Pablo Picasso once said, "good artists copy, but great artists steal." This was never more true than in the early 80s with the dreaded Brood species created in the pages of X-Men. The creators appeared to use one of the best space horrors ever to grace the big screen: Alien. Then to the untrained eye, it was adapted from an Alien concept to Marvel. Marvel transformed them into the Brood, instant X-Men protagonists. To keep everything legal they called these Xenomorphs, the Brood. The one big difference is the Brood did not have "acid for blood" and instead used weaponry and advanced space ships. But the similarities were pretty striking, still, as a reader, it was fun to watch the X-Men tangle with these alien impregnators.

The name "Brood" worked and we got to see superpowered beings deal with the horror of Alien type creatures that could transform humans into Brood babies. They first appeared in Claremont's X-Men #155.  Recently there has been media hype of a Brood Thor created for an upcoming Avengers storyline. This may have led to the upswing in the price for X-Men #155. Is it too late to grab the first appearance of the Brood by their speculative tails and shake it like a money tree?

 

 

 

X-Men #155

The team of Chris Claremont (script), Dave Cockrum (pencils) and Bob Wiacek (inks) created the first X-Men Brood encounter in March of 1982. Some media sources have tapped this book for growth potential, I always liked the Brood concept even if it seemed awfully similar to the Alien movie. If the MCU decides to move into space and add more of a horror aspect or sci-horror then the Brood is the ticket. Deadly, they can impregnate anyone with their Brood eggs, turning the receiving person into another Brood. Only Wolverine seemed impervious and it pushed his healing factor to its limits. What are the long-term and short-term returns for X-Men #155?

 

 

Long-Term

  • Grade 9.8 $120 FMV returns positive +75.3%
  • Grade 9.6 $48 FMV returns positive +32.6%
  • Grade 9.4 $42 FMV returns negative -2.9%
  • Grade 9.2 $38 FMV returns positive +71.6%
  • Grade 9.0 $24 FMV returns negative -4.4%

Short-Term

  • Grade 9.8 $120 FMV returns positive +32%
  • Grade 9.6 $48 FMV returns positive +56.2%
  • Grade 9.4 $42 FMV returns negative -2.5%
  • Grade 9.2 $38 FMV returns positive N/A
  • Grade 9.0 $24 FMV returns positive +25%

 

Conclusion:

These numbers show great long-term returns for X-Men #155. The best news of all; this book is still so cheap to buy-in. The most recent sale for grade 9.8 was $175 in November. Still too rich for your blood, Spanky? Ok, how about grade 9.6 for $59 that a little closer to your speculation launchpad? These grades have great long-term returns 9.8 = +75%  and 9.6 = +32%. Still not sure about the purchase. Let us look at short-term results for the same grades. For grade 9.8 this X-Men key returns +32% and for 9.6 it returns a whopping +56%!

The CGC Census is equally positive on this speculation. With only 444 outstanding books, this leaves a huge upside to existing books. This was a very popular storyline and many folks own this series raw in their collections. After all, Claremont and the X-Men dominated the 80s and a good part of the 90s too. Buy this book now; it is currently very cheap in high grades. When the eventual movie, TV show, or just another comic book series appears the price will spike and you will be vindicated. If you miss this great speculation play, it will feel as if your innards were ripped apart by a Brood Queen!

 

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