Sell it all! Two weeks ago, if possible.

It hurts me to say this, but:

If you own a comic book store or you are looking to get any type of return on your comic book “investments”,  sell now.

The industry as we know it will be unrecognizable 5 years from now and not in a good way.

The readers of this blog aren’t dumb, you know that sales of any consumer goods have their peaks and valleys.

Look at Apple.  20 years ago you couldn’t give their stock away.  The computers were priced very high and they were known as computers graphic designers used, not corporations.  If you held on to your Apple stock, however, you are probably doing well on the investment.

Comic books are also hitting their peak right now.  The movies are coming out, the cartoons are all over the place, DC has all but cornered the market on animated motion pictures, and product licensing is running rampant.

But don’t let it fool you, it’s already hit it’s peak....you’re now looking at the downside of the comic industry as we know it.

Why?  It’s simple, really.  The bean counters are running the show at the Big 2 and all they are interested in is the almighty dollar.  The problem is no one appears to understand that it’s an industry that survives on originality and collectibility.  Neither of which the Big 2 have sustained.  Let’s look at some examples:

-The Fantastic Four franchise, the literal first family of comic books has been made a joke of in both comic books and the movies.  Has anyone ever looked forward to a Fantastic Four movie once the first one proved to be just this side of mediocre?  Does anyone even care if there is ever another Fantastic Four movie?  How many more times will Marvel license out to a company that could care less what they do to the brand in production?

-The #1 of virtually any series anymore is rarely a #1.  With DC and Marvel “resetting” their respective universes they are releasing a whole new series of #1 comics....again.  How many more #1 X-People and Justice League of Whatever can there be?  How many different uniforms, haircuts and power-sets can Superman have?  How many times are we going to clone Peter Parker and reinvent the story behind Spider-Man?  How many more of Batman’s family members can the Joker kill?  It’s getting to be a joke (pun intended).

-It’s a matter of supply and demand.  Many collectors will know exactly what Silver and Bronze Age comics to buy.  The first appearance of Wolverine, Hulk, Thor...any of the classic characters really, is valuable for one reason:  there just aren’t that many out there and even fewer that are in great condition!  If there were still 5 million copies of the #1 Spider-Man, and they were all in Near Mint condition, it just wouldn’t have the same value.  Today, the market is flooded with #1s and places like eBay make them easy to come by if you miss them in a store.  Why do you think variants were introduced?  Fewer of the variants makes them more valuable.  But, trust me, the well is running dry.  The desire to sell as many as possible makes current and future value remarkably bad.

-The lack of creativity is maddening.  I know people who have stopped reading Marvel comics because of the blatant money grabbing involved with Secret Wars.  Seriously, how many different comic storylines can one series have?  I also know people who have stopped reading DC because of the lackluster ending to Convergence.  I know I’ve mentioned this in other blogs, but changing a character’s sex or race or religion does not count as creativity.  So, what do you have to look forward to as a Marvel fan?  Will Iron Man design his 1,916th armor?  Maybe one that has a Coke machine built-in for mid-fight refreshment?  If you’re a DC fan are you anticipating yet another Justice League, maybe Justice League Geriatric for the older heroes?  I will give credit where credit is due, Telos, Secret Six and New Suicide Squad by DC are fantastic, so kudos to DC for at least trying to make something different (yes, I know that Suicide Squad and Secret Six have been out many times before, but there are differences with the new ones and they are outstanding).  And, seriously, if I read another interview with “creators” who say they are doing something “new”, I ’m going to scream.

-Last is product licensing.  What product can you buy today that doesn’t have some sort of comic book hero twist?  Build-a-Bear has a superhero line of teddy bears.  You can get toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, bubble bath, and any other type of hygiene products with some superhero or another.  Listen, I’m not complaining.  I love superheroes all over my house, but talk about diluting your brand!  My son even has Avengers Cereal in our pantry.  Do you know there are a number of sports stars that limit the number of autographs they give out or jerseys sold?  It keeps them valuable.  It keeps people looking for them and paying good money for them.  

