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| Star Wars Vol. 1 #42 |
A few years ago you could walk into just about any comic
book shop and pick a bunch of the original Marvel Star Wars comic book run.
Then, something tremendous happened, a new movie came out. A new comic series
was released, and then another, and then another. Then another movie came out,
and now another movie is due to come out. See the trend.
Star Wars is one of those entertainment properties that spans genres. Just about every type of memorabilia or collectible you could shake a stick at has some type of value. As far as comics book go the popularity of the original 1977 Marvel Comics series is pretty much unparalleled throughout all of the Star Wars books.
A few of the issues have experienced a tremendous uptick in
price and demand, and one of those issues in particular is the first appearance
of Boba Fett in Star Wars Vol. 1 #42. Granted, it’s not the first appearance of
the famous bounty hunter, because he made his debut in “The Empire Strikes
Back” in May of 1980 (that would be a movie ladies and gents) and wouldn’t
grace the comic book world until December of that year. Still this issue has
climbed into the $100 club, according to Comic Book Realm. Toss in a CGC grade
and prices go further north from there.
With cover art by Carlos Garzon, the issue has become a
hotly traded commodity among collectors. The white background is especially
prone to yellowing and general discoloration issues, which makes higher grade
copies very scarce. A quick look at the CGC population report reveals 737
versions in the 9.0 to 9.6 range, but only 167 in the 9.8 grade and there is
even one with a ridiculous 9.9. What
that really means is there are a little over 900 copies of this book graded out
at VF/NM. That’s actually pretty impressive. Please note that those totals include signed copies that have been slabbed with the yellow "Signature Series" plate.
The popularity of Boba Fett helps sell this book, because he
is after all on the cover. The interest in bounty hunter with few actual lines
in the movies has soared to heights for a lot of different reasons, and this is
as close as collectors can get to one of the first real limited release
collectibles of the character. There’s that equation again of popularity versus
limited supply, which equals a higher price.
In the end though, it’s a cool cover that can have major
condition issues, which is one reason why discerning collectors might be able to
argue down a price or avoid a purchase altogether. That background and the
white pages are key to solid investment grade book, anything else loses that
9.0 possibility for the most part.
The 1977 Star Wars Volume 1 is set to heat up the charts for
years to come. In you or anyone you know is a fan of the Fett you should probably check this book out.
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