Not Top 5 ComicsIn the comic world, not every comic worth buying can lead to big financial gains. All I hear is countless stories of collectors buying The Incredible Hulk #181 a couple of years ago and now are selling it for big profits. Or people grabbing Fantastic Four #48 before the MCU started and now are reaping the benefits. For this post, let's talk about books that are not doing as well, despite all the exposure.

Silver Sable:

Spider-Man is known worldwide and is synonymous with the Marvel brand. It appears anything Spider-man related is like a gold mine. Any well-known villain or hero in the "Spider-Verse" has the potential to pop.

Unfortunately, one such character, Silver Sable, from Spider-Man has seen it's value dip recently. This is despite the resurgence and popularity of Tom Holland as Spider-Man and movie rumors for Silver Sable since 2016. Silver Sable's first appearance is in Amazing Spider-Man #265. All graded copies of this comic except for 6.0 & 7.5 have been trending negatively for a while. Speculators believed in the character with the movie rumors as early as 2016 and with no news recently, the heat on this book is fizzling.

Grade 9.8 $202.50 last sale 4-10-20 returns negative -4.1%

Grade 9.6 $51 last sale 4-12-20 returns negative -22.3%

Grade 9.4 $80 last sale 4-13-20 returns negative -10.8%

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God Country:

Donny Cates is one of my favorite writers in comics, especially with his recent Marvel runs in Silver Surfer, Venom, and Thanos. Though, before Marvel hired him, Cates wrote for many independent publishers such as Dark Horse and Image. God Country is a six-issue mini-series from Image comics that he wrote in 2017 that received a lot of praise and buzz. I remember raw copies of God Country #1 exploded when it was first released. Copies were easily averaging around $50.

In October 2018, his comic got the option treatment and the series would be adapted by Legendary Entertainment and AfterShock Media Optioning. Since the option news, as with many comics that get the treatment, news on the development has hit a dry spell.

Since the option in October 2018, prices roared that month to around $230 for a 9.8 graded comic. For a while now,  prices have been falling. Sales since March 2020 have dipped below the FMV of $130 for a 9.8 graded book. In fact, one completed auction post on 03/26/2020 went for $100 shipped. Sadly, as popular as Cates is, prices will continue to fall since the movie is stuck in movie purgatory.

Cover A

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Cover B

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Captain Marvel:

Captain Marvel became a hit smash movie for Marvel as it hit over a billion dollars at the box office last March. Other than DC's Wonder Woman, female-led superhero movies have not had much success these days. Movies like Catwoman and Elektra bombed horribly at the box office. The jury is still out on DC's Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, as I have heard mixed reviews from many people, and the COVID-19 pandemic affected its overall numbers.

It appears the Captain Marvel movie is immune to the recent bad luck from female-led superhero movies. Many reasons lead to that. Firstly, the movie was the last story leading to Avengers: Infinity War. Fans excitement was at an all-time high and speculators were looking for clues to invest in any possible key books, i.e. Easter eggs, within the movie.

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With that, the key book for Captain Marvel fans to grab is Ms. Marvel #1. It details the first appearance of Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel. When the movie came out, a 9.8 graded comic was selling as high $2,000 on eBay.

Unfortunately, the character's high came down to earth. All graded copies except for 4.0 & 4.5 are trending negatively. The last auction sale for a 9.8 grade sold at $685.03 (I did not account for shipping). Many reasons have attributed to this trend. Now that the Infinity saga is over, the positive reaction of the character itself from fans is not great. Brie Larson, the actress who portrays the character, has not received the greatest praise for her role and some fans have asked for another character to lead the MCU for the next phases. Just to clear things up, rumors within Marvel believed that Captain Marvel would be one of the key heroes to be featured going forward after the Infinity Saga. Right now, it is not looking good for her and the future. Meaning, either her character would need to be replaced or she needs a boost from her fellow Marvel comrades (i.e. possible team-up movie in Spider-Man 3).

Grade 9.8 $685.03 last sale 4-09-20 returns negative -49.5%

Grade 9.6 $188 last sale 4-07-20 returns negative -51.7%

Grade 9.4 $165 last sale 4-13-20 returns negative -35.4%

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Major X

Rob Liefeld is mainly known for the creation of the super famous character, Deadpool. Let's be honest, the movies have been a smash hit and Ryan Reynolds is hilarious! With that, the stock of that character has skyrocketed and the rumor of a third movie could officially be announced in due time. Last year, in April 2019, Liefeld introduced another mini-series called Major X. As usual, fans and speculators jumped to grab the first issue. The value of the first issue crushed it! A 9.8 graded book went between $150 to $200 and the buzz is amazing. The first major appearance of Major X is in Major X #1.

Just like many books that reach high values when it is released, the price has dropped tremendously. One can only speculate on the downfall. As recently as April 14, 2020, a 9.8 graded copy sold for $48 on eBay.  Some say that the character does not diversify on what Liefeld has already done. Maybe, lol, blame COVID-19. Possibly, speculators feel the character is not worth investing due to the expanded MCU universe. Or the debate is that the character's first appearance is actually in Spider-Man/Deadpool #47. Though, Liefeld has repeatedly said it is not. Only time will tell on this character.

Grade 9.8 $48 last sale 4-14-20 returns negative -39.1%

Grade 9.6 $45 last sale 2-12-20 returns negative -41.5%

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9.6 grades

Comics slabbed in a 9.6 value by a grading company are notoriously unpopular by speculators. The books I have mentioned above with the exception of Major X #1 show the big disparity between the value of 9.8 & 9.6 books. The valuation between the grades is sometimes more than a 50% difference as collectors are willing to spend that much as an investment.

This logic is mainly applied to newer books, such as Modern and Bronze Age books. In contrast, older books such as Silver and Golden Age books are more scarce and the values of high-grade copies can be financially straining. Though, going forward, speculating on comics is more popular than ever, and expects collectors to keep pushing for the highest grade possible in making financial gains. So, in some cases, having that 9.6 slab may not be enough in turning a profit unless you plan on keeping it for your personal collection.

Not Top 5 ComicsValue of 9.6 = $188

Not Top 5 ComicsValue of 9.8 = $685.03