Comic book collectors won't be making a big killing from the death of Superman.
Last November's Superman No. 75, in which the Man of Steel was supposedly bumped off by the underground creature Doomsday, had a huge press run in the millions.
So, while the black poly-bagged collector edition now sells for $15 or more compared with the original $2.50 cover price, that plentiful issue's value could soon be settling back down to earth again, some experts believe. The subsequent "resurrection" issue No. 500, in white poly-bag, was similarly run in massive quantities.
On the other hand, the visibility that the dramatic events involving Superman brought to the comic book collectible market is having major impact. Everybody wants to get into collecting.
"Comic books are the hottest collectible, with prices skyrocketing on many old and new comics," said Robert Overstreet, publisher of the Overstreet "Comic Book Price Guide" (Avon, $15) and the monthly Overstreet's "Comic Book Marketplace."
"While you don't have the problem of counterfeits as you do in coins, antiques and art, in the case of the new comics the risk is high because prices that go up quickly can come down quickly."
Most valuable comic of all is the 1939 Detective Comics No. 27, which introduced Batman. It's valued at $85,000, an increase of 42 percent from a year ago. The 1938 Action Comics No. 1, introducing Superman, lists for $75,000, which is 50 percent higher than a year ago.
"The comic book collectible market continues to show support and has survived every recession in America since its inception in the early 1960s," said Jerry Weist, author of "Original Comic Art" (Avon Books, $15), a price guide to comic art, and a consultant to Sotheby's auction house. "However, I believe the real rarity and value will continue to be in the original comic art, and that's an emphasis in our auctions."
The so-called "silver age" of comics, beginning in the 1950s and carrying through the 1960s and 1970s, is hot as baby boomers draw on childhood memories. The 1963 Amazing Spider-Man No. 1 commands $6,800 and is expected to appreciate further.
"The death of Superman and his resurrection have put the collecting business in a tizzy because it's brought in many new mainstream consumers," said Gary Colabuono, owner of Moondog's, a collector shop in Elk Grove Village, Ill. "These new consumers look at the comic art form as a collectible, not just entertainment."
