Who Says Comics Don't Pay
Oh, c'mon. GUESS!
Wrong!
$522,813
Yep, as Benjamin would say, "That's half-a-million simoleans, greenbacks, or smackers."
The 1939 copy of Detective Comics No. 27 features the debut of Batman and was the star of a recent Heritage Auction in Dallas.
The Billy Wright collection also included Action Comics No. 1, a 1938 issue featuring the first appearance of Superman, which sold for about $299,000.
But wait, there's more...last year a copy of Action Comics # 1, sold for more than $1.5 million. Comic Book Resources reports that about 100 copies of the issue are believed to exist, and only a handful of those are in good condition. It has a cover price of 10 cents.
So maybe you should hang onto your comic textbooks.
I love comics. I'm not as into them as I use to be when I was younger, but I still remember some of the characters. My dad was a comic book collector. He has trunks full of comic books. I am curious to know how much some of his are worth today. Many of his are still in the plastic covers. My favorite as a child was the Fantastic Four, Tales from the Crypt, and I even had a barbie comic book. My brother use to be able to draw the characters. I still find them interesting, but I never became a collector of comics like my dad. Instead I took after his other collection; Stephen King novels and stories.
ReplyDeleteMy dad always tells me about all of his old toys that he had as a kid, and that if he had hung on to them he would be a millionaire. Original Hot Wheels like the, "Spittin Image" or rookie baseball cards. It seems like everything my dad owned is now worth a good amount of money. He once Owned a 1957 Chevy Bel air that are next to impossible to find in good condition, for less then 25,000 dollars. I will learn from my fathers mistakes and keep things that once gave me pleasure as a child. My Pokemon cards, My hot wheels, and my old game systems like the first Game Boy. Because you never what could make you millions of dollars, so if you have something old in your house, keep it and you'll thank yourself later.
ReplyDeleteThere's a show on TV called Comic Book Guys/Men that had an episode that was like this. A man walked in with an old collection of his grandmothers comics from the 1940's that had a bunch of first appearance of well known comic book heroes, like the first appearance of Wonder Women or the first comic book that Robin was introduced in. From that comic on, Robin inspired many other heroes to get side-kicks, like aqua-lad, Speedy, etc. The employees of the store estimated that if he sold his comics at an auction house, they'd probably go for millions because they were all in pristine condition and first releases.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I never really got too involved with comics since most of my time was spent reading various kinds of fiction books, but as I'm getting older there are moments where I wish I had been really into them; especially the old Batman ones, since he's my absolute favorite. It's weird to think that an old propaganda comic from the 40's and onwards can sell for so much these days, but it's also noteworthy to think about how impressive the legacy of comics are. Even now, decades later, everybody knows at least the basic stories of well-known comic heroes.
It seems like no matter what form it takes, the art of story-telling continues to hold a withstanding impression on us.
-Kristen Brooks
I've always been interested in starting a comic book collection of my own. However, it's so hard to start collecting that I gave up before I started. As most comic book franchises are well into their twilight years and/or waiting for a reboot, the task of going down to a comic shop and scavenging for Spiderman #187 is a daunting one. There is hope though. DC comics is one such publisher that has recently rebooted many of their classic franchises, including Batman and Superman, starting back all the way at #1. Although they may not be worth as much as the original #1’s of our grandparents’ time, perhaps if we start collecting now then later down the road we can boast that the comics from our time are now worth something. As a side note, my favorite graphic novel of all time is The Watchmen, which is undergoing its own reboot for better or for worse. Following the events that came before the original Watchmen, during the era of the Minute Men, it will act as a prequel of sorts to delve into the past heroics of the ones who started what the Watchmen finished.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised by the selling price of these comics because nostalgia is a funny thing. The feeling that things used to be so much better, fond memories that form a bubble around our past. No matter what the hardships were, we remember the past as the best of times. In adulthood, we convince ourselves that spending hard earned money on the past will bring that feeling back. On top of that, Superheroes in comics make the safe feeling of the past even stronger. Those who sell comics for outrageous prices are preying on others sense of the past. Thus I do not approve.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting because it reminds me of my childhood. Growing up I used to love reading comics and collecting them. My favorites were Archie's, Tin Tins, Tinkle, Spider man and Batman. I did not know comics could make over $500,000. I was watching Auction Hunters and a man bought a garage and sold comics that was worth over $50,000. It was pretty cool that comics can be worth so much. I prefer the comics from the 80's-90's instead of the newer ones.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a lot of comics I would keep them all, especially if i know that they are old. I watch a lot of shows about auctioning and selling and sometimes people bring in comic books to sell that you may think cost about $20 but end up costing thousands of dollars. Remember, just because you think something is old and useless, doesn't mean that it isn't worth anything.
ReplyDeleteI think so too! I own boxes of old comics with a few i personally know are worth quit a bit of money. I have a few that are really old and i have no clue what they're worth. So i should definitely take my collection to an auction. They could be worth a lot and make me rich!
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