2005 Year-End Market Report

Pedigree Comics deals exclusively in CGC graded comics and magazines and we specialize in ultra high grade (9.4 and higher) Silver, Bronze and Copper Age Marvels. Through our website (www.PedigreeComics.com) we sell more CGC certified Marvel comics than any other dealer and many of these books come from nationally recognized pedigree collections. Since this is the area of the market we predominantly deal with, we will not comment on other segments.

2005 has been an incredible year for us in both buying and selling high grade Marvels. We started the year by listing a complete run of Iron Man (issues 1-51 and annuals 1 and 2) in 9.4 and better from the Oakland Collection. These books sold very quickly and at record prices. Amazingly, 38 out of the 53 comics were in CGC 9.6 or higher grade. Iron Mans continue to sell extremely well for us at multiples of Guide, with up to 10x for 9.6’s and 20x for 9.8’s the norm. The same thing goes for Sub-Mariner. In March, we listed a similarly ultra high grade run of Subbys, also from the Oakland Collection, between issues 1 and 53 plus annual #1. I could not believe the pace at which these late Silver and early Bronze beauties were selling even though they were priced very aggressively (some up to 15x Overstreet 9.2 top of guide price for 9.6’s and 25x on 9.8’s). Within a week or so over 90% of the run was already sold, with many issues at record prices. Sub-Mariner remains a very popular title with great Bill Everett, Marie Severin, Gil Kane and Sal Buscema covers. The later issues (40’s – 70’s) still sell incredibly well at high multiples of Guide.

Another title that started in 1968 and continued throughout the 1970’s is Captain America, another great seller for us. In May, we started listing an amazing group of Caps between issues 100 and 227, 73 issues in total with 70 of them in CGC 9.6 and 9.8. Most of these gems were from pedigreed collections (Boston, Pacific Coast, Northland and Winnipeg) and were met with great enthusiasm. Out of the 73 comics listed on our website, only one hasn’t yet sold as of this writing!! As was the case with the Iron Man and Sub-Mariner runs, the lure of the pedigree fueled the collecting passion in many of our customers and very strong multiples of Guide were paid across the board for these killer Caps. Captain America is without question one of our best selling titles. In fact, we listed a near complete run of Boston copies (issues 100 through 120) in October which also sold briskly. These were predominantly 9.4’s and 9.6’s and were snatched up rather quickly. There were a couple of White Mountain copies mixed into this run (issues 101 and 102) and these sold at high multiples as well. Other 1970’s super-hero titles that are big sellers for us are Daredevil, Fantastic four, Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men and Incredible Hulk.

Overall, Bronze Age Marvels are by far the hottest area of the market right now (specifically books from the early to mid 70’s). These comic books sell incredibly well in the 9.4 - 9.8 range because they are still so inexpensive in Guide. Most of these books are now 30 years old but are far less expensive than their Silver Age counterparts. Besides the aforementioned heavyweights that consistently sell at high multiples of guide in certified Near Mint and higher, other titles fly off our website as well. Power Man, Master of Kung Fu, Marvel Feature (both titles), Marvel Spotlight, Amazing Adventures, Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Premiere, Frankenstein, Man-Thing, Amazing Adventures, Fear, Marvel Two-In-One, Tomb of Dracula, Son of Satan, Werewolf By Night etc., etc, all sell unbelievably well in 9.4 and higher grade. I have also seen renewed interest in the horror reprint titles such as Crypt of Shadows, Chamber of Darkness, Creatures on the Loose, Monsters on the Prowl, Vault of Evil, etc. Again, these books are still quite affordable at the top of guide (9.2) price, so multiples equaling 10 times for 9.6’s and 20x for NM/M’s is not uncommon. Even though the supply of high grade Bronze Age Marvels is relatively out there, the demand for these 1970’s books is insatiable, making these types of multiples quite believable.

Another area of the Bronze Age Marvel market to look out for is magazines. These once overlooked and always undervalued books are gaining popularity and interest. Savage Sword of Conan leads the way with many titles right behind (Vampire Tales, Monsters Unleashed, Rampaging Hulk, Planet of the Apes, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Savage Tales, Dracula Lives, Tales of the Zombie, Doc Savage, etc.). These are extremely affordable right now even at multiples of Guide and will make for a safe investment. There are even some pedigree magazine runs that have come to market, such as the Massachusetts and Don Rosa Collections. I expect the interest in magazines to continue for the next few years as savvy collectors realize how dirt cheap they really are.

Overall, I anticipate the Bronze Marvel market to continue to be extraordinarily strong in 2006 and beyond. Even though more and more of 1970’s Marvel comics will be submitted to the CGC for encapsulation and will thereafter enter the marketplace, more and more high grade Marvel fans will be waiting to snatch these still affordable babies right up, either to fill a hole in a run or collection or to simply upgrade on a 9.0 or 9.2. These 1970’s comics were the ones that a majority of the Marvel collectors out there were buying and reading as a kid and with the chance to now own these books in certified Near Mint and higher condition, money is not really much of an object (especially considering how relatively cheap they are in Guide). Couple this with the success and expected release of still more motion pictures depicting Marvel comic book heroes and characters and you will begin to understand why the booming Bronze Age Marvel market will not be slowing down any time soon.

