Hot Today, Not Tomorrow - Why Modern Comic Books Make Poor Investments

By now most of you have seen the news: Captain America is dead! Yes, this news was so big it made CNN and Yahoo! News. Finding a first print Captain America #25, the now infamous death issue is hard to find. I went on Ebay this morning and to no surprise the first printing are selling at a premium. However, I would advise against speculating this comic will be worth tons of money in the future and paying extra for it. For those of you who have never bought comics before or think your going to get rich by buying a bunch of them from your local flea market, let me give you some advice to follow if you really want to enjoy the hobby.

Rule1: You won't get rich collecting comics!

How can I possibly say this? The first appearance of Spider-Man is worth many thousands of dollars! I've seen them on Ebay and in pricing guides like Wizard! You must be lying! No folks, I'm not. Yes Amazing Fantasy # 15 IS worth quite a bit of money. But realize this, it was published in 1962! It's over 45 years old. It was published during an era where the post office FOLDED (cringe!) comics to fit them in your mailbox. They were everywhere. Nobody thought they'd be worth anything that's why a lot of old comic collections merely got thrown away. Today with the advent of the internet and news sources, the great "secret" of collecting is out. Everyone is stashing things away hoping to get rich! That doesn't mean everything that is old is worth money, either. Spider-Man is an icon. They makes movies about him. He's in demand. However, your A-Team #1, you know the show that starred Mr T. in the 80's, can probably be found in a dollar bin at any comic convention. Why? Simple supply and demand, the key economic indicator. Which leads me to my next point...

Rule 2: High Print Runs = High Supply = Lower Demand

The more of something that is available, the lower the cost. The average print run of a comic book is about 100,000 copies. That doesn't include re-printings and graphic novels (which collect anywhere from 4 to 12 issues of a series) that are sold in large book stores such as Barnes and Noble. Modern comics are everywhere and they aren't that hard to find especially with the growth of Ebay and online comic retailers. Right now, there's plenty for everyone. Plus there are simply less collectors than there were even 15 years ago. In the 1990's the market was driven by "speculators", people that bought multiple copies and multiple covers of a book thinking they would cash-in and get rich later. This drove print runs as high as 8 MILLION of Jim Lee's X-Men #1. When people found out nobody wanted to buy the book back at a premium, they simply left the hobby. You can also add in the surge of video games, maturation of comics and even illiteracy as reasons younger kids and teens are no longer reading comics.

Rule 3: In Comics, Death is Never Permanent!

I need only point to the Death of Superman, Issue #75 published in 1993 as a perfect example of speculation. Prices soared as high as sixty dollars per copy for the "death" issue. Why did people really think Superman was going to stay dead? He's SUPERMAN! Other characters have been brought back from the dead many times over in comics such as Green Lantern, The Green Goblin, Thor, Colossus of the X-Men, and even Jason Todd, the second Robin who the fans of DC Comics called in my 900 telephone number and was killed. That Captain America number 25 you are holding in your hands will be worth about the same price as what is printed on its cover in a couple of years. Captain America will be resurrected in some form or fashion sooner or later.

Why do comics characters never stay dead? A little thing called licensing. Copyrights expire when characters are not used. Can you imagine killing off Spider-Man and Marvel forgetting to renew the license? What if rival DC Comics suddenly owned the rights to Spider-Man? It would shake up the industry but it would cost Marvel Comics MILLIONS of dollars! That's why death is never permanent in comics.

Fear Not, Dear Reader:

Now that I've given you reasons why you shouldn't collect comics, let me give you a reason or two why you should. Read and collect them because you enjoy them. There is an entire world of stories that are told every week through this visual medium. Do you have a child that's struggling with reading? Buy them a copy of Archie or Batman Strikes which are aimed at kids. Your comics retailer should be able to point you in the right direction, because there are many mature and adult themed books on the market. Be realistic, don't try to get rich by buying comics. There are many other more profitable enterprises a sound investor could point you toward.