The Captain Marvel spectacle is here; it comes complete with scandal and avarice. Does this new 21st Century Captain Marvel stand up to the glowing tribute Disney and their spinners have created in the media? Probably not, but we are all about back issues here. Now that the new Captain Marvel has gone literally "where no man has gone before"(TOS). What has been the impact on Ms. Marvel #1 her first appearance? Further, where does she rank in the Bronze Age in terms of staying power and likability? Ms. Marvel #1 is a comic you could have picked up during the Thanos build up over the last five years fairly cheap. The Conway team of both Gerry and Carla created this "modern female superhero" in 1977. They had the help of two of my favorite artists: John Romita and John Buscema.

Our favorite wall-crawler is also back in the limelight again. Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 is Teflon as far as its popularity goes, now at second place for most popular Bronze Age comic book. This the first Spider-Man symbiont with black costume. Created by Jim Shooter and Michael Zeck in 1984 almost the end of the Bronze Age. This book could possibly stay in the lead for the foreseeable future. There were so many printed back in the day that it has barely gone above $200 and that is in Universal grade 9.8, a very cheap price for a mint condition comic book. Venom's popularity as a character is vast, and this is part of his origin and first appearance. Even after a so-so movie the vitality of this anti-hero is strong. But how does Ms. Marvel and Secret Wars match up over the short-term? Bottom line: which is going to give a higher return and therefore be a better investment?

Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8

The Secret Wars was one of those nifty ideas in the 1980s that went horribly bad due to one character. I am speaking of course of The Beyonder, and it is beyond me why anyone would create an omnipotent being like that to interact with the superheroes. A being so powerful, that it makes his justification for interfering with Earth's superheroes petty. I could go on, but you get the point. Despite this gaping maw in the middle of the story, several of the subplots were fantastic. They created Titania earlier in this series, they killed off Spider-Woman as well, Spidey takes on an almost defeats the X-Men single-handedly, bravo. Of course, they also give us our first glimpse of the symbiont creature that would go on to become Venom. The returns for the Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8:

  • Grade 9.8 $220 FMV has a six-month return of negative -19.1%
  • Grade 9.6 $130 FMV has a six-month return of positive + 2.7%
  • Grade 8.0 $85 FMV has a six-month return of positive +.05%
  • Grade 6.0 $60 FMV has a six-month return of negative -11.5%

 

Ms. Marvel #1

Meanwhile, Ms. Marvel (a.k.a. Captain Marvel) has chewed up the screen time, media, blog sites, and basically making a wonderful mess of the entire Disney roll out. The impact has been felt and the value of this brand and its franchise has probably been hurt. In any comparison of these two character series; Spidey-Symbiote has humbled Ms. Marvel. The brand power of Spider-Man is "amazing" the true leader of Marvel Comics. Take a look below, would you buy into Ms. Marvel #1 now, with a negative -15% to -30% drop in value? I should hope not! Keep your Spidey-Spirit up and hold your head high. Spidey is still the headliner for Marvel Comics (Too bad the movie rights are Sony's). The following are the returns for Ms. Marvel #1:

  • Grade 9.8 $2050 FMV has a six-month return of negative -15.5%
  • Grade 9.6 $600 FMV has a six-month return of negative -20.2%
  • Grade 8.0 $130 FMV has a six-month return of negative -29%
  • Grade 6.0 $80 FMV has a six-month return of negative -28.2%

Ms. Marvel (Captain Marvel) saga is coming to a close. Yes, she will be in the upcoming Avengers movie, but that won't help. People have sold at a furious rate, hence her number one status as Bronze Age beauty, last month. Using my vaunted Power Cosmic, I see a Ms. Marvel #1 continuing a downward spiral in value. It is obvious from the negatives above that it is not a "marvelous" investment. At the very least not now. Wait another six months and pick up a slabbed copy on the cheap. Since most of us already own Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 in at least readable format; I would hold off purchasing it now. Perhaps after the Spidey movie in the summer, you can snag a copy if prices fall.