As for Silver Age Marvels, these now 40 + year old books are still selling at high multiples of guide, with many titles seeing unprecedented interest. Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, Daredevil and Avengers are as good as gold and ALWAYS sell in high grade. Fantastic Four, Tales to Astonish, Journey into Mystery, Silver Surfer, Sgt. Fury, Nick Fury and Doctor Strange also sell quite while at multiples of Guide. In fact, Journey Into Mystery was by far the hottest selling title in 2004 with many individual issues selling at record prices. Although not as hot as it was a year ago, the God of Thunder (in both Journey Into Mystery and Thor) is still a popular character who commands interest and respect. Tales to Astonish is another once overlooked title that is now amongst my best sellers. Knowledgeable Marvel guys know that these early Ant-Man issues are near impossible to find in high grade and snatch them up when they become available. Even the Giant-Man issues (#49 - #69) sell well at multiples of Guide. Only the early Fantastic Fours match these early TTA’s in scarcity and impossibility of finding in ultra high grade.

However, by far and away, the two hottest Silver Age titles of 2005 were Tales of Suspense and Strange Tales. In April, I was able to acquire the Pacific Coast run of Tales of Suspense (issues 40 through 76 in mostly 9.6 and 9.8) from Mark Arrand of Colmore Comics for just over $155,000.00. Most of these copies were the top certified ones and were priced at extremely high multiples. In turn, I listed on PedigreeComics.com all the high grade, non-Pacific Coast doubles I now had from my personal inventory (issues 41 through 76 in 9.4 and 9.6 CGC certified grade). These books sold ridiculously fast and at record prices, fueled in part by the fact that early to mid Tales of Suspense never become available in ultra high grade and by the anticipation of the upcoming Iron Man movie. I could not believe how much interest these books drew. They were not inexpensive in the Price Guide to begin with, and at multiples of the top price, they were very expensive. It did not matter as most of the issues sold even before I had the opportunity to list them on the site. The #41 in 9.4 sold for $7,500, the #42 in 9.4 for $3,000, the #43, also in Near Mint, sold for $4,500 as did both the #44 an #45. The #46 in 9.4 (first Crimson Dynamo) fetched $2,750 while the #47 (first Melter) commanded the same price in 9.4. The Massachusetts copy of #48 sold for $2,500 in 9.4 while the #49 (first X-Men crossover) brought a whopping $8,800 in NM+ (9.6). I sold the #50 in 9.6 for $2,500, the same price that the 9.4 #52 brought in. I achieved record prices on almost every issue I uploaded onto the site. These books were listed in early April and I do not have any left now!! Early issues of Tales of Suspense just do not come up for sale in 9.4/9.6 very often and when they do they are as good as sold, even at aggressive multiples.

The same thing goes for Strange Tales, without question the most undervalued, under appreciated and most overlooked Silver Age Marvel title. Because most Marvel buyers know how insanely cheap these early Human Torch and Fantastic Four appearances are, extremely high multiples is the norm on this title. They are almost impossible to find in 9.4 (let alone 9.2) and are setting records each time one does pop up for sale. Over 3x Guide is acceptable for 9.2’s, 7 to 8x on 9.4’s and well over 10x is commonplace for 9.6’s. A 9.0 #111 sold for $600, #114 in 9.6 went for $6,500, a 9.2 #118 went for $450, a 9.2 copy of issue #123 fetched $380, #124 in 9.4 sold for $600, a 9.4 copy of #125 brought in $950 and a 9.6 Curator copy of #125 sold for $1,850 in 9.6 (over 15 times Guide!!). The Nick Fury issues (#s 135 through #168) sell almost as well. These are obviously more common than the Human Torch issues and available in 9.4/9.6, but they still continuously sell at high multiples. I had listed 2 separate ultra high grade Strange Tales runs from two different registry set collectors (issues #135 and up on both) in 2005 and both sold extremely well at multiples of Guide. There were over 50 issues combines from these two runs and not a single Strange Tales issue remains "live" on the website. Where Strange Tales left off, Doctor Strange took over and we sold a fantastic ultra high grade run of Dr. Strange #169 and up later in the year.

Although the prices on some Marvel keys might be settling a bit, we did sell a Daredevil #1 in 9.4 for $14,000, an Avengers #1 in 9.0 for $6,000, the 9.6 copy of X-Men #1 from the Pacific Coast pedigree for $100,000 and several 9.6 Amazing Spider-Mans at record prices ($24,500 for the Pacific Coast Spidey #14, $4,750.00 for the Slobodian copy of #39, $5,000 for the Slobodian #40 and $5,000 for the 9.8 Boston copy of issue #47). Again, pedigrees sell, particularly in high grade, and a collector will most definitely pay a premium to fill a hole in his run with a pedigree.

In retrospect, 2005 was an incredible year for Marvel collectors, buyers, dealers, investors, etc. Although I do not own a crystal ball, I expect to see continued strong sales and activity in the Marvel segment of the market. There are new collectors joining our ranks all the time and the supply can not keep up with the demand for these high grade books. CGC has changed the once common notion that there are tons of these books out there in high grade. The reality is that there are not. Only a handful or two of most Silver Age and early Bronze Age books make it to 9.4/9.6 or better. With many thousands of collectors out there with disposable income to buy these sought after gems, the market should remain healthy for a long, long time.