Valiant Market - Harbinger #8 (2012) #8 1 in 125 line wide variant by Jeff Lemire

Valiant is massively successful at the moment. Breaking sales records left and right, winning critical acclaim and awards every year, inspiring major Hollywood talent to come onboard their movies, and really just making some of the best damn comics anyone has seen in a long while. It should come as no surprise then that many of their high end variants (especially those featuring first appearances) from the last several years are starting to become very in demand and therefore...very expensive. Just last week I wrote about how popular, hard to find and, therefore, expensive some of the new VEI variants have become. I spotlighted two books in particular - Eternal Warrior (2012) #5 1 in 50 variant and Harbinger Wars #3 1 in 25 variant. Today, I'm going to tackle another - Harbinger (2012) #8 1 in 125 line wide variant by Jeff Lemire.

First, what is a line wide variant? It's a variant tied to the number of copies a retailer orders of not just the regular cover of the same book but the regular covers of every Valiant book from that same month. The month Harbinger #8 went on sale I believe there were a total of 5 Valiant books (X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot, Archer & Armstrong and Shadowman). So while 1 copy for every 125 ordered sounds like a high threshold it really isn't. It's 1 copy for every 125 copies of any Valiant comic ordered that month OR 1 copy for every 25 copies (125 ÷ 5 titles) ordered on average of each Valiant book that month. Not so bad really.

But then you have to factor in all the positives. This book is the  first appearance of Torque in VEI continuity and the  first appearance of Torquehalla anywhere. It's also one of the coolest variant covers every produced. The story behind the variant goes that superstar writer Jeff Lemire was a huge fan of the 2012 Harbinger comics and expressed his love for the book at a DC Comics panel. Valiant heard about this and so Valiant Chief Creative Officer, Dinesh Shamdasani, and Valiant Editor-in-Chief, Warren Simons, approached Lemire about collaborating. The collaboration started with a cover. Lemire pitched a bunch of ideas including one for a ball point pen image drawn on actual lined notebook paper. Valiant loved the crazy idea and thus was born one of the coolest variants ever created! Valiant knows how cool it is too, they've produced a ton of merchandise featuring this art including sweet tee shirts!

Adding to the books desirability is that it's very hard to find! No one knows for sure but estimates of the print run for this book are as low as 1,000 copies. The copies that were available when the book was first released went into the collections of the Valiant faithful and have stayed there. Only a handful of copies have returned to the marketplace since. Those copies that did come up for sale again have been the subject of slowly intensifying bidding wars as the Valiant fan base continues to grow. In the last 12 months, three copies have popped up on eBay. All were ungraded copies that were advertised as NM. The first finished at $109! The second finished higher at $153! The most recent, ending on eBay just today, finished at $207! This one is one to keep watching.

UPDATE: Looks like these articles are popular. We averaged about one copy for sale on eBay a year before I posted this. In the last 2 months we've seen 6 copies trade hands. The two raw auction copies finished at $208 and $213! Two raw Buy It Nows finished at $225 and $300! And two CGC 9.8 copies finished at $409 and $393. Looks like this book is settling in at $200-ish for raw mint copies at $400-ish for CGC 9.8s.

Valiant Market - Eternal Warrior (2013) #5 1:50 David Mack variant (again!)

Just last week I wrote about how popular, hard to find and, therefore, expensive some of the new VEI variants have become. I spotlighted two books in particular - Eternal Warrior (2012) #5 1 in 50 variant and Harbinger Wars #3 1 in 25 variant. Well another Eternal Warrior (2013) #5 1 in 50 ended on eBay today. This one ended in an auction for $264! That makes 3 eBay auctions in the $250-300 range in as many months. Not to mention the Buy It Now listings that have ended in the same range. This book is quickly becoming one of the most sought after Valiant books!

Again, this book precedes Rai (2014) #1 by almost 5 months and therefore is the first appearance of the 4001 timeline in the VEI universe. It's also the first appearance of Gilad, the Eternal Warrior in 4001 (known then as the Eternal Emperor). With big things being teased for 4001 in 2016 fans will want to make sure they have a copy of the most rare version of Eternal Warrior (2013) #5 and the 1 in 50 David Mack variant is just that.

