The centerpiece remains Daredevil #131(cover March 1976, 25¢). But the particularity of this file lies elsewhere: over eighteen months, the series went through four tariff regimes, so that the same number can display 25¢, 30¢, 9p or bear a different publisher's logo. The printed price does not designate a date: it designates a distribution circuit. Questions of state then take precedence, as with all the production of this decade.
Few files require the buyer to become so quickly an attentive reader of small numbers printed in a corner of the cover.
This one does, and that's what makes it formative: the traps that we encounter there are then found throughout the production of the 1970s.
What really matters
Let's start by situating the levels in relation to each other, without numbers - they move, the hierarchy much less.
The introductory booklet occupies the top, alone and without dispute. It has no internal competitors, for a reason developed in ourarticle about his beginnings: this character has no recognized origin story, therefore no second founding book likely to compete with him for first place. On most files, the first appearance and the origin share attention. Here, everything converges towards a single object.
Then comes a tight pack: the issues where the character returns to confront the hero of the series, spread from 1976 to 1983. None comes close to the first, but together they form the real material of the file, and this is where the best relationship between what we spend and what we read is found.
Finally, a third level, almost flat: the publications where he appears within a team, and the limited series bearing his name, all after 2004. Abundant, easy to find, they weigh almost nothing on resale.
This very steep pyramid has a practical consequence.A budget split in two – a serious acquisition, then everything else at low prices – covers most of the character. Few files allow such a simple strategy.
Eighteen months, four rates
Let's move on to the point that really sets this file apart.
Between the end of 1975 and the spring of 1977, the publisher changed its selling price twice, and it preceded each change with a full-size essay on part of the print run. The catalog keeps track of it, number by number.
The introductory booklet and the two following ones bear 25 cents. Of the two which immediately follow, a second version exists, printed at 30 cents: this is the price test, distributed over restricted geographical areas to measure the reaction of buyers.
A year later, the general price rose to 30 cents — and the same mechanism begins again, this time with copies at 35 cents.
The result deserves attention.On the same series and a few months apart, 30 cents sometimes designates a rare trial version, sometimes the current edition. A seller who announces “30 cent edition” therefore says nothing usable as long as we do not know the exact number.
This is the opposite of the usual intuition, which would be that a higher printed price indicates a later issue, and therefore more current. Here the correct reading is:the rate is always compared to that of the neighboring number, never in absolute terms.
Department store copies
A fourth type of copy circulated during this period, and it is much less known.
Part of the circulation did not go to kiosks but to supermarkets and chain stores, sold in sets of three in plastic film. These copies bear the logo of a different distributor on the cover, in the place where that of the publisher usually appears.
The catalog confirms the existence of such a version on at least one important issue of the series from this period.
Their condition follows a particular logic, which deserves to be understood before purchasing. These booklets traveled in plastic, stacked, often stapled by the bag itself. We therefore find them in two extreme states and few intermediates: either kept in their packaging and remarkably fresh, or opened by a child and read without care. The mid-range is rare there.
Second particularity: they were printed in lower quantities than the newsstand version, but the market does not systematically value them higher. Many buyers consider them to be bastard copies because the logo differs. This is a questionable assessment, and it creates inexplicable price differences between two advertisements of the same number.
Request a photo of the upper left corner. This is the only place where the difference is seen.
Prints intended for the United Kingdom
Third layer of identification, and the easiest to read once you know it.
Several numbers of this sequence exist in British version, recognizable by the amount in pence instead of cents. The catalog includes 9p on the fascicles of 1976, then 12p on those of spring 1977.
These copies are neither counterfeits nor republications: they are official prints from the same publisher, printed simultaneously with a different price sticker.
Their valuation follows the general rule. The reference market being American, the pence versions trade lower, on a comparable basis. The gap widens as the price rises: on a moderate coin like this, it remains contained; on a major key, it becomes considerable.
A note on method: the progression 9p then 12p follows British inflation in the second half of the 1970s, and it provides a dating benchmark independent of the vintage of the cover. When an advert does not show the inside page, the amount in pence already allows us to locate the item within a year.
A market driven by distribution, not by releases
We must say a word about what moves this dimension, because the mechanism differs from that observed elsewhere.
Most of the characters see their files react to theatrical releases. The pattern is known: announcement, rise, exit, reflux. It is based on a single date, public and known in advance, which focuses attention over a few weeks.
This character was brought to the screen by series broadcast continuously, the episodes of which appear in bulk or over the course of weeks depending on the case. The application regime is modified in three ways.
There is no peak. Instead, a plateau that builds over several months, then slowly deflates. A buyer who waits for “the post-release trough” is waiting for an event that does not occur.
The climb is slower and less expansive. A series reaches its audience gradually, without the collective meeting of a first week of operation. Short speculation finds less traction there.
But the descent is less brutal. A catalog remains permanently available and continues to recruit curious people long after. This is the favorable counterpart: the demand built by this channel erodes less quickly than that created by a film.
