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December 2004 Market Report

Happy new year to all and greetings from South Florida. December was an incredibly busy month for us and it was highlighted by the sale of the second Pacific Coast copy of X-Men #1 in CGC certified 9.6 with off-white to white pages for $100,000 (combination cash and trade). As was reported in our October market repot, we had purchased the other Pacific Coast X-Men 1 9.6 (white pages) for $100,500, freeing up the second copy which was listed in both our vault and new arrivals section. The book was sold to a private collector who is an X-Men fanatic and who has a genuine passion for the hobby. After numerous negotiations and proposals, a figure of $100,000 was arrived at which included mostly cash but a few choice Silver Age Marvels as well. Incredibly, this �second� Pacific Coast copy of X-Men no. 1 looked almost exactly the same as the white paged one, and it was obvious that it was neatly stacked underneath the white copy within one of the 6 foot stacks the original owner placed each one of his prized possessions. For those of you not familiar with the history, the �first� X-Men #1 (white pages) had been sold by the original owner on ebay (along with some other choice doubles) before the entire collection was bought by Robert Roter of Pacific Comic Exchange, Inc. (in mid-late 1999), who named the collection the �Pacific Coast Collection�. The initial no.1, therefore, was not certified as part of the PC Collection until years later, when many of the original owner�s ebay doubles were incorporated by CGC into the named pedigree. Amazingly, that �original� X-Men 1 was resubmitted to the CGC and is now a 9.8!!

November 2004 Market Report

WAH-HOO! and greetings from Pedigree Comics. This market report reflects most of the activity we have had in November, but specifically, it addresses the incredible and unprecedented sales we had from our Sgt. Fury run which was listed in our �new arrivals� section on the night of November 15th. I first got the idea of presenting the almost 65 issue run of this popular Marvel war title back in August, when I sold the 9.4 CGC graded Curator copy of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos No.1 for a whopping $17,500.00. It made me realize that even the most obscure, underappreciated, undervalued and overlooked titles from the Marvel Age are in demand, especially keys in high grade. I then put together the fantastic run that was listed on the Pedigree Comics website through purchases, trades, consignments and picking issues out of my own collection. When the dust had settled and the smoke had cleared, I had every Sgt. Fury from #1 through #49 in CGC high grade, plus 51-61 and some scattered issues in the 60�s, 70�s, 80�s and 90�s. Most of the issues were pedigree copies, with the Massachusetts and Boston Collections the most represented, plus a few each from the Winnipeg, Western Penn. and Golden State pedigrees.

October 2004 Market Report

Hope all is well for everyone out there. We have had quite an �Astonishing� month of October and early part of November here at Pedigree Comics. We have been busy as usual selling ultra high grade Marvel Silver and Bronze comics online and purchasing numerous items for our inventory. However, the �Astonishing� part I�m specifically referring to is from Tales To Astonish, the focus of this issue�s report. We were able to come to terms on a part consignment/part purchase of the entire run of the popular Ant-Man/Giant-Man title with Mark Arrand of Colmore Comics & Collectibles. As most of you know, Mark is a very knowledgeable and serious collector of Marvel Comics and has one of the best, if not the best, Silver Age collections that side of the Atlantic. When Mark and I discussed the possibilities of a full-blown trade/purchase/consignment of the run, which included 60 Pacific Coast copies, I could not pass it up. After numerous negotiations and variations on a deal, Pedigree Comics wound up purchasing 53 comics out of the run, 49 of which are Pacific Coasts. The remaining issues were posted on my site and were bid upon as soon as I listed them. Many had sold almost immediately, especially the remaining PC books that I did not purchase.

September 2004 Market Report

Greetings from sunny Southeast Florida. We have survived 2 major hurricanes and prolonged power outages since we made the move from New York and despite all of this we have had an incredible month in September selling high grade, CGC certified books through our website. Both our main areas of specialization, Silver and Bronze Age Marvels, have shown continued strong sales and interest in the last month. Even before having the opportunity to individually list them, we sold an entire run of Strange Tales from #136 through 168, all from the Massachusetts Collection, to one individual collector. 75% of the run was ultra high grade (9.4 or better) and over 90% had white pages!! In addition, we sold perhaps the finest run of original Incredible Hulks to a private collector, with the #1 issue (Northland 9.2) going for a straight trade for books valued at $75,000. The individual issues sold from the rest of the 6 issue run are listed below. Finally, at the end of the month, we uploaded the remaining copies of the Mass. Werewolf By Nights onto our site in the new arrivals section (most of the issues between 9 and 39). The response to these relatively cheap Bronze books was amazing, as most sold within the first 24 hours of their listing and at strong multiples as the data below clearly show.

August 2004 Market Report

Pedigree Comics buys and sells comic books from different genres and publishers, but we specialize in high grade Marvel Silver and Bronze books. We also specialize in books from a known provenance or pedigree, the subject of this month�s report and the reason for our company name. Many buyers like to have a book from an original owner collection, and will pay a multiple to obtain a comic from a known pedigree run even though a non-pedigree is available in the same condition and at a lower price. Many collectors will try to amass as many pedigrees as they can of a certain title or run. Some collectors will try to buy as many keys and origin issues from a known provenance. Whatever the reason, pedigrees have made a significant impact in our hobby and the entire comic book market. Sales of pedigree Marvels have been exceptionally strong as of late (non-pedigrees as well) as you can see from the following recent transactions we have made through our website. Of significance is the sale of our Amazing Fantasy 15 9.4 White Mountain copy, which established a record for a Silver Age comic book.

The Green River Collection

Belying its serene-sounding title, the Green River Collection actually claims an indirect connection to one of the most horrific series of murders on record in American history.

July 2004 Marvel Market Report

As Silver Age Marvel sales are skyrocketing, especially for high grade, CGC certified books, many collectors are now realizing that these books are being priced out of their desired spending range. The more hard core Silver Marvel buyers pay record prices for books from their favorite titles (Amazing spider-Man; Fantastic Four; journey Into Mystery; Tales of Suspense, etc., etc.), the higher most dealers/consignors/auction houses will price these sought after books. As such, a trend is forming as many of these Marvel enthusiasts and collectors are turning to a far cheaper section of the Marvel market - Bronze Age. Compared to their SA counterparts, most Bronze Age Marvel comic books (even keys and first appearance issues) are dirt cheap and now finally getting the full attention and price realization they deserve.

June 2004 Marvel Market Report

Hello to everyone from New York. This is my first market report since my website began operating in June, 2004. I have been quite busy buying books and selling consigned and personal inventory. There are many more high grade Marvel collectors out there, especially outside the United States, than I had anticipated. The genres of choice remain Silver and Bronze Age.

The 2 Non-Certified Silver Age Pedigrees

Of the many high grade Silver Age comic book collections unearthed since the 1980�s, most have attained pedigree status and are recognized by the Comics Guaranty Corporation. From the White Mountain collection, which was originally brought to market in 1984, to the Pacific Coast collection, founded in 1999, most of these pedigrees had sufficient data, methods of identification and uniformity in appearance and storage of individual books to warrant such acceptance in the marketplace and subsequent designation on a CGC holder (e.g. Bethlehem, Northland, Boston, Western Penn, Curator, Mass collection, Ohio, Green River, Winnipeg, Mile High II and Circle 8).

The Mass. Collection

The Massachusetts pedigreed collection of comic books (now affectionately referred to as the Mass. Collection) is a high grade run of Silver Age Marvel and DC titles, with also many books from other publishers including ACG, Gold Key and Charlton.

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