Nice video again, Regie! Logic prevails. The main parties hurt by Diamond potentially going away are indie comic press/creators. Antarctic Press, Valiant/Alien Books, etc. These are the folks that will have to find alternate methods of distribution. As far as modern era comic back issues are concerned, you're right. Fatigue has set in, but I think given time, things will come around again.
Zero lies detected. What’s crazy is that I’ve never been a big DC fan but they are crushing it right now. Same with Ghost Machine from Image. With regard to the secondary market, it’s really a great time to buy smartly.
So glad to see you back Reg. I was missing your level headed thought process as both a collector and investor in the comic hobby. Nice to see someone talking logically to ease the fear of the gloom and doom peddlers and the FOMO hype drivers who populate social media. Keep up the good work my friend. 👍👍👍
Right! If you roll copper into modern that is a 40 year stretch. I’ve seen various proposals online for how modern could be subdivided but no “governing” body/organization has adopted anything thus far.
Great video! Good to see your insight on the market. Stability is a key part of it those wild moves we saw during the boom just led to so much uncertainty.
Great video brother! We're happy to see you back and talking some sense into us. You said a lot of what I was already thinking about diamond and their problems. Also, your explanation of the errors was perfect. Keep up the good work and keep talking since where it's needed. That's what I like about you
I think it’s fatigue and then supply/demand. TONS of books came out of the woodwork and flooded the market when the boom hit. All the old heads who had hoarded multiples copies of keys let em go and the cgc census reflects that. ASM 300 is not scarce. Those golden age books are actually rare. Real rare. Great video Reggie so glad you’re back.
I stayed away from the silver/modern books during covid and went the direction people weren’t really looking. The golden. And have done very well value wise. You are correct about financial stability. I haven’t bought anything in a year due to not knowing what part of life is going to be grossly inflated next.
What impacts me are the writers being chosen to tell the stories of legacy characters. Not fatigue with the characters themselves, but poor stories or direction for them.
Regie,are you going to start collecting some big golden age comics? I know I am done collecting comics once I get TMNT #1 3rd print cause there is nothing else I want and then I am gonna get a few video games like Zelda Nes cib,Zelda Orarina of Time cib and then I am done collecting for good.
I think the big named companies will be fine, but I worry about the smaller independent companies. I see a lot of indie comic books take to Kickstarter and IndieGogo to bring out their books, so perhaps that would be an option if they don't find another publication. My uncle, who was a comic book collector, once told me that I should look at older books, since they become older and rarer as time flies.
Diamond takes 60% of cover price. Kickstarter and IndieGoGo is less. 2023/2024 were big years for Kickstarter. I haven’t seen the data but I would imagine that IndieGoGo and Substack also had decent years.
The Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic is a great example of perceived value at the time and current supply. The Archie book was targeted for kids, while adult collectors focused on the Mirage TMNT comic. The kids at the time were not preserving their Archie Turtle books and lots of copies were destroyed or thrown out. Those kids grew up, became adult collectors and because they didn't keep the childhood books all started trying to find good copies. Add to this the 40 year anniversary of the Turtles and New Movies and cartoons, sparking interest in the brand and you get increased demand. Even though the Archie Turtles printed more copies a month then the Mirage book, the value Archie books is high due to high readership at the time of publication but lower surviving copies for nostalgic 40 year olds.
Depending upon the resource there still is. 😂 Cooper is sometimes partially rolled into Bronze and/or Modern. Technically, there is also a Platinum age that comes before Golden.
Larger publisher don’t actually manage inventory. Inventory is managed by the printer and the distribution center. Sometimes the printer and the DC are the same but in some cases they are two different parties. With that said, we have seen scandals in recent years where high ratio variants have shown up in Walmart multi-paks. Spawn comics that were reportedly destroyed were actually purchased by the case and released by a third-party. Does this help?
Shops started using mail and several started curb service. I feel like none of that started until weeks/months after the shutdown-at least in CA. Heck, they shutdown the outdoor playground and parks for months.
I don’t believe Diamond going under will doom comics, but it will definitely hurt many local comic shops, and some may even close. As for comics being doomed, I don’t think that's the case. However, modern comics are in a slow decline. On the other hand, early Silver Age and Golden Age comics will likely continue to appreciate in value, as they offer the best ROI.
