In 2011 DC started marketing the Combo Pack which was a bagged edition of their most popular comics with the price $1.00 higher than the regular cover with the digital code included to download a copy of the comic.
DC released hundreds of comics in this format over the next 3 1/2 years but it appears to be coming to an end. Sales on these marked up combo packs is very low – these might be the future collectible comics as the print runs are potentially only 5% the print run of the regular cover.
These have never been seen as a collectible which gives them the great opportunity to actually become one once collectors realize how few of these are out there. Plus how many people actually bought these and then opened up the bag so bagged versions could even be scarcer.
Here is the solicitation announcement from DC for the very first Combo Pack comic
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 COMBO PACK – August 31st 2001.
DC COMICS (W) Geoff Johns (A/CA) Jim Lee, Scott Williams Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS 1:25 Variant cover by DAVID FINCH
1:200 Pencil variant cover by Jim Lee
Comics superstars Geoff Johns and Jim Lee make history! In a universe where super heroes are strange and new, Batman has discovered a dark evil that requires him to unite the World Greatest Heroes!
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
This spectacular debut issue is also offered as a special combo pack edition, polybagged with a redemption code for a digital download of the issue.
Only 12 Combo packs were released by DC in 2011. Here is the complete list and the month solicited.
Print run is also included compared to the regular edition.
6 JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 COMBO PACK 14,400 / 171,300
7 JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 COMBO PACK 2ND PTG low ?? / 46,500
8 JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 COMBO PACK 3RD PTG 7,500 / 15,500
8 JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 COMBO PACK 15,800 / 180,000
9 JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 COMBO PACK 9,900 / 158,700
10 JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 COMBO PACK 7,000 142,700
11 BATMAN #5 COMBO PACK 4,600 / 130,400
11 ACTION COMICS #5 COMBO PACK 4,200 / 105,000
11 JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 COMBO PACK 6,000 / 138,500
12 BATMAN #6 COMBO PACK ?? estimated 4,000 / 128,400
12 ACTION COMICS #6 COMBO PACK ?? estimated 3,500 / 96,500
12 JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 COMBO PACK 5,400 / 135,300
Since then sales have just slowly been falling though many more titles have been added.
The last Combo Pack to actually chart on the Diamond Top 300 best selling comics was
Batman #31 way back in May 2014 with only 1,600 copies ordered by retailers with a $4.99 cover price
That means the print run of the combo pack is only approximately 1% of the regular cover !!!!!
It only ranked #400 of the month. Since then no combo packs have made the chart so it could be possible that the average print run of the combo packs in early 2015 might only be 1,000 copies each.
That makes these combo pack covers as rare as any high profile variant cover !!!
What high profile issues have a combo pack?
Before Watchmen #1 – all 4 series
Justice League of America #1 (2013)
Superman Unchained #1 (2013)
Batman Superman #1 (2013)
Superman Wonder Woman #1 (2013)
Forever Evil #1 (2013)
Sandman Overture #1-5 (2013)
Justice League United #1 (2014)
Green Lantern #28 (2014)
Superman #38 (2015)
Every issue of Batman, Superman, Detective, Action, Justice League from Jan 2012 to Mar 2015
Only a few issues are scheduled for spring 2015 before the line ends
The final titles released in March 2015 are:
Batman #40 / Detective Comics #40 / Green Lantern #40 / Justice League #40 / Superman #40
plus Batman Superman #20 / Superman Wonder Woman #17
One final combo pack is scheduled for May 2015 – Sandman Overture #5
My guess is that the final combo pack releases of Superman Wonder Woman will be the ultra rarest Combo Packs ever released and might be as low as a print run of 350 copies each.
Either the line is being totally cancelled due to poor sales OR DC has simply decided not to release any during Summer 2015 due to Convergence as all their regular titles are not being published.
Its only time before collectors start to realize how hard these are to find. Now Diamond sometimes has some of these still in stock so your local retailer might be order some of the more recent issues still.
Article by comic book historian Terry Hoknes of www.HoknesComics.com – hoknes@hotmail.com
www.HoknesComics.com – carries all these new comics and all new products in stock and does special orders!!
