Trending

March 2015

Report

Vintage

It looks like prices for Star Wars #1 settled down in March.  Two sales of note on eBay saw CGC 9.8s going for around $2000 which is about 10% higher than last month.  CGC 9.6 copies have settled into the $400 - 500 range.  A CGC 9.2 copy sold for $460 on March 29th, but that will probably prove to be an outlier as most CGC 9.2 copies sold in the $200 - 250 range for the month.

Interestingly, a CGC 7.5 Star Wars #2 $0.35 variant brought in $1100.

As for other issues, there were a few CGC 9.8 issues that sold for higher than normal.  Having watched sales for years now, I think these are going to prove to be anomaly's as a few collectors are attempting to complete collections during this period of heightened awareness for the Star Wars brand.  For example, a Star Wars #42 sold for $555.00 in CGC 9.8 on March 16th.  Two weeks later, a copy in the same grade fetched $445.00.  A newsstand copy of Star Wars #68 in CGC 9.8 saw $690.74 on March 22nd and another newsstand copy in the same grade sold on the same day for only $452.  All this reminds me is prices for high grade copies are extremely volatile.  Those buyers who are patient and do not get caught up in the excitement of bidding wars will be rewarded.  None of the regular issue Star Wars comics are rare in any grade, even the later issues which had smaller print runs.

I did notice another trend that should be heartening to vintage Star Wars comic collectors.  The prices for complete sets in high grade have been rising along with select issues.  A few years back, a patient buyer could buy a complete set in NM for around $300 - 400.  A set sold on March 4th for $1025.  I have noticed high grade sets are fetching more and more these days.

Another copy of the Star Wars Shop exclusive Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith hardcover (Warren Fu cover) sold on March 7 for $500.  I remember 3 sales in the past year with one sale under $50 and another around $250, so $500 is a fairly large jump.  This book does not come up for sale very often and this sale for $500, while interesting, won't necessarily dictate the price a future copy sells for.

New

A sale of a Star Wars #1 (2015) with the Alex Ross sketch cover in CGC 9.8 occurred on March 7th for $755.  Most of the sales in March for this comic were below $500 and some significantly so.  That sale will most likely prove to be the high for this comic.  I suspect we will see the prices fall from this point forward for most of the Star Wars #1 (2015) variants.

Sales of the new Star Wars titles are brisk and Marvel has gone back to print several times on many of the issues.  With a new movie coming out this year, sales should continue to do well for these titles.

Sales of Note

Comic	Grade	Distribution	Date	Venue	Price
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.8	newsstand	March 26, 2015	eBay	$2000.00
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.8	newsstand	March 22, 2015	eBay	$2050.00
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.2	newsstand	March 29, 2015	eBay	$460.00
Star Wars #2 - $0.35 variant (1977)	CGC 7.5	newsstand	March 30, 2015	eBay	$1100.00
Star Wars #42 (1977)	CGC 9.8	direct	March 16, 2015	eBay	$555.00
Star Wars #42 (1977)	CGC 9.8	direct	March 29, 2015	eBay	$445.00
Star Wars #68 (1977)	CGC 9.8	newsstand	March 22, 2015	eBay	$690.74
Star Wars #68 (1977)	CGC 9.8	newsstand	March 22, 2015	eBay	$452.00
Star Wars #1 - 107 (1977)	NM	mix	March 4, 2015	eBay	$1025.00
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith HC - Star Wars Shop Warren Fu cover (2005)	CGC 9.8	direct	March 7, 2015	eBay	$500.00
Star Wars #1 - Alex Ross Sketch 1:200 (2015)	CGC 9.8	direct	March 7, 2015	eBay	$755.00

February 2015

Report

Vintage

Star Wars #1 (1977) in all grades has seen price movement on eBay following the sale of a #1 in CGC 9.8 in January for $1703.51.  The prices for #1 in CGC 9.6 and CGC 9.4 had the most significant movement in February, doubling what they sold for most of last year.  No doubt the newly published Marvel Star Wars titles have helped create awareness of this book along with the new movie due out in December of 2015.  It is yet to be seen if this euphoria for Star Wars #1 (1977) is sustainable.

