American Flagg #1, First Comics, (October, 1983) I received a nice email after I posted Undervalued Spotlight #111 last week and the jist of it was ‘how come you pick books that are almost impossible to find’?  First off, I thought I was being fair, I thought that for every Pep Comics...

What is up with the new grading standards of CGC?  I mean why is it I used to be able to go though my long boxes and know, without a lot of guess work, that this book will not come back a 9.8, it’s a guaranteed fail?  Why am I buying freshly graded CGC books that are 9.8 with spine...

World’s Finest #71, DC Comics, (July/August, 1954) World’s Finest #71 was printed at both an historic low point for superhero comics and a major turning point for the American comic publishing industry. Though crime and horror comics ruled the day, behind the scenes Dr. Wertham and the US...

My name is Jason Halstead, I’m the new guy here and a self described toy freak!  As a 38 year old who still actively buys, sells, and trades 70’s and 80’s action figures, I think I’ll have some fun stories to tell and some insight on the state of each individual market currently. ...

ComicLink’s January Focused Auction. This is my first Auction Highlight of 2012 and I think it’s a good time to try to  take stock of the market, to see where some of the most heavily traded “blue chip” comic books stand. Perhaps these results are barometers of what’s to...

This is my first Bound Together column that’s based on a book I don’t own, but it’s a doozy. In 1988 Graphitti Designs produced for DC a collected edition of Watchmen: a black hardcover in a slipcase with a good amount of exclusive bonus material. Very similar to The Dark...

Tales from the Tomb #1 (02-810-210), Dell Publishing, October 1962 About a month ago I bought a collection of rough shaped old comics. The pile was mostly Charlton War, DC non hero and a hodgepodge of Dells. Hum hum stuff really but about half way through the pile I came across Tales from the...

It has been four months since DC Comics unleashed their much anticipated New 52 relaunch. Not surprisingly, DC dominated 2011’s bestseller list. The only non-New 52 title that managed to squeak onto 2011’s top ten list was Ultimate Spider-Man #160. Justice League #1, Batman #1, and Action...

Doctor Who and the Daleks (Movie Classic #12-190-612), Dell Publishing, December 1966 Here’s another submission from Undervalued Spotlight stalwart Mike Huddleston. Mike sure knows how to pick winners and this week’s submission is no exception, it’s another keeper. Mike was obviously...

G.I. Joe, A real American Hero #21, Marvel Comics, March 1984 It seems that I keep neglecting the 1980s! My last 80s post was over 20 Spotlights ago!! The 80s are a much maligned decade when it comes to collectible comics. Hardcore collecting and speculating ran rampant and accelerated...

Tarzan #25, Dell Comics, October 1951 There’s a nice copy of Tarzan #25 sitting in my comic collection! About 15 years ago I bought a collection of Gold Key comics from the late 60s and early 70s and in the pile was a book called Brothers of the Spear #1. What a cool book I thought! Being...

This week I want to examine how the census numbers influence the market values between the 9.0 – 9.8 grades (i.e., the “mint” grades). Immediately we’re confronted with three problems.

Pep Comics #36, MLJ Magazines, February 1942 This is the 3rd time I’ve chosen a Pep Comic. Undervalued Spotlights #81 and #5 both featured great Pep issues and Pep #36 belongs right up there with them as far as I’m concerned. Pep Comics #36 is 68 pages of classic Golden Age comics...

Last month quietly, without fanfare a second CGC 9.6 Amazing Fantasy #15 appeared on the CGC Census (CGC is of course the company that grades the comics out of 10, they keep a census on their website). What made this 2nd copy’s appearance even more noteworthy than it normally would have been...

ComicConnect December 2011 Event Auction The big ComicConnect.com Event auction has ended. This auction gained worldwide attention thanks to the the coup of having a CGC graded 9.0 copy of Action Comics #1 up for grabs. My post on the record breaking sale can be read here. This auction...

Avengers #8, Marvel Comics, September 1964 For this spotlight I though I’d go through the Avengers title and try to pick out a sleeper that no one seems to be focusing on. With the Avengers movie releasing next May a lot of collecting attention has been turning to the Avengers title. Things...

Would you be shocked if I told you this collection has experienced a devastating loss in market value over the last two years? In late 2009 a collection of key Bronze Age titles (list below) would have been worth approximately $65,000. Using the latest auction data, this collection would be worth around $36,000 today. A stunning 45% drop.

Wow! A CGC graded 9.0 copy of Action Comics #1 has sold on ComicConnect’s Event Auction for $2.161,000.00. This CGC 9.0 copy has a Cream to Off-White page designation and is the highest CGC graded copy that exists. If you’ll recall a CGC 8.5 graded copy sold for $1.5 million over a...

Invincible Iron Man #47, Marvel Comics, June 1972 This week’s Undervalued Spotlight comes recommended by Mike Huddleston. Mike’s email notes that “…this story features great updated origin re-telling from Roy Thomas and artist Barry Smith. These two were in the middle of...

Better Comics #1, Maple Leaf Comics, March 1941 Over the years I’ve owned many “Canadian Whites” the cool Canadian black and white comic books of the early to mid 1940s. These books are hard to find especially in higher grades. As a reseller I’ve never had to sit on one of these comics...