Are Comic Books a Good Investment?

While most people consider investing their first thought is usually the stock market, property or even a business. More and more individuals, however, are starting to look at comic books as potentially lucrative. But the question remains: are comic books a good investment?

The short answer is yes. In general comics can be a good investment and have seen dramatic increases in prices over the past few years. As with any commodity, however, the market can fluctuate and it pays to understand which comics are likely going to deliver the best return.

So should you consider investing in the comic book market? In this article, we break out everything you need to know if you’re thinking of making the plunge with your hard-earned money.

Table of Contents

• How Lucrative is Comic Book Investing
• Factors that Influence Comic Book Investments
• How to Invest in Comic Books
• Comic Book Investing Resources
• Pros and Cons of Comic Book Investing

How Lucrative is Comic Book Investing?

If the idea of turning your old copy of X-Men or The Avengers into a lucrative investment seems too good to be true, you’re not alone in your skepticism. Yet according to the financial research organization Fortune Business Insights, the global comic book market was worth over $9 billion dollars in 2022, and is expected to hit almost $13 billion by 2028. Much of this growth has occurred in the secondary collectibles market, with nostalgia driving up prices for older vintage books.

In fact, despite the growing economic downturn, comic book investing has remained relatively robust and unaffected. For example, a copy of Action Comics #1 (featuring the first appearance of Superman), fetched a record $3.18 million dollars at auction.

Similarly, a recent New York Times article reported that the original cover art to Frank Miller’s 1986 comic book classic The Dark Knight Returns sold for a whopping $2.4 million dollars in an online auction. Still another recent New York Times story reported that the online trading company Rally is allowing users to invest in shares of Batman #1 from 1940, essentially turning comic books into a form of stocks.

If you want further proof of the investment potential of comics, you need only look at CGC (Certified Guaranty Company); the world’s largest appraiser of vintage comic books. The company has made hundreds of millions of dollars grading and encapsulating books in plastic protective cases known as “slabs.” In fact, in late 2021 CGC was purchased by the investment firm Blackstone Tactical Opportunities after being valued at over $500 million. The fact that CGC’s entire business model is built purely on grading comics speaks to just how massive the collector’s market has become.

If you’re looking for further data points, check out the video below from the popular YouTube Comic Book Investments. The video title is a bit tongue-in-cheek as in it he points out that comic books are essentially recession proof, comparing prices of popular vintage comics to stock prices during the last two recessions. While blue chip stocks such as Apple and Nike plunged dramatically during the economic downturn, comic books not only remained stable, but actually grew significantly in value.

For example, the Incredible Hulk #181, the comic which first introduced the world to the popular character Wolverine, has seen dramatic growth in just in a few years. In 2006 you could have purchased the comic for a little under $2,300 USD. Today, it’s valued at over $17,000 USD – a growth of over 649%!

And while there are no guarantees that any comics you buy are going to net you a similar return on investment, the data does suggest that they are actually more lucrative than stocks or other more traditional purchases.

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Factors That Influence Comic Book Investments

Before you can consider which comics to invest in, it’s important to understand why comic books actually increase in value and some of the factors influencing the market.

1. Age: Comic book publishing is generally broke up in to four “ages”: The Golden Age (beginning in the late 1930s), the Silver Age (beginning in the mid-1950s), the Bronze Age (beginning in the early 1970s) and the Modern Age (starting in the mid-1980s). The older the book, the more valuable it tends to be. Golden Age comics in particular can sell for a small fortune, while most Modern Age books are considerably cheaper, but can still run into the tens of thousands of dollars. (For more information see our article What are the comic book ages?)
   
2. Condition: Yet another important factor is the condition or “grade” of the comic, using a system borrowed from coin appraisal (hence the use of the word “mint”). The basic 10-point grading scale uses letter grades from Near Mint (the highest quality) to Poor (the lowest quality). The difference in price, however, can be substantial. For example, take Amazing Spider-Man #129, an issue featuring the first appearance of the violent Marvel anti-hero known as The Punisher. A 4.0 “Very Good” grade copy is going for around $1,200 US. The exact same book in a 9.6 “Near Mint” grade is going for $8,500 US – a whopping 608% difference in price.
   
3. Characters: Another crucial factor that determines a book’s value is if contains any popular characters. For example, Fantastic Four #49 from 1966 marks the first appearance of the planet devouring villain known as Galactus, making it a highly sought after issue. The more popular the more character, the higher the value of the book.
   
4. Key Moments: Yet another major factor in determining the value of a book is whether it features an important first appearance, storyline, new costume or other milestone. These are known as “key issues.” For example, the Amazing Spider-Man #252 from 1984 features the first cover appearance of Spider-Man’s black suit (which later go on to become the villain Venom), making it an important, and highly sought after key issue, with high grade copies selling for thousands of dollars. (For more information, see our article What is a key issue comic book?)
   
5. Popular Artists & Writers: Some comics are also valuable because they’re representative of a particular creator. For example, Batman #423 from 1988 is an important cover from popular artist Todd McFarlane. Similarly, Watchmen #1 is a key issue because of the writing of comic book icon Alan Moore. (For more information, see our Guide to Comic Book Covers).
   