Please don’t get me wrong, I have been a collector for 45 years and still look for Superman stuff to put around the house, but if you are looking to make money on your comic book stuff....sell it...like right now.

But I digress...

So, who will win in the end?  Company’s like Image.  Company’s that come out with new creations often and allow their creators to keep the rights to their creations.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see Image become the top comic company in the next 5 - 10 years.  Although The Walking Dead has been commercialized, it hasn’t been overdone.

Would I like to see an Autumnlands:  Tooth and Claw movie?  Absolutely!  Do I want the characters on a band-aid, not so much.

Place your bets on the future of the “heir apparent” Image Comics.  It’s where my money is.

Disclaimer:  I do not work for, nor do I own any part of Image Comics.  This is my opinion only and does not, but should, represent the opinion of a majority of the planet.

Follow The Comic Whisperer on Social Media!

Facebook:                 The Comic Whisperer

Pinterest:                  The Comic Whisperer

Twitter:                     @comic_whisperer

Website:                    www.comicwhisperer.com

When Michael Tried to Buy Marvel

Some of you may not know this but Marvel was courted by numerous buyers in the past, the oddest of which was Michael Jackson.  Yes, THE Michael Jackson.  And when I say “oddest” I don’t mean he was odd as a person, I meant the reason he wanted to buy Marvel was odd.

As most of you know (and if you don’t I’m stunned) Michael Jackson was a phenom for most of his life.  He started performing in his early childhood and was considered “The King of Pop” until the day he passed.

As you also know, Michael was famous for making interesting purchases and attempting to make interesting purchases.  For instance, you know that he had his own amusement park at his home and that he purchased the copyrights to The Beatles’ music catalogue.  You are also probably aware of the rumors of him offering to buy the “Elephant Man’s” bones.  What you may not know is that Michael wanted to buy Marvel as well, but for reasons that go a little beyond the ordinary.  Here’s what happened:

Although Michael was known for his popularity in the 80’s, he was also hugely popular in the 90’s.  During that time Batman was reigning in the cinemas and Marvel was struggling to make ends meet.  Frankly, Marvel was doing just about everything wrong.  In order to try for a few wins Marvel was trying to get the Spider-Man and X-Men movie projects underway.

For the Spider-Man movie, Marvel was talking to James Cameron.  Who they weren’t talking to was Michael Jackson, who desperately wanted to be cast as Spider-Man.  Yes, THE Michael Jackson wanted to be Spider-Man.  Can you picture that?  If not, here’s some help:

(Author’s note:  these pictures are NOT my handiwork...thankfully.)

As Michael knew this was NOT going to happen without him having some clout at Marvel, he decided to try to buy it.  After all, Marvel was facing bankruptcy at the time anyway, so why wouldn’t they consider him a potential suitor?  

As a quick aside, Michael’s rationale may not have been on target here.  You see, the owner of the company doesn’t get to make casting decisions, the Director and the studio get to do that.  Licensing the property to the studio does not a Casting Director make.  Perhaps he would buy Marvel and make himself the Director?  Who knows.

But I digress.

Michael decided to pursue the purchase and started to build a relationship with Stan Lee Media.

If you’re not familiar with Stan Lee Media’s origin, here’s a review.  Stan Lee Media was born out of an effort between Stan Lee and a business partner to buy Marvel outright.  This came from the fact that a new CEO has screwed Stan out of everything he negotiated with Marvel over the years.  This included a life-time salary in exchange for Lee not pursuing legal claims of ownership of the characters he created.  This is why Stan Lee Media (who Stan Lee no longer has any affiliation with) seems to think they can make legal claims to Stan’s characters.  They argue that Stan’s contract with Marvel was terminated, along with the stipulation that he couldn’t sew them for ownership.  I won’t go into any further detail because I either don’t know it or it’s too much extra content for this article (you decide).

