Sep-2008 GPA Market Reports
by GPA for Comics
September 2008 REPORTS now available! If you haven't checked out GPA's September Market Reports, then login now and get the lowdown on important CGC sales in last month's action. September reports include the usual eBay sales and Heritage Auction results, together with results from other major auction houses and dealer reports. A total of 9,763 individual sales are represented in this month's 11 exclusive reports.

GPA for Comics is the world's largest CGC pricing database with more than 754,000 individual transactions totaling over $158 Million, since 2002. Go to GPA Market Reports.

 Bid on 1,371 CGC Comics Now!
by GPA for Comics
GPA Live Auction Links allows subscribers to search through current CGC comic auctions from the likes of Heritage, Hakes, Quality Comix and others from one convenient online page. By selecting a comic book title, a list of all certified comics in list form is returned, each with a link back to the original auction site ready for bidding! There are currently 1,371 live auctions available for searching. Subscribers can access the service by logging on to GPA and clicking on the Live Auctions link in the main menu.

GPA Live Auction Links allows collectors to quickly and easily identify and bid on CGC comics offered by major auction houses.

 Quality Comix Sep/Oct Premiere Auction
by GPA for Comics
The Quality Comix Sep/Oct Premiere Auction is now online and accepting bids. Bidding ends Oct 18-19, 2008. All 966 individual CGC comic lots offered can be easily searched through GPA Live Auction Links.

Quality Comix has been serving the needs of high grade collectors since Jan 2000 and is committed to providing you with incredible books, timely cheerful responses to your inquiries and a genuine interest in your needs as a collector. Check out their online website

 Heritage Sunday Internet Comics Auction #18102
by GPA for Comics
Heritage Comics Auctions (HCA) is proud to present Heritage Sunday Internet Comics Auction #18102. Bidding ends Oct 12, 2008. All 405 individual CGC comic lots offered through auction #18102 can be easily searched through GPA Live Auction Links.

Heritage Comics Auctions continues to bring impressive CGC-graded books to collectors through their online auctions. Don't forget to view their latest offerings online.

 ComicConnect Auction posts record sales against 777-point Dow Jones drop
by ComicConnect.com
The September ComicConnect Event Auction concluded with a strong sell-through and set some record-breaking prices.

"Bidding was aggressive; a reassuring sign for the economic health of collectible investments during a tumultuous week on Wall Street," stated ComicConnect co-founder, Stephen Fishler. "Though there were some deals to be had in the auction, overall we saw very healthy prices being realized by consignors."

ComicConnect would like to thank all the members of the site and the collecting community for their participation in the auction.  It would be an understatement to say that the response was more than anticipated, and support from friends in the hobby was very much noted and appreciated.

The next Event Auction has not yet been scheduled, but some collectors have already emailed or called offering collections for a coordinated mini-auction.  ComicConnect is amendable to such ideas, and is happy to brainstorm with any collector who would like promotion around a collection consignment or "headliner" books.  If you have Golden, Silver or high-grade Bronze Age comics to sell, contact ComicConnect at 212-895-3999 or email support@comicconnect.com.

Listed below are some of the prices realized on CGC graded comics sold in the ComicConnect auction.

DC COMICS

• SHOWCASE #4 CGC 9.4 NM $160,200 (record breaking price!)
• DETECTIVE COMICS #29 CGC 6.0 FN $25,000 (record breaking price!)
• BATMAN #3 CGC 9.0 VF/NM $15,755
• BATMAN #1 CGC 4.5 VG+ (EP) $8,426
• BATMAN #40 CGC 9.4 NM $7,600
• BATMAN #5 CGC 8.5 VF+ $7,000
• BATMAN #6 CGC 9.0 VF/NM $5,000
• SHOWCASE #4 CGC 4.5 VG+ $4,250
• ACTION COMICS #19 CGC 5.0 VG/F $3,069
• BATMAN #13 CGC 8.5 VF+ $2,800
• BATMAN #3 CGC 5.0 VG/F $2,800
• BATMAN #17 CGC 9.0 VF/NM $2,700
• SHOWCASE #12 CGC 9.2 NM- $2,850
• DETECTIVE COMICS #359 CGC 9.4 NM $2,450

