The Saga of Swamp Thing #37John Constantine is a superhero like no other. He is a drinker, a smoker, pessimistic, anti-social, and has tried suicide as an alternative to therapy. Yep, this is one of the original bad boys of the DC Universe. Most comic book fans have seen the first attempt at a Constantine movie, starring Keanu Reeves. In my humble opinion, it was pretty engaging and represented a very interesting troubled hero. The first appearance of John Constantine in The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 has been left behind by all the Marvel MCU madness, and DC disappointing attempts (kidding, they have had some hits too). Can this wayward savior of lost souls make us some unheavenly moolah? In the words of George Takei, "Oh my, yes!"

 

 

 

 

The Saga of Swamp Thing #37The Saga of Swamp Thing #37

Who can we thank for this demon wrangling, suicidal savior? None other than one of Comicdom's iconic writers: Alan Moore. He created John Constantine in 1985 in The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 with the pencils of Stephen Bissette and Rick Veitch. I can't really speak to the art in this comic book, but the writer is in a class by himself. The guy that gave us The Killing Joke, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and most especially The Watchmen; has also breathed life and fans into the John Constantine story.

The truth about Constantine is he is an underused hero and should be leading the way into DC's Dark Universe. Instead, the best we get is one solid movie and talk of a Justice League Dark potential movie or series from Warner Brothers. John Constantine has a pedigree, some success and could be big in the future. What kind of long-term returns have we seen to date with The Saga of Swamp Thing #37?

Title Grade Cost Return
The Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 9.8 $699 +27%
9.2 $189 +17%
8.5 $129 +27%
6.5 $70 +4%
5.0 $40 +11%

The Saga of Swamp Thing #37The returns have been good, not great. After all, I did a long-term model and the best this comic book has achieved is +27%? Not exactly Earth-shaking, and it certainly doesn't wake the dead. But perhaps inside this detail, we can find some opportunity in the distant future.

Look at the stratification of the pricing; does something seem a little off to you? Yep, the upper grades seem fine but 9.2 and below have no real variance. You pay practically the same price for a grade 9.2 at $189 as you would for grade 8.5 at $129. Why would you ever not buy 9.2? For $60 more you can increase the grade almost an entire point. Further, if we look at the difference between grade 6.5 and say 5.0 there really isn't much variance, either. Everything here should be about $100 to $200 more than it is. This would give stratification and lift, that makes sense. I know this is a Modern Age book. However, it is very close to the Bronze Age; perhaps still early enough that it resembles the latter rather than the former in the outstanding number of books owned by collectors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Saga of Swamp Thing #37Conclusion

John Constantine could really use a boost from a big-budget movie. Unfortunately, timing is just not right. We are probably talking about 2-3 years away and that is after we get through the mess with this darned virus. The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 is worth buying and holding for now. As you can see above you won't have to pay much for it, so spirit one away to the netherworld of your comic book key short box. If they do a movie; then you won't have to pay speculation prices for a piece of Constantine action.

 

 

Upgrade to GoCollect Premium for just $5.99