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Forum Member
 
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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
Emmett Furrow
Mutant Comic
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Administrator...You betcha, by golly!
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Somewhere...and I thought it was here, but now I don't see it... ...There was a listing of the issues...how many published and how many already slabbed for posterity... I'll see if I can come across it again...
--Shadow
CPG Administrator (since 2003)10,962 posts BC. (Before Change)
Dedicated to the memory of Bill Johnson (wrjwrj)....comics were his friends... 
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?...The Shadow knows!
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4192 Legacy Posts
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| 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.
Aaron
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Forum Member
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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!
Emmett Furrow
Mutant Comic
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Collector
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MonkMayfair (9/22/2009)
And another question I'm a little stumped on: How many trees
"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/
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Senior Collector
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I have had the exact opposite, this book is common in my local discount bins.
"X-men comics, You know I collect'em!" - Weird Al, White and Nerdy
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Collector
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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.
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Oh please, you couldn't even turn into Bill Bixby.
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Forum Member
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| 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
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Collector
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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 http://www.comicspriceguide.com/imageHandler.ashx?width=450&cn=1&ImgFilePath=/images/covers/610/94600.jpg.
A 9.0 is listed here for $14, but I'd pay a lot more.
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Oh please, you couldn't even turn into Bill Bixby.
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Enthusiast
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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.
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