Well it's time for yet another dose of "tough love, hard takes" on the comic marketplace courtesy of your favorite retailer/analyst, Jimmy Jay! If you have any questions, or opinions, I would love to hear them, so keep the email rolling. In the mean time, let's take a look at what's shaking-

Something Like a Phenomenon?

Hot off the heels of the company wide cross-over, Genesis, and the Tangent hiatus week, DC launches several additional "events" for the late fall/early winter season. Crowding your favorite store's shelves will be a new Superman saga Red & Blue, the week long New Year's Evil, and the Death of Wonder Woman. Many fans are starting to question the actual impact of these stories. Because of the frequency of each "big event", these storylines are becoming increasingly easy for fans to ignore. Because of the disposable storylines, people don't have a need to fill their collection with merely a "neat" story, and the news media no longer has the same impact of widening the fan base. Ultimately, many of such books wind up as bargain bin fodder. C'mon -- how many copies of the white bagged Superman have you seen for under a buck? You can say that about both Amalgam series, the Superman wedding, Batman Knightfall and other deaths/revamps of other icon characters. But who knows- just maybe Jason Pearson cover art might pull off the secondary market miracle for the New Year's Evil...

Toying Around

Two years ago, Todd McFarlane Productions cemented an industry wide trend by offering retailers a free Spawn toy for every 100 copies of Spawn #50 initially ordered. TMP followed this last year with an Angela Special edition with the Curse of Spawn #9. Jim Lee's WildStorm Productions are jumping on the bandwagon by offering a Gen13 Fairchild figure for every 100 copies of Gen13 #25 voyager pack. At least for the time being, toys are now linked to comics.

Are the toys worth it though? Will these increased comic orders affect the secondary prices of the comics themselves? Perhaps, if retailers over-stretch themselves. Case in point, Spawn #50 and Curse of Spawn #9 were initially dumped on the convention and wholesale market. I believe the saving grace for Gen13 #25 will be the J. Scott Campbell, Danger Girl Preview. These books have a good chance of holding fan interest. Only time will tell...

Mad props go to Awesome Entertainment in this chaos. Loeb, Liefeld, & Co. have retooled the "dangling carrot" retailer incentive program last spring by offering liberal graduating steps to retailers with the Prophet figure. This was achieved by offering price discounts for every 25 copies of Judgement Day, and free figures for every 50 copies ordered. Similar programs will be in place for the Awesome Entertainment Holiday Special and the Youngblood #1 relaunch, where SHAFT variants will be offered to store owners. Because of the discount structuring, I doubt retailers will over extend themselves, leaving a healthy leeway for the books in the secondary market.

And Speaking of Awesome...

There seems to be just no slowing these titles. The entire line is proving more than solid with many sell-throughs, with Coven as the hands-down hottest book around. There seems to be a lack of wholesale stashes on this book nationwide, which means quick rises on prices as individual stores sell-out. Many cool alternates are creeping in the market as well. There is an Awesome flip book exclusive that features the first issues of Coven and Kaboom #1 aptly named Coven #1+, complete with two brand new foil covers. Additionally, Dynamic Forces and American Entertainment have special versions for #2. With Awesome Entertainment, as well as ALL the other major companies, there is a strong trend of a huge number of alternate editions. As discussed in the last Market Share Report, these are selling fantastic to the collectors, and the completists.

It's all in the Cards

The non-sport card market appears to be gaining a new lease on life due to the quality products hitting the shelves this fall season. Retailers have taken notice of Top Cow's Witchblade series last winter, as well as this year's follow-up Darkness/Witchblade Family Ties card series. It seems that comic fans are willing to buy packs and boxes once again, as long as it's production quality is high and the images aren't another rehash of something they bought a few years ago (case in point, Marvel/Fleer offerings). Thus, focus has shifted to many of the offerings of Krome Productions. Quality licenses such as Randy Queen's Darkchylde, Lady Death, and Tony Daniel's Tenth have been the reason fans have taken notice, but it's the innovation of the regular, all chromium sets, not to mention the hyperchrome and clear chrome inserts that have caused big interest in the secondary market.

Additionally, Krome's various Mega Preview Sets have been a hit with fans. Standing at 6"x4", these 6 card sets come with a chromium folder. The first Lady Death set sold through its entire print run, as did Dark Chylde. In fact, when the Darkchylde Previews hit the live market, sets were reportedly "flying" at the suggested retail level of $15, with the Clear Chrome sets going for $25, and the super-rare Hyperchrome "variant" sets (limited to only 450!) moving for $40-70.

Jimmy Jay's Gem Pick of the Week

This installment of the Gem Picks is dedicated to a reader that sent an email a few weeks back, calling for what books that *I* think can be long-lasting, valuable comics in the years to come. Now I don't have a crystal ball but I think there are a handful of modern age gems that have the "juice" to be the classics of our generation. These don't rely on variant covers, metallic foil stamping, polybag inserts, or trend spotting. Quite the opposite really: they really are well on their way in becoming true "hall of fame" books. They are proven issues, that should slowly increase in price, and hold interest and demand. Check out these issues- although they may be priced high in guides, you just might be able to scoop some of these up for a fair price.

Wolverine #1 (mini series-1982)
This book has it all: a modern icon superhero, two modern icon creators (Chris Claremont and Frank Miller), and is more than 15 years old. Finding a copy in near-mint condition is getting increasingly tough to find. Overstreet and Wizard aptly put a fair value on the title but by the luck of heaven or a dealer hurting for cash, you may find one at a reasonable rate. With Wolverine being the most popular character in the most popular team of the modern era, this one is a sure steady riser.

Lady Death #1 (first series)
This features the first issue of the baddest of all bad girls. I am wholeheartedly convinced that Lady Death was the catalyst that spawn all the big breasted clones of the mid-90s, but after the trend faded into oblivion, she still stands strong in today's market. Also, take into account for the huge cult status Chaos Comics! has attracted, this book is more than legitimate.

Sandman #8
Another book from the late 1980s has another rendition of a female death figure. Sandman set the trend for Vertigo and "Mature Reader" books for years to come. Neil Gaimen's take was a quirky style that appealed to an audience that was greater than the limited comic buyers out there.

Bone #1 (first print)
Another bit of diversity here, as Bone reminded the comic world what it was like to first open a comic book. The title and rich characters appeals to all ages, and to girls too! Jeff Smith has become our generation's Carl Barks.

Amazing Spider-Man #300
Another offering from over a decade ago, this book jumped in the face of many a fanboy in the early 90s when Todd McFarlane rose to a new class of super-star status. Also, hyped at the time was the first full appearance of villain-turned-hero, Venom. I think the lasting impact of the book however will be Spidey's return to his classic look, blue and red threads.

previous market share

Market Share, Nov. 7, 1997
Market Share, Dec. 19, 1997
Market Share, Nov. 26, 1997
Market Share, Oct. 17, 1997
Market Share, Oct. 3, 1997
Market Share, Sept. 19, 1997
Market Share, Sept. 5, 1997	Jimmy Jay gives us this week's sleeper hits.