Again, I digress.

Michael went to Stan hoping that Stan could throw his weight around and secure him, and his production company Kingdom Entertainment, the rights to produce a Spider-Man movie.  In fact, Michael secured a promise from Lee that if Michael purchased Marvel, Lee would help him run it.  In a further effort to get the ball rolling, Jackson hired a financial firm to help with the negotiations.

The problem was that Toy Biz CEO Ike Perlmutter (Toy Biz being the company that owned Marvel at the time) and Lee were not on the best of terms.  So, the fact that Lee was going to help run the company for potential owner Jackson, did not sit well with Ike.  To try to kibosh the deal Ike did what any vindictive owner would do, he raised the price to $1 billion (WAY more than Marvel was worth at the time).

Jackson decided to walk away.  The rest is history...Toy Biz sold to Disney for $4 billion (about 30% more than what the company was valued at at the time of the sale).

To add to the whole weird scenario it should be noted that Spider-Man wasn’t the only character for which Michael had lobbied.  He also wanted to play Professor X in the X-Men movie (eventually played by Patrick Stewart).  

(Author’s other note...this picture isn’t my handiwork either...thankfully.)

He also wanted to be “Agent M” in Men in Black 2.  As a consolation prize, Michael got a cameo  as himself in the MIB2.  Not quite what he had hoped for, but at least it was something.

Supermovie Release Schedule Through 2020 and Beyond

Here are the movies that are coming out through 2020 and Beyond.  Keep in mind that all of these are subject to change:

February 12, 2016               Deadpool                                                        (FOX)

March 25, 2016                   Batman vs. Superman:  Dawn of Justice     (WARNER BROS.)

May 6, 2016                        Captain America:  Civil War                         (MARVEL)

June 3, 2016                        Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Half Shell  (PARAMOUNT)

May 27, 2016                      X-Men:  Apocalypse                                      (FOX)

August 5, 2016                    Suicide Squad                                               (WARNER BROS.)

October 7, 2016                   Gambit                                                          (FOX)

November 4, 2016               Dr. Strange                                                   (MARVEL)

January 13, 2017                  Untitled Power Rangers Movie                   (LIONSGATE)

February 10, 2017               Lego Batman                                                (WARNER BROS.)

March 3, 2017                     Wolverine 3                                                   (FOX)

May 5, 2017                        Guardians of the Galaxy 2                           (MARVEL)

June 9, 2017                        Fantastic Four 2                                           (FOX)

June 23, 2017                      Wonder Woman                                             (WARNER BROS.)

July 28, 2017                       Untitled Spider-Man Movie                          (SONY)

November 3, 2017               Thor:  Ragnarok                                           (MARVEL)

November 17, 2017             Justice League                                              (WARNER BROS.)

Unknown Date, 2017          Bloodshot                                                       (SONY)

February 16, 2018               Black Panther                                               (MARVEL)

March 23, 2018                   The Flash                                                     (WARNER BROS.)

May 4, 2018                        Avengers:  Infinity War 1                              (MARVEL)

July 6, 2018                        Ant-Man & The Wasp                                    (MARVEL)

July 13, 2018                      Unknown X-Men Movie                                 (FOX)

July 20, 2018                      Untitled Spider-Man Animated Movie          (SONY)

July 27, 2018                      Aquaman                                                       (WARNER BROS.)

March 8, 2019                    Captain Marvel                                              (MARVEL)

April 5, 2019                      Shazam                                                           (WARNER BROS.)

May 3, 2019                       Avengers:  Infinity Wars 2                              (MARVEL)

June 14, 2019                     Justice League 2                                             (WARNER BROS.)

July 12, 2019                      Incredibles 2                                                   (DISNEY)

July 12, 2019                      Inhumans                                                        (MARVEL)

April 3, 2020                      Cyborg                                                             (WARNER BROS.)

