What is the market impact of celebrity interest in portraying a character?

  • “I don’t know what Squirrel Girl does other than be half squirrel, but I could be half squirrel!” – Anna Kendrick
  • “I'd like to see America Chavez played by me and written by @QuirkyRican” - Stephanie Beatriz

Regardless of how you may feel about celebrity, it’s undeniable that it represents direct marketing influence on a large audience. A single name drop in an interview or a quick tweet can drastically increase the market value of a book.

For the purposes of this article, we will focus on Squirrel Girl and America Chavez. Two characters of prominence that receive quantitatively less celebrity interest than the bigger names of Warlock, Nova, Namor, etc. This narrower focus allows a better picture of how a single celebrity can influence the market for a character.

 

SQUIRREL GIRL

Here is the sales data for Marvel Super-Heroes #8 (1992), 1st appearance of Squirrel Girl, for CGC 9.8 and 9.6.

Can you spot the event?

On June 20, 2016, Anna Kendrick expressed interest for the first time in playing Squirrel Girl. For the next few weeks, a single line in a magazine interview snowballed into an avalanche of media exposure and fan support.

Before Anna Kendrick’s interest, the value of the book remained relatively flat. Selling at an average of $219.60 for a 9.8. And $108.50 for a 9.6.

 

Here is the sales data for the three months following the interview:

In the immediate three months after, Marvel Super-Heroes #8 grew 1,370% faster in 9.8 and 637% for 9.6. For 9.8, it peaked at $475 for a single book and an average of $429 in September. For 9.6, the average rose to $223.

Unfortunately, this did not hold. By January, the average selling price fell to $382 for a 9.8 and $137 for 9.6. The current fair market value is even lower; 9.8 fell to $300 and 9.6 remained flat at $140.

 

MISS AMERICA - AMERICA CHAVEZ

Prior to Stephanie Beatriz expressing any interest, the sales for Vengeance #1 (2011), 1st appearance of America Chavez, in 9.8 was flat at an average of $82.10. Not only were sales flat, but there was a noticeable lack of sales for the months leading up to the event. This lack of sales was even more pronounced in the 9.6 grade.

This drought was ended when Stephanie Beatriz tweeted her interest in portraying America Chavez on May 19, 2017. Immediately, the sales not only started up again, but also increased in value. The average for a 9.8 increased to $130.07.

After a few weeks, like Marvel Super-Heroes #8 the selling price of Vengeance #1 began to decline. This trend was turned around when Stephanie Beatriz reaffirmed her interest with the tweet of a picture of herself in the full costume of America Chavez for Halloween. Notice the spike in selling price immediately following Halloween. In the final months of the year, the average selling price of Vengeance #1 in a 9.8 rose to $180.76.

Unlike Marvel Super-Heroes #8, Vengeance #1 has not only been able to retain its fair market value, but has even increased to the current value of $250 for a 9.8.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Initial interest in a character by a celebrity can spike the price of the character’s 1st appearance as much as 160-200%. This is very short lived as the book is unable to retain the value; unless like Vengeance #1, the influencer reaffirms interest in the character. If you feel the need to speculate on the characters that celebrities name drop, don’t. If you still want to anyways, try to sell after the first spike. Then move your profits to more reliable books with long term steady growth.

It’s easy to get caught up in the sky rocketing prices that a celebrity’s interest can bring, but remember, interest can be fleeting.

 

“For every one I fling away, a dozen more vex me!” – Doctor Doom, as he’s defeated by Squirrel Girl