If you've got one, I suggest holding until we get a movie, or at least a movie announcement. If you're in the market for one...good luck!

Valiant Poster - War Is Coming

Check out this retailer exclusive poster Valiant sent out in January of 2012 to promote the launch of X-O Manowar in May as well as the return of the Valiant Universe to comics. The art is by Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic and was eventually used as the cover to Valiant's Free Comic Book Day 2012 comic:

Valiant Market - Harbinger Wars (2013) #3 1:25 Patrick Zircher variant

Spent the morning surfing eBay and was happy to see so many recent Valiant comics variants fetching big prices. I posted about another one here and now I'm going to chat a little about - Harbinger Wars (2013) #3 1:25 Patrick Zircher variant

Harbinger Wars is the crossover event storyline Valiant published in 2013. Spoilers: it is AWESOME. It was a critical darling and if I remember correctly a sales success too with several issues going back to press for new printings. The storyline ran through Harbinger Wars #1-4, Harbinger #11-14 and Bloodshot #10-13 but you only needed to read Harbinger Wars #1-4 if you wanted just the core story. The crossover introduced many new elements to the Valiant universe (i.e. Generation Zero) and brought a few old ones back too (i.e. H.A.R.D. Corps).

This book is the first appearance of H.A.R.D. Corps in the VEI universe. After conquering comic book publishing with a string of chart topping books and a line of the best reviewed comics in the industry, Valiant recently announced it's first steps into movies. They announced a partnership with Sony and a 5 movie plan that includes Bloodshot 1, Bloodshot 2, Harbinger 1, Harbinger 2 and a crossover movie in Harbinger Wars. Crazy huh? Why announce 1 movie when you can announce 5 I suppose. Well, with Bloodshot, Harbinger and Harbinger Wars making there way to the big screen you can bet your bottom dollar that H.A.R.D. Corps will be getting the cinematic treatment too. When that happens, this is the book to own. It's the rarest version of Harbinger Wars #3, the first appearance of H.A.R.D. Corps in the VEI universe.

What makes this book even more desirable is that it's rare. No one knows for sure but estimates of the print run for this book are as low as 1000 copies. Copies were available through comic dealers and on eBay when the book was first released. Back then the book was commanding prices in the $20-40 range. About average for a 1 in 25 variant.

The copies that were available back in 2013, like many VEI variants, went into the collections of the Valiant faithful and have stayed there. Only a handful of copies have returned to the marketplace since. Those copies that did come up for sale again have been the subject of intense bidding wars by Valiant fans who missed out on getting one of these in 2013.

In the last 12 months, two copies have popped up on eBay. Both were ungraded copies that were advertised as NM. They finished at $196.50 and $194 each!

Valiant Market - Eternal Warrior (2013) #5 1:50 David Mack variant

I've been spending the morning roaming the streets of eBay town and have been pleasantly surprised by what I've found. Quite a few of the recent Valiant comics variants are fetching big prices. I'm going to spotlight a few today. First up - Eternal Warrior (2013) #5 1:50 David Mack variant.

This book precedes Rai (2014) #1 by almost 5 months and therefore is the first appearance of the 4001 timeline in the VEI universe. It's also the first appearance of Gilad, the Eternal Warrior in 4001 (known then as the Eternal Emperor). With big things being teased for 4001 in 2016 fans will want to make sure they have a copy of the most rare version of Eternal Warrior (2013) #5 and the 1 in 50 David Mack variant is just that.

What makes this book even more desirable is that it's almost impossible to find! No one knows for sure but estimates of the print run for this book are as low as 800 copies. Copies were available through comic dealers and on eBay when the book was first released. Back then the book was commanding prices in the $30-60 range. About average for a 1 in 50 variant.

The copies that were available back in 2013, like many VEI variants, went into the collections of the Valiant faithful and have stayed there. Only a handful of copies have returned to the marketplace since. Those copies that did come up for sale again have been the subject of intense bidding wars by Valiant fans who missed out on getting one of these in 2013.

In the last 12 months, two copies have popped up on eBay. Both were ungraded copies that were advertised as NM. They finished at $306 and $301 each!!

UPDATE: Less than a week after this post a copy sells in an eBay auction for $264! That makes three sales in the $250-300 range in 3 months. Read all about it here.