Rock-tober 08, 2019

Years ago, Andrea and I were at a dinner party as guests of her sister and brother in law. Andrea's sister is a nurse and so a number of the attendees were in the medical profession. One doctor in this crowd managed to stand out as he was very loud and very boastful recounting his recent accomplishments. What managed to pique my interest was the rehash of his latest investment coup - an issue of a Superman comic book.

In January of '93, an event in the comic book world was sending shockwaves throughout the industry. DC Comics was killing off Superman. This was huge. Comicdom had, of course, killed off characters before, but never anyone as universally known and loved as Superman. First introduced in 1938, Superman is one of only a handful of characters who have had a continuous presence in the medium from the golden age of comics in the '40s through to the modern era. His death would change the comic book landscape forever.

I was a comic collector at the time and although Superman was not I title I followed, I thought it would be great to have a copy of this historic printing. The whole release event was slickly marketed. The issue itself came sealed in a black shrink wrapped cover with Superman's crest in red dripping font on the front. A ton of merchandise was packed inside:

• the comic
• a poster of DC superheroes carrying Superman's casket
• trading cards
• decals
• a newspaper clipping recounting Superman's death
• a black armband with Superman's crest

I went to the local comic store on the release date and saw a line of my fellow collectors standing in a line that spilled out the door and wrapped around the corner of the strip mall. I realized that any available copies were likely already taken and remembered thinking, "Ah well, it would have been nice." I went ahead and joined the crowd to talk shop about the ramifications of this event on our hobby.

The cover price of this package was $2.50. In the days immediately after its release, our comic book community was hearing stories of this issue selling for hundreds of dollars. Soon, the reported prices were closing in on the $1000 mark.

Back at the dinner party, the doctor was explaining how he managed to acquire a copy of the issue through one of his connections. Another party guest asked if his toddler son had seen it. "Hell no! He's not getting his hands on it! I'm sticking it in my safe and using it to pay for his college!" It became apparent he was not a collector. As he continued to crow about his investment strategy, I started to see red flags.

When he described it, he didn't mention black shrink wrap. If the sealed package was opened, its value would plummet. He also mentioned the cover showed Batman releasing Superman's cape to a gust of wind, and it had a subtitle - "Funeral for a Friend". He was describing Superman #76. The problem was the black bagged issue that was commanding stratospheric prices was Superman #75. I don't know how much the good doctor laid out for this component of his son's college fund, but he was a month late to the party and very misinformed of its value.

As an epilogue, a few decades later I finally acquired a copy of Superman #75. It was still pristine and sealed in its factory black shrink wrap. I've not opened it yet - more for sentimental reasons than for investment purposes. My inlaws' doctor friend should have realized that the value of collectibles can be very fickle, affected by any number of variables. In the case of the infamous Superman #75, DC "miraculously" brought Big Blue back to life, nullifying further speculative investments. My copy cost me a less than stratospheric $10.