VIDEO UPDATE: The Comic DeSPECtive

If you haven’t found your way over to my YouTube page yet, head there to hear me talk about my latest pick ups, recaps of last week’s books and a few potential spec ops that I’m currently tracking.  Perfect for 30 minute traffic jams- my target audience are trapped, desperate listeners who don't care about the video quality! 😂🕵️

https://youtu.be/ZU3qhoZvGlQ

Lowered ExSPECtations

So it's going to come as a surprise to nobody that there are certain corners of the internet that are toxic dumpster fires of misinformation and this holds doubly true for comic speculation.  With a premium however placed on access to information, minutes and sometimes seconds can make the difference before you have to shift your mentality from being a buyer to a seller.  Making matters worse are when some typically reputable sites and apps get caught up in the game of baseless rumors in an attempt to be 'first to print".  Things are further obfuscated when podcasts then report that certain books are heating up thus further fanning the flames.  

In order to make an informed decision, it's helpful to reverse-engineer exactly from where said information originated.  And it doesn't take a detective (deSPECtive?) to figure out that when you see one of the following sites in the mix that there will be a sentence buried deep in the story (or sometimes even in the header 😂) releasing themselves of responsibility by stating their 'news' is a rumor first reported from one of the other sites.  This takes place on a daily basis and  usually centers around either a character due to appear in a comic movie or an actor being linked to a role.  In fact, while I was reading this article I was able to check Twitter and pull up a rumor that happened within the last day.

  

Here are some of the most egregious perpetrators of what I like to call the "Human Centipede Spec Effect":

• We Got This Covered
• Cosmic Book News (not to be confused with the slightly less click-baity Comic Book News)
• EpicStream
• Showbiz Cheatsheet
• Heroic Hollywood
• Screenrant

Another example below from an even more hilarious rumor that started with a photo on Twitter of Dan Stevens with the Eternals cast. (Stevens is filming another project in the London area.)

The point here is that if you don't get caught up in the FOMO of it all, a simple Google search can save you from paying jacked up prices for baseless rumors.  Or even better you can find yourself tucking away a tidy profit on a book that was languishing away in your own long boxes from someone who was too lazy to do even a cursory check.

Spec Check

With all of the information that is currently available in comic speculation, it's really important that collectors cross-reference any news that is put out there.  I don't read or listen to many other comic speculation sites or podcasts but I am a fan of Jim Comics as he is an advocate for reading the books.  In his most recent video that was put out, however, he spoke about the importance of Powers of X 4 and Marvel 1000 in conjunction with the appearance of Apocalypse's first Horsemen.  

 Powers of X 4

Marvel 1000

While I can definitely advocate having both those books in your collection for different spec reasons, note that the Horseman actually appeared in House of X 2 (already a key in establishment of the new Hickman status quo) with one of them even appearing in the top right corner cover.  

 That book was released on August 7th, 2019 predating all other appearances.  If these Horsemen are going to play a big part in Hickman's plan for Apocalypse(who will be appearing in Excalibur down the road) this would more likely be the book to seek out.

Quick Hits

ASM 210 for Madame Web is, of course, a no-brainer with news of a Madame Web movie in the works. As the market for that book over-inflates, I'm picking up a few high-grade copies of Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars 7, first FULL appearance of Julia Carpenter aka Spider-Woman 2 aka Madame Web II. (She appears in the shadows in issue 6.)

Those UXM 129 Kitty Pryde prices are probably about to permanently leave the still somewhat affordable realm especially with the double benefit of Emma Frost.  Funny how these two seem to be inextricably linked throughout their histories especially after Astonishing X-Men.  A professed favorite of Hickman.  And don't forget about the possibility of that solo film being reignited.

Heading to NYCC?  Get a sneak peek at some of the books coming out from the new publisher Artists Writers and Artisans (AWA).  This exclusive 0 issue will also be available at Midtown.

With Marvel's 70's properties all being re-explored, I'm all over the Nic Klein 1:25 variant for the Bizarre Adventures one-shot revival.  Featuring Shang-Chi, Ulysses Bloodstone and Dracula, this book is sure to be criminally under-ordered.  Also, with Jim Zub announcing that James Allison would be returning in the upcoming Conan Serpent War mini, sales have started to pick up for Supernatural Thrillers 3.

And finally don't look now but that The Plot store exclusive highlighted a few days ago pre-release is selling for triple its initial buy-in.  Here's hoping some of you were able to profit!

