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Today at 12 PM EST, 'Amazing Fantasy #15' is set to IPO on Mythic Markets. The financials:
The Background
• Amazing Adult Fantasy… was the retitled name of a comic book series that began as Amazing Adventures in 1961. Slated for cancellation and desperate for a web-shot in the arm, writer Stan Lee convinced a reluctant publisher at Marvel to allow him to introduce his new character for the final issue. With nothing to lose, Marvel dropped the “Adult” and released Amazing Fantasy #15 on August 10, 1962, featuring Lee’s new teenage superhero, Spider-Man. Sales of the issue spiked. Seven months later Spider-Man had his own comic book with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man #1. Mama we made it! But Amazing Adult Fantasy did not.
• Spidey Cents… AF #15 provides the origin story for Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. We’d walk you through that, but doing so would assume you somehow missed 7 decades of comic books, multiple animated series, 8 self-titled blockbuster films (Director Sam Raimi’s 3 Spider-Man films earned nearly $2.5 billion on a combined $610 Million budget), famous spin-off characters like Venom, and decade’s worth of Halloween costumes and action figures. Spider-Man is the 13th highest-grossing media franchise with an estimated $29 billion in total revenue, 1 spot and $1 billion ahead of Batman (#14, $28B).
• Peter Parker Principle… The phrase “With great power there must also come – great responsibility!” is a quote from AF #15 attributed to Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben. It’s not spoken, but rather a narrative caption in the comic books’ last panel. The popular phrase was referenced in the Supreme Court case Kimble v. Marvel. That Uncle Ben was onto something.
The Takeaway
• Bid/Ask Check... An AF #15 CGC 7.0 is listed for sale on eBay at $130,000. Mythic Markets purchased their copy for $110,000 on 3/20/20. A few other AF #15 CGC 7.0 2020 sales for reference, both from May 2020: $81,000 on Heritage Auctions and another for $110,000 on ComicConnect.
• 1 of 50... Mythic Markets has acquired 1 of 50 unrestored CGC 7.0 ("Fine/Very Fine") graded copies of AF #15. The highest rated copy of AF #15 is a 9.6, of which there are 4 unrestored copies, 1 of which sold for $1.1 million in 2011. There are only 101 unrestored copies in better condition. As far as holy grail comic books go, 151 copies in equal or better condition is actually plenty, but the first appearance of Spider-Man will remain highly sought after and therefore AF #15 should continue to appreciate long-term. Which brings us to...
• Q4 Secondary (Mythic) Market... The team at MM has informed us that we can expect a secondary market in Q4 of 2020. Expect to hold any shares you purchase with this timeline in mind. Shares of Spidey can be purchased on Mythic Markets at 12 PM EST.
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