Trade Spec: Army of Darkness TPBs

I love spec and playing the spec game. There is one area I have not gotten too much into just because I do not have the tools for it, and that is Out Of Print Trade Paperbacks. That is why I am very happy to have Ryan Carstensen contributing for us tonight. He runs the site dedicated to TPB’s called www.ooptrades.com
By Ryan Carstensen, comicsheatinup.net contributor
Not everyone considers collected trades when they think “comic book speculation”, but out-of-print TPBs can be an important chapter in your profit playbook. Prices are stable when stores can simply order more copies from Diamond or the publisher. But when books go out-of-print…a book with niche appeal can do spectacular things on the open market!
With an “Ash Vs The Evil Dead” series airing on Starz, interest in the Army of Darkness is strong. Dynamite holds the comic book license, and several of these AoD trades are getting interesting.
Army of Darkness Vol 1: Hail to the Queen, Baby! (ISBN 160690387X)
This book collects the first four issues of the 2012 series. It features Ashley K Williams – she’s like the Ash we know and love except sexy, smart, and sensitive. Ashley and Ash end up in ancient Egypt where the usual Deadite hijinx ensue.
Now that the book is out of print, it takes about $40 to secure a copy on Amazon. A deeper look at available supply reveals that prices get pretty crazy after the first three offerings, though. There’s already some profit to be had, and if Dynamite doesn’t go back to press soon…this opportunity is primed to explode.
Army of Darkness/Xena Vol 1: Why Not? (ISBN 1606900080)
This series has double the Bruce Campbell fun, since the actor plays a character on both television shows. (He plays the hilarious Autolycus on Xena) There’s lots to love about this book, including the fact that it was written by fan-favorite Chew scribe John Layman.
Mash-ups like this are especially powerful in the secondary market, because you’ve got multiple groups chasing down increasingly scarce material. Army of Darkness and Xena both have a very active, rabid fan base.
Copies of this book are currently trading for $45-$50 in stated new condition. As more of these land in permanent collections, prices are likely to continue rising until Dynamite goes back to press to absorb the demand.
Danger Girl & The Army of Darkness TPB (ISBN 1606902466)
This book collects the six issue mini-series of the same name. Danger Girl means J Scottt Campbell, and he does supply some of the cover art along with Paul Renaud and Nick Bradshaw.
Remember the mash-up phenomenon we just talked about? Well, this book is wildly out-of-print and fans of AoD and Danger Girl are pushing prices into the nose-bleed section. Amazon mins on this book are currently past the $100 level!
Can you really expect to find a buyer for $100+ on this book? In my experience, it’s possible but unlikely for a softcover book less than three years old. The total number of copies available is abnormally small, though. That tells me that the book is legitimately scarce, and there is some serious demand pulling at it. It’s definitely something you should be looking for next time you visit your local comic shop!
If you’re interested in this article and the world of out-of-print trades, be sure to visit this site and also check out Out of Print Trades for more speculation opportunities!