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.

 

Marvel Super-Heroes #12

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.

 

Marvel Super-Heroes #13

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.

 

Ms. Marvel #1

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.

 

Avenging Spider-Man #9

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