Another vintage Marvel Star Wars comic that heated up considerably last year was Star Wars #42, the first appearance of Boba Fett in the 1977 Marvel Star Wars title.  There were several sales in January for this issue, but high grade copies have not sold as briskly in February.  It appears most of the copies listed on eBay are priced higher than collectors are willing to pay.

Dark Horse was not completely out of the spotlight last year, with Star Wars Tales #19 commanding decent prices in the $40+ range.  This comic, which contains a story of Luke's son, saw price movement on speculation that Luke's son would appear in the new movie.  That comic sold a few copies on eBay in January, but has languished in the month of February.  Again, prices have exceed what collectors are willing to pay.

Overall, sales of Star Wars #1 have held up, but many of the other hot issues from last year have cooled considerably in February.  When Marvel released a new Star Wars title in January, it made sense that this drew attention to the older issues.  With the movie almost 10 months away and the big two turning their attention to this year's crossover events and more superhero movies due out this summer, it seems likely this trend will continue through the fall.  Expect Star Wars #1 sales to hold steady and possibly rise, but other Star Wars issues will take a backseat to other hot comic trends.

New

The onslaught of Marvel Star Wars variants has created a plethora of books for collectors to choose from and none of the variants seem to be in short supply at this point.  The Hot Topic variant which was demanding huge money at the end of January cooled considerably in February.  The issue still sells briskly, but at a more modest $50 - $80 price.  Copies continue to show up on eBay bringing into doubt the rarity of this particular comic.  Other variants continue to sell briskly when priced correctly.  Many of the variants are still available from their source.

The successful launch of Marvel's Star Wars line cannot be understated.  Star Wars #1 (2015) will have sold over 1 million copies, making it the top selling comic of this century.  The Comic Chronicles has a terrific article about this: January 2015 Comic Sales Estimates: Every seventh comic Diamond shipped was Star Wars #1.

Sales of Note

Comic	Grade	Date	Venue	Price
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.8	February 18, 2015	eBay	$1825.00
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.8	February 4, 2015	eBay	$1875.00
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.6	February 15, 2015	eBay	$609.00
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.6	February 7, 2015	eBay	$600.00
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.4	February 15, 2015	eBay	$349.00

January 2015

Report

Star Wars #1 (1977) in CGC 9.8 has been settings records recently on eBay.  For most of 2014, a Star Wars #1 in CGC 9.8 was a $500 comic.  Towards the end of last year, the sales have been steadily rising and on January 31st, an auction ended with a sale price of $1703.51.  Whether or not this will translate to increased prices for all grades of Star Wars #1 (1977) is not yet known.  So far, no notable increase in other grades has been noticed.

Many variant copies of Star Wars #1 (2015) are selling briskly on eBay.  Of note are the shop exclusives and the Alex Ross sketch variant.  When priced correctly, these comics are selling quickly on eBay.

The last week of January saw an interesting phenomena with one particular Star Wars #1 variant, the Hot Topic exclusive.  The Bleeding Cool website reported on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 the issue was recalled and stores were asked to destroy copies.  The comic was also pulled from the retailer's website.  This saw that particular variant rise quickly from around $30 to over $200 for copies within a few days.  On Friday, January 30th, news broke that stores were told to go ahead with selling the issues that were not destroyed.  The price of the comic quickly dropped to around $60, but the confusion around how many copies were destroyed and how many were still available has seen this comic sell briskly throughout the weekend.  To add to the confusion, not all Hot Topic retail stores have received their copies of this comic yet.

Sales of Note

Comic	Grade	Date	Venue	Price
Star Wars #1 (1977)	CGC 9.8	January 31, 2015	eBay	$1703.51
Star Wars #1 (2015) Hot Topic Variant	NM	January 29, 2015	eBay	$225.00
Star Wars #1 (2015) Hot Topic Variant	NM	January 29, 2015	eBay	$225.00
Star Wars Fan Club 2010 Comic	ungraded	January 10, 2015	eBay	$339.25