The Effect of Hollywood on the World of Comic Book Collecting

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Friday, September 23, 2016

Travis Landry, Toy Department Director for Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers & RI Comic Con

In recent times since 2008, Marvel Studios has released anywhere from one to three movies every year with their future production scheduled all the way through 2019 with a star studded lineup in true Marvel fashion. With the resurgence of pop culture in Hollywood, the secondary market for everything pop culture has exponentially increased.

Trending Up 

This trend has been extremely prevalent with the release of Marvel Studios “Guardians of The Galaxy” (2014) and “Ant-Man” (2015). In the world of comics, the trade term “bin book”, refers to a vintage comic book that typically sells for original face value if not less, and not until recently the key issue featuring the Guardians of The Galaxy and Ant-Man were found in those bins. Three books in particular worth mentioning would be “Marvel Preview” #4, the first appearance of Star Lord (Peter Quill), “The Incredible Hulk” #271, the first comic book appearance of Rocket Raccoon, and “Marvel Premiere” #47, when Scott Lang becomes the new Ant-Man. 

No more than five years ago these three books could be found on any given day at any store or convention for a couple of bucks. Present day, high grade examples of both The Incredible Hulk #271 and Marvel Premiere #47 sell on average for four hundred dollars and rising every day. Marvel Preview #4 especially in recent times has sold well into the thousands for exceptional examples. With all this exponential growth in the marketplace the question comes to mind what books are worth investing in for the future. Luckily, with Marvel’s scheduled lineup the market is relatively more predictable than Wall Street.

Looking Ahead

In 2018 Marvel Studios will be releasing “Black Panther” and “Ant-Man and The Wasp” followed up by a standalone Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel movie in 2019. Currently on the secondary market “Fantastic Four” #52, the first appearance of Black Panther and “Tales to Astonish” #44, first appearance of the Wasp are skyrocketing with no peak in sight. For high grade examples currently,  both books have sold well over three thousand dollars. That may seem as a shockingly high price to a lay person, but in the comic book circuit that is still low end in the overall spectrum of books. Collectors and fans alike are only anticipating the movie currently, once the movie reaches theaters if history proves anything these books will double if not triple in value.

For the faint of heart if investing thousands seems risky in something that was once twelve cents, investing in Captain Marvel is a significantly cheaper option. Carol Danvers first appeared in “Marvel Super-Heroes” #13 which already sells into the thousands, but Carol Danvers did not appear as Captain Marvel until issue nine of “Avenging Spider-Man” in 2012. 

Currently you can purchase this key issue in pristine, graded condition for under one hundred fifty dollars, ungraded you can find them any day of the week for fifty bucks or less. If you have a couple extra bucks and don’t mind sitting on the book for four years it’s a no brainer. If you are interested in seeing how the market develops in the future before making a financial commitment, a 9.0 CGC graded example of Incredible Hulk #271 and a 9.4 CGC example of Marvel Premiere #47 will be featured in the upcoming Toy, Comic, and Collectibles auction at Rhode Island Comic Con on Sunday, November 13. 

This article was written by Travis Landry, Toy Department Director for Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and Rhode Island Comic Con in part of an ongoing content series with GoLocal.

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