Looking at this month's release of the Golden Age Comic Chart, Classic Comics might be making a power move.  With four comics in the top 200, three of which moved up more than 800 points, Classic Comics has muscled their way past the likes of Batman and Superman Golden Age comics.  Some outstanding sales this month might allow for collectors to sneak a few purchases of this historically important series, but not for long!

Matt Baker and the Second Horror Comic Ever Produced Lead the Way!

Classic Comics: FrankensteinPatric Bain's excellent GoCollect article on breaking down the different print runs and values of the Classic Comics/Classic Illustrated series details some of the pitfalls of trying to collect or speculate on this series and can be found here.  Some of the Classic Illustrated series have more than thirty printings over twenty plus years!  Many, as noted by Bain, are not worth more than a few dollars.  It's the FIRST printings; particularly of issues 1 thru about 60, that should generate significant interest for anyone with a pulse.

First, there are historically important issues in the series (no, not because they are adaptions of classic literature)!  For example, issue #18, Hunchback of Notre Dame is widely considered the FIRST horror comic ever produced, and issue #26, Frankensteinis considered the second.  Classic Comics #1, The Three Musketeers is considered an important comic for helping usher comics into the Golden Age.  Classic Comic #32, Lorna Doone features Matt Baker cover and comic art.  There's more, lots more that make Classic Comics/Classic Illustrated an important series to invest and collect.  Hopefully, these breadcrumbs are whetting your appetite!

Classic Comics is Bringing RECORD Prices!

Classic Comics: Connecticut YankeeRecent auction results provide plenty of red meat for those appetites!  According to GoCollect, Classic Comics #24 CGC 8.0 sold for $720, a CGC 8.0 Classic Comics #27 sold for $360.  Need more information before you decide to jump in?  CC #26, CGC 9.0 sold for $3,120.  CC #32, that Matt Baker Art comic?  A CGC 9.0 sold for $3,600.  High-grade examples of other CC issues cluster over the $1,000 mark over the past six months.

Investing in Classic Comics/Classic Illustrated is tricky.  Read Patrick Bain's article before you think about diving in and part 2 of this post will dive deeper into the financial abyss you can fall into with purchasing the wrong Classic Comics/Classic Illustrated printings.

Clearly, there is money to be had with this series.  More importantly, this is a highly collectible series.  Many collectors chase high-grade first printings.  The series run encompasses the entire 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.  There ARE variants to first printing issues.  Finding high-grade copies of the first forty issues is NOT easy.  Scroll through the series on GoCollect and see how many CGC 8.0 and higher copies of this series are available.  Some of the comics in the series have very few sales.  Classic Comics #32, Lorna Doone, the Matt Baker Cover, and art comic, for example, has only 17 total recorded copies on GoCollect.  Some of his Phantom Lady comics show three times as many slabs available.  Now, I understand that Lorna Doone is no Phantom Lady.  I get why Phantom Lady is way more popular and sells way higher than a Lorna Doone, but a Matt Baker is a Matt Baker!  Dig through some of the sales of the CC series and I'll see you at the next post for part 2 of Sneaky Moves: Classic Comics!

Collectible Swag for the cool collector.