April is around the corner and a good time to check some of my New Year's picks and see if any of them are panning out. I reviewed three character first appearances or first series: Spawn, Carnage, and Wolverine. These were the strong possibilities of becoming 2019 earners for the Modern Age. From the independent crowd, I picked Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane. The first appearance of Carnage in Amazing Spider-Man #361 by David Michelinie and Mark Bagley. Finally, no list of killers is complete without the anti-hero Wolverine #1 in his first solo ongoing series, this was a Chris Claremont and John Buscema team up. All three of these are not going to have a movie sequel in 2019, but the hype from each of these ongoing productions or in Wolverine's case studio designation of a new actor; will give rise to price increases in their comics. Please read my old blog here for comparison sake.

Wolverine #1

This is a solid story by Chris (line around the block) Claremont. As I put it in the earlier blog from December 2018:

"Chris Claremont drove the character in a different direction, having him meet all manner of truly evil criminal scum in the Southeast Asian Madripoor (fictional name probably meant as a city in Indonesia). He fights the Silver Samurai, gets possessed by the Black Blade and destroys a host of pirates. All with some of the coolest penciling around from John Buscema." 

This Japanese/Southeast Asian twist to the traditional Canadian Rockies Wolverine storyline added new characters and went a completely different direction for Wolvie. It holds up ok over time. When I reviewed this three months ago the numbers were rock solid and it was a better investment for returns than the Wolverine #1 (Limited Series). I know, "Bub, thems fighting words." The Wolverine #1 (ongoing series) had average GoCollect fundamentals long-term:

December 2018: Grade 9.8 with $170 FMV has returned positive long-term results of +34.9%

March 2019: Grade 9.8 with $170 FMV has returned positive long-term results of +3.5%

Not exactly Wolverine "slicing and dicing" the way I imagined this book would. Wolverine #1 is basically unchanged except for a decrease in return which probably comes from the Death of Wolverine storyline in Logan.

Wolverine #1 (ongoing series) GoCollect fundamentals short-term (3-months):

December 2018: Grade 9.8 with $170 FMV has returned negative short-term results of -6.5%

March 2019: Grade 9.8 with $160 FMV has returned negative short-term results of -12.8%

Wolverine #1 has seen a short-term decline; this is probably due to the movie Logan, as previously mentioned. Therefore, stay away from this investment for a few more months while the Death of Wolverine shakes out. We will revisit this comic book during the Summer of 2019. However, it is still a solid long-term investment.

Amazing Spider-Man #361

This was my first pick in the Winter of 2018. The Amazing Spider-Man #361 created by Michelinie and Bagley back in 1992 got a brief cameo in Venom. Though the movie was not a huge hit, it did well and that means; well, why another movie of course.

Amazing Spider-Man #361 GoCollect fundamentals short-term (3-months):

December 2018: Grade 9.8 with $400 FMV has returned short-term negative results of -11.1%

March 2019: Grade 9.8 with $425 FMV has returned short-term negative results of -3.8%

Currently, Amazing Spider-Man #361 in grade 9.8 has a $425 FMV and over the last three months has returned negative -3.8%; but this negative is much smaller than the previous short-term decline -11.1%. This means an increasing comic book value. By the end of the year, this book should show a good return. This movie currently doesn't have a director, something to consider.

 

Bottom line, if they hire a good director you can count on the buzz to lift Carnage to the clouds. If you own, hold on with the vice-like grip of one of Venom's tentacles. If you don't own; then take advantage of the short-term syndrome and buy a copy for the media run-up to Venom 2. This is still a solid pick, hang in there, remember the long-term overall return is positive +57%.

Spawn #1

Finally, my favorite pick is Spawn #1 the subscription copy version. Todd Mcfarlane is supposedly making a movie for late 2020 or 2021, but there hasn't been additional info on that in awhile. However, this guy is a master creator. Let me name the ways: re-imagined Amazing Spider-Man for all time, created Spawn, created a line of toys second to none at the time built around the Spawn Universe, and finally one of the primary creators of Image Comics. This last is the most impressive because it is still a practical force today. Image Comics will probably take over as the counter choice to DC if Marvel ever bites the dust (god forbid).

Back in December Spawn #1 had a $90 FMV (9.8) with grade 9.9 returning a whopping positive +81.4%. One current positive sign is the $95 FMV uptick from 3 months ago, also the real recent sales are pushing as high as $125 actual price; this is a great sign. Current positive return for 9.8 is +26.7% and 9.9 is over +44%. Once the movie media hype hits this one could leap out of the grave. You can still buy a 9.8 on the cheap. Over two years a lot can change and Todd Mcfarlane will eventually push this movie out. I think this is the best pick of the three. Hold onto the Hellspawn through fire and brimstone.