Hi Guys
I have been promising to write something along these lines for a long time now and intended to entitle it 2000ADs collectability but things change, especially my mind.
I think we are missing out on some of the mighty progs potential and this is something that has not been addressed or taken advantage of by the guys at Rebellion.
I?m 38 now and so can remember back to when comic collecting was just taking off in the UK. There was only the Forbidden Planet, which was based on Denmark Street, in the West End of London and soon after followed Dark They Were and Golden Eyed. Comic Conventions also started to become popular but they were only about 3 or 4 times a year.
I touched on what I believe killed off or seriously damaged comic collecting in the nineties, in a previous thread and so will not go too deeply into that but to start and set the scene, I will discuss what I believe fuelled the craze in the seventies and eighties.
Many people are like magpies, they enjoy collecting, but what they collect depends on what captures their interest first. It could be stamps, coins, art or in our case comics. One of the reasons collectors originally started collecting comics was because they wanted to make their sets or runs of comics complete. For example if you bought Spider Man number 4 and started reading from there and enjoyed it, you would probably make an effort to buy issues 1, 2 and 3 but since they are no longer in circulation you would have to buy from another collector and pay a premium. You would then keep these safe and continue collecting the whole series. This is true of most items that people collect but comics are unique in that they have many other factors which influence their collectability. For example first appearances of characters that later on become more popular, increase a comics value, thereby creating key issues. Hulk issue 181 introduced Wolverine and now sells for hundreds of pounds, Amazing Spider Man 129 introduced The Punisher and is therefore much sort after, X-Men Giant Sized 1 and issue 94 introduced the new Uncanny X-men and both these issue are priced at ?1,000 + for a near mint copy. This is also true of popular villains, I think Iron Man 54 introduced Thanos and X-men 5 introduced Magneto, both these comics are in demand and very expensive. In addition to these influences, another factor has arisen. Once an artist becomes popular, his earlier work, when he was less well known, increases in value. An example being, the late great Jack Kirby or even living legends like Neal Adams.
The reason I am talking about American comics is because they started to introduce artificial means to increase a comics collectability, such as multiple covers, crossovers and platinum covers, which as we all know, has now backfired. There is now a gap in the market, which I believe 2000AD can fill.
2000AD has all of the above factors, which instigated and fuelled the original comic collecting boom in the seventies.
Firstly, there has been a single run of 2000AD since 1977, currently reaching prog 1371. This would be a challenge for any collector to complete and ultimately a very satisfying achievement. Secondly, in this run, covering 4 decades, over 26 years, (you can work that one out!) there have been many popular characters introduced, thereby creating key issues in 2000ADs history. For example, as you all know prog 2 introduced Judge Dredd and sold last year for ?551 through Comic Book Postal Auctions. Prog 149 introduced Judge Death. Prog 228 introduced Rogue Trooper. Prog 1035 introduced Nikolai Dante. I will mention all the other key issues later. In addition, 2000AD has also launched the careers of many artists who have become massive world wide, as a result, their first works have appeared in many different progs, artists such as Brian Bolland, Carlos Ezquerra and in recent years, Henry Flint. The progs where their art first appeared will one day be much sort after.
Another factor which 2000AD has, which American comics don?t, is the inclusion of free gifts in certain issues. When free gifts are included, most are taken from the comic, used and then discarded. This means that the issues which are preserved with their free gifts intact, are then much harder to find, the comic is not complete without the free gift and cannot be considered near mint.
Apart from prog 2, all the other issues, from 30 onwards, can currently be picked up for a few pounds, many are being sold unwittingly at comic conventions for 50p - ?1.00, when they are a potential goldmine. In addition to the above, it is much harder to find near mint copies of the first 500 progs of 2000AD due to the poor quality paper that they were printed on
I believe that 2000AD is the new Marvel because it has all the factors needed to recreate what fuelled the original craze and like Marvel, there is a whole Universe of Characters, which has been built up and established in British culture over the passed 26 years.
With all of the above in mind, I have created a list of what I believe are the key issues that will eventually increase in value. I will also include what prices they are currently selling for.
Prog 1 (Very hard to find in Near Mint, with free gift, which was a Space Spinner. Top price ?551 Comic Book Postal Auctions December 2002).
Prog 2 (Very hard to find in Near Mint, with free gift, which was the Bionic Stickers. First Appearance of Judge Dredd. Top price ?551 Comic Book Postal Auctions December 2002).
Prog 3 (Very hard to find in Near Mint, with free gift, which was the secret agent wallet. Top price ?221 Comic Book Postal Auctions December 2002).
Prog 4 ? 10 (As with the above, much sort after and very hard to find in near mint, current prices range between ?15 - ?40 each)
Progs 71, 72, 77 & 78. (All these progs were banned due to infringement of copy write and will never be aloud to be reprinted. (Prices vary on ebay, but depending on condition they sell for between ?20 and ?40.00)
Prog 149 ? 151 (First run of the three prog Judge Death story. Also, first appearance of Judge Anderson in prog 150. Approx ?7.00 each)
Prog 160 (First appearance of Mean Machine and the Angel Gang. Approx ?2.00)
Prog 228 (First appearance of Rogue Trooper. Approx ?4.00)
Prog 300 (This copy is very hard to find with the free metal Judge Dredd badge stuck to the front. Approx ?4.00)
Prog 330 (First appearance of Slaine. Approx ?1.50)
Prog 780 (First appearance of The Button Man. Approx ?5 but very hard to find with the free wallet, which was attached to the front)
981 (First appearance in 2000AD of Sinister Dexter. Approx ?2.00. Although they did appear, for the first time, in the 1995 2000AD Winter Special)
1035 (First appearance of Nikolai Dante. Very hard to find with the free Space Girls Poster. Approx ?2.00)
Prog 1159 (Came in two covers. One with Devlin Waugh on the front and one with The Hangman. Very hard to find with the Hangman cover. The Devlin Waugh issue also had a free CD Rom. Approx ?2.00)
1208 (There was a pallet load of this issue damaged by flood and so it was not distributed well throughout the country. There are now very few in circulation and may be the rarest 2000AD comic after prog 2. Prices vary on ebay but it has sold for between ?20 and ?50.00).
In addition the Summer Special Super Comic from 1977 is very hard to find and sells for between ?20 - ?35. Also, mentioned above, the Winter Special from 1995 has the first ever appearance of Sinister Dexter and for some reason does not appear very often on ebay but when it does, it sells for about ?10. The first 2000AD annual from 1978 is the hardest of the annuals to come across and sells for about ?15 - ?20. There are some copies which do not have the 1978 date on the cover or the spine, also, they are not priced inside. These are very scarce and I have only ever seen 2 copies. I cannot remember what price they sold for but I value them at about ?50.
All the above comics are not the only key issues and I am sure many of you can think of a lot more. Also, I have not included the first appearance of any artists work, so if anyone has more time than me, it would be great to see a more comprehensive list.
My main point for writing this piece, is because I am trying to make the point that nobody seems to realize the potential for many of the above comics and if any of the other characters take off in a big way, such as Nikolai Dante or Rogue Trooper, then prices will sky rocket. I would love to see more of 2000AD back issues at comic conventions, this can only lead to new readers and lapsed readers returning to the comic. Finally, the reason I am saying that Rebellion is not taking advantage of this, is because at this years Dreddcon, there was only one stall selling back issues and they were from about progs 500 and above, many were multiple issues and it was totally uninspired. Surely the place to sell back issues of 2000AD is the Dreddcon, they certainly had enough space.
So, my message to you guys is, that you can pick up 2000ADs with first appearances and great artists, for a couple of quid, surely that?s a risk worth taking.
