Talk about a crazy week. First the Spider-man Sony/Disney fiasco stresses out many MCU and Spidey fans, and now, with the announcements at the D23 expo we learn that there are no less than three more Marvel Disney+ Shows than those we knew about. The new additions include: 'Ms. Marvel', 'She-Hulk', and a 'Moon Knight' show. Let’s explore what this means for your comics.

First let’s get the obvious questions out of the way.

I know many have been waiting for the above characters to break into the MCU, but some may be disappointed that it’s happening on the small screen.

This fear is somewhat justified. After all, the small screen adaptations of comic book characters have a much worse track record than parallel big screen adaptations. Also some small screen adaptations, even well-made ones – like DC’s ‘Swamp Thing’ have been getting cancelled lately.

But let's look at the positives. It may be that the above fears are somewhat overblown. For example, there have been many cases of small screen adaptations sending the value of their related comics upwards.

From 'Walking Dead' to 'Umbrella Academy,' we all know the successful small screen projects.

The thing is, when it comes to the new Disney streaming show, as I’ve blogged about on this site (see myThe MCU’s Small Screen Explosion: Will Disney+ be a Game Changer?), the gap between the big and small is currently being bridged by Disney.

Many of the already commissioned shows feature the big screen actors portraying their respective MCU characters. Moreover, we know that the budget for these series is basically at the level of a movie. Add to this that the characters on the Disney+ shows are already set to crossover onto the big screen, and all the above should somewhat allay the fears of the biggest She-Hulk or Ms. Marvel fan.

Let’s look at the state of the relevant books.

Captain Marvel #17 (October 2013) – First Full Appearance of Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan

Kamala Khan is the character in these announcements with the least amount of pop culture representation and she also has the least amount of comic appearances of any of the three. For all those reasons, I think her fans were hoping that a big screen appearance would keep her already pricey debut comic up in value. She’s a younger hero and that may attract new fans to the Marvel universe. Should you pick up her comic? If you can find a first print of Captain Marvel #17 those currently sell for a FMV of $85.00 in 9.8 and have been picking up. This announcement may move them higher, but I think now it's actually a good time to sell not to buy. The book you should really look out for, however, is the second print variant cover. With a FMV of $1,450.00 it has sold for as high as $1, 900.00 in certified 9.8 (eBay sale: 02/07/2019) so it’s been trending down over the last three months. The variant nonetheless has very strong positive growth on all grades long term (since 2013). The regular version is mixed long term. Hold the alternate. Sell the regular.

 

 

 

Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975) - First appearance of Moon Knight; Origin of Moon Knight

Marc Spector’s possible insanity will be the main focus of this series - if it shapes up to be a faithful take on the fan favorite character, it will probably be popular. Not that I can imagine even a mediocre take on the character completely or permanently hurting the value of this book. So far, it has been building in value like few other Bronze Age books, all without the help of small or big screen adaptation. Currently there are a total of 2,676 copies of WWBN #32 on the CGC census. With a FMV of around $25, 000.00 in 9.8 grade, this book is in a league of its own compared to the other two. Add to this that the last 9.8 sold for a record breaking $50, 000.00 on ComicConnect on 02/28/2019 (remember it was one of only 18 9.8 graded copies). Lower grades are however gaining in value: I don’t see that changing with more Moon Knight exposure.

 

 

 

She-Hulk #1 (January 1980) – Origin of She-Hulk; First appearance of She-Hulk

She-Hulk - or in her civilian identity: lawyer Jennifer Walters - has been seeing a lot of attention over the last few months. I had a sense that 2019 would be the year for this book to peak (see here); so far my hunch has proven correct. But now we really reach a crossroads with this book. Depending on when the trailer comes out, the time to sell this book is quickly approaching. I think it will continue to rise through the coming weeks. Currently there are 5, 218 copies of this comic on the census and most of them in high grade. Translation: this is not a difficult book to find and it already has a FMV of around $425.00 in certified 9.8.

Today, two 9.8’s sold today for $550.00 and $530.00 respectively on eBay. The returns over the last three months have been somewhat mixed, but the long term returns have been very strong and are probably about to peak. My advice: wait for the official 'She-Hulk' Disney+ trailer and then sell. If you have a 9.8 and love it don’t worry, you’ll be able to buy it back for far less, after the show launches and the appeal of a female Hulk wears off. At that point people will move on to the next big spec book.