As a kid, I was always fascinated by the Justice League. A superhero team consisting of the world's greatest characters that fight for good. Names such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman were part of this team that made this lineup famous. I loved the animated series from DC Comics, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited, as it became a staple in my animation lineup. Finally, everyone's dream came true when a live-action movie was announced. Now after the movie has gone and past, is the first appearance of the Justice League still worth the investment?

 

The first appearance of the Justice League appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28. The lineup of heroes consists of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman. The issue was published in 1960 and written by Gardner Fox.  Still considered DC's premier grail team-up comic to hold and invest, the issue hit new heights when rumors of a live-action movie were confirmed. In October 2014, plans were confirmed for a movie with Zack Snyder to direct and Joss Whedon and Chris Terrio to write the script.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales of The Brave and The Bold #28:

Speaking from someone who does not have a lot of wealth, I will speak in the low grades for this issue. High-grade copies in the range of 7.0  to 8.0 were starting around $10,000 and sales are rare. So, evaluating those grades is not a great example of studying the trend of this issue. Sales I am referring to is when the rumors were confirmed up until the release of the movie. Graded copies in the range of 0.5-3.0 all saw positive trends with the movie being in production. For example, 2.0 and 1.8  grades were trending positively during this timeframe, respectively 41.5% and 38.6%. The hype was unreal and the star power for the movie was amazing!

Grade 2.0 $2,450 last sale 10-23-17 returns positive +41.5%

Grade 1.8 $2,195 last sale 10-03-17 returns positive +38.6%

Grade 1.5 $1,247 last sale 7-15-17 returns positive +38.7%

The Downfall:

DC Comics plans to unleash their media universe was the opposite of their rival, Marvel. They wanted to unleash the big team-up movie first and then expose solo movies for each character of the Justice League. The vision was interesting, but in the end, the movie failed to meet expectations.

The Justice League movie was supposed to be split into two parts. The sequel would not occur due to the start of the production of the solo Batman movie. Even to this day, the movie is supposed to premiere in 2021 or 2022. Director Zack Snyder leaving as director to tend to a personal issue caused more doubt and delays for the movie. With that, came days of reshoots and Joss Whedon taking over as director with little to work with.

 

When the movie finally premiered, the critics bashed everything from the plot to the terrible CGI mustache of Henry Cavill. In all, the movie grossed $657 million worldwide, as it ended up losing money if you count the budget and production costs. The expectation of comic fans after this movie has derailed the value of this book, as it has become a thing of the past.

There is Hope...

Out of the 15 graded copies, since the movie came out, only 4 (5.5, 4.0, 1,8. 1.0) grades are trending positively. To me, this is a testament to the importance of the book, despite DC failing numerous times at the box office. In addition, DC will try again in the future to form the Justice League, so this is a good time to grab it while people's attention is on Marvel books. My recommendation is to save up and pick what grade you want and go for it while the book is low. I know DC is in a "wait and see" situation with many of their comics, and that is understandable. Though, for a book like this, personally, it will always be on my radar to grab as an investor and to have for my collection.

Grade 5.5 $6,600 last sale 5-03-20 returns positive +5.2%

Grade 4.0 $2,650 last sale 4-13-20 returns positive +3.4%

Grade 1.0 $1,232.89 last sale 3-24-20 returns positive +20.2%