Guide to Modern Age comic books as investment.

We're currently sitting in the Modern age of geic books. Just as a prelude, there are five universally accepted geic book ages:

Platinum (1897-1937)
Golden (1938-1955)
Silver (1956-1969)
Bronze (1970-1979)
Modern (1980-Now)
Discussion of these ages is outside the scope of this guide, but it important to note that generally speaking the older the age a geic is from the more it is worth. Any Platinum age geic is considered very valuable, for example. This guide will give examples of what makes a geic book valuable, particularly for new or Modern age geic books so that as a collector you can make informed investment decisions about recently released and upgeing issues. We'll use some of the other ages for reference, but primarily you should gain an understanding of what makes a given geic book valuable so that you can get great deals on Modern geics from okay while they are most affordable.
PRINT RUN
Print run will go a long way toward determining the overall value of a geic book. Why is any Platinum Age geic book considered so valuable, even in Fine condition? Because there are so few thought to still be in existance. It is difficult to find Golden Age books of any kind, particularly in an attractive condition. The current print runs are not as large as they grew to be in the 1990's, when several geics printed over one million copies, but they are higher than they had been in any previous age. The size of the print run matters. A geic book may sell out but still have a large print run, meaning that there will be a large secondary market supply. This is the case with some of the Civil War geics that are around. However, other Civil War geics, such as She-Hulk #8, are valuable primarily because of a shorter print run than normal. Not only did the geic sell out in the first week but there is a relatively small secondary market supply. Unlike some of the other Civil War issues, geic book retailers weren't stocking up on issues of She-Hulk. Another great example is the first appearance of Wolverine's daughter/clone known as X-23 in the geic book NYX #3. While NYX #1 had a large print run of over 70,000 geics and issue #2 fell off slightly to just over 60,000 copies, NYX #3 had a much bigger drop off to 40,000 copies. The hype of a new series had faded and geic book retailers did not anticipate the new character appearance and the rest is history. Those two examples, She-Hulk #8 and NYX #3, were instant secondary market sensations. The lesson of those two books may actually be in the opposite case. Would NYX #3 be as valuable if the print run were over 125,000 like other X-Men titles? So the print run is important but it is equally important as a way to avoid geics of which there is an abundance.
PUBLISHER
Small time or independent publishers make great geic books that are highly entertaining. Still, very few geics from independent publishers are valuable. There are exceptions, but if you take a look at the dozens of independent publishers out there you probably couldn't name more than a hand full. In recent years there has been a backlash against independent publisher back issues on the secondary market. It seems that DC and Marvel, with their rich history and sound financial backing make for a much better investment because characters have a better chance to begee built upon and increase their visibility in their respective geic universe. Valiant geics that were published in the 1990's were as well written and drawn as anything geing out of Marvel and DC. The same could be said for CrossGen geics in the early 2000's. There are still Valiant geics that are valuable but the long term investment of those issues is not as stable as a Marvel or DC issue. CrossGen may be the exception, but the value of CrossGen geics are not very high currently. CrossGen assets and characters were purchased by Disney a few years back after CrossGen went bankrupt but to date Disney has not decided to publish a single geic book from those assets. CrossGen back issues may be a diamond in the rough if Disney ever decides to continue with the charaters through geic form or other media but there is no assurance. It's very difficult to look at some of the other gepanies as an investment due to the volatile nature of the geic book world. Even Image, which has been around for over ten years, has had issues with consistency in titles. Each month there appear to be new #1 issues of a series that doesn't last very long and is never to be heard from again. In the end, it's far better to avoid the uncertaintly of the independent publishers from an investment standpoint. They do make great reading, and shouldn't be abandoned, but invest elsewhere; particularly with Marvel and DC if all things are being equal. But keep an eye out for CrossGen, should something develop with Disney. Disney basically has the rights to an entire geic book universe should they decide to use it and with CrossGen back issues being next to worthless aside from #1 issues it doesn't cost much to take that chance.
CHARACTER
First appearances and return appearances of characters are a large part of what can make an issue valuable. The more important the character is perceived to be the more potential the value. For example, Moon Knight, arguably Marvel's version of Batman, has returned with a new series. Not only is Werewolf by Night #32 at a very high, yet relatively affordable price but so are the first and key issues of his other series. This includes the current series. Another example is DC geics character Supergirl. Kara Zor-El returned to DC continuity with Superman/Batman #8 and has since been launched in her own hot title. DC has made it a point to push Supergirl, or literally all of its Supergirls. These Supergirls consist this returned Supergirl as well as Power Girl (a.k.a., Kara Zor-L) and the "Supergirls" Cir-El (Superman