Fantasy Comic CollectingHow did your picks fare from last month? Time to check in on our Fantasy Comic Collecting.

Overall, my picks lost value in the past month. Before the COVD-19 pandemic upended the market, I was confident that I would show a profit between March and April. Fantastic Four #48 and Avengers Annual #10 both dropped in fair market value. However, my saving grace was Incredible Hulk #180, which received a $25 boost to help balance out the loss from the others. It also helped that Amazing Spider-Man #361 held tight at $350.

Considering the current market, ending with just a $10 loss isn't so bad. Here's the breakdown of my picks from last month:

FANTASTIC FOUR #48 (4.0)

LAST MONTH'S FMV: $850

CURRENT FMV: $825

INCREDIBLE HULK #180 (8.0)

LAST MONTH'S FMV: $700

CURRENT FMV: $725

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 (9.8)

LAST MONTH'S FMV: $350

CURRENT FMV: $350

AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 (9.0)

LAST MONTH'S FMV: $100

CURRENT FMV: $90

TOTAL BUDGET: $1,990 (-$10)

With Silver and Bronze Age keys losing money on the market, I'm going to sell F.F. #48, which equals a $25 loss. As much faith as I have that this issue will eventually rebound, I predict it taking more hits in the coming months. That's why I think now is a good time to sell before most of the higher-priced keys lose more value.

RULES CHANGE

By and large, we are sticking with the same rules laid out last time, but I am putting in an additional change. To make things more interesting, you have to sell at least one comic based on the GoCollect fair market values.

Fantasy Comic CollectingTHIS MONTH'S PICKS

With $1,990 to spend, I am altering my approach. Since Modern Age comics are holding their values more so than others, I am picking up a 9.2 Amazing Spider-Man #300. My logic is that we're going to see a slight uptick thanks to the upcoming movie. The problem is we don't know when that's going to debut given the pandemic, but any trailers will be enough to raise FMVs.

That leaves me with $475 remaining, which is exactly enough to add a 9.8 Mighty Thor #377 to the list. With more news coming from the Thor: Love and Thunder, I think speculators will continue buying this comic with the idea that Beta Ray Bill is going to appear in the film.

Here are my new picks. Since I lost $10 from my initial investment, this month's budget can't exceed $1,990.

INCREDIBLE HULK #180 (8.0)

CURRENT FMV: $725

THE MIGHTY THOR #377 (9.8)

CURRENT FMV: $475

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #300 (9.2)

CURRENT FMV: $350

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 (9.8)

CURRENT FMV: $350

AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 (9.0)

CURRENT FMV: $90

TOTAL SPENT: $1,990

THE RANKINGS

Last month, I promised to spotlight the first five readers who responded with their picks. Ilya was the only one able to turn a profit in the first month thanks largely to a $60 gain in FMV for the 9.8 X-Men #4, and that puts him in the lead so far. Nice job, Ilya.

Based on current FMVs, here are the current rankings, including myself. Beside each name is the total their investments are worth based on the present FMVs from GoCollect. You can do this with your own picks at home to see where you rank.

  1. Ilya ($2,140)
  2. Matt ($1,990)
  3. Grant ($1,974)
  4. BJS ($1,935)
  5. Jeremy ($1,930)
  6. Reilly ($1,650)

WANT TO PLAY?

Feel like joining the fun? All you need to do is reply in the comments with your picks. If you need a better explanation of the rules, check out "Shall We Play a Game?"