Comic books are selling at historic rates, nowadays. Popular titles containing characters such as the X-Men, Thor, Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man are selling at mind-boggling rates, despite being in a worldwide pandemic. With that, do we believe a "comic book crash" is coming into the near future? Or do we believe the prices will start to plateau? Let's analyze the signs. Collectors and investors are shelling big amounts of money to obtain key issues for these popular Marvel characters. These individuals are buying them for their personal collection, while others are purchasing the titles as short and term investments. Currently, the sales of popular titles are surging at explosive rates that people could not imagined years or months ago. The influence and expansion of Marvel introducing more television and movies in the upcoming future play a prominent role in the increased value of comic books.

It's an Explosion, Baby!

Amazing Spider-Man 129 for blog by Patrick Bain

Marvel titles have never been more popular and the result is the value of key books is exploding. For example, one comic title that increased in a short amount of time is the Amazing Spider-Man # 129. This issue contains the first appearance of the Punisher. The Punisher, otherwise known as Frank Castle, is a Marvel character that recently had his own television show a couple of years ago. The show was on Netflix and it lasted two seasons. Currently, there is no confirmed news that The Punisher will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Though, the rumors are the primary reason in driving the value of the book.

In the last six months, the book's value has increased tremendously. Every graded copy has at least a positive correlation of a 15% increase during this timeframe. For example, a 7.0 graded copy's value has increased at crazy rates. The positive correlation is at 78.7% with about 18 sales. In September, this grade was selling at just over $1,000 and now in March, the book is almost clearing $2500 in sales. I do not believe that this title will crash or plateau until we get confirmed rumors. Otherwise, I feel the expectation of a title similar to this will continue to increase over time.

Let's Analyze Another One...

Another consideration on why a comic book crash might be pending is in this next example. X-Men, called "Mutants" by Kevin Feige, has been one of Marvel's most successful and popular properties for as long as I can remember. The first appearance of this classic hero group is considered one of Marvel's grail books to own for fans and collectors.

X-Men #1 is the issue that depicts the first-team appearance of the original X-Men. The team consists of Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, and Professor Xavier (X). This issue is a silver-age classic and a must-own copy for Marvel and X-Men fans. The book is very hard to find, in general, and even tougher to find in high grades. One can expect to unload a tremendous amount of money to obtain this book in a high grade. Currently, demand is super high due to the movie and television rumors of the MCU.

Soarin,' Flyin'

The value of this issue is soaring due to the supply and demand of the current market. The print run is not as high as the Punisher book in the first analysis. With that, the value of this book is increasing at such a rapid rate. For example, a low grade of 2.5 has spiked with a positive correlation of 85.4% in the last six months. The grade only had six total sales. The scarcity in sales drives the increase in value of this book. Starting in September, a book in this grade was selling at around $5,000. The last time this grade was sold in March and it went for over $12,000! I truly believe going forward that this grade will consistently sell for over $10,000. The crazy demand and the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) will make collectors and investors drive the price of the issue. Every graded copy is experiencing tremendous increases in values. If I pulled the analysis from a year ago, I would expect the positive correlation to be even higher. The reality is time is on the side for collectors and the comic market tends to reward people to buy in early on key books.

What do YOU Think?

To sum up, if comic price values keep soaring like X-Men #1, then we could be heading to a comic crash. The rates are unsustainable and being in a pandemic will not make things better for everyone. If prices steadily increase like Amazing Spider-Man #129, then we are less likely to see a comic crash and could see values of popular titles keep reaching new heights. Otherwise, what do you think about the state of the comic market?

Have you upgraded to a GoCollect premium membership yet? Get it while it's hot!