GoCollect Blog: Market Reaction - Thor: Love and Thunder (market-reaction-thor-love-and-thunder )

Thor: Love and Thunder hit theaters Thursday, July 7. Let’s dive right in and see how the market reacted. SPOILER WARNING!

The Other God from the Avengers

Let’s start off with the mid-credits reveal of Hercules, as played by Brett Goldstein, well known from Ted Lasso. Zeus (Russell Crowe), who also made his debut in Thor: Love and Thunder, tasked Hercules with seeking revenge on Thor, so we’re sure to see him again.

Hercules and Zeus made their first Marvel Comics appearances in Journey Into Mystery Annual #1. There have been 13 sales of graded copies and counting since the film premiered on July 7 it's an impressive number for a key Silver Age book. Many were in the 5.5 to 6.5 grade range, and it’s in those grades that records were set. A 6.0 sold on July 7 for $950, while a 5.5 sold on July 10 for $885, both records.

The $1,000 sale of a 6.5 graded copy on July 10 didn’t set records in that grade. However, it was the second-highest price paid. It came in only $100 below the record holder and came one day after a 6.5 sold for $999.

Another book setting records based on the MCU debut of Hercules was Hercules #1, his first self-titled solo issue from 1982. 9.8 copies sold on July 7 and July 8 for $450 and a slashed $502 respectively, $100 more than the previous record holder of $350, for a gain of 28.6%.

It’s hard to imagine this common dollar bin book two years ago will continue selling for prices this high, but this comic has definitely entered a higher level now. It will be interesting to see where the floor will be set in the coming months.

Eternity

Eternity, long rumored to debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, instead made his first MCU appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder. The character’s first appearance, although not first mentioned, was in Strange Tales #138.

Only two graded copies have sold since the film premiered, and no records were set. If anything, this comic has been at least slightly overvalued for a while now, with pent-up anticipation for the character’s debut in the MCU. A non-speaking role in Thor: Love and Thunder likely had a dampening effect on prices, a forgettable role unlikely to bring in casual buyers willing to spend big.

First Jane Foster Thor

Of course, we can’t ignore Thor #1, the first appearance of Jane Foster as Thor. 30 graded copies and counting have sold since the July 7 premiere of the film. While volume may be high, this is a book far from its peak in June 2021. You can see the precipitous decline in the graph below, as well as the reflection of a downward trend in the averages.

There are plentiful copies of this comic in the 9.8 grade – 2,902 - so don’t expect any increase any time soon. It will likely keep at a level above 2020 prices; if you bought in 2021 expecting a big return, you’re likely going to be disappointed.

What If? #10 also saw an increase in volume with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, with 16 graded copies selling. However, 30-day averages are significantly lower than 1-year averages across all grades.

While not exactly the same, the trajectory for this book is similar to Thor #1 with a likely mirrored fate: the floor is likely higher than the peak set in 2020, but it will be a long time before it reaches the heights of 2021.

Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder

Depending on your point of view, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, the flying, screaming goats, were either the breakout stars of the film or the most annoying aspect of it. They made their debut in Thor Annual #5. There is renewed interest in the goats, as evidenced by the six graded sales of this book since the film came out.

It had been more than a month since a previous sale. While no records were set – it would be hard to top the slashed (and dare I say insane) $975 a 9.4 graded copy of Thor Annual #5 sold for on April 19 - we did see the second-highest price paid for a copy of this book when a 9.6 sold for $399 on July 8. The buyer must think they got a steal here; I still think it’s a lot to pay for a pair of screaming, flying goats.