Article content

Vincent Zurzolo may not have been standing in the shoulder-to-shoulder sea of sweaty nerds that got the first glimpses of the Iron Man trailer at San Diego Comic-Con in 2007, but his smile was just as wide.

As fans poured out of the convention centre’s Hall H, Zurzolo, the world’s foremost comic book dealer, heard rave reviews from dozens still glowing about the red-and-gold armoured centurion’s debut on the big screen. Iron Man launched a series of 14 films that has grossed US$10.9 billion for Marvel Studios LLC, but it wasn’t alone in thinking about profits.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Tales of Suspense #39 or Apple Inc? Tectonic price surges in the comic book market are giving the nerdy niche investing cred Back to video

At the next convention Zurzolo visited, he bought every copy he could find of Tales of Suspense #39, Iron Man’s 1959 Marvel Comics debut, paying between US$1,000 and US$1,500 each for more than a dozen copies.

“I paid full retail and in less than a month, I had a markup of 30 per cent,” he said. “If I held them a couple more months, I would’ve made even more.”

If Zurzolo still had those comics in 2017, he could sell his pristine copies for upwards of US$16,000 — a 966-per-cent increase over the past 10 years. By comparison, Apple Corp.’s stock rose 955 per cent over the same period, albeit with a couple of big dips along the way.

Such price surges in the comic book industry are why investors should consider adding them as an alternative to more traditional portfolios made up of stocks and bonds, Zurzolo said. Most of his customers are fans, but those who have never read a comic book in their lives are beginning to invest as well, lured by a market where the right moves can earn them millions.