How are the various Captain Marvel key books performing now?
After months of fervor surrounding the world premiere of the Captain Marvel (2019) movie and a monster worldwide box office of $1.1 billion, one has to wonder if their investments in the character’s key comic book have kept up. Here we examine the best course of action forward from a financial investment perspective.
Going chronologically, the first book up for performance review is Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (1967), the 1st appearance of Captain Marvel. Below is the sales for the CGC grades 9.2, 8.0, and 6.0, which represent a cross section of the top 19.5%, 50.1%, and 83.2% of the census:
The value is dropping across all the grades. Most noticeably, the higher end 9.2 is losing its value the fastest; its value declining at a rate almost ten times that of 8.0.
Next up for performance review is Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (1968), the 1st Appearance of Carol Danvers. Below is the sales for the CGC grades 9.0, 8.0, 6.5, and 4.5. This represents a cross section similar to the book above; specifically, its the top 6.3%, 18.2%, 45.7%, and 81.2% of the census:
Like the issue before it, Marvel Super-Heroes #13 is losing its value across all the grades. Unfortunately for MSH #13, it’s on average declining in value across its grades faster than MSH #12.
Moving on to Ms. Marvel #1 (1977), the first time Carol Danvers took up the moniker of Ms. Marvel. Below is the sales data for CGC grades of 9.6 and 9.2, which represent 18.7% and 47.1%, respectively:
For Ms. Marvel #1, we observe an unmistakable decline in value of the book. The value for 9.6 has been declining at a rate almost three times faster than 9.2. With this and the books before, a trend seems to be revealing itself across the Captain Marvel keys.
The final book up for performance review is Avenging Spider-Man #9 (2012), the 1st Appearance of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel. This book experienced a massive boost from the movie. Below is the sales data for the book graded in CGC 9.8, which represents 46.1% of the census:
As with all the keys above, Avenging Spider-Man #9 in CGC 9.8 is losing its value. The latest sale on 6/22/2019 was $237.51. This is a far cry from the first sale of the year on 1/2/2019 for $550. It makes one wonder if we’ve seen the bottom yet.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sell.
With so many keys, one might hope that at least a single key would retain its market value. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Unless there is another catalyst that can provide upward pressure, Marvel Super-Heroes #12, Marvel Super-Heroes #13, Ms. Marvel #1, and Avenging Spider-Man #9 all currently represent bad investments. Looking forward, the negative growth of all the Captain Marvel keys offers a very poor risk/reward scenario. It would be difficult to see how a bump from a movie sequel can overcome the declining value.
- Marvel Super-Heroes #12: Sell
- Marvel Super-Heroes #13: Sell
- Ms. Marvel #1: Sell
- Avenging Spider-Man #9: Sell
On a side note, it is indeed interesting that not a single key retained its value. It could be valuable to examine why this occurred; as it can be applied to future speculation.
“Duane just kept working, not even looking up.” – Stan Lee