If you’re a collector it is hard to not notice the amazing sales that continue to happen in our hobby each and every week. The experience as a seller can be of much jubilation as prices continue to soar higher and higher for any given key. The feeling as a buyer can be one of confusion and bittersweet as all we can think of is the comic that got away. Collectors are taking notice and are discussing with other collectors about the current state of the comic book industry. Should we be buying? Should we be selling? Or should we hold our key issues for the next market boom? The fact of the matter is, there is much uncertainty in what will be the new norm in our society but that hasn’t stopped hardcore collectors from getting the comic books they want for their personal collections. Ladies and gentlemen, please take note.
Let me introduce to you the 3rd Edition of the State of the Comic Book Union. In case you missed the 1st Edition or 2nd Edition, you can catch it here and here. This article will focus on hardcore facts, confirmed sales, and supporting data to illustrate where the Comic Book State of the Union is today. Consider this a temperature check, of where we are, and possibly where the market is going in the near-term and possible long-term, down the road. What you decide to do with this information, buy, sell or hold, is up to you.
There continue to be many sales that catch my eye each and every week on ComicLink, Heritage, and eBay. The following sales discussed in this article were strictly from eBay. All of the following sales I am about to discuss are all auction type sales except for one, which we should all take notice. Despite many businesses still shut down with some now slowly reopening, online sales, more specific online comic book auctions, have continued to boom through this new world we find ourselves in. 3rd party consignment sites continue to push auctions out every week. Let us explore these amazing sales:
THE GRAIL
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (1984) – one of those grail comic books that you never see in this high grade. A fan favorite for many collectors since childhood when we first watched the cartoons and sadly the movies. That is what made everybody want this particular issue in their collection, no matter what the grade or print. But a CGC 9.8 – 1st print?! A CGC 9.8 copy popped up on eBay a couple of weeks back and immediately SOLD as a Buy It Now (BIN) listing. The BIN price was $79,950. According to GoCollect, the Fair Market Value (FMV) for this comic book in a CGC 9.8 is $80,000. There have only been three sales in 2019 with zero sales (before this one) in 2020 in a 9.8 grade and it was on 8/1/2019 for $90,000 (Heritage), 11/21/2019 for $52,800 (Heritage) and 12/5/2019 for $50,000 (ComicLink). Not bad for some talking turtles!!
MORE GRAILS
Iron Man #55 (1973) – one of those 1st appearance comic books that show no signs of slowing down. A must-have 
for any MCU fan of the recent Avenger movies. This comic book needs no introduction as I am sure we have all seen big baddie Thanos on the big screen when he snapped his fingers and messed with our emotions. A CGC 9.8 sold on eBay a couple of weeks back above FMV! There was only one bid which is a result of the seller already listing it at a price he wanted to sell it for. It SOLD for an astounding $6,200. GoCollect has the FMV at $5,750 with only 3 sales so far in 2020. This sold price is the 2nd HIGHEST sale for this comic book in this grade so far in 2020, with the HIGH in 2020 being in April with a sold price of $6,950.
THE MODERN KEYS
Ultimate Fallout #4 (2011) – I don’t think I need to say anything here. We all know what is going on. In case you don’t know, Miles Morales is going nuclear! The last graded 9.8 copy of the regular cover sold in an auction, not a BIN, was last week for $1,400. I’ll just let you marinate over that for a little bit. What was once a $400+ book 2 months ago is now 4 digits easy. With the upcoming Edge of Spider-verse 2 movie coming out the sky’s the limit for this comic book!! Talk about unprecedented, according to GoCollect, the FMV for the regular cover is $625! What we are seeing on this is history in the making. Enjoy the ride if you have a copy!
Now you know I can’t say one with the other, the 1:25 Marko Djurdjevic variant for Ultimate Fallout #4 is seeing an
uptick in sales. A CGC 9.8 copy sold on 6/6/2020 on eBay for $4,150. GoCollect has the FMV for this variant at $4,200. For a modern age comic book (2011) that is amazing!
Conclusion
There you go. Just a few highlights of the movers and shakers in our industry. Some sales hanging around FMV, some below and some others a little HIGHER in FMV. As we all know, there are some hardcore collectors out there, and no matter what, they are aggressively buying. The hobby is healthy, new collectors are coming and old collectors are staying. Stay tuned for the next installment of the State of the Comic Book Union as I delve into more sales of graded keys and grail books. Until next time you comic book junkies…..
Please share your thoughts and comments you have on these major sales? What comic books are on your watch list? Did you participate in a recent auction and it ended higher than expected? Or did it end lower than expected and you jumped on the sale? Which 3rd party comic book sites are your favorite to participate in? Are you currently a buyer or a seller during these dire times and market uncertainty we find ourselves in?
GoCollect is the #1 comic book price guide for tracking sales data of all graded comic books in real-time. Fair market values are now at your fingertips. Check out all the features at www.gocollect.com