May 1, 2020                       Untitled Marvel Movie                                    (MARVEL)

June 19, 2020                     Green Lantern                                                 (WARNER BROS.)

July 10, 2020                      Untitled Marvel Movie                                    (MARVEL)

Year Unknown                   X-Force                                                            (FOX)

Year Unknown                   The New Mutants                                             (FOX)

Year Unknown                   Sinister Six                                                       (SONY)

Year Unknown                   Sandman                                                          (WARNER BROS.)

Year Unknown                   Untitled Superman Movie                               (WARNER BROS.)

Year Unknown                   Justice League Dark                                        (WARNER BROS.)

Year Unknown                   Untitled Batman Movie                                    (WARNER BROS.)

Year Unknown                   Harbinger                                                          (SONY)


For those of you who like numbers, here are the totals:

43                  The total number of movies scheduled for release

             15                  Being done by WARNER BROS.
             12                  Being done by MARVEL
             8                    Being done by FOX
             5                    Being done by SONY
             1                    Being done by DISNEY
             1                    Being done by PARAMOUNT
             1                    Being done by LIONSGATE

4                    The number of movies being released in July of 2018
2                    The number of movies being released on July 12, 2019
8                    The number of movies with no official release date

I hope this helps you schedule your movie-going in advance!  Maybe I’ll see you there!

Follow The Comic Whisperer on Social Media!

Facebook:         The Comic Whisperer
Twitter:             @Comic_Whisperer
Instagram:        The Comic Whisperer
Website:           www.comicwhisperer.com

Top 10 Most Collected Marvel Comics Series and Specific Issues to Collect!

As an appraiser I am often asked what the most collected comics are and what issues to watch for.  I can tell you that such a list has several restrictions:

     -This list is as of today.  Tomorrow some of these could change.  It’s not likely, but they could.
     -The value of a comic is strictly what a buyer will pay, these issues are based on market value.
     -I have restricted this list solely to Marvel comics, DC and others are for another day.
     -If a comic doesn’t make this list it doesn’t mean it’s not collectable, it’s just not on the list.
     -These issues are only as valuable as their condition.  This is based on NM condition.

10.)  Nick Fury:  Starting as a soldier Nick is first seen in Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos. In Strange Tales #135 Nick joins S.H.I.E.L.D.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandoes    #1 - 20 and the #1 Annual.  Special focus on #1, 2 and 13.
Strange Tales                                                #135
Tales of Suspense                                         #78
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.                #1 - 7 and #15

9.)  Daredevil:  Easily one of the most valuable comics in the early runs, this comic is known for holding it’s value.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Daredevil                                                    #1 - 20, 27, 38, 43, 131, 158, 168, 169, 181
Amazing Spider-Man                                  #16
The Avengers                                              #60
The Defenders                                            #24 and 25
Fantastic Four                                           #39 and 40
Journey into Mystery                                 #116

8.)  Silver Surfer:  Listed by some as one of the most powerful characters in all of comics, the Silver Surfer first made his appearance in Fantastic Four and is famous for being a Herald of Galactus.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Fantastic Four                                           #48, 49, 50, 55 - 60, 72
Silver Surfer                                               #1 - 10 and 14
Tales to Astonish                                        #92 and 93

7.)  Fantastic Four:  The First Family of comics is always a collectible in the earlier comics.  Their popularity decreased as the issue numbers grew higher.  The terrible movies did not help their popularity any and also the lack of crossovers with the characters.  The first issues, however?  Collect ‘em, bag ‘em and board ‘em.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Fantastic Four                                             #1 - 30, 48 - 50, 55 - 60, 72, 100, 112

Amazing Spider-Man                                   #1, 5 and 8

The Avengers                                               #1

6.)  The Mighty Thor/Journey into Mystery:  Thor’s first appearance was in Journey into Mystery and only later did he get his own title in The Mighty Thor.  Early Journey into Mystery are hard to get in great condition but scoop them up if you find them.  They are garnering high prices right now.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Journey into Mystery                                   #83 - 100, 109, 112

