Inspired by fellow comic collector, The Dakoit’s year in review article, I thought I will look back at my picks from 2013 and see how they are doing currently. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep a solid price record like The Dakoit and it will be mainly based what I bought them for.  My review format is slightly different as I will do a post by post review, rather than a book by book review since I tend to pick quite a number of books in a post.

Here we go!

First modern picks: Todd, EOW and Suicide Risk

Overall, this was a very bad pick and is why I don’t dabble in Moderns anymore as the margins do not make sense for anyone living outside US.

• Todd – I bought 6 copies around $10 each and have sold all except one for around $20-$25 each.
• EOW sunk towards the end of the year as the supply keeps coming. I ordered 15 of the normal covers and have sold 5. I think I will the use the rest as paperweight 🙂 I did ok with the Forbidden Planet variants as I manage to sell all 5 copies for a small profit, although I sold a 9.8 CGC copy at a loss. Overall, I made a loss with EOW.
• Suicide Risk bombed big time. I ordered 20 copies of the Stephanie Han variant and didn’t manage to sell any.

Bronze age #1 picks

This portfolio did very well. With the exception of Supergirl #1, Warlock #1 and Ghost Rider #1, most of the books recommended here appreciate by a wide range. Below are some samples.

• Dr Strange #1 is now $50+ in VF condition. Bought mine at $23
• Inhumans #1 is now $25 in NM conditions. Bought 3 copies for under $10 each
• Iron Fist #1 is now a $90 book in VFNM condition. Bought mine at $40

Undervalued silver age picks for 2013

Most of my big winners came from this group. All five issues increased by probably 50-100% from the time the article was published to current. Bear in mind that there is still no movie confirmation for majority of the characters featured here so I expect even higher growth in the coming years. Some sampling:

• Fantastic Four #45 is now a $80 book in VG condition. Bought 2 copies at VG+/F- about $40-$50 and I just sold my PGX 7.0 for $350.
• Fantastic Four #46 high grades are now soaring. VF copies are approached $200 from the $100 range a year ago. I expect the lower grades to follow.
• Fantastic Four #52: Sold a PGX 6.0 for $280. Bought for $150. I have only one other CGC 6 copy remaining.

Rocket Raccoon key issues

Raccoon mania is here as most of the issues mentioned here have risen by 80-100%. I made a small profit selling 2 copies of Hulk #271 and 1 copy of Rocket Raccoon #1. My profits could have been higher if I didn’t sell so early. Lesson learned!

Comic worth investing in series

I have a small series where I just recommend one book, rather than a whole collection of books around a theme. Overall, these have not done well. Bat Family #6 has fallen while the other 2 did not show any increase. It is lucky I sold my Bat Family #6 for small profit of $16.

Undervalued Defenders’ key issues

No major movement on this set except for Marvel Feature #1 due to the TV show announcement. That issue hasn’t caught fire either as it has increased by about 20-30% after the announcement was made.  I have 2 copies, which I have not sold yet.

Modern comics to invest for 2014

I think I really suck at modern comic investing because none of the recommendations moved at all, except Todd which had already been covered previously. New X-Men #128 even dipped in prices recently so I would say I will take a loss if I sell mine now.

Key comics for Marvel Netflix shows

Given that there is barely any news coming, I am not surprised that none of the issues have shown any price appreciation. However, I am quietly confident that some of them will bear fruit.

Cheap comics to invest for 2014

Cheap doesn’t always means good as there is a reason why they are so cheap in the first place. Out of the 4 titles, I would say only Marvel Team Up #95 have show any significant movement. I sold one copy of #95 for a small $9 profit so I wouldn’t say this was a solid pick.

Updated: 8th August 2014.

Following the news that Mocking Bird will appear in Season 2 of Agents of Shield, I managed to sell another 3 copies at a total of $65. With a purchase price of $10 for these 3, I think this pick was ok.

X force key issues

No news on the X force movies but that didn’t slow down the speculation. New Mutants Annual #2, #87 and X Factor #24 have shown remarkable upticks in prices for the past few months. I remember buying a NM condition of X Factor #24 for $10 and now it is a $20+ book.

Overall, I would say my older picks are definitely more solid than my modern ones. There are still many comics that I bought which I didn’t recommend here because they are either too risky or too early. To date, I am still in the red due to the losses from off loading my 2013 modern comic mistakes. Without them, I think I would have made some nice profits to buy more books.