagglehous' channel for upcoming news on the project and information on where to get subsequent copies of the comic.
Best case scenario is that fans get in on the ground floor of the next "Walking Dead", while the worst case scenario is that fans will own a quality comic book written by a true fan of the hobby. Win-win scenarios rarely are available in life. When they do present themselves, one should evaluate them so they do not slip through one's fingers.
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.