Thor                                                             #126

The Avengers (12c)                                      #1 - 20, 57

5.)  The Incredible Hulk:  The early issues of the Hulk are extremely hard to find in good shape.  They were prone to what was called “chipping” which Marvel was famous for in the early issues.  In #1 you will see the Hulk with grey skin, but #2 showed him with green skin.  This had to do with printing issues.  The color grey, however, was intentional by Stan Lee as he wanted a color that would not show race bias.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

The Incredible Hulk                                         #1 - 6, 102, 180 - 182

The Avengers (12c)                                          #1 - 3, 5

Fantastic Four                                                #12, 25, 26, 112

Amazing Spider-Man                                      #14, 119, 120

Tales to Astonish                                             #59 - 101

4.)  Captain America:  It’s hard to picture a time where Captain America wasn’t a regular in comic books of all titles.  You name it and Cap has probably made an appearance in it.  Captain America can be traced all the way back to Golden Age comic books.  Look for a price of 10c and you have yourself a Golden Age Cap.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Captain America (10c)                                      Any numbers

All-Select Comics (10c)                                     #1 - 10

All Winner Comics (10c)                                   #1 - 21

Captain America (12c)                                      #1 - 10, 55

The Avengers (12c)                                            #4

Marvel Mystery Comics (10c)                           #80 - 92

Sgt Fury and the Howling Commandos            #13

3.)  Iron Man:  Perhaps no character goes through more visual changes than Iron Man.  He is even known, while fighting the Transformers, to wear “Anti-Transformer” armor.  Tony Stark knows how to build them and how to make them functional.  What he doesn’t know how to do is make one armor for all occasions, they are more specialized.  If you do have the occasion, however, to get lower numbered editions Iron Man is quite valuable.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Tales of Suspense                                                    #39 - 41, 48

Iron Man and Sub-Mariner                                    #1

Iron Man                                                                 #1 - 10, 55

The Avengers                                                          #1 - 20, 57, and 100

2.)  X-Men:  Forgive this if it’s politically incorrect, but the X-Men put mutants on the map.  They are also the team which may be the most ingrained in the modern comic lovers market.  This is due in large part to all of their different spin-offs and the popularity of their movies.  Needless to say, if you have any of the early editions of this comic in good shape you have a rare find.  Further, Days of Future Past is also one that is valuable along with having a great movie adaptation.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

The X-Men                                                              #1 - 20, 35, 94, 100, 141

The Uncanny X-Men                                              #142, 143, and 266

Giant Size X-Men                                                   #1 and 2

Incredible Hulk                                                      #180 - #182 (first appearances of Wolverine)

1.)  Amazing Spider-Man:  Is this really a surprise to anyone?  Spider-Man is Marvel’s answer to Superman and Batman, and a good one at that.  Spider-Man stayed remarkably consistent for many years and then, in the past 2 or 3 years, started going through some remarkable changes.  No matter what has happened to the web slinger his comics have remained valuable.  The number of spin-off series are rivaled only by those of the X-Men.

Titles to look for and Issue numbers:

Amazing Fantasy                                                     #15

Amazing Spider-Man                                               #1 - 129, 238, 282 - 328

Spectacular Spider-Man (magazine)                       #1 and 2 (published in 1968 only)

Spectacular Spider-Man (comic)                             #1, 2, 27, and 28

Remember, even though comics are one of the collectibles that are hot on the market right now they won’t be forever.  These comics will only be valuable as long as buyers are willing to pay the asking price.  I will reassure you, however, that if you get any of the editions listed and it is in good shape  you bag it, board it, and keep it in a moderate-temperature moisture-controlled space.  This will insure that they will always be the most valued in their respective collections...regardless of their value in the marketplace.

