A decisive feature of this file: its decisive appearances in the 1960s are found in a shared magazine, each issue of which contains two different series. We therefore buy a dozen pages of the desired character, and as many of another hero - at a price set by both audiences at the same time. The collection is then divided into three blocks:1940-1941 (expensive), 1965-1969(the heart), and the modern era (inexpensive).
Rare are the characters whose collection requires you to purchase, issue after issue, content that you did not ask for.
However, it is the situation here, over the period that matters most. This constraint structures prices, availability and even the way of storing the booklets — you might as well understand it before starting.
The shared magazine, or two series in one booklet
Let's start with what the summary of these numbers reveals, because many buyers discover this after receipt.
The title that welcomes the character in the 1960s is not a magazine dedicated to a hero. This is a publication two sections of equal length, each carrying a different series, with its own authors and its own audience.
The catalog shows this unambiguously. On the February 1965 issue, the summary combines the return of our antagonist and a clash between two versions of an armored hero. On the one from May 1966 — the most sought-after in the file — the story which introduces the famous artifact shares the pages with a completely different series.
This format was an economic response to a constraint of the time: it made it possible to launch two series for the price of one title, while waiting to know which one deserved its own magazine.
Three very concrete consequences for those who collect.
You buy half of what you want. Out of a 36-page booklet, the section that interests you takes up a dozen. This is not a defect of the object, it is its nature.
You receive a second collection without having requested it. By purchasing these issues, you automatically create a series of episodes of the neighboring hero. Many collectors are taking a liking to it; the others end up with a duplicate of interest.
You can't sort. There is no version of these fascicles containing only one of the two sections.
Two audiences, one copy
Here is the most important effect, and it works against the buyer.
Each of these numbers is coveted by two independent markets: that of the character who interests us, and that of the hero who shares the pages. They don't know each other, don't follow the same news, and have no reason to coordinate.
This results in three unusual price behaviors.
The price never goes back down completely. When interest falls on one side, the other demand continues to support the object. Deep dips, which are relied upon to buy at the right time, do not occur.
The increases come out of nowhere. A number can go up without anything happening on our character's side, simply because the neighboring hero is in the news. Following your own file is therefore not enough to understand the movements.
Availability is better than scarcity suggests. Favorable counterpart: these titles sold well, precisely because they reached two audiences. The print runs were large and copies are circulating.
The three blocks of the collection
Block 1940-1941. The founding fascicles, very expensive, very fragile, one of which draws its value from a request foreign to the character. To be treated as a separate project, knowing precisely the distinction between the two wearers of the mask - see ourarticle about his beginnings.
Block 1965-1969. The heart of the matter, and by far the best report. It includes the shared magazine, then the solo series which succeeds it. Around fifteen booklets are enough to cover everything that matters, and most are still very affordable.
Modern block. The summation issue from 1984, then two limited series published in 2011 and 2015. Around twenty booklets in total, available for almost nothing, and which paradoxically contain the best stories.
The distribution is therefore very favorable:only one of the three blocks is expensive, and it is not the one that reads best.
The 1968 title change
A practical pitfall worth noting is that it produces recurring purchasing mistakes.
At the end of the 1960s, the shared format ended and the two sections each got their own magazine. That of our hero does not start at number 1:it picks up the numbering where the shared magazine left off, around a hundred.
Two consequences.
The numbering is continuous but the title changes. The same sequence of numbers therefore has two different names depending on the period, which confuses census tools and inattentive sellers.
Price benchmarks get mixed up. A search for a three-digit number may return sales for unrelated titles, as high numbering is common. Always check the year in addition to the number.
Our classification recommendation arises from this continuity:Store the entire suite together, in number order, regardless of the printed title. This is the provision which corresponds to editorial reality, and the only one which makes the gaps visible at a glance.
A complete collection without the 1941 issues
Important point for most buyers: this file is very collectible, leaving aside its founding era.
The reason lies in what the 1941 fascicles actually contain. The character is a thin propaganda figure, whose characterization has nothing to do with what he will become.Skipping it does not deprive any necessary information to understanding the rest.
A collection which would start in 1965 would therefore contain: his return, his origin, the sequence which made him timeless, his established confrontations, his complete biography and the two modern rereadings. In other words, the entirety of what makes up the character.
