Never underestimate the role of nostalgia in driving the value of collectibles. In North America especially, the comic book world has frequently been viewed (rightly or wrongly) as appealing to pre-pubescents and young adolescents. The toy companies in this country also, of course, market their products to the same demographic. Historically major toy companies quickly saw the potential of spreading the word about their products by advertising in, and later actively using, comics to promote their brands.

One of the most successful toy makers who managed to bridge the gap between the toys market and comic books was Mattel. At various times, there have been comics featuring the Mattel properties: Barbie, He-Man, Hot Wheels, and the list goes on.

The Mattel Corporation recently announced that they would be starting their own movie studio (see here).

It just so happens that almost all of the classic Mattel brands likely to form the content of the Mattel films have associated comic books. There is a precedent for this. The success of the Hasbro brands: Transformers and G.I. Joe in launching associated movies, bad as they were, was financially successful.

Here I want to look at some sleeper keys, all associated with Mattel toys. Can Mattel replicate Hasbro’s success? In this entry I will focus on Mattel, saving for future articles the many other toy manufactures (Remco, Mego, Parker Bros. Etc.) that also had comic book connections for their brands.

Barbie & Ken #1 [Dell Comics] (May 1962) – First Barbie Comic

Barbie was launched in 1959 and took the toy world by storm. Created by Ruth Handler, the wife of Mattel’s co-founder Elliot Handler, the doll was based on a German toy called Bild Lilli. There was a point in the marketing of the Barbie doll and her accessories when the jump to comic books seemed like a good idea. The first Barbie comic was published by Dell in 1962, as an early Four-Color comic. This comic is highly collectible and can be worth large amounts of money in high grades. On February 21, 2015, a 9.6 graded copy sold at Heritage Auction for $1,015.75. The last sale of a 3.5 (in April of 2017) was for $199.99. Best returns have been on 3.5 (at +300.1% with two sales over the last year).

Hot Wheels #1 [DC] (March 1970) – First Issue of Hot Wheels Comics

A comic book about tiny toy cars probably wouldn’t strike many people as investment worthy; or even valuable at all. In the case of ‘Hot Wheels’ we see that this is a gross misperception. The Hot Wheels cars (when I was growing up, we used to call them ‘dinky cars’ after a rival brand that was later bought out by Mattel) were one of the most successful Mattel toy products – probably second only to Barbie. But while most Barbie comics other than the Dell Four-Color (see above) have remained dollar bin fodder, very few collectors would sell their high grade copy of DC comics Hot Wheels #1 for a dollar (fair market value at 9.8 is currently estimated to be around $1,900.00 – yes you read that right). The last sale of a 9.8 was all the way back in 2003 and it fetched $1,434.00 at a Heritage Auction. With 71 copies recorded on the CGC census, sales over the last few years have been seen mostly on 9.0-9.6 graded copies. Best returns can be seen on 8.5 graded (positive +88% on two sales over the last three years with the last sale reported on June 18, 2018).

Shogun Warriors #1 [Marvel] (February 1979) – First Shogun Warriors in Comics

After the financial success of the ‘Transformers’ movies, I think it’s only a matter of time before we see the Shogun Warriors on the big screen. Robot cartoons from Japan formed the inspiration for this comic. The comic featured three Japanese anime robots, Raydeen, Combatra and Dangard Ace, all piloted by a different team member. Think of it as a cross between 'Transformers', 'Pacific Rim, and the 'Power Rangers'. The Shogun comic, unfortunately, never had a chance after Marvel lost the license to publish it. The team lost their robot vehicles in issue #20 guest-starring the Fantastic Four. The comic meanwhile manages to sell for moderately decent prices. A 9.8 graded copy can bring in $75.00 (down -15.7% after 88 sales between 2018 and 2005). A movie deal featuring the giant robots will probably reverse the downward trend in value.

DC Comics Presents #47 [DC] (July 1982) – First He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

The Masters of the Universe toys actually got their comic book treatment early on in mini-comics published by Mattel. But it wasn’t until DC took a crack at the characters, with a script by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by the legendary Superman artist Curt Swan that the world of He-Man was convincingly brought to life. In DC Comics Presents #47, Superman is transported into the world of Skeletor, Man at Arms and He-Man himself in this comic. A mini-series, lasting three issues, was also published by DC comics as a follow up, written again by Kupperberg but with art this time by George Tuska and Alfredo Alcala. These comics, in turn, form the basis for the very first ongoing Masters of the Universe stories. Later publishers (notably Marvel under their Star offshoot) would continue to develop the He-Man universe in comic book form, but the DC adaptation still stands as the most readable and best thought out. It would be unusual if Mattel Studios did not attempt a reboot of this franchise as a movie. The previous 2001 Dolph Lundgren film ‘Masters of the Universe’ was a complete bomb. The comic is another story: currently the first appearance of He-Man in DC Comics is worth an average of $475.00 in 9.8 graded condition. There have been 25 sales of the same grade over the last year alone, and the last recorded Ebay sale on GoCollect.com, about a month ago: August 11, 2018, was for $615.00. By the Power of Grayskull: that’s a strong price! Highest growth can be found however, not on 9.8s but on 9.6 graded copies with a + 48.3% return on investment over the last seven years. Keep your eyes on this one.