Follow The Comic Whisperer on

FB at The Comic Whisperer

Twitter at @comic_whisperer

Instagram at The Comic Whisperer

Our Charity at http://www.gofundme.com/comicshelpkidsread

           

10 International/Non-U.S. SuperTeams I Bet You Didn’t Know About

Justice League International set off a ripple into the comic community, but only with those who haven’t been around as long as us old time collectors.  There were actually numerous international teams other than Justice League International, 10 of which are listed here.  There are others but 10 is my limit.

So, for your viewing pleasure, here are The Comic Whisperer’s 10 International/Non-U.S. SuperTeams I Bet You Didn’t Know About.  These are in no particular order.

10.)  Alpha Flight  OK, you probably knew about this one.  I threw this in as a gimme’.  This team came well before Justice League United as the first Canadian SuperTeam.  In the 3 decades that they have been around they have had 4 series that were their own.  Many of you will know them as somewhat of an offshoot from the X-Men brand.  Considered more the Canadian Avengers, this group of mutants has had many changes, and deaths, over the years with one spinoff - Omega Flight which was short lived.

9.)  The Great Ten  Who?  Premiering in 2006, this was DC’s premier Chinese SuperTeam.  The thing that made this great was that it had 10 all-new characters that were based on Chinese Mythology.  They made appearances in Checkmate (one of my favorite titles...seriously) and had a 9 issue series all their own.  We can assume each one wasn’t based on a single character....do the math. The concept, though completely original and unique, was canned after a brief stint.  The most famous of all these was August General in Iron who made a cameo with Justice League International.

8.)  International Club of Heroes  Let’s add some confusion to the mix.  International Club of Heroes started as Batmen of All Nations in 1955 in Detective Comics #215 years later renaming itself International Club of Heroes.  Batman Incorporated helped to bring these characters into the New 52 but neglected to talk about it’s long lineage.  After Batman Incorporated ended, so did the memories of those heroes.

7.)  The Global Guardians  I do have these comics.  Making their first official appearance as The Global Guardians in DC Comics Presents #82, this team was somewhat of a spinoff from the Super Friends.  The team didn’t have a very long run as the United Nations shut them down when the Justice League International was formed in 1987.  They made another appearance as mindless drones of the Queen Bee at one point and then were murdered “off panel” in Justice League:  Cry for Justice in 2009.  They never made the New 52.

6.)  Justice League International  OK, OK, you’ve heard of this one too.  This, however, is one of the oddest teams in comicdom.  Made up of the B and C list superheroes, this international group has shed it’s A-Listers to the Justice League...um...National?  The regular Justice League.  Justice League U.S.  You know who I mean.  The New 52 title didn’t fair too well as it was cancelled after 12 issues and an Annual.  The only solace to this team?  One of my favorite characters, Mr. Miracle is on the team.  He too is not on the “popular” list.

5.)  People’s Defense Force  If you know this team give yourself a 5 gold stars.  The People’s Defense Force were the Chinese response to the Avengers.  They replaced the China Force.  They appeared in Mighty Avengers and were decimated by the Unspoken after their first appearance.  

4.)  Excalibur  Some of you may not have put this team on the list, but it is international.  It consisted of 2 Brits, 2 Americans and a German elf (gosh, who could that be?).  Many put this as an X-Men spinoff as some of the incarnations have had Dazzler and Juggernaut (who, for your information, is NOT a mutant).  Previously known as Captain Britain and the MI-13 this book was really just the lovechild of Alan Davis (who was from Britain) and Chris Claremont (who loves the U.K.).

3.)  The Winter Guard  One of my personal favorites, this Russian team has been defending the motherland since 1988.  This is from the creator Kurt Busiek (also the creator of a new passion of mine Astro City) and Sean Chen.  The team is actually some of Marvel’s soviet characters who have been made villains trying to sabotage the American Dream and everyone in it while being heroes in Russia.  It was a common theme back then as can be seen by the Winter Olympics where hockey took center stage with the Americans beating the invincible Russian team.  You can see that story in the movie Miracle.