Anatomy of a Spec- Star Wars: Age of Resistance: Rey 1:50

You can learn a lot from doing a post-mortem of a spec, be it a hit or miss.  In this regular column I plan to revisit high-profile books of both ilk.  First up :
Star Wars: Age of Resistance: Rey

Star Wars books have a spotty history in terms of speculation.  However some of the higher ratio variants have been highly sought-after and continue to retain value when similar ratio books plummet.   One obvious example is the modern classic Star Wars: Force Awakens Quesada 1:100 variant and the 1: 200 sketch variant  which recently sold for $443 and $680 in 9.8 respectively.  Looking for potential patterns and trends are key in determining which books down the line may have similar potential.

I first became aware of this book when it was solicited as a variant for Star Wars: The Last Jedi as a companion piece to The Force Awakens.

Joe Quesada had drawn both covers for his daughter as bookend pieces.

  As occasionally happens the book was canceled and nothing further was heard about the cover art in question.  Then a few months ago, solicits for one of these Star Wars: Age of Resistance one shots featuring Rey was released sans cover art.   A little further digging revealed that it would be a Quesada piece and immediately my radar went up. 

Realizing that it was likely they would use the unreleased cover art in a similar way that Adam Hughes had with an unreleased Sabrina piece, I started to search for cheapest pre-sales.  I was able to grab three copies for a total of $220.  When the cover art was revealed though it was not as I had hoped a virgin variant, I was psyched as as I had predicted it was the previously unused Quesada art.

The book which released last Wednesday, September 18th and started to trend upwards with sales early in the week ranging in the $125 to $130 range.  Today the most recent sales for the book were $148 and $167.  There are currently two auction style copies being actively bid for on the 'bay.  The first 9.8 could easily hit $400.

Never underestimate looking at trends and patterns when making purchase decisions. While some beautiful cover art evokes powerful emotions, unless you're okay with possibly adding a pricey book to your PC, be sure to rely on hard data and history before pulling the trigger.

The Filter: Curating your Spec Feed

Who has time to go through all of the garbage that Twitter spews into your daily feed?  Selectively following certain creators can yield dividends and if you cull extraneous noise and toxicity, early spoilers and sneak peeks of variants are there for the taking:


So, while we were all looking here...

Tyler Kirkham dropped this store variant for Venom 19.

Based on the guts, could we see Venom 7 and 9 continue to climb?

 The heat has predictably cooled somewhat off The Immortal Hulk but as the next story arc starts up, we could see some spikes.  If Hickman is the architect at Marvel, Ewing is the historian.  His letter pages also often glean insight into his books.

 Nice full look at Ultimatum costume...looks to be a composite of all of the Ultimates.

 Hmmmmm.  Lightning strikes once.  Jennika is still a hold, I think.

 Sold out first print means a cool second print on the way.

 See above. RE: Al Ewing.  Also creators hyping FOC FTW.

 Daniel Warren Johnson Black Label WW: Dead Earth variant WIP

 Too rich for my blood.  I'll stick with a few B/C first issues for flip.

 Under the radar potential?

 Little Bird fans heading to NYCC?

 Wondering if DC will go the Into the Spider-Verse route with the White Knight Murphy-verse.  Not tonally but in establishing a whole separate playground.

 You're not ready for this Black Label book with stunning Federici art.

 Probably under-ordered final issue of a 2 issue oversized series.  Characters will likely be re explored. I'll grab a couple.

Shining the Spec-light on:

The Plot 1- Vault Comics

Releases: 9/25/19

Vault Comics kicks off their anticipated Nightfall horror imprint with The Plot 1 co-written by Michael Moreci and Tim Daniels with art by Joshua Hixson.

Early reviews, as with many of the Vault books, are strong with 6 reviews averaging 9.5 on Comic Book Roundup.

While Vault comics have traditionally low print runs (the first issue of their recent The Mall 1 was right around 6,000 copies), this hasn't really translated into significant speculator profit, with a few exceptions (some of their Vault Vintage titles, and some of their optioned books like Heathen and Vagrant Queen.)  The early previews, word of mouth and push that this particular book is getting makes me think that this could be their next true breakthrough.

The Covers:

A/B/C

C

B

A

While the 'B' House of Secrets Vault Vintage variant may be most sought after, the cover 'C' may end up being the 1 to acquire for both aesthetics and scarcity.

Store Variants

By now you know the drill on store variants.  While these are listed at a printing of 250 (and with only 100 of the NYCC hyper-exclusive), unless you want one for the PC, the buy-in rarely warrants the resale potential.  I am a HUGE fan of the store variant from Exchange Collectibles however which is an homage of The Witching Hour 19 .  This cover evokes some of the same vibes that I got for the These Savage Shores 1 2nd print variant (Tomb of Dracula 1 homage.) It is available through their site directly for $12 +shipping.

NYCC (100 print run, $100)

Exchange Collectibles (250 print run, $12)

Additional Store Variants Limited to 250:

All three regular covers can still be found for face value on the 'bay.  They are sold out at some of the other big online comic shops however.