The Energon Pub

Do you have a Transformers 1 comic at home? I'm referring to the original Marvel comic, from 1984 with the picture of Optimus Prime being as big as Godzilla. Well, if you do, it might be worth a whopping $44 000. That is the price the comic got on auction the other day over at comiclink.com.
It was a graded comic (meaning a third party company graded it and put it in a plastic case) with a grade of 9.9. There are 3 comics out there with the same grade at the moment but probably more that look just as good, not yet graded, given this is not a rare comic in the least. If your copy looks great, maybe sending it in for grading at CGC could get you a similar grade and thus the similar payday.

I don’t got that, but I do have the famous Shockwave cover, issue 5, which is one of my favorite covers ever along with Aliens Genocide #1

I have that issue, but even for 44K I am not getting rid of it. It was part of the lifelong love I have for Transformers.

Itsacardgame wrote:I don’t got that, but I do have the famous Shockwave cover, issue 5, which is one of my favorite covers ever along with Aliens Genocide #1

While I love that cover too, part of the reason it is so famous is because almost everyone had that one at some point... I think I had 3 of them when I was in my teens in the late 90s but didn't take care of them well and at least one is in rough shape from tons of handling and aging.

We've made it, we're now a real mainstream pop culture thing. Same club as Spider-Man, Batman and Superman.

Wow. I bought that book as a back issue in May 1986 for $5.00

If you read it, it's not going to get a 9.9 grade. It was also probably kept in a controlled environment given that it's listed as having white pages, which is pretty rare for any vintage comics due to the quality of the paper.

Also not sure what the record there is. For a Transformers #1?

Absolute Zero wrote:If you read it, it's not going to get a 9.9 grade. It was also probably kept in a controlled environment given that it's listed as having white pages, which is pretty rare for any vintage comics due to the quality of the paper.

Also not sure what the record there is. For a Transformers #1?

White pages are not rare for 80s books, they are not considered vintage comics. And with today's pressing techniques, you can still get a 9.8/9.9 even after reading.

Also, the record is the saleprice. That amount has never been achieved for a Transformers 1 comic or any other Transformers comic ever.

It makes me even more regretful of selling my comic collection years ago. I had all but a few issues of Marvel Transformers and G2. I kept all my comics bagged and boarded, too so they'd stay in good condition. Oh well...

You know what this means, idw is going to renumber their TF books every year to trick people into investing in #01s like a champ.

I've got issues 1-30, and all of them are in good condition. I'd be curious about 'grading' them, but it asks you to send them in. How secure is that process? What if the couriers use it as a seat cushion while making the drive, spill their beer all over it and use it as a napkin?

I suppose after seeing that article, and the auction result, everybody who has a copy is now digging theirs out of mothballs.

How do you go about inquiring regarding the process of trying to get a similar sale? $44k would be awesome, but even $10k would be a great ROI for seventy-five cents.

It is also on Ebay for $4 plus shipping. There are some that are graded that are $80-300.

I guess it was nearly brand new kept in perfect condition. But why such a difference in price?

A 9.8 grade sold for $1,787.

DeathReviews wrote:I've got issues 1-30, and all of them are in good condition. I'd be curious about 'grading' them, but it asks you to send them in. How secure is that process? What if the couriers use it as a seat cushion while making the drive, spill their beer all over it and use it as a napkin?

I suppose after seeing that article, and the auction result, everybody who has a copy is now digging theirs out of mothballs.

How do you go about inquiring regarding the process of trying to get a similar sale? $44k would be awesome, but even $10k would be a great ROI for seventy-five cents.

Comiclink, the site this was sold on, has the option for you to send to them and they take care of the grading/pressing. Here is all the info:

https://www.comiclink.com/service_text.asp?393

I had every issue of Marvel, DW, and IDW until January of 2020 when I sold them in one large auction. I had 2 copies of TF#1. I had the one I got probably initially (probably picked up in late 86, early 87), and another I picked up about 15 years ago in much better condition for about $10.

I remember when the CGC system first came out. It was very divisive at the time. Not sure if things are any better. But I imagine a decent copy of Transformers #1 is still reasonably priced. Of course if you want the Mint copy in a vacuum sealed hard plastic that will never be touched or exposed to air, go for it. I guess that's what bound volumes and reprints are for, (and digital), if you want to read the actual stories themselves.

I understand the idea of preserving things for posterity. But there's definitely more reason for it when it comes to stuff from the 30's-70's (even some 80's maybe...) but anything from the 90's and on, even though we are 30 years removed form some of it now, has little value since that's when the collector market really boomed and everyone started preserving their comics in some way or another.

In any case, it looks as if most owners of this issue are sighing because it seems like we're NOT necessarily sitting on a $44,000 windfall. That amount seems more like a lucky fluke. Makes you wonder who's the poor sucker who plonked down that much dough for an issue they could have gotten for a lot less. Some people have more money than wits....

william-james88 wrote:

Absolute Zero wrote:If you read it, it's not going to get a 9.9 grade. It was also probably kept in a controlled environment given that it's listed as having white pages, which is pretty rare for any vintage comics due to the quality of the paper.

Also not sure what the record there is. For a Transformers #1?

White pages are not rare for 80s books, they are not considered vintage comics. And with today's pressing techniques, you can still get a 9.8/9.9 even after reading.

Also, the record is the saleprice. That amount has never been achieved for a Transformers 1 comic or any other Transformers comic ever.

They are vintage. They're over 30 years old. 90s is now considered vintage too.

White pages are rare for 80s comics. The acid in the ink/pages tends to turn the pages yellow. I had several from the era from when I was a child. Unless they're kept in a cool dark place with no moisture, they will yellow. It wasn't until the late 90s when comics started using better quality paper that the pages wouldn't yellow with age.

