I keep thinking of the immortal words of Prince's "Purple Rain," when thinking about this post's WWTT covers,  "Honey I know I know, I know times are changing, it's time we all reach out for something new, I know that means you too."  These WWTT covers have NOT aged well because of the times!

 

 

 

 

Another Action Comics WWTT?  This One Did Not Age Well!

Action Comics #457 is the second Action Comics cover in three WWTT posts.  Innocuous enough at first glance, this is a comic cover that DID NOT age well with time.  With all the changed awareness in child abuse, child trafficking, and sexual harassment, this cover just plain gives me the creeps now.  The dialogue on the cover softens the image a bit, but not enough to pull it off the creepy WWTT category.

The boy is lying on the bed, his head is on the pillow, and he is crying. Ok, not too creepy yet, but behind him is Superman...undressing!  Uggg!  Just so creepy!  Is it worth investing in?  GoCollect lists only 5 sales.  The most recent transaction, in May, went for $168 in CGC 9.8.  A CGC 9.6 sold for $100 in 2017.  The price for a CGC 9.8 seems low given the age of this comic.  I think if you find one in the dollar bin in what appears to be a 9.6, you grab it and go, otherwise, this is probably not a WWTT to pick up.

Howard the Duck First Series is Chuck-Full-of WWTTs!

I love Howard the Duck!  Looking back at this character from the Bronze Age Magazine, the Bronze Age series, and all the way up to the current release of issues one can see big character changes and enhancements over time.  The Bronze Age series comes loaded with WWTT covers.  For now, Howard the Duck #19 is a WWTT that comes to mind.  Obviously, it is a tribute cover to Amazing Spider-Man #50.  

There are many tribute covers!  Neal Adams's Uncanny X-Men #57 has several tributes out there...even within its own series (See Uncanny X-Men #135)!  Howard the Duck #19 TRIES to celebrate all the greatness of Amazing Spider-Man #50, but the tongue-in-cheekiness sends it right into the WWTT cover category and has not aged well!  I mean "A Fowl No More"  so obvious!  Crossing out Duck and adding Human just doesn't cut it.  Dr. Bong did turn Howard into a Human, but the use of that iconic Spider-Man cover is just too obvious; which is why it goes into the WWTT category!

Is it Worth It?

Is Howard the Duck #19 worth investing in?  GoCollect lists recent sales in 9.8 at $300 and 9.6 at just under $100.  You would have to be VERY confident in attaining that ultra-high grade.  Personally, I like issue #12 (1st Appearance of Kiss, cameo, and #13 1st full appearance of Kiss) better.  However, I am going to put on my speculator hat for a moment.

Taking a look at the GoCollect weekly hotlist, there have been multiple times a new series Howard the Duck issue and variant cover made significant gains on the list.  Could the new series carry some of the Bronze Age issues in its wake?  Issue #19 brings opportunities to make the leap to investing.  Howard the Duck issues #1, #12, #13, and #15 (1st appearance of Dr. Bong) all have a consistent interest.  Issue #19 could be a fringe issue that can slide into the wake of the interest level the new series is creating!

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