Expert: Brian G. Philbin - 9/14/2004

Question
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Followup To
The comics are from 1974-1975 they are called valiant who is it,the rivals
i have every issue from 1974-1975 and if you could find me a price that would be smashing the com ics are also from the uk.

Answer
James,

Now I see where the issue is - it lies with the origin of the books, which hinders my knowledge of them.

UK and other European comics were - for the most part - completely separate from the US Comic Book Industry for a number of years right up until the mid-1980's.  As a result, many comics produced specifically for the UK market are not listed in the Overstreet Price Guide's US version, as it is a "blue-book" for the US industry only.

Unfortunately, I do not own any UK resources to price these books.  The only available resource I know of is one that is slightly out of date.  Duncan A. McAlpine used to publish a UK Comic Book Price Guide and the last edition that I am aware of was circa 1998.  However, it should allow you to at least get a general sense of their value.  I believe that there is only a very small section of the Overstreet Price Guide in the UK that lists UK comics, so that resource may be limited.  However, you should be able to locate a copy in either your local bookstore or library.

However, a price guide is, quite simply, a guess at what the current market will bear nationwide. You can actually find this out by monitoring eBay for a few months and finding similar items in order to get an idea of what value it might hold to collectors.

That said, market value (how much you would expect to pay in a comics store that specialized in back issues, as listed in a price guide) is a price that would not be expected to be typically attained in a typical eBay auction.

Currently, there is a very big push for the most pristine books available. CGC is a company that puts a grade on a comic and then seals it for sale by the owner (otherwise, if you were going to read it, why seal it up?). Those comics that attain a 9.4 (Near Mint) rating or higher are nearly perfect. These books are seeing prices in multiples of the values associated with the Overstreet Price Guide (the industry accepted Bible of comics prices).  

Demand determines appropriate market value. It's all about finding the right "audience".

If you were to decide that you would like to list your books for bid, there are several tricks to putting an item up for bid on eBay and you should look at the comics getting the biggest bids any how they are "marketed" on eBay, i.e., how the reserve is set or whether it advertises "no reserve", whether there is a big minimum bid or not, etc.

Also, you would truly need to list the book as distinctly as possible in order to get the desired response, using proper punctuation and capitalization.  From your description, I have trouble determining whether the title of the books you're referring to are "Valiant - Who Is It?  The Rivals" or whether you are referring to two different versions of "Valiant", subtitled "Who It It?" and "The Rivals".  On the very inside of each comic (and other magazines/periodicals, for that matter) is typically indicia that lists the date, volume number and most importantly, publisher and title of the book itself.  It is best to use this information when listing the books or inquiring about their value.

If you were to decide to auction the books, you would also be required to grade the comics.  Be aware that comics buyers examine comics as if they were a rare jewel and will be extremely finicky about the grade.

Here are some guidelines.  Be sure to note that as you move up the grade ladder from the bottom (Poor to Mint), each item that says "No ___" should be adhered to at the level indicated and everything above, as it is not repeated in the next grade up (it is presumed that the copy met the previous grade and then some, which was why one moved to the next grading level).  Look for the following defects as you go:

Wrinkles, body warping, water damage, chips or tears (however minuscule) scratches on the cover, missing pieces from interior pages, spine roll, fanned pages, edge wear on the cover and anything else that could possibly be considered a defect.

Here are the grades as they are generally used:

POOR:  A very worn copy.  Pieces missing from cover and interior, brown or brittle pages, rips, tears, folding, creasing, etc. evident at first look.

FAIR:  Has all pages and cover - possibly small pieces missing from either the cover or interior pages.  Creases and folds acceptable.  Corners can be rounded.

GOOD:  Complete copy.  No brittle pages, but defects are apparent and cover gloss can be low.  No large pieces missing.  Still in collectible condition with some sharpness to corners and structural integrity is sound.

VERY GOOD:  The average used comic book - has moderate wear, can have a reading or center crease or a rolled spine, but has not accumulated enough total defects to reduce eye appeal to the point that it is not a desirable copy.  No small chunks can be missing, though a minor tear to the cover or an interior page is acceptable.

FINE:  A complete copy with signs of wear somewhat evident (some spine wear and possibly a few minor defects).  Some slight browning acceptable.  No substantial reduction in reflectivity on cover.  No pieces missing.

VERY FINE:  A clean, complete copy with some signs of wear (perhaps some slight spine wear and possibly a minor crease or two).  No scratches on cover.  Off-cream to creamy pages.

VERY FINE TO NEAR MINT:   This is a copy that has all of its original gloss, some minor signs of wear beginning to show, with creamy pages and possibly one or two minor flaws (some small chipping or a minor tear on the cover), no spine wear or bending and all in all a clean flat copy with defects only found upon close inspection.

NEAR MINT TO MINT:    This is a copy that has all of its original gloss, with off-white/white paper and is flawless except for possibly one minor problem (a very minuscule tear or chip on the cover which is almost unnoticeable).  A near-perfect copy in new condition.

MINT:  Absolutely perfect, save for most minor of printing errors (a cover cut slightly off-center, perhaps).  A minor arrival date stamp acceptable.  No bending in the spine, no looseness to staples.  Perfectly white and supple pages.  Cover gloss is perfect, no scratches.  Square corners - tight, flat, sharp copy, no fanning of pages or spine roll.

There used to be a grade indicated as "PRISTINE MINT", which indicated that not only was the cover perfectly centered, but the cover was also cut perfectly with no overrun from the next copy.  That would be a perfect 10.0 grade from CGC, the professional grading house for comics.

Mint is practically impossible to find for comics that are pre-1980 unless there have been remarkable storage conditions with proper temperature/humidity control and an absence of other paper products, oxygen and light.

If you are able to get ahold of McAlpine's price guide, a general guideline for determining the difference in price between Near Mint (which is the price most price guides are operating on) and Very Fine is about 50 percent.  Very Good is then typically 75 percent less than Near Mint.

I have found a site that seems to refer to a similarly titled comic book, published by Fleetway, but you would have to determine this for yourself - it would, at the very least, provide you with keywords from which to derive a search inquiry.  Here's the site:

http://www.26pigs.com/valiant/bibliography.htm

I hope that you find this information helpful! Please be sure to let me know if there is anything further I can help you with!

Pax, harmonia,

Brian G. Philbin