Modern pressing technics for comics are not as old as you think. Also, the grading (in this case a 9.9) isn't something you can reading it once. It means everything is in near perfect shape. The grade it got is notable, because it's super rare.

Reading comics creates a spine crease which lowers your rating from a 9.9 to a 9.8 even if nothing else is wrong.

Absolute Zero wrote:They are vintage. They're over 30 years old. 90s is now considered vintage too.

o.supreme wrote:I understand the idea of preserving things for posterity. But there's definitely more reason for it when it comes to stuff from the 30's-70's (even some 80's maybe...) but anything from the 90's and on, even though we are 30 years removed from some of it now, has little value since that's when the collector market really boomed and everyone started preserving their comics in some way or another.

Of course, there are going to be instances of comics from the 1990's through even this year I'd imagine, if it went straight to CDC and got a 9.9 or 10, will still sell for a higher amount, just because CDC..., but that doesn't necessarily make them "valuable"

Absolute Zero wrote:Reading comics creates a spine crease which lowers your rating from a 9.9 to a 9.8 even if nothing else is wrong.

As a professional comic book grader, I want to clarify some things to anyone reading because what is written above is wrong. Reading creates a spine crease that lowers to a 9.6. If it doesnt break colour, it can be pressed out to bring it back to a 9.8, as has been the case for many comics I read once and have sent to CGC, which came back 9.8. The 9.9 and 10.0 grades are related to manufacturing defects, making them very rare. Most brand new comics even unread and kept in great condition would still only be 9.8 at a maximum since the difference between 9.8, 9.9 and 10.0 has nothing to do with wear.

Here are the rules for grades as given by CGC

9.8: No wear whatsover, manufacturing defects allowed
9.9: No wear whatsoever, 1 minor manufacturing defect allowed
10.0: No wear whatsover, 0 manufacturing defects allowed

If anyone wants to reach out to know more, I am on the CGC boards with the exact same username.

o.supreme wrote:Of course, there are going to be instances of comics from the 1990's through even this year I'd imagine, if it went straight to CDC and got a 9.9 or 10, will still sell for a higher amount, just because CDC..., but that doesn't necessarily make them "valuable"

I am surprised they found time in their busy schedule battling covid to start getting into comics

o.supreme wrote:

Absolute Zero wrote:They are vintage. They're over 30 years old. 90s is now considered vintage too.

o.supreme wrote:I understand the idea of preserving things for posterity. But there's definitely more reason for it when it comes to stuff from the 30's-70's (even some 80's maybe...) but anything from the 90's and on, even though we are 30 years removed from some of it now, has little value since that's when the collector market really boomed and everyone started preserving their comics in some way or another.

Of course, there are going to be instances of comics from the 1990's through even this year I'd imagine, if it went straight to CDC and got a 9.9 or 10, will still sell for a higher amount, just because CDC..., but that doesn't necessarily make them "valuable"

I never said vintage=value. Comics from the 90s are probably more common to see in the higher grades as you had collectors buying up massive amounts of books viewing them as "future investments" creating an artifical boom in comics, which brought about the crash that nearly killed the industry.

It's vintage, but it's misleading to claim that if you have the comic in your collection, you are sitting on something worth anywhere close to 40k.

william-james88 wrote:

Absolute Zero wrote:Reading comics creates a spine crease which lowers your rating from a 9.9 to a 9.8 even if nothing else is wrong.

As a professional comic book grader, I want to clarify some things to anyone reading because what is written above is wrong. Reading creates a spine crease that lowers to a 9.6. If it doesnt break colour, it can be pressed out to bring it back to a 9.8, as has been the case for many comics I read once and have sent to CGC, which came back 9.8. The 9.9 and 10.0 grades are related to manufacturing defects, making them very rare. Most brand new comics even unread and kept in great condition would still only be 9.8 at a maximum since the difference between 9.8, 9.9 and 10.0 has nothing to do with wear.

Here are the rules for grades as given by CGC

9.8: No wear whatsover, manufacturing defects allowed
9.9: No wear whatsoever, 1 minor manufacturing defect allowed
10.0: No wear whatsover, 0 manufacturing defects allowed

If anyone wants to reach out to know more, I am on the CGC boards with the exact same username.

o.supreme wrote:Of course, there are going to be instances of comics from the 1990's through even this year I'd imagine, if it went straight to CDC and got a 9.9 or 10, will still sell for a higher amount, just because CDC..., but that doesn't necessarily make them "valuable"

I am surprised they found time in their busy schedule battling covid to start getting into comics

So you just proved my earlier point that any comic that's been read, which will create a spine crease unless you're reading it like it's a 400 year old book with white gloves and on those v shaped pillows, won't net you anywhere near a 9.9. So... You're just arguing to argue. Gotcha.

You are however correct about the grading. I did mispeak about that. So, I guess you got me there. Everything else you've said has been provably wrong, so... Yeah.

Of course all this means is there's someone out there with too much money on their hands.

Burn wrote:Of course all this means is there's someone out there with too much money on their hands.

I remember when Todd McFarlane purchased Mark McGwire's 500th Homerun Baseball for $2 Million, just because.

On a separate note, I also remember a fan holding one of Barry Bonds Homerun balls (might have been #700 not quite sure...) for ransom. I'm not sure what the final settlement was however...

I always had this "fantasy" that If I were to catch a fly ball at a game that had any significance, I'd have the moral strength just give it back to the player. But if he was in a giving mood, I'd just ask for whatever amount would get me a decent home. Not even anything super-fancy. Just a home that is paid-in-full, even if it needed a bit of fixing, and I'd be happy.