We insist because the opposite temptation is expensive. Many buyers spend a considerable amount of money on a 1941 issue, then discover that what they wanted to read could be found elsewhere, for a hundred times less.
If seniority still matters to you, the seventh issue of the original series remains the rational choice, as explained in ourrating analysis.
Read a shared magazine today
A practical difficulty arises as soon as we want to read these fascicles in order, and it takes us by surprise.
Each of the two sections pursues its own plot from one issue to the next. Reading the magazine as a whole therefore means following two intertwined serials, one of which you may not be interested in, with twists and turns that alternate every twelve pages.
Two strategies work, and they are aimed at different readers.
Read while skipping. You only keep your section and you go from one number to the next. The advantage is narrative continuity; the downside is that you miss the rare moments where the two series come together, which happens more often than you might think on this format.
Read in full. You then discover the publication as a reader in 1966 received it, with its rhythm and its breaks. It's by far the most faithful experience, and many collectors end up becoming attached to the neighboring series.
Modern reissues almost always cut to the chase: they separate the two sections and publish each on its own. This is comfortable for the reader in a hurry, but it erases an essential characteristic of the original object - and this explains why many buyers discover the shared format only when receiving their first period issue.
The budget, in blocks
Start with the modern block. Twenty booklets for a small fee, and you immediately have the best stories. It's also the most honest test of your actual interest.
Then move on to the 1965-1969 block. Buy it in batches: these issues circulate in quantity, and sellers often offer them in installments, which significantly divides the unit cost.
Save the expensive booklet for last, whether it is a 1941 coin or the 1966 issue carried by external demand. At this point you will know which one you really want.
A precaution on batches: systematically request the listing of numbers rather than the announced range. On a shared magazine, the sets offered were often sorted by a seller who followed the other series - and who therefore withdrew issues for reasons unknown to you.
What we can leave aside
The scattered apparitions. Over eighty years, the character has gone through a considerable amount of publications for a few panels. Listing them exhaustively brings nothing.
Modern alternative covers. The 2011 and 2015 series have a few of them. None have structural rarity.
Circuit versions from the 1980s. They exist, they stand out, but the gap in value does not justify spending time on them — unless you are interested in documentary completeness in itself.
A more delicate renunciation concerns neighboring series of the shared magazine. You will accumulate dozens of episodes without having looked for them, and the temptation will be strong to complete this unintentional sequel so that it is clean. Resist it, at least at first: it's a whole second file, with its own keys and its own budget, and it adds nothing to the one you're building.
For the stories themselves and the reading order, see ourbest bows.
The points that come up the most
A publication that contains two different series of equal length, with their own authors and their own audiences. This is the format that welcomed the character in the 1960s: on a 36-page booklet, the section that interests you takes up a dozen, and the rest belongs to another hero. There is no separate version.
Because two independent markets covet them: that of our character and that of the neighboring hero. They do not follow the same news and do not coordinate. When interest falls on one side, the other demand supports the object. The deep dips that are relied upon to buy at the right time simply aren't happening.
Yes, and it's our recommendation for most buyers. The character from 1941 is a propaganda figure without depth, without relation to what he will become: skipping him does not deprive any necessary information. A collection starting in 1965 contains his return, his origin, the sequence that made him timeless and his complete biography.
By the modern block: around twenty booklets for a modest sum, paradoxically containing the best stories in the file. It's also the most honest test of your actual interest before committing further. Then move on to the period 1965-1969, to be purchased in lots.
Because at the end of the 1960s, the shared formula ended and each section got its own magazine. Our hero's does not start again at number 1: it picks up the numbering where the shared magazine left off. The same sequence of numbers therefore has two names depending on the period, which confuses sellers and census tools.
The whole suite together, in issue order, regardless of the title printed on the cover. This is the arrangement which corresponds to editorial reality - the numbering is continuous - and the only one which makes the gaps visible at a glance. Separating by title amounts to artificially breaking a single series.
Always claim the number listing rather than the advertised range. On a shared magazine, the sets offered were often sorted by a seller who followed the other series and who removed issues for reasons unrelated to your file. The discrepancy between the advertised range and the actual quantity is telling.
Around fifteen for the period 1965-1969, around twenty for the modern era: around thirty-five issues to cover everything that really matters. It's not much, and it fits in just one box. The issues from the 1940s are a separate process, to be undertaken only if seniority matters to you for its own sake.
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