The issue of Detective Comics #880 is a low print run at the end of the first series. This comic was created in 2011 when The Dark Knight movies were popular. Gee, that has been seven years now, can you believe it? I sure can't. Back then the Joker was all the rage, and Heath Ledger was vaulted to posthumous Oscar stardom. The wrap up of the three movies had not hit yet, and The Dark Knight was very fresh. Detective Comics tried to capitalize on that at the end of their first series with one of their popular artists: Mark Jock Simpson. This cover has a similar aspect to Heath Ledger's brilliant Joker; this was not an accidental burst of creativity. Rather a seemingly calculated selling point to Joker fans, and over time it worked. Can the "Clown Prince of Crime" deliver a profitable low print run for Detective Comics and the Modern Age?
Low-print runs are the cat's meow of modern age books. According to some websites, all things Joker are hot in the 2018 market (source: sell my comics). The CGC Census shows only 751 books in inventory currently. Furthermore, according to a website that tracks print runs in July of 2011, there were 38,585 Detective Comics #880 printed (source: Comichron). This is about 28% of the total sales of Amazing Spider-Man #664 during the same month in July 2011. With only 38K printed copies, it seems like a small amount for this 2011 back issue. I would call that a low print run. Based on all the evidence from, retail sites, eBay and distribution websites; this issue is indeed a low print Modern Age comic. However, with this end of the series wrap up, potentially many of these books were probably ignored when this title first came out.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
A truly low print run Modern Age comic is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. This book had a print run of 3000 copies in the first print. Comparatively, this is a good contrast for justifying Detective Comics #880 as a low print. However, if we consider it against the popular books of the time, say Amazing Spider-Man there is no doubt that DetCom #880 is also a low print run garnering only 20-30% of the interest of Spidey. Finally, if we look at print estimates for 2011 with 690 million estimated comics printed seems like a drop in the bucket.
Good Entry Point
For a Modern Age comic Detective Comics #880 is worth a good deal of money now and a near mint to mint (9.8) sold for $645 quite recently on 7/29/18. If you want a lower price point, you can probably pick a (7.0) grade up for around $150. The is a good cost entry point for new speculators in this comic. They can purchase between $150 to $645 now without breaking the bank. Considering the return on this comic for a seven-year-old investment is substantial; why not buy it? Joker is not the center of current media hype with the Infinity Wars raging, and Venom set to slither into our lives, yet this book continues to increase in value. Any way you cut it, this is one darn resilient investment.
Laughing all the Way to the Bank
Like the Joker himself DetCom #880 "takes a lickin' and keeps on ticking!" This comic was created by Scott Snyder (writer) with cover and interiors by Mark Jock Simpson (art). The real "Holy Toledo" moment here is the returns on this "low-distribution" puppy. For Detective Comics #880, it's return on grades (9.8) through (8.0) are nothing less than apocryphal: all grades gaining with (9.8) positive +88.2%, (9.6) +43.6%, (9.4) +43.5%, (9.2) +58.1%, and (9.0) +94.4%, essentially great returns across the board. This book has the classic cover art by Jock, and a low print run. This is a solid investment with over 200 slabbed sales on GoCollect alone over the last seven years, and remember this is a non-key. Modern low print runs are a great way to invest and apparently hold their value; you will be laughing hysterically, all the way to the bank.
