I just sent a copy of my comic book collection and valuation to my insurance broker, and she sent me a message that it was good I had insurance and added a link to a story this week that a copy of Action Comics #1 from 1938 had sold to a collector for $1 million. This is about three times the value of the last sale. I, unfortunately, do not have one, but,as a comics fan and collector, I am ambivalent about this sale.
Why, you ask? Isn’t your collection potentially worth more? Well, yes, but it may only be that one book and others like it have appreciated (i.e., Detective Comics #27 - first appearance of Batman). why - because speculation and profit almost destroyed my favorite hobby, like it almost destroyed baseball cards and has made a mockery out of sports and celebrity autographs.
In the late 1980s, there was a “perfect storm” of popularity in the comics hobby – the Tim Burton “Batman” movie was a monster hit, and speculators were buying and selling comics like shares of stock. The comic companies did their part: multiple covers, huge print-runs, “big events” like the death of Superman hyped up for maximum sales. And, like any commodity, in the run up, people made money. Speculators who had some knowledge were able to buy low and sell high. Many comics shops did likewise, holding back “hot” comics until they were listed as “sold out” and then selling original copies for 3, 4, 5 times cover price or more. Every kid and their parents saw dollar signs with every comic sale.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen. The bubble burst – people weren’t making tons of money; the market stopped hyper-appreciation, prices leveled off, and when people saw that their investments weren’t increasing anymore, they bailed, fast. A kid buying a $3 comic for $9 suddenly found no market and the price was back at $3 again. Rightfully, that kid felt like he had been conned - and he probably had. and he left the hoby, with a bad taste in his mouth. Why? Because there are about 250,000 regular comics buyers in this country. Huge print runs and multiple purchases by tons of people made those comics more than readily available, and if supply is high and demand is low, your comics is worthless.
Let’s take the death of Superman issue, shall we? There were approximately 6 million copies of this comic printed and sold. Many people bought multiple copies; some bought entire boxes full of this issue, in the expectation (I first typed hope, but that’s not the way people thought – they EXPECTED) that their comic would appreciate in value. Some naïve folks thought this would be their children’s college fund.
But, as I said above, the market tanked. People stopped buying comics, so that the number of buyers, which swelled to maybe 2-3 million in the go-go late 1980s and early 1990s, contracted back to the loyal 250,000. People who expected to profit had a ton of worthless comics that everyone already had, so sales fell more and comics looked like a rip-off. The comic companies made questionable investments during this time, and this new, high debt level, along with inability to contract print runs and even whole lines of comics fast enough, almost ended the industry entirely in the mid-to late 1990s. After years of struggle and now, popular movies have helped the companies, and the loyal 250,000 like myself, are still here.
So, the story of a comic selling for $1 million is nice – maybe my collection has shown some increase in value, but since I never plan on selling them in my lifetime, it’s a moot point. After I’m dead, the Indignant Children will make some money, but it certainly won’t keep them from having to work for a living.
I just don’t want another profusion of speculators in my hobby, and the story that one book sold for $1 million could get the greedy and the stupid thinking that they can make a killing in the comics business. I tell kids and adults who I meet who are interested in comics to get into the hobby for the right reason – because they enjoy reading the comics. Read what you enjoy; buy what you enjoy, and that way, you are already ahead.
For example, I buy a number of comics, but I’m not into the current zombie craze. Zombies are the hot thing in comics these days, and are the books that have appreciated the most over the past couple of years. But I don’t enjoy them, so I don’t read or buy them. I’m not stuck with a comic I don’t like.
I buy a comic for $4 (inflation); I read it; enjoy it. Then bag it in a plastic bag and box it up. I got my $4 worth of enjoyment, and as a bonus, I can go back and read it again. If it appreciates in value, fine. If it doesn’t, oh well. That’s the best attitude to have in my opinion.