Incredible Hulk 181 has become such a significant issue in comic book collecting that even books that have the ads for this issue are desirable. This is not without precedent. For example, Action Comics 12 contains an ad for Detective Comics 27. Sensation Comics 10 has a full-page ad for Wonder Woman 1. There are many examples. Few characters are as popular as Wolverine, so even in the Bronze Age, books with ads for Wolverine's first appearance are now coveted for that reason.
Hulk 181 advert
The advertisements for Wolverine's first appearance ran in three comics: Daredevil 115, Thor 229, and Marvel Premier 19. One curious thing about these ads for Hulk 181, is that they all advertise it as going to be on sale starting July 30. But Hulk 181 did not come out until November. These issues also all came out in November. What is the discrepancy?
According to keycollectorcomics, it is recorded in Comics Reader 109 that the on-sale dates of DD 115 and Thor 229 are late July and early August of 1974, respectively. I am not sure if Marvel Premier 19 is included in Comic Reader 109. I imagine it is but I do not have a copy. In addition, keycollectorcomics does not list Marvel Premier 19 with the Comic Reader information. Also, I was not sure how the on-sale date differs from the actual publication date. If you look in the indices of these three books and Hulk 181, they all say November 1974.
On Sale date versus Publish date
Well, the internet is your friend, and a forum post in 2012 to this exact question on comiccollectorlive reveals the following explanation:
"The reason that the publish dates on many covers and in the indices (especially from DC and Marvel) are 2 months ahead of their sales dates goes back to when most comics were bought off newsstands and spinner racks at "five and dime" stores. Those dates are to tell the stores, or the magazine companies who furnished the periodicals, how long to leave the books on the rack. Essentially, that means that a book would get left up on a rack for sale for between 1 and 2 months before it was taken down."
So there you have it, in 1974 these books would be taken off the rack in November, not put out for sale!
Market Behavior
Recently these books have seen spikes in sales topping $100 or even $200 in 9.0 - 9.6. The sales prices appear to be sporadic. I suppose this means either the seller is not aware of the significance and lists for a low fixed-price, or there are not enough bidders who realize why these books are different. The auction winner walks away with a steal.
Marvel Premier 19 skyrockets in 9.8, mainly due to it being the first appearance of Colleen Wing. Daredevil 115 is the second full appearance of Deathstalker. Deathstalker is best known for the famous cover of the first Frank Miller on DD in issue 158. Thor 229 is the first appearance of Dweller in the Darkness. It has a cool cover and features Hercules in the story.
What I think. What do you think?
Wolverine is just a great character and it is a good thing that he is so loved. I do not think these books are just speculation hype and something to roll your eyes at. I think these books have great appeal to Wolverine collectors as important items in the character's publication history. It looks like they are beginning to recognized as so, I believe they will stay and be strong. What do you think? Is this a temporary fascination or a discovery of some hidden gems? Let me know in the comments!