I have a couple of questions for you. How many shop owners have you spoken with that make you feel like they are going to be hurt by Diamond going out of business. Second, what data are you referencing that demonstrate that modern comics are on a slow decline?
as a 8 year old reading comics (DC) and going to the movies on Sat. (35c) was my life, Then came Spidey, who after defeating a Super Bad, would swing home crying cause he could not get the Public to see the Good he was doing, collecting Spidey in neighborhood stores going from store to store looking for Latest Issue of my Favorite Rockum Sockum Hero chasing Gwen and MJ, trying to get paid from JJJ, and those early Issues had a New Super Bad Guy and then spreading the comics all over my bed checking what Issues I was missing. Well what brought on this kid story from the early 1960's. That Big Beautiful Wall behind You !!! I was kind of hoping you would get up and move out of the Video!
Comics have been dying since the 1930's... but they're still here. Webcomics and digital might prevail but the comic market will always exist to an extent. A down market to a real collector just means we can finally buy things that the tech bros have been hoarding.
The upside of the flood that happened with the books coming out of the woodworks...the dealers can't put that genie back in the bottle. They dumped with the high prices and created a census explosion on some books, those prices continue to drop. There is no way to erase the census. I can buy at a fair price, and it is still the buyer's market.
Don’t disagree. The census counts can actually be your friend because now you have better visibility. I hit on the unknowns of the ungraded market years ago. We have to assume that 2020-2024 pricing brought a lot of that inventory to the market. With that said, did you get to the part of the video where I hit on the natural disasters that potentially have removed comics from supply? Not sure we will ever have a count on the impact.
@RegieCollects i agree. The California fire in the wealth Palisades erased a lot. Several banks, including Bank Of America, lost safe deposit facilities and branches to the fires. All those watches, art, jewelry and comics...poof, gone. I know this because they are sending notifications out explaining that customers need to contact their insurance companies.
"baby boomers will die" but we are now in a GLOBAL market and don't depend on just people here in America. International market will grow. All collectibles go through a cycle. They need to go through the "common and nobody cares or wants these things" stage in order to reduce numbers available (thrown out) that will eventually lead to steep rise in prices... but this may take decades to play out. Seen it before with many other collectibles.
FOMC today. Powell says economy good. Job numbers good. Stock market at record highs… But not comics. Why? You said no comic data. True, but lots of other data… Stats on productivity vs pay gap. Overall decline in readership (not just comics). Tastes and trends. Rising cost of living. Cost of production. Shrinking middle class. Demographics, like death. Behavioural changes. Lack of new ideas or innovation. The decline of Hollywood... etc. You need to put comics into proper context. So you see... I do have some clue.
Ah ok. You’re citing random facts to demonstrate that the economy is in a good place and comics are indeed doomed. Got it. At the end of the 2024, inflation was 2.4% but when you factor in food and energy (essentials for life), core prices were actually 2.8%. Not close to the Fed target of 2.0%. Put another way, what a bureaucrat says and what the average person experiences isn’t one and the same. That is why the Consumer Confidence Index (CPI) dropped for a second straight month. People are not feeling good about the labor markets and business conditions. When you look at the CPI it has been operating in a vary narrow band since 2022 and presently confidence is at the lower end of that range. Are there other factors at play that are impacting comic values-yup and I believe that I made that point in the video.
@@RegieCollects These aren’t “random” facts. Its data from the Fed. And you do realize that you’re just repeating the boots-on-the-ground economic reality of what I’ve already said. So thank you for underscoring my argument. The way you keep framing things… I realize that you’re an emotional person. That’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with this… but it does keep you from being objective about the things you like. Hey... I like comics too, BUT it doesn’t skew the reality of the world around me. I hope this doesn’t get block or deleted again… Good luck my dude.
I have never deleted one of your comments. Never. With that said, I honestly cannot understand what point you are trying to make. I stated that with my very first comment. What point are you trying to make or bet yet, what did I say that was off.
Nice video again, Regie! Logic prevails. The main parties hurt by Diamond potentially going away are indie comic press/creators. Antarctic Press, Valiant/Alien Books, etc. These are the folks that will have to find alternate methods of distribution.
As far as modern era comic back issues are concerned, you're right. Fatigue has set in, but I think given time, things will come around again.
Zero lies detected. What’s crazy is that I’ve never been a big DC fan but they are crushing it right now. Same with Ghost Machine from Image. With regard to the secondary market, it’s really a great time to buy smartly.
So glad to see you back Reg. I was missing your level headed thought process as both a collector and investor in the comic hobby. Nice to see someone talking logically to ease the fear of the gloom and doom peddlers and the FOMO hype drivers who populate social media. Keep up the good work my friend. 👍👍👍
😂😂 Well done. It’s good to be back. 👊🏾🫡
We really need to break modern into multiple ages
Right! If you roll copper into modern that is a 40 year stretch. I’ve seen various proposals online for how modern could be subdivided but no “governing” body/organization has adopted anything thus far.
