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RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

Havok — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:07:43 GMT

[quote][b]StarWarsEd (10/14/2009)[/b][hr]I've been researching it for quite awhile and can't verify the existence of the 2nd print. Its listed in the guide, but I honestly can't find any other evidence its real.[/quote]

Glad to see at least one user I recognize on the board. But as your research, and mine has confirmed.. there is no 2nd printing on X-men #1. Between the variants and the close to 10 million printed issues why would there ever be a need for one?

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:03:08 GMT

Thanks, Hugo! Yeah, I'd love to do a commission or two. Or 200.....Have X-Acto knife, will travel. (But not as a carry-on....)
Personally, I'd like a shot at decoupaging a fireplace mantle, a motorcycle, or a mannequin. More toilets are on the assembly line, I salvaged them from a nearby demolition. I'm all about the re-cycling.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

pmadreenter — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:52:05 GMT

That's magnificent. Looks like a real labor of love/hate. Do you take commissions? Not for me, of course, but somebody might...

What other household objects might benefit from being Xed? Anyone have any thoughts?

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:58:55 GMT

So the first project is done and on the market, here's a link for anyone who's interested:

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=X-Men+%231+toilet&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_sop=10&_odkw=X-Men+%231&_osacat=0

I'm not looking for buyers here, but would love some feedback. Thanks for all your help and stories!

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

StarWarsEd — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:12:12 GMT

I've been researching it for quite awhile and can't verify the existence of the 2nd print. Its listed in the guide, but I honestly can't find any other evidence its real.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

Aphelion — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:24:44 GMT

That's just what I call it. Someone says there is a second printing also.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:01:56 GMT

Very cool, thanks for posting this!

I'm still hoping to find out something of the numbers of the newstand copies, with returns factored in...

So would the numbering go: Variant covers are #1 A-D, with #1 E being the deluxe, and #1 F being the default newsstand editions?

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

Aphelion — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:21:47 GMT

Here is a scan to the 6th variant to X-Men #1....

X-Men #1 (Newsstand w/bar code)

[IMG]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c379/Quato2/Marvel/001f_XMen_535px.jpg[/IMG]

I've never seen this posted online. This was bought off a spinner rack. Most likely at a drug store.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:08:07 GMT

The number that I'm finding most often is 7.1 million copies sold, though obviously, not to 7.1 million people.
I'm still looking for evidence that ANY of them were destroyed.....That's a lot of bagged, boarded, boxed, and useless.
Yeah, I'm obsessed.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

NDPsycho — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:42:30 GMT

I'm embarrassed to admit that I bought and still have 40 copies of this from it's release. At least it wasn't 5,000. I still love the comic and every issue of X-men that Jim Lee did, but I got caught up in the hype. It was hard not to take advantage of the American Entertainment catalog bulk discount. That's how I ended up with a similarly absurd number of X-Force #1....;)

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:48:41 GMT

Ahhh, got it....Thanks pmadreenter! This adds a great new dimension to my project, and oddly parallels some stuff I was already working on....

Monk Mayfair (full name Lt. Colonel Andrew Blodgett Mayfair) was the ape-like chemist member of Doc Savage's crew. I'm none of those things, but I've always been fond of the character.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

pmadreenter — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:27:42 GMT

"slabbed" = graded and stuck inside an impervious-to-damage container so it'll maintain that grade for all eternity without deteriorating. (Well, maybe.) It's like they put the comic inside a cube of lucite. (Well, not exactly.) Usually done by CGC company, but there's a new business called PDX that also does it. They're not as highly regarded as the other fellers, though.

Here's an example: http://www.comicspriceguide.com/boards/Topic20209-22-53.aspx

"Monk Mayfair", that's nagging at my brain-bone. Monks Of Monk Hall?

Hugo M.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:57:01 GMT

I'm afraid I need a definition for "slabbed"......
Is it the same as "trashed" or "recycled", or is it more specifically referring to newsstand comics that are returned as unsold?
Or is it a practice among dealers to rid themselves of overstock?

Also, I notice on the pricing guide that the deluxe/gatefold cover issue is listed as "X-Men #1" and the variant covers are listed as "#1A-D", but others refer to them all as "#1A-E". A detail, but I'd like to be sure of which is more accepted.

More also-er, would I have likely any luck contacting either Diamond Distributors or Marvel to find out sales numbers for the issue? Would I need special security or press clearance to get an answer?

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

Silver Age Surfer — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:49:16 GMT

The LCS down the street has 8 copies. All NM. I have no clue why you'd want to slab this, although I do have a lot of respect for people who value this comic and the new volume. As some of you know, I simply assign next to no value to anything produced after 1974 (in particular new volumes of X-Men). Right now, I'm collecting Uncanny X-Men, but only 1-63. As soon as they switch formulas, I'm out.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

sclingerman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:14:46 GMT

I have read a lot of posts about the sentimental value of comics.
I had ROM The Spaceknight #1 - somewhere in the #50s back when they fist came out.
I lost them all.
A 9.4 #1 is listed here as being $3, but I'd pay double for one when I get around to replenishing them. It means that much to me.

My very first comic I remember having (back in 1973) was House of Mystery #216 [url]http://www.comicspriceguide.com/imageHandler.ashx?width=450&cn=1&ImgFilePath=/images/covers/610/94600.jpg[/url].
A 9.0 is listed here for $14, but I'd pay a lot more.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

LouMatt — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:37:49 GMT

Great story Sclingerman on what makes a comic valuable.

