Rare Comics
By Angelo Virone — Cover price variant collector and historian (Contact by email), October 2024
“2024 has been a banner year when it comes to scandals with a 3rd party grading company known as CGC, which still sting investors and collectors to this day.”
This market report and the 2025 edition of our guide are dedicated to the memory and legacy of Bill Alexander, an Overstreet advisor and co-founder of the CPV price guide. Bill recently passed away unexpectedly and will be missed by collectors and advisors alike who thoroughly enjoyed his passionate reports and findings. I recall the numerous communications we had discussing the comic book market and specifically our beloved Canadian Newsstand Price Variants for the better part of the last seven years. However subtle, I find it ironic and touching that Bill’s perspective on the state of the CPV market does appear as I type this report. May his soul rest in peace.
The overall market for comics has declined again over the last 52 weeks with the exception of a number of select high-profile key issues in grades that rarely go on sale. This market report is simply a continuation of the one I wrote last year. The only difference is that prices have dragged lower and for longer than predicted. Click the link to read last year’s report: Is It Time to Stop Looking and Start Buying?
We’ve gone from F.O.M.O. (Fear of Missing Out) during the pandemic to F.O.L.M. (Fear of Losing More) post pandemic. Given the scarcity of CPV’s, it only takes a handful of sellers fearing valuations will continue declining, hence they auction-off more books attempting to stay one step ahead of the market. Consequently, this turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy, spiraling into a domino effect for the market in general. However, the silver lining in a market that overshoots to lower prices is that it also becomes a fantastic buying opportunity! The difficult part is figuring out when we hit that low (or are at least close to it)? And how long will we stay there before a rebound occurs?
In my opinion, there are at least 3 ways of looking at whether or not an investor should buy, hold or sell Canadian Newsstand Price Variants at the time of this writing (Autumn 2024).
I see a number of CPV issues selling for the same price as their direct or US Newsstand counterpart.
(THIS POSES A LOWER RISK because the scarcity of a CPV should get a premium but was not factored in).
A number of CPV’s dropped to pre-pandemic values, while other issues remained resilient from declining despite numerous copies of the same issues selling.
(THIS POSES A LOWER RISK because the self-correction ‘MAY’ have already occurred for the less than desirable books now selling below $100 in 9.8 CGC white, while forming a new floor for those in higher demand. The million-dollar question is how long will we remain in this state?)
The market decline is not isolated to CPV’s, which is a good sign. However, this reminds me of the famous analogy that the baby is being thrown out with the bath water — similar to the 1990’s comic book market decline.
(THIS POSES A HIGHER RISK because the selling may not be completely over, but I do feel the bottom is very close indeed).
I can think of a few dozen sought out CPV’s that are really scarce to find in 9.8 reaching record prices during this down market in 2024 (i.e., Spectacular Spider-Man #99 CGC 9.8 $1500; Batman #408 CGC 9.8 $1,500; Back to The Future #1 (Harvey) CGC 9.8 $1,350; Archie’s Girls #321 CGC 9.8 $900, etc.…).
(THIS POSES A LOWER RISK because collectors and investors are still bidding up books when scarcity meets demand, while shying away from lower grades and non-key issues).
I know readers want to know which CPV books investors are chasing, and in my humble opinion I still think books that drop significantly in the top 100 make fantastic investments! These are books that have been tested and desired by many. However, keep in mind that some of these books may not make the list from one year to the next, so be wise with what you buy and how much you pay.
Personally, I’m still running after CPV magazines that I’m either missing or trying to upgrade. Some that come to mind are Vampirella #100-113, etc.…
I’m also chasing nostalgic books and 1st appearances of characters to be made into new franchises, movie sequels or television series that either lost value or hold lots of promise for future price appreciation.
Here are just a few pictured examples selected from the above list:
A big thank you to my colleagues who worked diligently on the 2025 CPV price guide (Tim Bildhauser, Paul Clairmont, Greg Holland, Jon McClure, Salvatore Miceli, Jayden Mitchell, Conan Saunders and Doug Sulipa). Huge thanks as well to our two outside guest contributors of articles this year, David Greer who wrote Light Musings of a Native CPV Guy and David Pietila who wrote LEGO/DC Bionicle Comic Series Canadian Price Variants. And a big shoutout to Benjamin Nobel, a multitalented individual leading this guide as the project organizer.
Again, another big thank you to GPAnalysis for contributing their CPV sales data! If you are not subscribed, do so to remain updated with trends and prices at www.GPAnalysis.com. Last but not least, thanks to you the readers, experts, dealers in Canada, USA and abroad. The greater CPV community via Instagram, Facebook, CGC and CBCS Boards, etc…! We thank you so much for this year’s suggestions, corrections, insights and sharing your CNPV sales behind the scenes.
Rule #1: Buy ‘QUALITY’ books in the highest grade you can reasonably afford as opposed to buying ‘QUANTITY’ in lower grades when ‘INVESTING’ in Canadian Newsstand Price Variants!
Rule #2: Don’t forget RULE #1.
— Angelo Virone
