Spawn #1

Burglekutt · 12-11-2025, 06:36 PM

Pulled this from the archives. Never been touched. Worth getting graded for the future?

John91C · 12-11-2025, 06:57 PM

Hard to see due to reflection but there is a spine crease (can't see if it breaks color). So if that's the only flaw then it will still get a 9.8...I would get it pressed. If the crease breaks color then not worth getting it graded.

Honestly...cost of grading, etc...it may not be worth grading. There's a ton of this out there.

Burglekutt · 12-11-2025, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John91C

Hard to see due to reflection but there is a spine crease (can't see if it breaks color). So if that's the only flaw then it will still get a 9.8...I would get it pressed. If the crease breaks color then not worth getting it graded.

Honestly...cost of grading, etc...it may not be worth grading. There's a ton of this out there.

There is a slight one, but it didn't break the color.

SeanLFouche23 · 12-16-2025, 06:30 AM

Personally, I’d only grade it if the card itself is something special - big player, low pop, or strong demand. Otherwise I’d keep it raw and enjoy having a clean archive piece.

MiamiMarlinsFan · 12-16-2025, 09:15 PM

Only barely worth sending to CGC if it will get a 9.8, and that one will definitely not get a 9.8… not with that spine. If you want a 9.8, just buy one. They’re cheap.

sthoemke · 01-02-2026, 04:37 AM

What issues of Spawn are best worth grading?

finfangfan · 01-02-2026, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sthoemke

What issues of Spawn are best worth grading?

I don’t know the answer first-hand but found this answer on Reddit from a couple of years ago…

“Not sure what your collection looks like, but I’d say if you have any foil variants, numbered issues (1 of 666 etc), 1 B&W, and any of the main run 1-5NS, 9NS, 77, 100 variants, 119, 141, 150 variants, 165, 174, 175, 185 variants, 216, 221, 226, 230, 240, 243. 174-175 9.8s are big money.”

I think the print runs of the most recent issues/covers can run lower than 10,000. I have been picking them up on Collect Forever. Remember when Rai 3 and 4 used to command a premium for having a print run of “only” 35,000 back in the early Valiant speculation days? Now a ton of comics have much lower print runs and considered good sellers.

Rictor · 01-02-2026, 09:52 PM

Comic books had print runs in the millions in the 1930s to 1960s, but the 1930-40s books became rare because of paper drives. The 1950s and 1960s books are not rare at all, but baby boomers are hoarding them. A lot of those will be hitting the market in the next decade or so. The books from the 70s to the 2000s had lower print runs as comic became less popular, but no one threw them away anymore, as the direct market and comic book stores existed by then and they became a mainstream collectible like sports cards. Then there were the huge print runs of the 90s for books like Spawn #1, where millions of copies were sold even though there were probably less than a million actual comic book collectors at the time, because people bought 5, 10, 50, 100 copies.

Now print runs are low because no one reads anything in print anymore. Very few magazines are still in business. Comic companies barely keep the doors open with print runs this low. Marvel and DC used to cancel a book that went below 300K copies/month. That would be a huge hit today.

Unfortunately, monthly comics from Marvel/DC are probably going to become a thing of the past in the not too distance future. The print runs can't really shrink anymore and still be viable to keep printing.

I do think we'll still see graphic novels with new and reprinted content as those have a longer shelf life at book stores and online retailers. Also Disney/Warner Bros. know they need new stories to feed into the TV/movie business/toy business. They could always license their properties out to other comic companies rather than print their own books though. Disney already licenses out some of their properties to other comic publishers. Then they get their licensing fees without worrying about sales and they get new stories that they own that they don't have to pay creators for.

12-11-2025, 06:57 PM	#2
John91C Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Deep in the Heart of TEXAS! Posts: 5,657 joyoo	Hard to see due to reflection but there is a spine crease (can't see if it breaks color). So if that's the only flaw then it will still get a 9.8...I would get it pressed. If the crease breaks color then not worth getting it graded. Honestly...cost of grading, etc...it may not be worth grading. There's a ton of this out there. __________________ Photobucket (not always up to date): http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t199/John91C/

01-02-2026, 04:37 AM	#6
sthoemke Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Parts Unknown Posts: 6,528 sthoemke sthoemke	What issues of Spawn are best worth grading? __________________ [signature goes here]

12-11-2025, 06:36 PM	#1
Burglekutt Member Join Date: Dec 2025 Posts: 21	Spawn #1 Pulled this from the archives. Never been touched. Worth getting graded for the future?

12-16-2025, 06:30 AM	#4
SeanLFouche23 Member Join Date: Dec 2025 Posts: 9	Personally, I’d only grade it if the card itself is something special - big player, low pop, or strong demand. Otherwise I’d keep it raw and enjoy having a clean archive piece.

12-16-2025, 09:15 PM	#5
MiamiMarlinsFan Member Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Florida Posts: 13,950	Only barely worth sending to CGC if it will get a 9.8, and that one will definitely not get a 9.8… not with that spine. If you want a 9.8, just buy one. They’re cheap.

01-02-2026, 09:52 PM	#8
Rictor Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,967 rictor1 rictor	Comic books had print runs in the millions in the 1930s to 1960s, but the 1930-40s books became rare because of paper drives. The 1950s and 1960s books are not rare at all, but baby boomers are hoarding them. A lot of those will be hitting the market in the next decade or so. The books from the 70s to the 2000s had lower print runs as comic became less popular, but no one threw them away anymore, as the direct market and comic book stores existed by then and they became a mainstream collectible like sports cards. Then there were the huge print runs of the 90s for books like Spawn #1, where millions of copies were sold even though there were probably less than a million actual comic book collectors at the time, because people bought 5, 10, 50, 100 copies. Now print runs are low because no one reads anything in print anymore. Very few magazines are still in business. Comic companies barely keep the doors open with print runs this low. Marvel and DC used to cancel a book that went below 300K copies/month. That would be a huge hit today. Unfortunately, monthly comics from Marvel/DC are probably going to become a thing of the past in the not too distance future. The print runs can't really shrink anymore and still be viable to keep printing. I do think we'll still see graphic novels with new and reprinted content as those have a longer shelf life at book stores and online retailers. Also Disney/Warner Bros. know they need new stories to feed into the TV/movie business/toy business. They could always license their properties out to other comic companies rather than print their own books though. Disney already licenses out some of their properties to other comic publishers. Then they get their licensing fees without worrying about sales and they get new stories that they own that they don't have to pay creators for.