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This Week in Comic Trading: Invincible, Comics Vault Live and More

Michael Caloca / ONE37pm

Published Mar 19, 2021

My name is Jack DeMayo, but in the comics market I am known as "aka Mr. Bolo" because I am always trying to let you know what to be on the lookout for. I hope you jumped on some of last week's Falcon and Winter Soldier spec as most of it has seen significant gains within the last week. We won't stop there as this week I bring you an Amazon Prime animated series play, a look at the hottest exclusive variant drops in indie comics, an NFT update and I introduce you to Canto, a piece of comics IP with a chance of being the next universally loved kids character.

Invincible

A lot of casual comics collectors and superhero movie fans tend to only think about comics in terms of " The Big 2". Those "two" of course being Marvel and DC Comics. But one thing I really want to highlight in this space is the vastness of the comics market. There are so many opportunities out there to invest in IP from up and coming publishing houses.

One such publisher you may not even realize you already have some familiarity with is Skybound Entertainment. They are an imprint on indie market leader Image Comics. But you most likely know them for their most popular and widely known IP, The Walking Dead. Skybound and Founder/Creator Robert Kirkman already have a track record for multi media success. While most of the opportunity involving The Walking Dead may have come and gone, now is the perfect time to get in on the ground floor of Skybound's next TV Series, Invincible, coming March 26th to Amazon Prime.

Invincible is a gritty and modern take on the superhero genre going places the Big 2 would never dream of. The show will premiere with three episodes hitting streaming before adopting a weekly schedule similar to the strategy the platform uses with Dynamite Comics' The Boys. The best part for investors is that the animated show will only be the market's litmus test as an Invincible feature film is in the works already.

But don't sleep on the animated show, as it is packed with star power such as Walking Dead alums Steven Yuen (who voices Invincible), Lauren Cohan, Ross Marquand, Lennie James, Khary Payton, Chad Coleman, and Michael Cudlitz, to name a few. There are some amazing comedic actors in the cast such as Seth Rogen, Nicole Byer, Chris Diamantopoulos, Walton Goggins, Mae Whitman, Jason Mantzoukas, Zachary Quinto, Jon Hamm, Sandra Oh and Gillian Jacobs. Finally, If all that wasn't enough, the show boasts super hero experience with the likes of Mark Hamill, J.K. Simmons, Ezra Miller, Djimon Hounsou and Mahershala Ali. WOW!

While the 1st Print of Invincible #1 is already a $2,500 9.8 (and still a book with tons of potential), there are still some other books providing great opportunity.

My two favorite non #1 plays are:

Noble Causes: Family Secrets #3 Variant

Noble Causes

This book features the cameo and 1st Cover appearance of Invincible ahead of debuting his own series. This is a tough to find book that can run $50-150 raw with very few graded copies on the market.

Invincible #5

Invincible #5

The 1st full appearance of Allen the Alien (Voiced by Seth Rogen) is not only a fan favorite character, but will be voiced by a major fan favorite actor. This is a really tough 9.8 and is sitting at about $850. Lower grade (9.2-9.6) plays may be a more approachable play.

Others of Note:

Britt #1 (Cecil Stedman - Walton Goggins), Invincible #2 ( Cameo Allen The Alien - Seth Rogen, 1st Full Atom Eve-Gilian Jacobs), Invincible #4 (Amber Bennett - Zazie Beats) Invincible #7 (1st Guardians of the Globe Team Appearance)

Comics Vault Live

Lately, my favorite stealth pickups have come from Skybound's direct to consumer livestream sale Comics Vault Live. I say it is a stealth play because it still does not get the recognition it deserves in the marketplace, yet it continues to showcase sellout after sellout of exclusive variant drops. Collectors and investors who follow Skybound know that there is serious ROI in CVL offerings.

Comics Vault Live is the brainchild of Host and Skybound SVP Shawn "Big Clutch" Kirkham. I had a chance to sit down and talk to Shawn this week about the next Live show on March 26 to coincide with Skybound's release of the aforementioned Invincible animated show to Amazon Prime. CVL is a program that began as a way to move old merch to a new fan base while developing into a brand of carefully curated cool collectibles that Big Clutch himself puts together for each of these monthly offerings.

The highlight of these CVL shows are the exclusive drops offered that Shawn himself develops. Each is limited (most around just 200) and all are graded by CGC in a 9.8. The $74.99 price point is attractive to both collectors and investors as resale of these exclusives has consistently been in the 3-4x range.

This month's sale features a rare Exclusive of Skybound's brand new hit Kaiju series Ultramega #1, 2 awesome exclusives yet to be revealed, and maybe the most exciting thing: former Batman writer Scott Snyder's Nocterra #1 Jock Variant. This classic team up of Jock and Snyder is for a brand new release on Snyder's new Image Comics Imprint Jackett Press. The opening of the comic industry's "forbidden door" (AEW Style) only opens up the possibilities for future collabs from Skybound (Big Clutch) with other publishers.

So much of what makes this a great investment is that it is a program truly created for collectors by collectors, something Kirkham takes seriously. There is careful consideration in all of the products released and the presentation and charisma Kirkham brings is top tier. When CVL books drop, investors have to be ready as history has shown that they won't last long on Skybound's Webstore. That collector-first approach is what keeps a fan base happy and provides ample buyers for investors who score a slab via one of their drops.

DC Comics

Just like a good investor who is ready as soon as the CVL livestream drops, I was up at 3am EST to watch DC Comics "Snyder Cut" of The Justice League, ready to "Make a Play" as the Card Talk Pod guys like to say. I think DC Comics right now provides some of the greatest ROI opportunities. While Marvel prices have skyrocketed in the face of MCU success, DC has been the victim of releases that have fallen flat. If DC can get things going in the right direction, a lot of blue chip silver and bronze age, as well as modern keys, are sure to rise. I have a lot of faith in James Gunn and The Rock entering the DCEU as well as the hype surrounding The Snyder Cut of Justice League.

DC Comics NFT Memo to Artists

One of the most talked about topics this week was an IGN article that discussed DC Comics reported Memo (included in the article) telling artists they are not to use DC IP for NFT sales. This was inevitable as DC is certainly looking to go heavy in that space.

On the flip side, they are already involved in the space to a degree with Veve. DC also made headlines this week when deceased legendary artist Darwyn Cook's widow requested DC stop selling tokens of her late husband's art on the platform.

This is going to be an interesting space to watch as so much is up in the air as far as litigation and ownership of IP is concerned.

Canto

Canto is a book I have advocated for as an investment ever since I saw the preview for it. This all ages tale seemed perfect for an animated feature in the Pixar vein. The comic was printed at an incredibly low rate in comparison to modern comics and #1 almost immediately found success for flippers.

The incredible story by David Booher and stunning world drawn by Drew Zucker sucked in reader after reader until the Canto faithful was strong and vocal. This past week saw news that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's Westbrook Studios had picked up the option for a Canto film with Booher writing and both David and Drew executive producing. This has sent this rare book soaring, with 1st print CGC 9.8's hitting $1200 plus. That is almost 2.5x what it was going for just weeks ago. There are late prints and rare variants, but for me it's Cover A, as the Zucker art truly defines the character and story. I am in Hold mode and am not moving off of my copies. In fact, I am more likely to be in buy mode if prices drop while the film is in production.

Next Week In The Comic Market

Join me next week when we talk about James Tynion and the dominant 2020 he had creating the hottest new big 2 character in Punchline, one of the hottest new optioned series in Department of Truth and a comic book phenomenon in Something is Killing The Children.