Stan Lee was surrounded by the San Jose Police Chief and several minions during the Wonder Con (2012) autograph session. He looked up when I said,"Love your cameo's in the movies, Stan." He nodded and signed my FF #72 comic and I was ushered out. I was lucky, Stan favored me that day signing with a silver Sharpie, and his autograph was in space next to the Silver Surfer, just picture perfect. This Stan Lee signature is now worth more than I paid. Meeting Stan Lee was like a journey to the Oracle of Delphi in ancient times. You waited forever (the line as big as a football field), you gave your tribute ($50 ticket autograph session). Then you received the Oracle's grace and prognostication. The vaunted Stan Lee autograph was mine. Does this signature, have a Stan Lee effect by increasing value, and does it trickle down to all his autographed copies?
In some ways, Stan Lee was bigger than Jack Kirby and many of the artists at Marvel. He wrote a lot of the material we all love and created the universe that would be the MCU. No doubt the great art and interior pages thrill, but someone has to come up with a framework to build the great art around. Our Oracle, Stan Lee is one of the last of the great writers, editors, and artists who have left us the gift of Marvel myth. Not only is he the last; but he may well be one of the biggest. Perhaps right along with Jack Kirby as creator extraordinaire. What is the effect of the Oracle of Marvel on autograph speculation?
The current online price of obtaining Stan Lee's autograph was well north of $100 per sitting. If you have CGC confirm the signature; then the total cost is a crazy $165. But does that price hold value? What if you try to sell the comic online, or at auction? This Stan Lee Effect has changed many comic prices. Let's look at a recent comic and some Silver Age issues, to see if we can discern the value.
Despicable Deadpool #287 (Espin Lenticular Variant Leg)
Recent comic books have also had huge returns due to Stan Lee's autograph. Despicable Deadpool #287 (Espin Lenticular Variant Leg) sold for $31.99 on 6/25/18. Just two days earlier a Stan Lee autographed copy (9.8) grade sold for $229 (GoCollect). In comparison, other famous signatures like John Bernthal from The Punisher are nowhere near as valuable. The grade (9.8) for Despicable Deadpool #287 (Espin Lenticular Variant Leg) sold with Bernthal's auto for about $138 on 6/19/18. This supports the evidence that Stan Lee is not like any other autograph. He is double the price of a very popular actor's signature to the say the least, and multiple times more expensive than just a common comic book.
The Fantastic Four #72 (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation) is worth $179 CGC for a Universal grade no signature. If we add the Stan Lee effect, the price goes up three hundred percent. Since I paid $ .69 cents for the comic, $28 for CGC, and $50 to see Stan Lee; this means my total cost was $78.69. The value of that vintage comic autographed by Stan the Oracle today is $344 (GoCollect). This is a huge profit windfall of over +330%! This changes the dynamic value of the comic itself, this comic has more value after the creators signature.
Everyone worships Thanos today, especially his first appearance in the much vaunted comic Iron Man #55. This comic sold on 6/15/18 for a whopping of $829 with Stan Lee's Autograph Signature Series. Records from eBay show Iron Man #55 in Universal Grade sold for $501 (no signature). That is a $329 of extra profit, far more than the first cost of the book and getting it autographed by Stan. The return for the Oracle of Marvel is a speculation for wonderment. Be sure to say a prayer for Stan, now, I have read he is having a rough time at 95 years of age with health issues. Hang in there, Stan!
The value of the Stan Lee Effect is self-evident as you can see above. On the flip side, I have read that Stan Lee was able to sign 1500 autographs per day, in his heyday. Now, most of these are comics, but not all. The pitfall of the autograph speculation is that it could mean a ton of overexposure. Be sure to treat the purchase of any Stan Lee autographs as complete and utter speculation, until proven otherwise. Warning: the value of autographs can shift quickly, or in the words of Stan Lee, "Luck's a revolving door, you just need to know when it's your time to walk through."
"Nuff said!"
