Writers are key to comic books, as vital as the artist, no more no less. One only has to look at the recent success of books written by Donny Cates to see why you should be buying the popular writers and following their work. Yes, I know everyone loves the art, but to think the art is 90% of the pie and story only 10% is just plain wrong. Donny, for instance, has crafted the rebirth of Frank Castle in space. Sounds insane right? But if you read his work it is very cleverly written. His creative genius has given rise to a whole new kind of superhero if you can even call the Cosmic Ghost Rider hero at all. Cates has created three original series: "God Country, Redneck, and Babyteeth. Each of these three books has set the charts on fire with reprints and sellouts at the publisher level" (source: Dallas News). This writer is a hit maker, some of his stuff had horrible art and it still sells. I wonder what we will find in looking closely at his Marvel conquest, more profit or just plain losses?

Cosmic Ghost Rider #1

Donny Cates is a miracle worker of a writer, he takes characters that are on opposite extremes of the Universe (sometimes literally) and combines them in new and interesting stories. Just look at the amalgam Cosmic Ghost Rider, start with Frank Castle, add Ghost Rider, then sprinkle Thanos and bam: Cosmic Ghost Rider! This first solo series attempt is  Cosmic Ghost Rider #1 the story follows Cosmic Ghost Rider which now runs $44 FMV in mint grade (9.8). There is no reason to look at any other grade because you can buy the best grade at under $50 why mess with the rest. The return is a simple and straightforward positive return of +11.5% for (9.8). Now, this is not lighting the Cosmos on fire, but it is a solid return for a new book and infinitely better than a loss. We need to look at his creation from earlier years to suss out some exceptional returns.

Thanos #13

The issue Thanos #13 (2017) beautifully illustrated by Geoff Shaw and the masterful writing from Donny Cates. The current value of this book is $220 FMV; with the last three sales: $237.49, $299.99, and $250. This is a very powerful sign that current prices are above the standard FMV for this issue. It bodes well as an investment and even as an annual speculation. Currently, the grade (9.0) is selling for around $55 FMV and the last price paid, higher than FMV. The return on this comic Thanos #13 was positive: +21.3% for the grade (9.8), grade (9.2) with positive +41.6% and grade (8.5) also positive with +57.7% a whopper of a return. Not bad for a book that came out almost two years ago.

These returns speak to the validity of buying certain writers. After all, why read the comic if the story is beyond awful? One thing we definitely had in the 1970s and 1980s was great writing in movies, and comics. It makes sense to buy from writers that draw the reader in, like Cates. Furthermore, this book has not been overrun with CGC copies being slabbed, with a current CGC Census only showing a total book count of 861 outstanding. Cates has worked hard writing thoughtful imaginative stories, in the Marvel stuff he has had great art this is a no-brainer. You don't need the Penance Stare to see the truth, Donny boy is here to stay and his books hold value.