Way back in 2003 I plucked a copy of Walking Dead #1 from the shelves of Tenth Planet in Oak Lawn, IL. I buy comics every week, love horror comics, and thus give every new horror comic a spin. I ended up not enjoying the WD, but I dutifully stored it properly after reading it. Years ticked by, the series kept trucking along every month, and the tv show boomed. The comic series has been reprinted many times so it is very easy and cheap to get a hold of the old stories and enjoy them. I believed this made the original book have (like every other comic printed in the last 20 years) minimal value.
Boy was I incorrect. I realized last year that since there were only 7500 copies of #1 printed, the demand is pretty high to have a true copy of #1. So I dug it out of the basement in Indiana and sent it off to CGC to have it professionally graded and preserved. In short, it came back a 9.8/10. There are (0) 10s and (18) 9.9s out there. Granted, there are a pile of 9.8s in the mix, but not too many. I believe a 9.8 is worth a great deal (about $1500 right now) and also represents the last affordable step before insane prices kick in. (A 9.9 went for $10k last year).
I have a mild itch to sell it while the show is still hot, given that I have zero emotional attachment to the thing. But I am struck by the fact that it is so easy to store and forget about, and that Henry might grow up and find himself in love with zombies.When to cash in on a $3 investment? Or not at all?
