Set Description:
Synopsis: This is a complete set of 63 books with a minimum grade of 9.0. Highlights of this set are the first 10 issues, all of which are highest graded examples with Issues #1, #2, #5 and #8 topping the census alone. The set also contains the single highest graded example of the first appearance of the Black Manta (Issue #35). Sixty-one of our books are highest graded examples with 25 books single highest graded and almost half of our books come from pedigree collections. And FWIW, there are only four books out there currently that would upgrade this set. This is thus one of our best set in terms of the census of any set this size.
Background: Aquaman was created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger and debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Aquaman's appearances in More Fun Comics continued until issue #107, after which all superhero stories were replaced with humor features. In 1946, Aquaman was transferred to Adventure Comics with issue #103 along with the other superhero features from More Fun Comics. Aquaman would continue to feature in Adventure Comics for the next 15 years, making him one of the few DC superheroes to appear continuously throughout the 1950s.
Aquaman appeared in 1960 as a founding member of the Justice League of America in Brave and Bold #28. In 1961, Aquaman starred in a four-issue Showcase run in issues #30–33. These Showcase issues are notable as Aquaman's first cover appearances in any comic. Simultaneously, the Aquaman backup feature ended in Adventure Comics with issue #284 and was transferred to Detective Comics with issue #293.
Soon thereafter, the first Aquaman solo series began, with the first issue cover-dated February 1962, the same month, the backup feature in Detective Comics ended with issue #300. Simultaneously with the solo series, an Aquaman backup feature was also published in World's Finest #125–139 (May 1962 to February 1964). The solo series Aquaman would last 56 issues in its initial run until 1971. Then, after a three-year hiatus, Aquaman returned as a backup feature in Adventure Comics for issues #435–437 before becoming the main feature in issues #441–452. This run transitioned into a revival of the Aquaman solo series in 1977, resuming the initial run's numbering at #57; however, the series ended after just seven issues with #63 in 1978, which is the last issue in the set below.
In the comics, Aquaman was the son of a human lighthouse-keeper and the queen of Atlantis. Aquaman is the alias of Arthur Curry, who also goes by the Atlantean name Orin. His villains include his archenemy Black Manta and his own half-brother Ocean Master, among others.
Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and its director's cut Zack Snyder's Justice League, Aquaman, the HBO Max series Peacemaker, and, most recently, in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Aquaman in the Registry and Market: Compared to the other founding members of the JLA, Aquaman has been an unloved character:
https://youtube.com/shorts/4EHfouNp8Qc?si=gfobEYHO3N
Currently, the most valuable Aquaman issue in terms of registry points is a #1 9.8, which merits only 17,600 points. By comparison, the most valuable SA Flash, Showcase #4 in 9.6, receives 600,000 registry points, while the most valuable SA Green Lantern, Showcase #22 in 9.4, receives 124,000 registry points. Admittedly, both of those books came earlier in time, but of the original JLA members, Aquaman seemingly takes a backseat to every JLA member with the possible exception of the Martian Manhunter, despite enjoying a relatively successful solo movie. And if you compare Aquaman #1 to Amazing Fantasy #15, which it predated by eight months, the AF #15 in 9.6 receives 1,833,000 points, making it more than 150 times as valuable as an Aquaman #1 in 9.8.
Looking at the marketplace, the highest reported sale on GPA of an Aquaman #1 is $38,400 for a 9.6 in August 2019, which is well over three times the registry points awarded. The registry points for a couple of minor Aquaman keys, Issue #11, featuring the first appearance of Mera, and Issue #35, featuring the first appearance of Black Manta, also appear to be out of whack. In the case of Issue #11, the Pacific Coast copy graded 9.4 sold for $26,400 in August 2019 in a CC Auction, while that book receives just 630 registry points. Similarly, a 9.6 copy of Issue #35, again the Pacific Coast copy, but ranking second in the census, sold in June 2019 for $9,000, while that book receives just 500 registry points.
I think these differences could probably be attributed to the fact that high census titles get adjusted more frequently because CGC responds to the squeaky wheels and adjust points when they receive requests from owners. So registry points for books from titles such as ASM and Daredevils track the market far more closely, because they are adjusted to reflect most recent sales; while high-grade Aquamans and some other titles where high grade examples rarely come up for sale, receive no point adjustments since there is no recent data to use for lobbying CGC. Consequently, the rarer the books, the more likely they are to be undervalued by the Registry.