Weekly article by Terry Hoknes, comic book historian, writer of the Investing In Comic Book series (gold,silver,bronze) and also Canada’s leading comic book retailer focusing on hot sold out comic books and small publishers at www.HoknesComics.com
Contact Terry at hoknes@hotmail.com
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Informed Comic Book Speculation and Pop Culture News
They’re not successful in selling these cause no one wants to pay $4.99 for the comic just for the digital code when they can get the regular comic at $3.99 (a price tag that Marvel averages and also includes the digital code with it).
Very true. That’s why I never bother on getting them. But now I am going to make it a mission to find the superman/wonder woman one lol
Let me shorten your mission. Check Midtown Comics back issues on combo packs and they have it. Plus their like 15% off cover so you’ll pay 4.24 instead of 4.99 for it. About 2 months ago when I first heard this, I went thru and got multiple copies of the 1s and what I think might be keys. I thought they might burn thru them as news picked, but maybe people don’t know Midtown has just about all of them?
Will there be a market for this? DC fans seem to be a little more conservative with their money unlike marvel or image. Also, what about Marvel comics with their digital sticker removed, would that lower their value in the future? Thoughts……
I think people are grabbing them anyway. Will there be a market, sure. Any book that pops people will be looking for a rarer version of. The sticker debate is up in the air. I don’t remove mine because I don’t like digital comics. But a sticker over a barcode is a sticker on the comic all the same. I would need to see how a book gets graded by cgc or CBCS before I would take a guess at overall future value.
I was also wondering about removing the sticker. I prefer to read comics to my kids on the ipad so i’ve been redeeming the digital code on my Star Wars books. While they’re just regular covers with little chance of ever being worth anything I was wondering how much I was “damaging” the books by removing that sticker.
I don’t consider it damage myself. I read somewhere that the digital codes expire after a year anyways. Personally, if I were to buy a raw or graded comic, I wouldn’t factor in if the sticker that covers a code was removed on the overall grade. It’s meant to be removed in my opinion so it’s not a part of the comic. But that’s just me.
I think of it this way, if a comic comes in a special poly bag cause it had some extra goodies in it, CGC and other grading companies remove it themselves to my understanding to actually grade the comic, thus altering it’s original form. I don’t think removing a sticker that is removable will affect the overall grading process. If someone really wants that sticker on there to consider it 9.8 or whatever.. then that’s their problem. I’d consider a comic 9.8 with or without it if the comic is actually 9.8 condition.
The codes definitely do expire. I think it’s a year but I can’t remember off the top of my head. I could see it hurting your short term value (before the codes expiration).
Yeah, probably just depends on the collector. If I’m really buying a comic because it’s worth money, I actually probably don’t care about the code so I don’t care about redeeming it either or if the sticker is covering it or not. Think of it this way, those stickers rise above the page, leaving it there could cause indention on the opposite pages when sandwiched in a long box for long periods of time.
If you were to purchase a used bluray, would you consider having the digital download code into the price?
Sent from my iPhone
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I would be more surprised if the code still worked but nope, I would not expect it to work. 🙂
If it’s part of the book and it gets graded it will be noted as incomplete. That was a response at a con in FL a couple of years ago at the CGC booth. I didn’t pose the question but was listening to a group conversation. That may have changed since that time and I don’t know who the guy was that stated it. To me its no different then having a value stamp cut out and I want the sticker attached. I’d send an email to CGC and see what they say before submitting a book and risk getting a bad note.
This is what I was going to say before I read your response. I heard the question asked directly to CGC about a year ago w the same response. It would be considered an incomplete comic like a comic missing a MVS or other send away cutouts.
Just talked to someone at CGC and it looks like they are creating two classes of books:
“CGC will not downgrade a book below 9.8 for the label being removed from the digital code, but it will always be noted on the CGC label itself that it has been removed.
“Digital code label removed”
or
“Manufactured without peel apart sticker for digital download.”
are notations you may already have seen on some CGC labels out there.”
You’ll have to wait and see how the market treats these labels to know if removing the sticker hurts value.
Not to toot my own horn, but…..
https://plus.google.com/115545362034944303289/posts/6ajHV2sZGM1
Super informative article & excellent comments. Well done & Thanks all round on this 🙂