{"id":133,"date":"2013-10-26T23:21:30","date_gmt":"2013-10-27T06:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/?p=133"},"modified":"2013-11-01T08:05:53","modified_gmt":"2013-11-01T15:05:53","slug":"dark-horse-conan-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/?p=133","title":{"rendered":"Dark Horse Conan – What to do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"conan4\"<\/a>I am a Conan the Barbarian fan. There is something so black and white about the character. If you are on his side…he will be loyal, defend you to the death, and even buy you a pint of grog at the local roadside inn. \u00a0If you are not on his side however, you will be met with his indignation…and his sword.<\/p>\n

The Dark Horse Conan series that started out in late 2003 with a 25\u00a2 promotional issue #0, and followed with issue #1 early in 2004, was fantastic for a lot of reasons. \u00a0The original Robert E. Howard stories were adapted beautifully by Kurt Busiek. \u00a0The art work by Cary Nord was top notch. \u00a0And Dave Stewart’s coloring was perfect. \u00a0(The cover at right is from the Dark Horse Frazetta cover series…eight issues total if I recall. \u00a0This is Conan holding a “meeting”)<\/p>\n

All of these books are cheap in the Overstreet guide…about $3 in NM-. \u00a0What is more interesting about this book (other than the primary fact that it is a great comic, IMHO), are the sales and CGC data. \u00a0Looking at Diamond estimated sales for the book next to CGC 9.8 data makes for a pretty interesting study. \u00a0Actually…I think this is the type of data you might see for many modern comic books. \u00a0So…let’s take a look, shall we?<\/p>\n

\"DHConan\"<\/a>

Dark Horse Conan Issues1-25: Click on the graph to see a larger view<\/p><\/div>\n

What’s the first thing we notice? \u00a0Clearly, the first issue was the most popular issue. \u00a0You would expect that. \u00a0The estimated sales value in the chart, about 90,000 copies, represents first and second printings ordered over a period of three to four months. \u00a0And, as you would expect, the most popular graded issue is also #1 at 127 CGC 9.8 copies. \u00a0Not surprising.<\/p>\n

Let’s assume for a moment that a rabid Conan fan wants the ultimate CGC 9.8 run of these books. \u00a0How easy is that going to be? \u00a0Bottom line…it will not be easy. \u00a0We have already spoken to issue #1. \u00a0Issue #2…OK. \u00a0Issue 3 and up start to get challenging. \u00a0Why? \u00a0This is where CGC’s statement<\/a> on how to use their data should be applied. \u00a0These books are obviously not rare, they just aren’t very valuable. \u00a0No one has taken it upon themselves to go out and get that graded run because it would be a a lot of work, not to mention a rather expensive effort.<\/p>\n

So what does it all mean?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I think we can take a couple key points away from this data.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Putting a high grade (CGC 9.8) run of a nominally popular title together is not an easy thing to do without resources and patience. \u00a0In this Conan example, note that no<\/em> copies of issue 25 (and most issues from 26-50) have EVER been submitted for a grade to CGC. \u00a0So, our intrepid collector will have to take that task upon themselves.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Modern comics are printed in rather small runs compared to issues from the Gold, Silver or Bronze ages. \u00a050,000 copies a month is not a lot. \u00a0The people who have taken the time to get these books graded may find, in 10-15 years time, that they hold the only<\/em> viable CGC 9.8 issues in existence. \u00a0Think about those tough to find, high-grade Bronze age comics that languished in quarter bins for a couple of decades. \u00a0That’s a hard place for a book to live if it’s going to come out in 9.2 or 9.4, let alone 9.6 or 9.8. \u00a0If you really like a modern run, and you really want it in high grade, then you had best get busy putting it together now. \u00a0It will only get harder as time goes on.<\/p>\n

This was a really fun chart and post to put together. \u00a0I hope to come at you with more very soon!<\/p>\n

Until next time…<\/p>\n

P.S. Looking for Conan CGC Comics<\/a>\"\"?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a Conan the Barbarian fan. There is something so black and white about the character. If you are on his side…he will be loyal, defend you to the death, and even buy you a pint of grog at … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conan","category-dark-horse","tag-conan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=133"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164,"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133\/revisions\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundrycollectibles.net\/comics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}