Cyberspace Comics market report, reviews and more

April 29, 2014

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #151 Lady Death

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 8:00 am

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

Wow! It’s kind of hard to believe that next year is Lady Death’s 25th anniversary! In the Lady Death: Alive mini-series, she finds herself mortal and in human form. The cover to issue #1 is modeled after the very first issue of Lady Death and provides a nice contrast between her original and human forms.

Lady Death #1
Lady Death #1
January 1994
Steven Hughes
Lady Death: Alive #1
Lady Death: Alive #1
May 2001
Ivan Reis

On Ebay: Lady Death
On AtomicAvenue: Lady Death

April 15, 2014

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #150 X-Men

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 11:46 am

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

Taking a page from Marvel and DC’s marketing book, Skullkickers decided to relaunch their book with a new issue #1 and an enticing title change. Issue #22 was renamed ALL-NEW SKULLKICKERS and the numbering changed to #1. I think the plan worked, and sales increased – even though it was a noticeable swipe at the big two publishers.

X-Men #125
X-Men #125
September 1979
Dave Cockrum
All-New Skullkickers #1
All-New Skullkickers #1
June 2013
Edwin Huang

On Ebay: X-Men | Skullkickers
On AtomicAvenue: X-Men | Skullkickers

April 10, 2014

Are Comics As Good As Gold? #2 Ms. Marvel

Filed under: Good As Gold — Doorman @ 6:57 pm

An interesting factor of buying comic books (real comics – not digital), is that their value can fluctuate above or below their original price. Aside from being fun to read, buying real comics can have a side-benefit because they have a resale value. Here’s another look at a comic book from an investment point of view.

Marvel Comics published Ms. Marvel #1 on February 5, 2014. It was the first title published by the company that starred a female Muslim super-heroine. This issue was sold on ebay for $12.99 (plus shipping) on April 10, 2014.

item price on February 5, 2014 resale value on April 10, 2014 % change
Ms. Marvel #1 $2.99 $12.99 on ebay (+$4 shipping) +334.45%
Gold (per ounce) $1,256 $1,318 +4.94%
DOW (stock market) $15,440.23 $16,170.22 +4.73%
CPI (rate of inflation) $234.781
the Vault #1 (digital version) $2.99 $0 -100%

 

Now that we’ve looked at the rata data, let’s see why these things matter.

Gold – a precious metal that exists in a limited supply. More of it can be (and is) mined every day but it cannot be created. Primarily, it is used to create jewelry but it is also used in electronics. This is because it is an efficient conductor that can remain free of corrosion. Gold is also seen as a storehouse of wealth because it does exist in short supply (in comparison to its demand) and because more cannot be created by man. As the value of the dollar falls, the price of gold rises. When more money is printed, the price of gold rises. And, as faith in the dollar falls, the price of gold will rise. It is viewed by investors as a safe bet against the decline in value of paper currency.

DOW – the Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index that compiles the daily stock prices of 30 large, publicly traded U.S. companies. The DOW, relative to its past performance, can indicate how well the stock market is performing. For example, in 2007 (when the American economy was booming), the DOW climbed to a little over $14,000. But, in 2009, when our economy crashed, the DOW fell all the way to $6,626.

CPI – The Consumer Price Index measures the price of a basket of goods and services. By comparing it to past performance, we can track inflation. Inflation is the rate at which your paper currency is devalued. In 1983, the CPI was $100; it hit $200 in 2006. That means that it would have cost you twice as much to buy the same basket of goods/services in 2006 than it cost in 1983. So, in nearly twenty years, the value of the U.S. dollar was decreased by half. And, that’s using government-issued numbers (so there’s probably some “funny business” going on – and the inflation rate is actually much higher).

Smart spenders know that everything they buy should have a resale value. There comes a point in one’s life when you either:
(1) no longer want to have something or
(2) need to sell some of your possessions to pay for something else.

When making the decision to buy something, I hope you’ll keep in mind that digital items (be they comics, music, movies, etc) retain no resale value. Are you spending your money wisely?

April 2, 2014

Cyberspace Comics Market Report #44 April 2014

Filed under: Cyberspace Comics Market Report — Doorman @ 9:27 am

Here’s a look back at the current comics aftermarket.

Number of listings in eBay’s “comics” section: 2,588,890 (-3.23% from last month; +15.35% from last year)
Number of those that are Cyberspace Comics listings: 13,192 (-81.66%; +17.67%)
Cyberspace Comics “market share” of comic listings on eBay: 0.50956% (-81.05%; +2.01%)

Number of eBay comic listings that are auctions: 308,723 (+92.80%; +173.01%)
Percentage of eBay comic listings up for auction: 11.92% (+99.08%; +136.61%)

My current eBay feedback (unique): 28,355
My current eBay feedback (total): 51,957
My positive eBay feedback score: 99.9%

Position Dollar Sales # of Current Listings
First Marvel Comics Clearance (3,139)
Second Marvel (Bronze) Other Indies (1,719 listings)
Third DC Comics (↑) Marvel Comics (1,536 listings)
Fourth Other Indies (↑) TPBs (1,315 listings)
Fifth Clearance (↑) Image Comics (962 listings)

 
Number of listings on Atomic Avenue: 1,703,588 (+1.37%; +13.88%)
Number of those that are in the Cyberspace Comics Store on Atomic Avenue: 66,093 (-1.02%; +20.20%)
Cyberspace Comics “market share” of comic listings on AtomicAvenue: 3.87964% (-2.36%; +5.56%)
Cyberspace Comics estimated “market share” of AtomicAvenue orders: 5.40% (-21.51%; +38.46%)

 
Number of members on ComicCollectorLive: 95,318 (+0.31%; +4.77%)

April 1, 2014

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #149 Fantastic Four

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 10:18 am

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

Fantastic Four #109
Fantastic Four #109
April 1971
John Buscema
FF vol. II #7
FF vol. II #7
July 2013
Mike Allred

On Ebay: Fantastic Four | FF
On AtomicAvenue: Fantastic Four | FF

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