                                                           
MARVEL / TIMELY

• AMAZING FANTASY #15 CGC 8.5 VF+ $118,977 (record breaking price!)
• AMAZING FANTASY #15 CGC 6.5 FN+ $24,766
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #129 CGC 9.8 NM/M $12,200
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #1 CGC 7.5 VF- $10,200
• FANTASTIC FOUR #2 CGC 9.2 NM- $10,199
• TALES TO ASTONISH #27 CGC 8.0 VF $9,951 (record breaking price!)
• JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83 CGC 7.5 VF- $9,200
• INCREDIBLE HULK #1 CGC 6.5 FN+ $8,955
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #7 CGC 9.4 NM $7,350
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #20 CGC 9.6 NM+ $6,400
• SILVER SURFER #1 CGC 9.6 NM+ $6,400
• TALES TO ASTONISH #36 CGC 9.4 NM $6,300
• STRANGE TALES #104 CGC 9.4 NM $6,200
• X-MEN #1 CGC 7.5 VF- $6,050
• TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 CGC 7.0 F/VF $5,900
• AMAZING FANTASY #15 CGC 3.5 VG- $5,600
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #2 CGC 8.5 VF+ $4,900
• STRANGE TALES #101 CGC 9.2 NM- $4,600
• FANTASTIC FOUR #5 CGC 8.0 VF $4,544
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #40 CGC 9.4 NM $3,655
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #3 CGC 8.5 VF+ $3,500
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #50 CGC 9.4 NM $3,500
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #39 CGC 9.4 NM $3,301
• AVENGERS #1 CGC 6.5 FN+ $3,200
• STRANGE TALES #105 CGC 9.2 NM- $2,877
• AMAZING SPIDERMAN #1 CGC 4.0 VG $2,750
• CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #61 CGC 8.0 VF $2,528

OTHER PUBLISHERS

• EXCITING COMICS #28 CGC 9.2 NM- $9,200
• MARCH OF COMICS #20 CGC 9.0 VF/NM $3,700
• EXCITING COMICS #34 CGC 9.4 NM $2,425

----------------------------------------------

ComicConnect Unveils Free Tool for Members Called Bounty Hunt

This week, ComicConnect.com unveiled a “beta” version of a new tool that’s available free to the site’s members.  It’s called the “Bounty Hunt” and is being touted as something that could redefine the very nature of how comic books are bought and sold.  The feature's three main attributes are as follows:

1. The ComicConnect Bounty Hunt allows comic collectors and dealers a proactive way to accurately communicate what they are looking to buy and how much they are willing to pay, aka the bounty.

2. The tool empowers collectors and dealers by giving them a role in dictating prices and making markets.  This is perhaps a better approach than allowing auctions and dealers to dictate prices to them.

3. With a sufficient volume of bounties, this feature provides forward-looking price data for comics.  To date, sellers have solely relied on previous prices paid and what has come before (all of which is important and crucial information). The ComicConnect Bounty Hunt helps to paint an even fuller picture, by adding real-time pricing to comic book valuation.

“On the one hand, we have customers constantly giving us lists with pay prices for really tough books. They’re willing to pay the most for being offered the very best,” stated ComicConnect staffer, Ben Smith.  “On the other hand, our company has relationships dating back over 25 years with collectors who actually have these prized books, but keep it to themselves and don’t necessarily want to put them up on the auction block just to find out what they’re worth.”

The challenge was a find a way to connect the two groups.

The answer, according to ComicConnect, was to automate the process, and give the membership an easy-to-use feature for them to post what they would pay for certain comic issues in specific grades. Eureka!

John Ciba, comic dealer and seller on ComicConnect, had this to add:

"I think Bounty Hunt is a great feature.  Whenever I see a matching bounty for a comic book I own, at a price I'm willing to accept, it's practically a done deal and easy-money in my pocket.  Bounty Hunt has the potential to be a real time saver, and very useful for dealers like myself."

ComicConnect calls the feature a “beta”, because they’re inviting feedback from the members on how to make it better.  Right now, the feature is available for anyone with a free ComicConnect membership to use.

“Some of the old timers in the hobby may recall the days when we all used to post classifieds in industry press with pay prices… an informal & friendly competition in which each issue, one tried to outdo the other from the previous edition,” fondly recalls Stephen Fishler, ComicConnect co-founder.  “There we were, competing over comics that had yet to even materialize… but we all know that they would turn up, and deals would happen because of those ads.  In a way, the Bounty Hunt reminds me of a 21st Century version of that same dynamic – but now as a service to the community where every collector and dealer can get the word out about the comics they seek and the prices they are willing to pay.”

 Simpsons Original Production cels available at GPIC
by GP Investment Collectables
There's still some fantastic Simpsons production setups available at GP Investment Collectables. They include some of the most memorable and hard-to-find scenes from classic episodes such as "Who Shot Mr.Burns", "Bart's Friend Falls In Love", and *gasp*, *horror*, *arrrghhh!!!!*, Treehouse of Horror III, IV and VII. Most are signed by some of the famous voices/artists/directors and sketched directly on the frame matts. These cels are offered for a limited time, so make sure to reserve yours today! Click here to view them now.

