Are Indie Comics Turned into Movies Worth It?

[chriskay99]

I was thinking about the value of independent comics that have been made into movies. There's always a scramble on eBay to cash in when a comic gets optioned for film. Whether or not it actually gets made is another story. Whether it's a financially successful and well received movie is even more unlikely (RIPD, Cowboys & Aliens, The Spirit). Looking at some box office numbers in relation to first appearance value, I...just don't get it.

Men in Black
Gross: $1.65 billion over 3 films
First appearance: The Men in Black #1
Value: $20 - $40

Kingsmen
Gross: $824 million over 2 films
First appearance: The Secret Service #1
Value: $3

Hellboy
Gross: $260 million over 2 films [reboot/3rd film on the way]
First appearance: Dime Press #4 - Hellboy (prototype)
Value: $150-$200
First appearance: San Diego Comic Con Comics #2
Value: $75 - $300
First color appearance: Next Men #21
Value: $60 - $100

Wanted
Gross: $341 million, 1 film
First appearance: Wanted #1
Value: $5 - $10

The Crow
Gross: $50 million - 1 film, plus 2 sequels and a TV series
First appearance: Caliber Presents #1
Value: $150 - $200

Kick *SQUEE*
Gross: $155 million over 2 films
First appearance: Kick *SQUEE* #1
Value: $25 - $30

The Mask
Gross: $407 million over 2 films
First appearance: Dark Horse Presents #10
Value: $5 - $20

Sin City
Gross: $100 million over 2 films
First appearance: Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special
Value: $4 - $25

I know things like scarcity are a big factor. A comic like Caliber Presents is from a very small publisher, while titles like Kick-*SQUEE* or Wanted would have been more widely available. I don't know if I had a grand point I was trying to make - just that a lot of these values seem...so low given the success of these franchises.

[ShadowTuga]

My completely uneducated guess: since indies are/were normally bought by adults (many collectors, probably) and since they are a recent phenomenom when compared with the traditional superhero comics, there might be a good big number of books in excellent condition. Lower print runs would be a logical counter-argument, but if say, 3000 raw books are easily found in NM...
Walking Dead is the exception, since most of the more well know indie comics can be found for a decent price. But TWD #1 was already a HTF/pricey book before the TV show; its just that from that point on, it got crazy.

Its indeed a good question.

[BugsySig]

I think valuable comics will always be valuable comics and the recent superhero/comic book film and tv craze will not ultimately result in increased value for other books.

So if the 1st appearance of Deadpool is already a valued book, I don’t think the movie will necessarily increase that (after perhaps an initial rush as you said).

Similarly, if the 1st appearance of Leach is not considered valuable, and we wind up with a Leach TV show, I don’t think that’s going to suddenly turn that book into a goldmine.

[grendeljd]

I think valuable comics will always be valuable comics and the recent superhero/comic book film and tv craze will not ultimately result in increased value for other books.

So if the 1st appearance of Deadpool is already a valued book, I don’t think the movie will necessarily increase that (after perhaps an initial rush as you said).

Similarly, if the 1st appearance of Leach is not considered valuable, and we wind up with a Leach TV show, I don’t think that’s going to suddenly turn that book into a goldmine.

Yeah, it seems as though in general the pattern is that those comics will spike while they are in the general publics attention span when said movie version is being hyped, but then settle back into their previous pattern of value once they are back out of current media spotlights. Can't blame anyone who tries to cash in on this pattern for trying to make money off it though.

I think books like The Walking Dead or TMNT are a bit of an exception to that general pattern mainly due to how deeply they successfully penetrate pop culture. You'd be hard pressed to meet someone who has absolutely no clue as to what either of those properties are, even if they've never watched or seen anything to do with either of them. Everyone has *heard* of them.

[Elveen]

Just a small thing.

1st Hellboy is NOT Next Men #21. That is first "color" Hellboy.

1st Hellboy = San Diego Comic Con Comics #2

1st Hellboy "prototype" is the Dime Press book.

[Cyberstrike]

What about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Timecop?

[ShadowTuga]

What about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Timecop?

Absolutely, how can we forget that book? Timecop I have no idea, but Mirage's TMNT #1 is a very expensive book, even in the 2nd and 3rd reprints. Its one of my dreambooks, as in , I dream I could find one copy, one day. I can but that will make me because its a freaking rich man' book.
I'd say that the Turtles debut 1st print is probably the most expensive book of the indie universe of comics (and almost Impossibly Hard to find for sale- these books are in the hands of TMNT Uber-Fans, I bet). From somewhere on the web:

Given the very low print run of only 3,000 (plus a little more, maybe 200, to cover spoilage) on the first print and the subsequent run-away success of the concept, the surviving issues have skyrocketed in price; in 1988 the first print of #1 was already worth $160 in NM; in July 2016 a CGC 9.6 sold on ebay for $12,500; a 9.8 was likely worth over $20,000 at that time.

One TWD 1 first print 9.8 sold for 10.000 a few years ago, that's the highest I've heard on that book.

[corey]

9.4s are pushing 10k now 9.6 is over 14k I think I saw 1 sell for

[chriskay99]

Yes, TMNT is probably one of the biggest franchises to cross over from comics to other medium. For my initial post, it was way too hard for me to quantify the value of the franchise since there's movies, toys, cartoons, shirts, costumes, etc., etc., etc.

[IMJ]

This is a great thread.

Upon reading the thread's title, the first book that sprang to my mind was 30 Days of Nights. That thought was going to command my response, which in those milliseconds of page loading was going to go something like "absolutely because in an age of unoriginal movie properties, Indie comics give the closest vibe to a new, dangerous, uncertain-but-intriguing Hollywood property, even though they are sourced material".

But then I was reading your notes on the book values and my thoughts went to something like "back in the day there was a movement wherein people were complaining that every time a new issue of Wizard Magazine came out, their two picks would explode on the market. This is interesting because at least back then their comic picks were story and character driven, whereas now the market picks are based almost solely on what appears on celluloid - arguably a worse reason than before".

And now, after typing this I'm thinking about how I'm still a Crow fan, but it's all based on my initial feelings towards it, back in the day. But really now, the Crow (ironically) keeps coming back to life even though that property had it's day, and that day is definitely over.

And now I'm not so sure.