By Terrence J. Brady
May 2003
The e-mail bag was a-hoppin' recently (no kids - it
wasn’t delivered by the Easter Bunny). Seems as if
last month's column left some confusion amongst fellow
fandomities and I wanted to clear the air before
introducing this month's Hall-of-Shamers.
The commotion occurred when I mentioned how there was
nothing different between 30-cent & 35-cent variant
copies and that dealers created a fallacy that variant
issues were somehow worth more. Indeed, while the
story is exactly the same, these variant copies are
harder to find and this has created a genuine interest
by some collectors to seek out these evasive books. If
such collectors are willing to shell out additional
funds for said books, then these books would certainly
fall into a higher price range as supply/demand
determines pricing.
What I have a problem with is when sellers push
variant issues over non-variants. For example, does
one really need all 13 different covers for GEN13 #1?
I understand that Marvel was testing the market when
they made their 30-35 cent variants and that's fine.
It’s nowadays that (some) companies create a multitude
of bogus variant covers to generate additional revenue
for the same product which, in turn, (some) sellers
then exploit by creating a false sense of
supply/demand and up their asking price. This is just
plain and simple greed.
A concerned reader states:
"...don't confuse price variants with the myriad
'manufactured collectibles' of today that feed off the
variant misnomer, and give the word a bad name. I draw
a big line between collectible, true comic book
variants and the manufactured crapola that companies
are pumping out today. The differences are quite
clear...."
"Crapola?" Couldn’t have said it better myself. Of
course, now, I’m sure to get all sorts of hate mail
from folks who claim that they HAD TO HAVE all 13
variant copies of Gen13 #1. Sigh....
Okay - onto this month's inductees. With the new
X-MEN film hitting theaters this month, I've
decided to salute the X-world with a trio of X-treme
CGC buys.
While Bobby Drake, a.k.a. "Iceman" (as well as a founding
member of the X-Men - way back in 1963) had only a
small role in the first
film, ol' frost-breath gets significant more
screen time in the sequel -- so I thought he would be
as good a place as any to start.
To your immediate left (click image), is the first
issue from the 1984 mini-series - featuring the
ICEMAN. This 9.9 NM/ MINT copy snagged a cool $95 ...
which doesn’t sound that bad - or does it?
Well, while many X comics of the early 80s are
securing more and more green, the ICEMAN LIMITED
SERIES has met with a fairly chilly response over the
years. Going rate for all FOUR issues is under ten
bucks - even low as five. (A recent eBay auction for
the set in mint ended at $1). Thanks to Carin M. of
Queens, NY for this cool deal.
Next up is the real deal - if you fall into the belief
that the ULTIMATE line introduced by Marvel a few
years back is nothing but, well, "the ultimate."
What we have here is a failure to communicate ...
[ahem] uhhh, that is ... CGC 9.6 NM+ ULTIMATE X-MEN #1
& #2. This pair of comics from 2001 featured Adam
Kubert art and was just another way for Marvel to
saturate the market with another series with "X" in
the title. (Not to mention milking the word "ultimate"
as early issues of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN went through
the roof.)
On the auction page, the seller provided would-be
buyers with a nice "rationalization" on how CGC better
serves the comic community because many NM/M graded
comics out there are not so. I’m not going to argue
that point, however, the question of "is it a 9.6 or a
9.8?" is splitting hairs -- ESPECIALLY when the book
is - what - a whole 26 months old?! In my search for
other ULTIMATE X books, I found one seller stating his
lot as RARE! C’mon folks. These books are as rare (or
scarce) in high grade (or low grade for that matter)
as sand is on a beach.
Non-CGC graded copies for this pair still fetch cover
price -- unless you try to sell your copy to a comic
dealer. He’ll only chuckle as he offers up a nice
shiny quarter for your "ultimate" book. So, how much
does a pair of slabbed ULTIMATE X books go for these
days? For you stranger (since ya got a nice face) I’ll
let these two "rare" books go for a low-low-low $80!
Thanks to "Big Joe" of Concord, NH for submitting this
auction.
And last but certainly not least....
Seems like everyone is talking about the ORIGIN
mini-series nowadays but 20 years ago (has it been
that long?) Frank Miller and Chris Claremont put out
the definitive Wolverine mini-series.
The four-issue series, first published in September
1982, has maintained a healthy interest thanks to the
continuing popularity of Marvel's greatest anti-hero.
Wolverine was the first of the new X-Men to be spun
off into his own book (this series), then an ongoing
monthly series starting in 1988. While the complete
mini-series averages $40 in NM, the first issue can
still grab upwards of $20.
What we have here though is no near mint book. No, no.
What we have is CGC perfection: WOLVERINE LIMITED #1
CGC 10.0 PERFECT MINT! The only 10.0 grade copy (of
1381 copies graded by the CGC) and perfection deserves
its place in history -- as well as the
CGC Hall of Shame. The cost of perfection?
$3,550.00!
Ouch!
Sounds like a down payment for a new car or a two-week
trip to Hawaii - not the price for a $20 comic book.
Oh, I forgot - it's "perfect." Sorry, but this rings
of Plato’s "The Allegory of the Cave." Let's not get
fooled by shadows on the wall. In other words, if
you're not up on your Greek philosophy (who is?), what
is real and what we believe to be real may not be one
in the same. I hope this 3-1/2 grand book does not
become the benchmark for which future sales are based
on. If it is, better start taking out that second
mortgage on the house now, if you want to continue to
fund your comic book habit. I want to thank Jeremy H.
of Tampa, FL for first submitting this auction (plus
several others who sent it in as well).
Well, I don’t know about you but I’m going out to
catch that new X2 film. I’m sure it won’t
disappoint. In the meantime, keep sending in those
auctions (you guys are great, btw). To submit a comic
for consideration in the CGC Hall of Shame,
please follow these simple rules: (1) The comic must
be Modern Age - 1980 to the present. (2) The comic
must be from an on-line auction house; like eBay. (3)
The comic must be CGC graded and fetch a minimum
winning bid of 10X Overstreet Guide. When submitting,
please include your first name and last initial plus
your city/state (or city/country if applicable).
See ya next month....
E-MAIL THE AUTHOR
| ARCHIVES
