the geekocracy

I Have a Dream…of $$$

So the week before a monumental Martin Luther King Day and historic Presidential Inauguration, Marvel decides to put out a special cover for Amazing Spider-Man #583 which has Obama on the cover. Obama has professed to being a Spider-Man collector that goes way back so it makes sense that Marvel would choose acknowledge this event in a Spider-Man comic. Seemed like a pretty cool idea, especially when Savage Dragon did it first.

But then in true Marvel fashion, they decided to alert the media. Word made it to newspapers, TV news, radio, and then it wasn’t just the comic buyers looking for this comic. In fact it wasn’t even just the huge Obama fans looking to celebrate a piece of US history. Out came our good old friends the speculators. The guys who are looking to make a quick buck off of you by selling that comic on EBay the day they get it. And boy did they hit EBay hard. Issues were going for 80 to 90 dollars a pop. And the people just kept on bidding. Not even knowing that their comic is probably going to be worth 10 dollars in a couple weeks and probably around cover price in a few months. Especially now that the third printing has been announced not even a week after the first printing went on sale.

So people, take my advice, don’t bid on these comics. You’re throwing your money away. You’re not going to send your kid to college or add to your retirement fund. Wait for the third printing and pay the $3.99 and you’ll be just as happy with your copy of Amazing Spider-Man that still has Obama on the cover and still has the silly 5 page Obama meets Spidey story on the inside. And for those speculators selling on EBay? My advice is purchase a gun and hold up a convenience store. At least you won’t be lying to yourself.