Having a wife that would have a interest in your hobby and actually buy you comics is priceless.

I got my X-men #1's directly off the shelves and theres no way I'd let them go for even 30x guide price. Just the memory and enthusiasm behind buying them when they came out was worth way more than that price.

Let all the speculators/investors who think this book will never be worth anything throw these #1's in the bargain bins so they get beat up. JMO

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

sclingerman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:43:35 GMT

My X-Men #1 copies are priceless to me.
Some time ago when she was completely ignorant of comics, my wife handed me my wrapped birthday present. "You're going to love this!"
As I opened it and saw what it was, she said "It's the first X-Men comics!"
She was so excited, as I told her how awesome a gift this was.
I later explained: "Actually, it's not the VERY first X-Men one from 1963... but it's first of a NEW X-Men, and it's VERY cool. I love them!"

I have 4 variants of X-Men #1 (1991).
And I love each one... and my wife.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

StarWarsEd — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:29:39 GMT

I have had the exact opposite, this book is common in my local discount bins.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

pmadreenter — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:39:33 GMT

[quote][b]MonkMayfair (9/22/2009)[/b][hr]
And another question I'm a little stumped on: How many trees [/quote]

"Stumped", you say?

You know, considering how common it obviously is, I don't see that many copies of it in the dumping-grounds where I do most of my comics-buying. Never met a discount bin I didn't like, and in the last 6-8 months I've seen exactly ONE (1) copy of this issue.

Have other people had that experience, or the exact opposite?

Hugo M.
http://mybackcomicbookpages.blogspot.com/

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:10:46 GMT

Shadow, thank you very much for looking. Anyplace you want to point me toward would be massively helpful!

thatjerk, I'm more interested in how worth-less they are. Not in a Hunt-brothers-corner-the-market kind of way, but in terms of actual volume. I'm figuring that less than a million people in the world would want one copy of this comic, with a small percentage interested in multiples. Big Supply, no demand. That leaves 4-7 million copies somewhere....

And another question I'm a little stumped on: How many trees does it take to print a million comics? (I mean get pulped......Obviously, one industrious, well-trained, and somehow cognizant and mobile tree could do it all by itself. If it had enough ink. And enough hatred for his brothers.)

As the project develops, I'll be less obtuse, but for now, I just need lots of statistics...

Thanks again!

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

thatjerk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:02:22 GMT

I bought one copy at the time and threw it out 2 years ago (someone grabbed the longbox from the garbage though, so it still exists).

It sounds as though you want to figure out if enough copies disappeared to make the book actually worth something. I think the best question is to ask is 'how easy is it for someone to get a copy if thjey so desired'? I bet the answer is super easy.

RE: Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

Shadow — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:04:42 GMT

Somewhere...and I thought it was here, but now I don't see it...:hmmmm:...There was a listing of the issues...how many published and how many already slabbed for posterity...:cool:

I'll see if I can come across it again...;)

Need some stats for X-Men #1 (1991)

MonkMayfair — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:31:43 GMT

Hi folks, new to the forum, but a 40+ year comics reader and collector.

My primary job is standup comedy, with some fight directing and acting mixed in here and there, but my passion is art and comics.

I've recently started a series of art pieces that owe a LOT to X-Men #1 in all its permutations, but I've got several questions that are proving to be nigh-impossible to get clear answers for. Any help from this forum would be greatly appreciated!

1) Just how many copies were sold? I've read accounts that range from 5 million to 8 million copies, but that's a huge margin of error. Where can I pin it down? None of the distributors seem to have any online records of sales before '96.

2) Is there any sort of breakdown as to how many of each version was sold? Direct market distribution seems to have been the way of the world then as well, but how many copies were sold on newsstands? And did the usual returns rate apply? (I've read that about 75% of all comics sales were direct to shops, and that 2/3 of all newsstand copies are returned for credit.) It would seem likely that more of the #1-E (deluxe gatefold) sold than the other single issues, but its higher price might have negated that...

3) Are all those copies still out there? I mean even allowing for little brothers, aggressive pets, spillage of beers or bong water, and stupid, stupid burglars, there would still be millions of copies out there in dark, lonely places. Does anyone know of any mass recyclings? There are bound to have been boxes of these that ended up burned, flooded, or sold from storage spaces.....but is there any way to figure out what's left?

4) Do you have any stories of excess enthusiasm for its resale potential? We've all read of the guy who pre-ordered 5000(!) copies for himself, but does he really exist? Does he post on this forum? Anybody want to rat him out, or a similarly deluded buddy? I don't want to shame anyone, we all got caught up in early '90s frenzy of quick returns. Hell, I sold less than a hundred fairly new comics in June of '93 (X-Force #1, Uncanny X-Men in the #240-290 era, Dark Knight Returns, etc) for about $800. The same comics were worth about $100 by fall..... Did over-investment in X-Men #1 actually cost anyone their store?

5) Would I be remiss to claim that X-Men #1, in its own record-breaking way, may have helped lead to Marvel's '93 bankruptcy? There was rampant speculating in the market sales back then, with a lot of blame to be spread around, but when 5 (or 6, or 7, or 8....) million copies go out and maybe, MAYBE 10% of them were opened and read, a lot of comics did no one any good......and would likely sour one from any more risky mass purchases....

6) Do you personally have a box, or 2, or 50 in your basement? And what breakdown of A-E's?

Thanks for any help you might be able to give, these answers will form the basis for my next comedy/art project.

Emmett Furrow
Foldup Comic