Great video bro
Another great video 🙌🏾
As long as they're on paper I'll be in. If its ever 100% digital I'm out... I need my paper 😂
lol. I heard that.
Thank you for the thoughtful video
Great video! Good to see your insight on the market. Stability is a key part of it those wild moves we saw during the boom just led to so much uncertainty.
Great video brother! We're happy to see you back and talking some sense into us. You said a lot of what I was already thinking about diamond and their problems. Also, your explanation of the errors was perfect. Keep up the good work and keep talking since where it's needed. That's what I like about you
Appreciate you bro. Hope all is well.
Gibbon in the background is right, this was a head scratcher😂 J.K
Pay attention Gibbon. 😂😂
I think it’s fatigue and then supply/demand. TONS of books came out of the woodwork and flooded the market when the boom hit. All the old heads who had hoarded multiples copies of keys let em go and the cgc census reflects that. ASM 300 is not scarce. Those golden age books are actually rare. Real rare. Great video Reggie so glad you’re back.
Oops I was typing this as I was watching. Looks like we’re on the same page 😂
Did you see the part of the video where I hit on “supply” taking an unknown hit?
I stayed away from the silver/modern books during covid and went the direction people weren’t really looking. The golden. And have done very well value wise. You are correct about financial stability. I haven’t bought anything in a year due to not knowing what part of life is going to be grossly inflated next.
Great move. Absolutely love that.
What impacts me are the writers being chosen to tell the stories of legacy characters. Not fatigue with the characters themselves, but poor stories or direction for them.
Regie,are you going to start collecting some big golden age comics? I know I am done collecting comics once I get TMNT #1 3rd print cause there is nothing else I want and then I am gonna get a few video games like Zelda Nes cib,Zelda Orarina of Time cib and then I am done collecting for good.
I’m primarily a silver age collector. There are some golden age books that I’d like to add to the collection down the road.
I think the big named companies will be fine, but I worry about the smaller independent companies. I see a lot of indie comic books take to Kickstarter and IndieGogo to bring out their books, so perhaps that would be an option if they don't find another publication.
My uncle, who was a comic book collector, once told me that I should look at older books, since they become older and rarer as time flies.
Diamond takes 60% of cover price. Kickstarter and IndieGoGo is less.
2023/2024 were big years for Kickstarter. I haven’t seen the data but I would imagine that IndieGoGo and Substack also had decent years.
Performing.... At the club tonight!! 😎
Well done. 🪩 💵
The Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic is a great example of perceived value at the time and current supply. The Archie book was targeted for kids, while adult collectors focused on the Mirage TMNT comic. The kids at the time were not preserving their Archie Turtle books and lots of copies were destroyed or thrown out. Those kids grew up, became adult collectors and because they didn't keep the childhood books all started trying to find good copies. Add to this the 40 year anniversary of the Turtles and New Movies and cartoons, sparking interest in the brand and you get increased demand. Even though the Archie Turtles printed more copies a month then the Mirage book, the value Archie books is high due to high readership at the time of publication but lower surviving copies for nostalgic 40 year olds.
4:08 Didn’t there used to be a Copper Age?
Depending upon the resource there still is. 😂 Cooper is sometimes partially rolled into Bronze and/or Modern. Technically, there is also a Platinum age that comes before Golden.
As far as manufactured scarcity, isn't one thing that publishers do is destroy a certain amount of books to create that scarcity?
Larger publisher don’t actually manage inventory. Inventory is managed by the printer and the distribution center. Sometimes the printer and the DC are the same but in some cases they are two different parties. With that said, we have seen scandals in recent years where high ratio variants have shown up in Walmart multi-paks. Spawn comics that were reportedly destroyed were actually purchased by the case and released by a third-party.
Does this help?
I've been hearing comics are doomed for several years now. Ahh, those negative Nellie's lol. 👍🏻
😂😂I said that to someone else the other day. I’ve been doing content for seven years and every single year-comics are doomed. 😂 You have to love it.
Even though shops were closed because of COVID-19, some mailed books to their subscription customers.
Shops started using mail and several started curb service. I feel like none of that started until weeks/months after the shutdown-at least in CA. Heck, they shutdown the outdoor playground and parks for months.
I don’t believe Diamond going under will doom comics, but it will definitely hurt many local comic shops, and some may even close. As for comics being doomed, I don’t think that's the case. However, modern comics are in a slow decline. On the other hand, early Silver Age and Golden Age comics will likely continue to appreciate in value, as they offer the best ROI.
