http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amazing-Sp...-/182725415336

After coming across this I had to see why it sold for so much. Even with the info I gathered I still can't see paying so much for this. I'd rather get a decent copy of AF 15.

http://www.recalledcomics.com/Amazin...67DellOtto.php

That's just crazy. 9.8 or not. $14k for a book trapped inside of plastic is simply stupid. There's no way that holds its value.

Rare Variants are the new thing to chase, not surprising.

I saw that last night. There's no way it holds its value. It's not a key issue/historical one. And the way the news about how this issue sold for is kinda fishy. Maybe someone, like Bleeding Cool, is behind this stunt (as they've been before) and no actual money was transferred between parties.

Seems a silly price and a bad investment at $14K. Ipost on an Amazing spider-man #300 CGC 9.9 going for $13.5K which is also way overpriced but makes more sense than this variant. i would much rather have the 300 or a very low grade AF 15

You could probably buy the original Dell'otto painting used for that cover for less than $13k. And there's only one of those!

Makes me sad knowing that I bagged and boarded my comics for sooooo long and now it's meaningless since this grading scale has come into play.

I would spend my money on original artwork instead of gimmicky variants if I wanted to pick a wise investment in comic books.

I've started following original comic book art auctions and my only regret is that I didn't start pursuing them 20 years ago.

Yup. Back in the 80's the artists' couldn't give the pages away. I've had many chances at comic conventions to buy Adams, Kirby, Grell, Aparo, Steranko...plus they all signed for free. At least I did do that. I had tons of chances but my dumb ass wanted comic books.

I wish that I started buying original artwork years ago too. I started buying some pages around 7-8 years ago, and now most of them go for 5 times what I payed for.

I've only been actively buying original art for about 2 years and prices are escalating so quickly that I already regret not buying more at 2015 prices, let alone 80's or 90's prices.

Lots of non- and mis-information about this sale and this book in general.

First, this 9.8 that sold was the first 9.8 copy of this book to proffered for sale publicly in nearly 5 years. That's five YEARS.

Second, this book has sold for several thousands of dollars for years in practically any condition, going back to at least 2014.

Third, there were only 200 copies of this book printed, half of which were damaged. If it isn't the rarest Spider-Man comic ever printed for wide distribution, it's certainly in the top 3.

Fourth, this image is by one of the most famous cover artists working in the business today- Gabriele Dell'otto- and it's one of his earliest Spider-Man covers and many of his other covers sell for several hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Fifth, this image is already iconic, having been reprinted in at least two other countries, And has been turned into both a poster and a print.

Sixth, I know who owns the original art, and he won't let it go for less than $50k. A price anywhere near that would be unheard of for a piece of modern OA, but it is a direct reflection of the intense demand and high prices the book commands on the rare occasion one surfaces for sale. Though nobody is actually chasing the OA, but many people want the comic. The comic in 9.8 may actually be worth more than the OA.

Seventh, the sale of this 9.8 was completely legit, both the buyer and seller are members on the CGC boards and the sale was first announced publicly there.

Eighth, this 9.8 didn't sell for $14k, it sold for $10k. Just see watchcount.com to confirm that. However, since this 9.8 sold, a 9.6 has also sold on eBay for $8k. Thus likely pushing a 9.8 up to about $15k FMV now.

Ninth, anybody can buy an AF 15 or ASM 300 in practically any condition, any day of the week. But if you want a copy of this book right now, even if you wanted to spend $100k, you would not find one to be had for sale, anywhere. In fact, after six and a half years, there are still only 32 graded copies of this book on the planet. If you own this book you are in elite company, indeed.

And tenth, it's Spiderman- one of the most popular and most collected characters of time. This book will be every completionists nightmare, and at the end of the day, it should surprise no one that's Spider-Man comic with only 200 copies in existence would command a very healthy price tag.

Any other questions? I'm always happy to answer.

-JD

Collectors are funny. I can't imagine paying more than half cover for a modern comic. Or paying any premium for a variant. But, I certainly "waste" money in other areas, so whatever floats your boat. Given ten thousand dollars, I'd rather have twenty to forty thousand actual comics I could read, including that actual comic in its regular edition, rather than one comic sealed in plastic.

Gives me a thread idea if we haven't done it: what's the most you would pay for a single comic?

The owner of the original art might not be willing to sell for under 50k, but that doesn't mean the FMV is anywhere close to that. How much did he pay for it? I bet it wasn't even close to 13k.

The owner of the OA paid $5k for it in 2011 before Dell'otto was a name artist and before the comic book itself became iconic and sold for five figures itself. And he isn't selling the OA just like none of the 200 or so owners of the comic are selling their copies.

-JD