Oh Canada! There is a ton of speculation about Alpha Flight happening right now. Will they get their own movie to help expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)? Are they the marketing arm Marvel needs to envelop the french fries and gravy industries? Are they going to snowshoe down from our northern neighbor to resolve this whole Thanos snap problem? Grab a Tim Hortons and relax as we cozy up with Guardian, Sasquatch, and the crew!
The Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight is comprised of 6 members and had their debut during a continued mission by their leader (call him Weapon Alpha, Guardian, or Vindicator) to capture Wolverine. Alpha Flight made their first full appearance as a team in X-men #121 in 1979. However, the Cameo appearance of the group in X-men #120 seems to be the more expensive of the two on the open market. I don't fully understand how a cameo appearance can have a Fair Market Value (FMV) of $2200 for a 9.8 grade versus the FMV of $550 for a full first appearance of the group. Perhaps it is my puerility in collecting, but this seems like a crazy inconsistency in how pricing for a Cameo vs. Full First Appearances should work. Collectors are not clamoring to get their hands on copies Incredible Hulk #180 or Amazing Spider-Man #299...and the prices of those books are not even close to the range of their full first appearance counterparts in Hulk 181 and ASM #300. Yet a few books exist where the cameo seems to outpace the full first appearance by miles. So why do these occurrences happen?
I recently posted an article that looked at the first appearance of Riri Williams as an appetizer of knowledge. In that article, I found it astounding that the much rarer and full appearance of Riri was under-priced in the market. I am taking the same stance here with X-men #121. If I was a speculator of comic investing (4th wall break with shifty eyes) I would find it a whole lot easier to "sell" the idea of owning the first full appearance rather than a cameo, despite market pricing. Ultimately a comic is as valuable as you can sell it for, and in most instance on the market the full first appearance book remains higher-priced than the cameo. So when I see instances where that solid rule is reversed, I see potential value. Years from now it will be easier to sell a new collector, who may be looking to invest in Alpha Flight, a full first appearance.
Due to recent upheaval with James Gunn and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Alpha Flight may be the odd-ball team that Marvel turns to following Avengers 4. There is definitely enough hope that Alpha Flight makes an MCU appearance that you should be scooping up either the cameo or the full first appearance of the group before the rumor mill pushes prices into the Marvel Tails #1 trajectory. X-men books in general are hot on the market and tend to remain hot over time. Along with being old and rare, there is really not a downside owning X-men #120 or X-men #121.
Are you excited about the Canadian invasion? Is Sasquatch the new Groot? Would it be hard to make an entertaining superhero movie with congenial Canadians as the leads? Drop us your comments and join in the conversation!