I have a couple of questions for you. How many shop owners have you spoken with that make you feel like they are going to be hurt by Diamond going out of business. Second, what data are you referencing that demonstrate that modern comics are on a slow decline?
as a 8 year old reading comics (DC) and going to the movies on Sat. (35c) was my life, Then came Spidey, who after defeating a Super Bad, would swing home crying cause he could not get the Public to see the Good he was doing, collecting Spidey in neighborhood stores going from store to store looking for Latest Issue of my Favorite Rockum Sockum Hero chasing Gwen and MJ, trying to get paid from JJJ, and those early Issues had a New Super Bad Guy and then spreading the comics all over my bed checking what Issues I was missing. Well what brought on this kid story from the early 1960's. That Big Beautiful Wall behind You !!! I was kind of hoping you would get up and move out of the Video!
If you go back to the Wolverine unboxing video I show a close up of the wall. I also tend to share the wall on IG.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Comics have been dying since the 1930's... but they're still here. Webcomics and digital might prevail but the comic market will always exist to an extent. A down market to a real collector just means we can finally buy things that the tech bros have been hoarding.
Say it again for those in the back. 😂😂
How many people still enjoy reading modern Marvel or DC Comics? Just curious because I mostly read Image and I miss Vertigo.
I do. 🤷🏾♂️😂 Marvel is putting out a couple of solid comics right now.
The upside of the flood that happened with the books coming out of the woodworks...the dealers can't put that genie back in the bottle. They dumped with the high prices and created a census explosion on some books, those prices continue to drop. There is no way to erase the census. I can buy at a fair price, and it is still the buyer's market.
Don’t disagree. The census counts can actually be your friend because now you have better visibility. I hit on the unknowns of the ungraded market years ago. We have to assume that 2020-2024 pricing brought a lot of that inventory to the market.
With that said, did you get to the part of the video where I hit on the natural disasters that potentially have removed comics from supply? Not sure we will ever have a count on the impact.
@RegieCollects i agree. The California fire in the wealth Palisades erased a lot. Several banks, including Bank Of America, lost safe deposit facilities and branches to the fires. All those watches, art, jewelry and comics...poof, gone. I know this because they are sending notifications out explaining that customers need to contact their insurance companies.
"baby boomers will die" but we are now in a GLOBAL market and don't depend on just people here in America. International market will grow.
All collectibles go through a cycle. They need to go through the "common and nobody cares or wants these things" stage in order to reduce numbers available (thrown out) that will eventually lead to steep rise in prices... but this may take decades to play out. Seen it before with many other collectibles.
FOMC today. Powell says economy good. Job numbers good. Stock market at record highs… But not comics. Why? You said no comic data. True, but lots of other data… Stats on productivity vs pay gap. Overall decline in readership (not just comics). Tastes and trends. Rising cost of living. Cost of production. Shrinking middle class. Demographics, like death. Behavioural changes. Lack of new ideas or innovation. The decline of Hollywood... etc. You need to put comics into proper context. So you see... I do have some clue.
Not exactly sure what to make of this comment. :-) Thanks for watching and living a comment behind.
@@RegieCollects I thought you were an educated man, with an executive position? Surely you know what's going on outside of comics?
Ah ok. You’re citing random facts to demonstrate that the economy is in a good place and comics are indeed doomed. Got it.
At the end of the 2024, inflation was 2.4% but when you factor in food and energy (essentials for life), core prices were actually 2.8%. Not close to the Fed target of 2.0%. Put another way, what a bureaucrat says and what the average person experiences isn’t one and the same. That is why the Consumer Confidence Index (CPI) dropped for a second straight month. People are not feeling good about the labor markets and business conditions. When you look at the CPI it has been operating in a vary narrow band since 2022 and presently confidence is at the lower end of that range.
Are there other factors at play that are impacting comic values-yup and I believe that I made that point in the video.
@@RegieCollects These aren’t “random” facts. Its data from the Fed. And you do realize that you’re just repeating the boots-on-the-ground economic reality of what I’ve already said. So thank you for underscoring my argument.
The way you keep framing things… I realize that you’re an emotional person. That’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with this… but it does keep you from being objective about the things you like. Hey... I like comics too, BUT it doesn’t skew the reality of the world around me.
I hope this doesn’t get block or deleted again… Good luck my dude.
I have never deleted one of your comments. Never.
With that said, I honestly cannot understand what point you are trying to make. I stated that with my very first comment. What point are you trying to make or bet yet, what did I say that was off.