Every now and then, a book walks into our shop which makes my nerd boner go off instantly. Today’s disappointing chub is courtesy of this lovely classic published by Marvel from way back in November of 1974…I’m talking about The Incredible Hulk #181.
Now those with a knowledge of this strange corner of the world, know EXACTLY what this is. For those of you unfamiliar, let me lay it out for ya a bit. For this is one of those “blue chip” books that should be in any comic investor’s portfolio. Reason being is that it contains the very first appearance of Wolverine. You know…that character that Hugh Jackman has been playing for the better part of 2 decades now?!? Yeah…that Wolverine.
Truth be told, he actually appears in the very last panel of the very last page of the issue prior…#180, but that is mainly considered a “cameo” with his “full first appearance” taking place in #181. While cameos are usually worth picking up as they are still highly coveted amongst collectors, the first full appearance is what most folks strive for and what usually brings in the big bucks.
Luckily, the small chunk of books we purchased off of a gentleman this weekend, contained both issues. The downside is that the books are in fairly horrendous shape. Like…truly shitty…which is a bummer as the past couple of times we were fortunate enough to acquire it, it’s just been in abysmal shape. The bright side of that dark side, is that it still brings in a pretty penny…even looking like used toilet paper.
The deal was steal! I wasn’t in the day these waltzed in, but my business partner and him settled at $300 bucks in cash for stack. The rest of the books were trash and not even worth mentioning. They will slide directly into my $1 boxes. The real prize is the #181.
Even in the dogshit shape it’s currently in, it’s going to command some big bucks. But before these can make it onto the sales floor to be gobbled up by eager collectors/investors…it will undergo…a process. I’ll be pressing these both to help polish em up. If you aren’t familiar with the art of pressing…it’s the use of a dry mount press to kinda…iron out the book. It’s not restoration, and it can work wonders with very specific problems on a book. Below is a post I popped up years back that explains the process a bit more while showing sone examples. Should probably pop a new one up soon though…
@blewitt/impressive-results-fixing-comics-and-making-cash-5fad4d1805403
Point being is that while these look pretty awful right now, I will be able to correct a few glaring problems. After that, I’ll be sending in the #181 to CGC for grading. We aren’t expecting much as it is definitely low grade, but even at a 1.0…this is a $1500 book. I’d expect at LEAST a 1.0. While the spine looks like it’s flaking off, it is still fully intact. Perhaps most importantly for this specific copy, is that it does NOT have the Marvel Value Stamp removed.
It’s still there by some miracle. I fully expected to find it cut out as it’s a fairly common problem to come across when dealing with this specific issue. These “collectible” stamps were printed and subsequently removed from thousands of issues during this time frame. The removal does affect the story as panels are unable to be read with its removal, so it’s inclusion is a major plus and selling point.
As for the #180, we will press it and move it in the shop raw and loose. Not going to bother getting this copy graded as it’ll sell quicker and easier raw as is. I’ll probably only get a couple hundred for it, but I figure between the #180 and the stack of dollar books, the initial investment will be covered leaving the #181 to be 100% pure profit.
Not too shabby, and while I’m grateful to get this book in once again…I’m holding out hope that we will secure a sweet condition copy in the near future as this book goes bananas when it is in higher grade…
Until next time folks,
Blewitt