With only publicity stills and the first trailer having dropped, the hype is building for the big screen debut of Carol Danvers. The result: Ms. Marvel #1 has really taken off. Ms. Marvel #1 is currently the number five most sought out (read: hottest) Bronze Age book according to data from GoCollect.com.

Ms. Marvel’s rise to Bronze Age mega-key status may not exactly be a sure thing just yet, and its rising values haven’t exactly progressed along anything resembling a direct or straightforward path, but returns are slowly beginning to build and the movie itself is still three months away.

I have to admit that, just a few months ago, I was somewhat skeptical about the Ms. Marvel comic holding its value. Sure, it had a major Marvel movie supporting it, but would the movie live up to the hype? Would prices on the book be diluted by the other Carol Danvers keys (i.e. Marvel Super-Heroes #13; Avenging Spider-Man #9). At this point, and judging by the movement in prices, it seems that the Marvel studios reputation has been enough to assure people that, at worst, the movie will be decent.

Also, the cameo first appearance of Carol and her modern reboot in a Spider-man comic don’t seem to be impeding collector’s desirability for owning Ms. Marvel #1.

Is there any point in still hedging bets on this book?

Well, we know that price spikes for books based on movie hype follow a particular pattern:

The first price bump usually happens when the comic or character is picked up by a studio with the initial publicity leading to an immediate spike in fair market value. The second uptick in price happens just before or just after the first promotional trailer or marketing art is released. Finally, there’s a slight bump just before the actual film/show premieres and more trailers are dropped; with the momentum holding strong especially if the film is successful.

Ms. Marvel#1 is currently entering phase three, but the bump before the motion picture release is happening a bit early. Is this significant?

As I wrote two months ago, in a previous entry:

“…now is actually still a good time to pick up [Ms. Marvel #1; but also Marvel Super-Heroes #13; Avenging Spider-Man #9] especially if you can find a good deal on any of them.”

I managed to snag a copy of Ms. Marvel #1 (in 9.2 grade) a few weeks before I wrote that entry and, considering current prices on that grade, it’s looking like I got it for a real bargain.

Let’s look at the pros and cons for this book by the data:

Currently, the debut of Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel has strong positive returns on every grade except lowly 3.5 certified copies. There are currently 4, 143 copies of this book on the CGC census alone. Not exactly a scarce comic. Of those 4, 143 copies, the break-down on higher grades is as follows:

246 are graded 9.8
588 are graded 9.6
665 are graded 9.4
522 are graded 9.2
506 are graded 9.0
486 are graded 8.5, and
350 are graded 8.0.

The fair market price for a 9.8 is currently $2, 500.00 up $50.00 (or 0.02%) from two months ago.

Overall returns on 9.8 grades are still strong but stand at 69.9% (as opposed to +89.6% two months ago). Best returns thus far have been on 9.0 with positive +259.5% roi after 301 recorded sales on GoCollect since 2013 (this includes the inflation due to signature series sales, but this number is also balanced by the lower prices on sales of qualified and restored copies). 8.0, however, is another big winner regarding absolute roi with a positive + 230.5% status after 172 recorded sales in the last five years. If these trends are any indication, this book is far from done just yet…if the movie is a critical and audience success, Ms. Marvel may surprise us yet again in the near future.

See you at the cinema this March.