The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer has arrived, and that means buyers will be flocking to the auction sites for those super plumber keys.

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The icon of home console gaming and the face of Nintendo, Mario and Luigi are finally getting a second chance at box office glory. The first trailer dropped Thursday, and fans are somewhat divided. Still, it looks leagues better than the 1993 Mario live-action movie. Truth be told, it can’t be much worse than that one. 

Maybe Mario is a-missing his trademark Italian stereotype accent, and social media has been lampooning his lack of Koopa-smashing booty (gluteus maximus? More like gluteus minimus, am I right?), but there’s a lot to love in the footage. Jack Black’s Bowser voice works, and you can’t blame Nintendo for shying away from a potentially-offensive accent. Plus, the footage had all the look and feel of a Super Mario Bros. game. I’m crossing my fingers there’s at least one scene done in eight-bit, two-dimensional graphics. 

Inevitably, the excitement and hype for Super Mario Bros. will trickle into the collecting world. Before the movie was announced, there had been an uptick in sales for those classic Nintendo keys published under the Valiant banner. This will give investors and speculators more incentive to track them down. 

BLIP MAGAZINE #1

In 1983, Mario and Donkey Kong made their way into this video game magazine. While the format was not necessarily a traditional comic, it still marks the first appearances of both characters as they were featured in comic stories. That makes this a prime target for all you Nintendo hunters.

With the significance of the issue come high prices. A graded 9.8 sold for $2,250 last month. Meanwhile, two graded 9.6s each brought $650 in September as well.

SUPER MARIO BROS. SPECIAL EDITION #1

Seven years after debuting in Blip, Nintendo had successfully changed the gaming market forever. The Nintendo Home Entertainment System was the most popular home console in the world, and those Mario games were massive global best sellers. It further cemented his standing as the face of Nintendo. It’s no wonder that his first self-titled comic would be a jewel in any video game-inspired collection. As an added bonus, this also happens to be the very first title published by Valiant Comics.

This may be a great opportunity to get a higher grade. After the 9.8 consistently earned over $1k early this year, the values have slipped to the $600-$700 range since the summer.

SUPER MARIO BROS. #1

Valiant also released the first issue of Mario’s limited series around the same time as Super Mario Bros. Special Edition #1. Published in April 1990, Super Mario Bros. #1 features the famous cover art from the ever-popular Super Mario Bros. 3 NES game. Although a 9.8 earned a staggering $2,999 in April, the most recent sale saw the price drop to $2k on September 23.

It’s dangerous to go alone. Take this.

These won’t be the only Nintendo keys you’ll want to watch. If Super Mario Bros. does well, then it could mean more classic properties will be getting the CGI-cartoon treatment. In the meantime, it could be worth your time to keep an eye on The Legend of Zelda, which could be a great fantasy epic in the right hands.

Want more Mario?

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.