Practical translation: on this issue, the calendar matters less than elsewhere.It is better to decide on the condition and the edition than on the moment of purchase.
The series in his name: to read, not to hoard
Three limited series have borne his name, published in 2004, 2011 and 2017. The catalog confirms this, and it also gives the extent of the problem for the last of them: its first issue exists in seven different cover versions, between the normal edition, alternative covers and exclusives.
This profusion says everything about their economic regime. A first issue with seven covers was not designed as a rare object; it was designed to maximize retailer orders. Twenty years later, these booklets can be found everywhere, often for the price of a coffee.
This is not a criticism, it is a purchasing guideline.These series constitute the best reading-price ratio in the file, and the 2004 series in particular offers the most interesting exercise: it tells an origin that the story itself invites us not to believe.
On the other hand, you should not expect anything from it on resale, and especially not from alternative covers: their premium is concentrated in the very first months, then evaporates when the series ceases to be commented on.
The state, on comics from 1976
The mid-1970s pose its own conservation problems, which weigh heavily on the final score.
Factory defects dominate. Quality control had slackened: oblique cut, off-center spine, poorly placed staples, asymmetrical margins. They are present straight out of the press, are not the result of any negligence on the part of the owner, and definitively cap the rating. An unread copy may be blocked for this reason alone.
The paper. It holds up better than that of previous decades, but it is browning at the edges. A view of the block taken from the side, in raking light, provides more information than any cover photo.
Stapling. Check for rust around the staples and possible signs of paper tearing at their level. On issues that are almost fifty years old, this is a recurring point of weakness.
The advertising pages. They still had coupons to cut out. An amputated specimen loses a lot, and the defect is not visible from the outside: ask for explicit confirmation that the block is complete.
Three costly mistakes
Buy on the number announced only. Considering the above, an ad that does not show the price corner or the publisher logo does not allow you to know what you are buying. In this series and in this period, four different objects can be hidden behind the same reference.
Have an intermediate level piece graded. Certification has a fixed cost, independent of the value of the object. On a file whose rating remains moderate, it only makes sense on a copy located very high on the condition scale - or not at all.
Pay a “first appearance” bonus on subsequent numbers. Some sellers present subsequent confrontations as keys. They are sought after, they are pleasant, they are not rare. The price difference between the introductory booklet and the one that follows it correctly reflects their difference in status: do not try to make up for it.
Where to enter
Three approaches, depending on what you're looking for.
The unique piece. The introductory booklet, in the version that corresponds to your budget - American if you are aiming for the reference, British if you accept a discount for an identical object.
The sequence. The clashes from 1976 to 1983, purchased in mismatched lots. This is by far the best yield on the file, and these numbers often go unnoticed in group sales.
Reading. Modern limited series, available for almost nothing, which give access to the essentials of what the character has become.
For details of the stories, see ourbest bows; for the constitution of a coherent whole, ourcollection guide.
Questions buyers ask
Daredevil #131, March 1976 cover, priced 25 cents. He dominates alone, with no internal competitor: due to a lack of a recognized origin story, this character has no second founding book capable of competing with him for first place. Everything else in the file is located far below.
It depends entirely on the number. On the 1976 booklets, the current price of which is 25 cents, a 30 cent version corresponds to a price trial distributed in restricted areas: it is rare. A year later, 30 cents became the general price, and it was the 35-cent copies that constituted the essay. The price is always compared to the neighboring number, never in absolute terms.
Part of the print run was sold in supermarkets in sets of three in plastic film, with the logo of a different distributor on the cover. These copies are fewer in number than the newsstand version, but they are mainly found in two extreme states: left in packaging and very fresh, or read without care. The market values them irregularly, which creates price differences between identical advertisements.
Yes, on a comparable basis, because the reference market is American. The catalog notes 9p on the 1976 issues and 12p on those from 1977. These are official prints from the same publisher, not republications. On a moderately rated coin, the difference remains contained; it deepens strongly on major keys.
The reasoning does not apply well here. This character is carried by series broadcast continuously, without a single release date: we do not observe a peak but a plateau which sets in and then slowly deflates. The counterpart is favorable, since the demand created by this channel erodes less quickly than that of a film. It is better to decide on the state and the edition than on the calendar.
Very little. Three were published, in 2004, 2011 and 2017, and the first issue of the last one exists in seven cover versions – a clear sign of commercial intentions. They can be found today for almost nothing. These are great reads and bad investments; that of 2004 offers the most interesting exercise of the lot.
First of all, the manufacturing defects: oblique cut, off-center back, poorly placed staples. They date from the printing, do not result from any negligence, and definitively limit the note - an unread copy can be blocked for this reason alone. Then come the browning of the slices, the rusting of the staples and the integrity of the cutting cards.
Rarely. Its cost is fixed and does not depend on the value of the item, while the rating of this character remains moderate. It is only justified on a copy located very high in the condition scale, where the grade really makes the difference in price. At the intermediate level, it costs more than it provides.
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