6. Film or TV Production: Comic books can also see significant increases in value if they’re optioned into a film or television project. A good example of this is Sandman #1 from 1989. While this issue has always been popular among comic book collectors, prices spiked significantly when Netflix announced they were producing a show based on the series. Many investors often bet on certain books becoming hot commodities after being optioned. These types of speculative issues are known as “comic specs”, which feature a higher risk and higher reward than more stable key books. (For more information, see our article What is a comic spec?)
   
7. Market Changes: Like any market, comics can be bearish or bullish. During the COVID-19 pandemic for example, prices for comics rose significantly thanks to an influx of cash and rising nostalgia among homebound consumers. Going into late 2022 and early 2023, however, prices have begun to drop significantly as a looming recession applies pressure and collectors and investors are less willing to part with their hard-earned cash .

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How to Invest in Comic Books

If you do decide to invest in comic books, it’s important to have a strategy and be realistic about your turns. Below are few tips on how to achieve the best ROI for any issues you do pick up.

1. Set Your Budget: As with any investment, the first step should be determining how much you actually want to invest in comics. This could be as something as little as $100 or a much larger budget, depending on your available funds. More experienced investors often advocate for setting roughly 5-10% of their available portfolio into “alternatives” like cryptocurrencies, NFTs and collectibles.
   
2. Choose Your Books: Investing in comic books is more akin to art dealing than traditional stocks, in that in addition to netting a tidy profit, you’ll also have something you can display and appreciate. With that in mind, you should choose what types of books you want to collect. Some collectors focus on a particular age (such as only collecting Golden or Silver Age books). Still others choose a particular character, publisher or even run by a seminal artist or writer. A good rule of thumb, however, is to buy what you love. That way if your investment does fizzle out, you’ll still have something you can enjoy for its own merits.
   
3. Monitor Performance: As with stocks, monitoring performance is critical so you can know when to purchase a new comic investment or when to sell your existing book. There are a number of great resources which can help you get current sales data and can help you identify hot opportunities (see our Comic Book Investing Resources section below).
   
4. Decide When To Divest: Like stocks and other traditional investments, comic book prices can fluctuate. If you’re looking purely at ROI, timing is everything. A popular tactic for “flippers” is to purchase a spec comic before the hype begins and sell at the peak of popularity. Again, the most successful comic investors are ones who use the data and pick their moments carefully when it comes to buying and selling.

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Comic Book Investing Resources

• GPAnalysis (GPA): One of the best resources around, GPA contains current sales data, key trends and investment advice. The tool does require a paid subscription, but is well worth the cost for anyone seriously considering getting into comic book investing.
• Comic Book Invest (CBSI): One of the best sources of the web when it comes to comic book investing, CBSI is best know for their Hot 10 list which is updated each Friday and looks at key books which have seen noticeable spikes in sales on eBay and other channels.
• ComicsPriceGuide.com: An excellent source of information when it comes to pricing comics, CPG also allows you to search for current books by issue and title, allowing you to see recent sales and easily determine the value of your own investments.
• Comic Book Realm: Featuring a robust online community and a variety of pricing tools, Comic Book Realm is another excellent resource that allows you to cross-reference prices and connect with potential buyers and sellers.
• GoCollect: Drawing on the CGC census (which provides a running total of recent books that have been professionally graded), GoCollect’s price platform is second to none. There is a paid component for more robust data, but even the free version offers a plethora of advice and trends, including the website’s popular Hot Lists of books worth investing in.
• SellMyComicBooks.com: A robust website that features a variety of tools, news and tracking options, SMCB is another great resource for both new and experienced investors looking to determine the value of their comics.
• MyComicShop.com: A trusted website that many local comic book shops often use in their day-to-day work, MCS allows you to easily search for specific issues and get accurate data on pricing and recent sales.
• Heritage Auctions: Known as one of the higher-end online comic book retailers, Heritage Auctions has sold books for hundreds of thousands (and even millions) of dollars. For this reason comic book speculators often the use to track recent sales and evaluate potential new investments.
• Key Collector: Probably one of the best apps on the market when it comes to comic book investing, Key Collector allows you to easily track the value of your collection, scan new books and get access to the latest lists of hot issues. There is a paid version that unlocks additional features, which is a must for anyone serious about collecting or investing.
• eBay: Arguably one of the best places to both buy and sell comic books, investors often keep close tabs on recent eBay sales and use this sometimes rapidly-evolving data to determine the current fair market value of books. (For more information, see our guide on How to List Comics on eBay).

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Pros and Cons of Comic Book Investing

As with any kind of investment, there are pros and cons to consider before you jump into this lucrative but occasionally risky marketplace.

Pros of comic book investing

• Potentially large returns on key comic books
• A fun addition to traditional investment portfolios
• Commodities are not connected to standard financial markets
• Physical items that you can collect, keep, display and enjoy

Cons of comic book investing

• The value (and grade) of comic books can be subjective
• Prices can fluctuate dramatically in a short period of time
• As with many things, books are only worth what someone is willing to pay
• Older books can be extremely expensive, and ROI may be lower

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Final Thoughts

So there you have it. Our answer to the question: are comic books a good investment? As we’ve discussed, like any investment comic books are not guaranteed to deliver huge returns. That being said, the data suggests that they can be more lucrative than many more traditional investment sources. What’s more, these unique collectibles provide a level of entertainment and enjoyment that’s unlike anything else on the market.

Do you think comics are worth investing in? Let us know in the comments below!

See More Comic Book News & Reviews

Be sure to check out our Comic Book Speculation & Investing Guide.

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