Did you get your copy of Captain Marvel #8? Prices are rocketing upwards only a day after Star's debut, but don't fret if you couldn't get one. There's a good chance this balloon will pop in a few months if current trends hold true.
I've written before about the new marketing strategy to sell comics. It's simple, and it works virtually 100% of the time. All the big publishers have to do is introduce a new (or re-imagined) character, and collectors lose their collective mind. The truth is all these new characters are flooding the market. It's hard to keep up with the bevy of first appearances, and if you don't get an issue on day one, they're getting too expensive on the secondary market.
This is becoming increasingly common, and the latest is Star, whose first full appearance made Captain Marvel #8 sell out across the country only yesterday. While the comic only just hit store shelves, it immediately skyrocketed with the standard cover reaching $20-$25 less than 24 hours later.
Last week, the strategy paid dividends for IDW when the company added Jennika to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Sales for TMNT #95 instantly boomed, and pre-orders for TMNT #96 are sky high. Marvel is having the same success with its X-Men relaunch, and the introduction of six new characters in Powers of X #1 has spurred huge pre-order numbers for both Powers of X and House of X #1.
What's happening is that comics are selling huge numbers just because there's a new character, and that's why the big publishers are cranking out the first appearances like doughnuts at a Krispy Kreme. This year alone, besides Star, Jennika, and the six new X-Men, there's been Major X, Naomi, and the Grim Knight among others.
With new characters, the first appearance will initially take off, and Captain Marvel #8 brings to light a new problem being raised by concerned collectors. Since this issue was anticipated to be in high demand, some retailers are being accused of skipping store shelves and putting their copies straight on eBay with higher price tags. If this is true, then it will hurt the overall market in the long run. It's a practice that will drive up prices for potential key issues overnight, and it will deter collectors from, well, collecting because it's hard to toss $20 or more at a $5 comic that may drop as quickly as it rose.
As a collecting community, we take the bait and are hooked when publishers hype an issue as a key first appearance, and the comic is guaranteed to sellout and go to a second printing. While we will keep buying these in droves, not all new characters are destined to ascend to Wolverine levels. Naomi #1 is a great example. Although the 9.8's 90-day average stands at $201, its value is falling quickly, and the last sale was for $110. Naomi #1 at a 9.6 has gone from being a $100 comic down to $72 this past month.
Marvel isn't immune from this drop. From mid-April to mid-June, Major X #1 in a 9.8 rarely sold for under $100. In May, it brought between $106-$240. However, since June 20, it's taken a significant turn, and now it sells for about $65. Even more shocking is that one sold for a low of $39 earlier this week.
Where am I going with all this? There are so many first appearances flooding the market this year that if you didn't get Captain Marvel #8, you can wait for the next mega-hyped key issue.
