GoCollect Blog: Market Reaction - Black Adam (market-reaction-black-adam )

The long-awaited Black Adam was released in theaters on October 21. Based on the box office numbers, it looks as if Warner Discovery has at least a moderate hit on its hands. Let’s take a look at how the comic collector market reacted to the release of the film.

First Modern Black Adam

Black Adam’s first appearance since the Golden Age – and second appearance overall - was in Shazam #28, cover dated March 1977. There are 1,160 graded copies in the CGC census. Seven graded copies have sold since the release of the film, while 13 copies sold the week prior. The top seller was a 9.6 copy going for $1,250 in an eBay auction. That’s down a ton from the top 9.6 seller ever: a slashed $4,999 in October 2021. However, that’s an extreme outlier, with no other sale in that grade topping $2,500.

Even throwing that one away, we’re still looking at a selling price that’s down 44% from the top 9.6 sale this year: a slashed $2,499 on May 24. The seven graded copies selling since the release of the film actually isn’t that bad in terms of volume in today’s market. A 44% decline in value, however, is steeper than we see with most Bronze Age keys.

Superman & Black Adam

If you don’t know about the Superman cameo at the end of Black Adam, then I’ve just ruined the surprise for you. Even if you haven’t seen the film, you’ve likely heard about it. There were no sales of the first meeting between Superman and Black Adam in All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-58 because there are no graded copies in the CGC census. The same goes for Hawkman #25, featuring the first battle between Hawkman and Black Adam. This brings us around to DC Comics Presents #49, a comic that brought us a donnybrook between Black Adam and Superman & Shazam.

There are 622 graded copies in the CGC census, four of which have sold since October 21. A 9.8 selling for a slashed $525 was the top seller. That’s down 56% from the top slashed $1,200 sale in June 2021 – a remarkable fall.

First Black Adam Ever

As hard as it may be to believe, we actually have a Golden Age book selling based on the release of a film. Two copies of Marvel Family #1 – Black Adam’s first appearance – have sold since the release of the film. A 2.5 graded copy sold in an October 24 eBay auction for $8,000, down 21.6% from its previous high of $10,200 set in June 2020.

A 2.0 graded copy sold in a Heritage auction on October 22 for $8,700 – there’s that higher Heritage price point again, despite the lower grade – and absolutely crushing the previous 2.0 grade high of $3,026 set in April 2020.

And while we’re discussing Golden Age books, there were no sales of either Flash Comics #1 – Hawkman’s first appearance – or More Fun Comics #55 - the first appearance of Dr. Fate. But just so you’re aware (and because it’s fun to know) the top price ever paid for a copy of More Fun Comics #55 was $136,000 for a 9.4 graded copy in a September 2021 ComicConnect auction.

The top price for Flash Comics #1? An impressive $273,125 for the top graded 9.6 copy – the only copy existing in that grade – in a Heritage auction way back in January 2006. If this copy ever goes up for sale again, the price should be staggering.

Lack of Sales is Still a Reaction

Just because there were no sales of particular Black Adam film-related keys doesn’t mean there wasn’t a market reaction – the market reaction was a decision not to buy. Justice Society of America #1 – the first appearance of Cyclone – has seen no sales since the release of the film. And yes, I’m aware that Maxine appeared as Red Tornado in Kingdom Come #2 prior to Justice Society of America #1; there were no sales of that book either. Clearly, the demand for this character is just not there within the collecting community.

Maybe Cyclone grows within the DCU over the next few years, particularly with new leadership at the studio. For now, however, collectors have chosen not to buy.