2.)  Big Hero 6  It’s no coincidence that the Ben 10 co-creators created Big Hero 6.  They must have had something for numbers in the name.  Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau created this team during their time working on Alpha Flight.  It’s an intriguing backstory that involves Japanese authorities working with businesses to build a strong super team.  I particularly loved the character names such as GoGo Tomago, Honey Lemon and Wasabi-No-Ginger.  If you find the name familiar it probably is...it’s the name of the Disney/Marvel movie of the same name.  Prior to the movie they had some mini-series which few paid attention to.

1.)  International Ultramarine Corps  Ummmm, who?  They lived in a Grant Morrison created burg of Superbia (not to be confused with the BOOM! series of a similar name).  It was above the ruins of Montevideo.  They were virtually invisible to the comic reading community appearing from a storyline during Morrison’s JLA run.  They went completely off the grid until Morrison brought them back during the JLA Classified run only to be smoked by mind-controlled gorillas.  I’m not sure what kind of super team can be crushed by mind-controlled gorillas.  Either they were some incredible simians or the International Ultramarine Corps were not drawing enough readership.  Either way don’t bother collecting comics with the IUC in it.  What does Ultramarine mean anyway?

And there you have it.  How many did you recognize?  Be honest.  I knew...ummm...all 10...yea...and I have every edition where each made their appearance...and....they’re all signed by the writers and artists....and they’re all mint...bagged and boarded.  Honestly, I knew 7 of them.  The others were a mystery.  If I didn’t have Google I would have never found pictures of some of these groups.

So, there seems to be a huge chasm in the International SuperTeam Community and a niche market for writers and artists trying to make an impression.

Follow the Comic Whisperer on 

FB at The Comic Whisperer

Twitter at @comic_whisperer

Instagram at The Comic Whisperer

Our Charity at http://www.gofundme.com/comicshelpkidsread

The Most Expensive Superhero Movies Made To Date

In a recent blog I shared that I am on the clueless side when it comes to budgets for movies I see.  So, in the interest of readers of The Comic Whisperer’s Blog I looked up the most expensive superhero movies ever made.  Without a large preamble, let’s get to it:

17.)  Thor:  The Dark World (2013):  I am not a huge fan of the Thor movies but I will admit that the comic books have never disappointed.   This movie had an estimated budget of $170 million and wound up bringing in a smidgen over $206 million.  Yikes!  They just made their money back with a little profit for snacks at the cast party.

16.)  Captain America:  The Winter Soldier:  One of my personal favorites, this movie also had a budget of around $170 million but did much better in gross revenue at $259 million.  Their cast party had a petting zoo no doubt with this kind of profit.

15.)  Guardians of the Galaxy:  This one surprised me as it also had a budget around $170 million.  I would have guessed much higher.  The resulting gross sales did NOT disappoint coming in at a staggering $330 million.  When you can almost double your investment you’ve got to be happy.  I’ll bet they had Captain America AND Iron Man make guest appearances at their cast party.

14.)  The Dark Knight:  There is some controversy here about how much this movie made, but I’m going to stick with what I found on a reliable website.  The estimated budget for the film was $185 million with gross sales coming in at $530 million.  Wow!  That’s almost a 300% return on their money.  Now that’s good investing!

13/12.)  Iron Man 2 and 3:  The special effects in these movies were incredible.  It’s getting harder and harder to believe your eyes when you watch todays special effects.  It all looks amazingly real.  To make these movies look real took some big bucks.  Iron Man 2 had an estimated budget of $200 million and has gross receipts of  $310+ million.  Iron Man 3 had a similar budget of $200 million with gross sales of $408 million.  Although Robert Downey Jr. has said he is tired of playing Iron Man and is ready to call it quits, don’t think that the Iron Man cash machine is going to slow down.  Hopefully they won’t cast Ryan Reynolds as him as well as the other characters he’s mangled.