Comic book treasures remain hidden inside Northern Star Online - DeKalb,IL,USA Michigan and Ohio State Universities have two of the largest university comic book collections, each with more than 200000 titles, according to their link to article ...

JOSH BROLIN - BROLIN TAPPED FOR COMIC BOOK MOVIE Contactmusic.com - Ilkley,England,UK Brolin will be in good company if he takes on the role - other actors to bring comic book heroes to life include Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr., link to article ...

Spoiler alert: Comic books are alive and kicking Globe and Mail - Canada It's become rote that superheroes rule the box office, just as the conventional wisdom is that the old print comic book is a dying art form that has found a link to article ...

Comic book superheroes get psychoanalyzed Arkansas Democrat Gazette - AR,USA This book won’t answer the specific fan arguments listed above. But by using the tools of the professional psychologist, the larger picture is established. link to article ...

Superhero science: Prof. uses comic books to teach physics Mankato Free Press - Mankato,MN,USA Kakalios will give a talk Thursday at Minnesota State University called “Everything I Know About Physics I Learned from Reading Comic Books. link to article ...

SAVING THE DAY? Comic books profile candidates in superhero mode Winston-Salem Journal - Winston-Salem,NC,USA By Tim Clodfelter | Journal Reporter One of the figures striking a heroic pose on comic-book shelves this week will soon be the leader of the free world. link to article ...

Watchmen Movie Was Almost About The War On Terror io9 - San Francisco,CA,USA Q: Where does Watchmen fit in the comic book movies with Iron Man etc.? ZS: I think that question is related to the graphic novel. link to article ...

Super-Priced Art Conde Nast Portfolio - New York,NY,USA Comic books have made their way into a lot of grownup places, from the pages of the New York Times Book Review, where John Hodgman recently reviewed all link to article ...

Movie or Comic Book? The battle MU The Parthenon (subscription) - Huntington,WV,USA That is the question for those witnessing classic comic book superheroes, such as Ironman, Batman and Spiderman, when put into screenplay. link to article ...

Comic Books Are the New Stock Market io9 - San Francisco,CA,USA But some suggest that, when searching for a stable place to invest your money, you need look no further than your comic book collection. link to article ...

Fantastic Four as your 401(k) Los Angeles Times - CA,USA 48 up inside a Mylar bag: Mark Craddock, manager of Comic Book World, in Florence, Ky., says stock-market investors also are turning to superheroes. link to article ...

Comic books: A lifelong passion Farmington Independent - Farmington,MN,USA They’d spend a dollar on a Big Gulp and a few 35-cent comic books. They’d drink their chilled drinks and dive into stories about costumed crime fighters. link to article ...

Clark Duke Yearns For A Part In ‘Y: The Last Man’ MTV.com - USA “‘Y’ is the only comic book I’ve bought every issue of from the start, no trades,” Duke said. “I went every week to buy it. link to article ...

Comic Book Driving Wine Sales in Asia Jaunted - USA A comic book series in Japan is turning into the biggest deal in the wine industry there. As the story goes, the son of a deceased wine critic has to travel link to article ...

Will economic crisis affect richest comic book characters? Scripps News - Washington,DC,USA By ANDREW A. SMITH, Scripps Howard News Service With Wall Street imploding, the obvious question on everybody's mind is: How will this affect fictional link to article ...

Organic-man to the rescue! What comic book giant Chuck Rozanski ... Rocky Mountain News - Denver,CO,USA Fascinated with Spider-Man and all comic books as a teenager, he started to collect them. At age 53, his Denver warehouse and stores contain 8 million comic link to article ...

10% off your CGC submissions! Submit through GP Investment Collectables and save! GP Investment Collectables offers 10% off all comics submitted for CGC grading through their online submission form.

 Get 10% off CGC grading
GP Investment Collectables offers 10% off all comics submitted for CGC grading through their online submission form. Submit and save here.

 Did you know?
Heritage Comics, the leader in vintage comics and comic art live auctions, has linked to GPA pricing. Heritage members can now access up to the minute CGC sales information directly via Heritage Comics' online auctions, bringing real world pricing and analysis to their buying decisions. Buyers can see last price, 90-day and 12-month averages for books, directly from each auction page. To use the service, Heritage members can logon to the Heritage Comics website and click on the "CGC Value Guide" from within any live auction to get GPA pricing in an instant.

 Contact Us:
Want to let us know about comic-related news, submit a press release, or advertise in our newsletter or online sites?
Contact us here.

Join today start trading smarter!