Posted by Joe Giordano on 17th Apr 2014
With Marvel movies quickly becoming as popular as the comics from the 1980s, we are seeing a new revival of the industry and collectibles as a whole and prices are on the rise. Especially for items like animation artwork that's moving from traditional to digital production.
Comic dealers are experiencing "Record Sales" and some of the "Best months ever" in 2013. This is due to many factors but most notable would be new tech makes it easier to dealers to purchase what the customers are asking for. Promotions like "Free Comic Book Day" are bringing in a lot of customers that spend on other tie-in memorabilia while the consumer is in store.
Marvel's New Live action television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC is also helping boost sales and interest by creating cross overs between different property franchises. Hence the recently released branding "It's all connected". The "cross-over" has been a long standing comic marketing tactic to get readers engaged in other titles. Marvel is adding teasers to and from it's productions with Marvel Studios in California, and they are doing it well. (Regardless of a few reruns and a brief hiatus during the first season). Interest in the Avengers, Thor and the probably the most Fan anticipated upcoming release "Guardians of the Galaxy".
This is tactic is generating Billions of dollars in sales for Disney and it's pushing stock prices up.
But what does it mean for the dealer as well as the collector? It means that more people will be looking for that "hot" book. Back to the basics with supply and demand. Supply of key items like first appearances and gem books are going to be hard to get your paws on if you have a limited budget. The upside is that these are investments. And in some cases, out performing many of the other investment vehicles. A few books to keep your eyes open for as you're skipping through that old box of comics at a flee market were recently published by the NYDaily News. Click here to check out some of the Most Valuable Comics. In my experience, dealers know what they have. But hey, you never know... you might just get lucky.
The value of memorabilia within the industry is also seeing a huge bump. It's not just comics. Original super hero movie posters, promo 3D movie glasses and Comic Con exclusives just to name a few are all on the up tick and prices are climbing. Usually because these are manufactured in limited run and make them ultra rare. To the die hard collector, these can be a must have.