While obviously there has never been a precise correlation between value and registry points, perhaps Aquamans deserve a little upward adjustment by CGC.
Our Collection: I realize we have benefitted from the fact that these books are generally unloved and nobody else seems to be actively trying to complete this set, but this is still a collection about which we are very excited. It may not be our best set in terms of the census, but it’s a really strong set and has now topped the registry by a wide margin for five years. Prior to that time, we had long owned high grade copies of Showcases #30-33, but only had them registered in our Showcase set. We changed our focus several years ago away from upgrading existing sets to starting new ones, which is much more fun to be honest and generally far less expensive.
What generally motivates us to start collecting a new title is the auction of one or more complete collections. In the case of Aquaman, in 2018-2019, the two collections previously topping the registry were both sold: the first set in a CC auction and the second in a CL auction. The books in the first auction went at pretty low prices and we were able to add a number of high-grade books at very reasonable prices. The second auction was more competitive, but the two auctions together allowed us to jumpstart this collection and leap to the top of the registry. We completed this set in April 2023 with the acquisition of high grade examples of Issues #12, #35 and #36 in a private transaction.
But what really sets this collection apart is a recent acquisition of twelve more single highest graded books in what was a very complicated deal involving both book swaps and cash, which brings the number of single highest graded books in the set up to a total to 22, or basically a third of our books. Moreover, almost half of our books come from pedigree collections with the majority being Pacific Coast copies.
The biggest weakness in this set now is our Issue #11 9.0, which is only third highest graded. Still, it is one of the five highest graded copies out of 486 certified by CGC. Finding a better copy of that one would move this set up to the level of our Flash, Green Lantern, JLA and Atom sets, so if anyone out there reads this and has one, we’re interested. Outside that flaw, this set rocks, as the minimum grade is 9.4 with over half our copies 9.8s and well over 90% being highest graded examples!
2024 Update: From out of nowhere, a large cache of pristine raw Aquamans were submitted to CGC and graded this year, presumably by a dealer who immediately sent such books to Auction. Much to our chagrin, those newly-graded books bested five of our previously single highest graded books and tied five more. We were fortunate enough (I’m not sure that’s the right choice of words, they certainly were not free LOL) to acquire the five books that bested ours, which raised the number of 9.8s in our set to 49 with 12 9.6s, and a single 9.4 and a single 9.0. The number of single highest graded books now is back to the 25 we had prior to the emergence of these books. They did, however, reduce the number of pedigrees in our set, since both our #5 9.6 and #8 9.6 that were bested emanated from the Pacific Coast Collection, books that we were bragging about recently acquiring above (and which we will undoubtedly now take a loss on when we sell). So basically, we expended a lot of time and money to stay where we were, as we are still 660 registry points from having a perfect set based on the current census data, with the same two slots filled by non-highest graded books.
As I have said many times, census changes rarely work out in a collector’s favor. The same thing happened to us last year in another collection, as after finally achieving our goal of having highest graded copies of the first 25 JLA issues, a #2 9.8 emerged from CGC, besting our 9.6. The one difference there was that book never hit the market or I am sure we would have done the same thing. But occurrences like this are why I would advise anyone just starting out to stick with Marvels, as their values are not as heavily dependent on the census.
I guess if one is trying to find a bright side, we are now much better protected from having the same the happen in the future, as we upgraded two 9.4s and three 9.6s. Also, it looks like these books have a pulse, as they were not cheap. But it sure is a lot more fun to fill empty slots than using your limited acquisition budget to upgrade Pacific Coast pedigrees, which were themselves recently acquired. We will doubtless think long and hard before doing the same thing again.
Current Stats:
63/63 Books
49 9.8s-All Highest Graded
14 9.6s-13 Highest Graded
1 9.4-Highest Graded
1 9.0
30 WP
26 OW/W
9 OW
25 Single Highest Graded
61 Highest Graded
1 Second Highest Graded
1 Third Highest Graded
28 Pedigrees (including 22 Pacific Coasts)
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