It’s difficult to overstate exactly how crucial Stan Lee was to making comic books a part of American culture. Yes, he ran the marvel Comics bullpen, as well as his pitchman antics always focused on their characters. Yet, a lot more so than just being an advocate for his company, Stan Lee believed in the medium a lot more so than perhaps any individual else. Here’s one piece of proof. In the mid-1970s, Stan Lee predicted that comic book collecting was going to be a great investment. This was each time when parents as well as even comic book visitors believed that these funny books for youngsters were as disposable as diapers. Thankfully, it’s that mindset that verified the marvel Editor Emeritus right in the long-term. Yet is comic book collecting still lucrative?

A decade or so after marvel Comics burst on to the scene in a huge way, Stan Lee backed away from his editorial role. The business was making money as well as hiring writers, artists, as well as editors so he had less to do. Yet, since of his willingness to be the voice as well as deal with of Marvel, Stan Lee continued to be the greatest advocate comic books ever had. If you look with clips of his interviews on YouTube, you see that a lot of of what he talks about is exactly how seriously he takes these stories. Sure, he admits that they are flights of fancy, however he sees that as a ‘feature’ as well as not ‘a bug.’ I am not sure if Stan Lee truly predicted the comic book collecting market since of smarts or just since he just believed in the work so much.

At the time of this interview, the very first appearance of Spider-Man in incredible fantasy #15 was selling for numerous dollars. Today, a copy of that comic book offers for millions.

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How Stan Lee Predicted Comic book Collecting as well as Its value for ‘Investors’

picture by means of marvel Comics

When dealt with with concerns about the imaginative material of the stories, Stan Lee never talked down the stories. Rather, he stated that teenaged as well as adult visitors verified their intelligence by seeing the themes in these stories that they discover in traditional myth as well as literature. He admitted that marvel Comics artists had to rush with their work in buy to satisfy deadlines, yet once again he flipped that as evidence of the skill of these powerhouses of penciling. even before comic book collecting was in vogue, very first editions of books as well as art as well as paintings were already high-value collectibles.

Yet, I have one more theory as to why Stan Lee predicted that comic book collecting would ended up being a thing. He couldn’t bear parents as well as youngsters just throwing these books in the trash.

Here’s what he stated in the interview:

“It is absolutely incredible. I would state if somebody were experienced in this area, it is most likely a much a lot more rewarding pastime to gather comics than stamps and, in some cases, to get stocks. For example, we have one book called Howard the Duck, type of a crazy new comic we started….in the last year…. youngsters like it, they discover a great deal of satire in it…. When the book very first came out, you couldn’t get a copy since the collectors were running to the newsstands as well as getting up whatever the dealerships had available. Within in a few months, this book which originally offered for 25 cents, is now selling for $5, $7, $10, whatever the web traffic will bear.”

So, it’s less that Stan Lee predicted comic book collecting, as well as a lot more that he just observed that collectors turned their eyes to the medium.

Today, The market for Collectible Comics Is extremely Different

picture by Gage Skidmore by means of Flickr

Stan Lee goes on to clear up that Howard the Duck #1 was a special case, however still evidence of both the prospective as well as unpredictability of what these collectors will want. Yet, according to usual, Lee shifts the conversation from their value as products to their value as literature. It’s ironic, however Stan Lee the pitchman was less service smart as well as a lot more unbridled like for this type of storytelling. To him that people were paying great deals of money to gather these books validated his views on exactly how crucial these stories are to readers. (And that these visitors were not all just kids.)

Fast-forward 20 years, as well as a lot of of America agreed with him on both counts. By this time, Watchmen came out as well as people were checking out comic books as well as graphic novels with new eyes. The comic book collecting flourish happened, as well as (again, ironically) are why collecting comic books is not an simple pastime to break into anymore if you’re goal is to make a profit. In the new documentary Slugfest on Roku, one episode offers with The death ofSuperman comic. Millions as well as millions of copies of Superman #75 were offered to people believing they had just made the very best investment of their lives. Yet, unlike stocks, the a lot more people who get a comic book, the less it will be worth. Today, you can get a copy of that comic book for just a few bucks.

Also, the CGC is a new aspect in the hobby. This group grades comics, however they don’t do it for free. Collectors have to pay anywhere from $20 to $100 (or a portion of the book’s value as much as $5,000) to get a grade. I don’t believe Stan Lee predicted that collecting comic books for a revenue would ended up being so, well, costly.

Watch the interview where Stan Lee predicts the comic book collecting trend below:

What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, as well as reasons for collecting comics in the comments below. (Also, Stan’s comic book collecting comments begin at around the 24-minute as well as thirty-seconds mark.)

Featured image: digital painting by target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Abijith Ka by means of Wikimedia Commons