The industry is changing, and quickly recognizing that collectors want more than just a comic book. They want the 'book'!
Graphic novel collections have existed since the comic book medium began, but it wasn't until the late seventies that publishers made a stab at producing quality hardcovers. These tomes from the "Fireside" and "DC Secret Origins" series started a foothold, but never really got moving. With Graphitti Designs' movement into the marketplace, and the success of the Dark Knight hardcovers in the mid-80s, a following began to grow. But there was little acknowledgement from the industry in the form of mass-production of hardcovers.
With the beginning of Marvel's "Marvel Masterworks" and DC's "Archives" editions in the late 80’s, the industry made small forays into the hardcover medium. Then, in the 90's, things really began to heat up.
Collectors began to notice these books and realize that they were more than just comics - they were presentations unto themselves. Added material, quality manufacturing, and the instant rarities of signed and numbered editions pushed the right buttons for many collectors
Marvel moved into larger and larger productions, even going so far as to re-print some of their earlier "Fireside" series in limited edition forms. Smaller publishers, such as Sirius, Eclipse, and Dark Horse, wanting to make their mark, also came out with hardcovers and limited editions. Interest exploded.
Today, Marvel produces dozens of hardcovers (with many more to come). DC puts out a couple each month. Dozens more come out from other publishers, who often turn to companies such as Dynamic Forces to help them produce limited editions.
With all this popularity, the hardcovers are setting the standard for quality manufacturing, longevity, and rarity. And with rarity comes value and growth.
Some of the older graphic novels and hardcovers are quickly gaining value. Some of the newer ones triple in value overnight. Books that were $50 ten years ago are selling for $1500 or more today. Today, some hardcovers are released in several versions, each targeted to a different kind of fan. Thus you find mass market, variant cover, signed, numbered, re-marked, and 'Museum" editions. A million fans now clamor for 100 copies of a signed, limited, remarked hardcover.
The future never looked brighter for the high-end comic world.
So where does that leave us?
We want to be the place to go for the best hardcover selection out there. We have old, new, signed, rare, numbered and unique hardcovers. We've also got the best selection, the best prices, and the best customer service and guarantees in the industry.
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