11.)  Spider-Man 2:  Sam Ramie’s combination of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst didn’t disappoint in this movie that had a budget of $200 million.  Box office tickets sales loved them as they brought in an amazing $373 million.

10.)  The Amazing Spider-Man 2:  Marc Webb’s rendition didn’t fare too well.  What with a budget of $200 million no one was happy with receipts of $202 million.  No webbing can cover up that wound.

9.)  Green Lantern:  It’s no secret that I am not a fan of Ryan Reynolds the actor.  I’m sure as a person he’s an extremely nice guy.  It’s nothing personal.  This movie’s return on investment should be taken personally, though.   With an investment of around $200 million this bomb of a movie generated approximately $116 million.  In all fairness it wasn’t Ryan Reynolds who killed this movie.  Poor writing, lack of a real plot, no character development AND Ryan Reynolds were to blame for this box office disaster.

8.)  Superman Returns:  Despite being a HUGE Superman fan I did not see this movie.  Apparently I had good reason.  This film had a budget of $209 million and barely hit $200 million in total sales.  Maybe Superman should have stayed where he was and chosen not to return.

7.)  X-Men: Days of Future Past:  Enough cannot be said about the comic books surrounding Days of Future Past.  As an appraiser I can also tell you that these comics have increased in value.  The movie, however, was not so fortunate.  Having a budget of $200 million this comic book success turned box office meltdown struggled to hit $234 million.  A $34 million dollar return sounds great to me but, alas, in Hollywood they don’t see it the same way.

6.)  X-Men:  The Last Stand:   The X-Men hit the list again with X-Men:  The Last Stand.  I personally liked both this film and Days of Future Past but it appears that I was one of the few.    The initial investment here was around the $210 million mark and returned a measly $234 million.  It may have very well been one of their last stands.

5.)  The Avengers:  Loved this movie!!!  Again, I wasn’t the only one.  The Avengers had a budget of $220 million which seems low based on all of the special effects they had.  The return, however, was incredible, coming in at an earth conquering $623 million!  It’s no wonder why they are working around the clock to continue the development of these films.

4.)  Man of Steel:  Another Superman movie I haven’t seen, this film had a budget of $225 million with returns of $291 million.  Not a bad haul, but a disappointment for those who are comparing the Marvel and DC box office receipts.

3.)  The Amazing Spider-Man:  Is it me or are the Spider-Man movies getting harder to keep track of?  Different people playing Spider-Man, Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man movies, different Mary Jane’s, what’s a comic book fan to do?  It harkens me back to the football games my dad used to take me to.  Program vendors were yelling, “Get your program here!  You can’t follow the players unless you have a program!”.  I think I need a program.    This film had a budget of $230 million and had box office returns of $262+ million.  Not good, but not bad.  This franchise will continue to grow.

2.)  The Dark Knight Rises:  Yet another part of the Batman franchise makes it’s way onto this list.  With a budget of $250 million this outstanding film brought in $448 million.  If the Batman vs. Superman movie factored in box office take, it appears that Batman would be the clear winner!

1.)  Spider-Man 3:  The most expensive superhero movie ever made had a budget of $258 million and returned a smidgen over $335 million.  It is becoming abundantly clear that the amount of money you spend is not always translated into total revenue earned.  It’s a shame, really.  In Hollywood, it appears, that you don’t always get what you paid for.

All this being said we are still waiting on total receipts for Avengers:  Age of Ultron.  The budget for that film was an estimated $250 million.  Let’s see if that works out well in box office returns.

I think it’s safe to say that with the release schedule of Marvel and DC, among others, we will continue to see increases in budgets as production companies try to trump one another with rising returns.  As fans we can only benefit from this competition, so I plan to enjoy it.  Just remember to stay until the credits are over and the lights come up in the theaters or else you might miss the important stuff!!