My only thing is, that obviously isn't going to happen. There are comics from the 80s alone which are worth dirt these days, because they're still being published in trades and there aren't that many iconic characters or stories being created.Shockwave wrote:I think the thing with the individual issue format for collectors is the idea that they will wind up with something like Action Comics #1 which a mint condition copy of would be enough to buy the Playboy Mansion. I'm exaggerating but you get my point. The really hardcore collectors that keep things pristine in bags and boards are betting that the next issue with be valuable later on for being the first appearance of a character that will later become iconic enough to be worth selling later on. It's bullshit of course, but that's the deal. The only other thing I can think with the single issue format is the impatient reader like myself that wants to read the next chapter now rather than wait for the trade.
I had a friend who bought six copies of IDW's TMNT #1 who swore up and down that it was going to be worth a fortune in 20 years. "Just look at what happened with TMNT #1 back in 1984!" That book is only worth so much because it was the 'very first TMNT comic, ever,' and the original print run was only like 3000 copies. IDW's was mass release, and yeah, it might've sold out--but so did Last Stand of the Wreckers #1.
Just out of curiosity, I decided to look up some landmark #1s from the 80s--Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns. Watchmen #1 is going for $5+shipping. Dark Knight Returns? Well, alright, $70 Buy It Now--but I'm guessing, at that price, nobody is buying, and I highly doubt there's going to be a Batman story as major as Dark Knight Returns that'll be worth that much.
Now I looked up Deadpool & Cable, which (regardless of someone's opinions on Deadpool) has a reputation for being a fairly good comic. Y'know how much it's going for? $1.25. Spawn #1? Same price. And so on.
Pretty much the only thing that might be worth something down the line is something that is initially published in only a VERY small run and explodes in popularity, making the first run rare. IDW's TMNT is worth jack-all, and none of the DC New 52s will be worth more than their cover price in ten or twenty years--because it's all been collected, so that takes away anyone just wanting to read the story, and many of them were printed in huge runs--30,000 comics. Anything that they made 30 'thousand' of isn't going to be worth very much--it's probably not worth the price DC/Marvel/IDW charged for it.