Blockchain and Comics: Are Comics Worth Money?

by Matthew Russell - Posted 4 years ago

   

Waz Up my Vigilante Nation! Let me start out by thanking you for coming here to see us on Valentine’s Day instead of wasting time with non-comic lovers aka significant others. We celebrate our one TRUE LOVE; comics.

Today we are going back to the blockchain to throw a little more knowledge at ya. We all know that comics can potentially be worth something and are an investment. Can a digital comic be the same?

Let’s begin by figuring out how a digital asset retains value on the internet. We talk about this a lot when we are meeting new creators. This is one of the things that people tend to just take our word for it.

Selling a Comic

Typically when you purchase a comic online by a regular site (My personal attorney has advised me against listing any examples here), you really only buy the right to view that comic.

We have all been there. We buy a comic from censored and we read it. Now what? Nothing. It sits in our inventory.

Let’s look at this from a more physical point-of-view. We go to our local comic shop. I purchase the new issue of Batman. On a side note: Alfred, we miss you. You will forever be in our hearts.

Now, back to our example. I own the comic. I’ve read it and I’m so distraught that our beloved Alfred Pennyworth has passed that I can’t bear to ever read it again. My buddy has been dying to find out how Bruce Wayne will react to Alfred.

I have a choice. I can keep it all to myself, or I can recoup my financial losses and sell it to him. If I go to sell it, I have to place a value on it. In order to do this, I have to look at several variables.

  • How much did I pay for it?
  • Is it still available at the comic book store?
  • What is different about my copy?
  • Has there been any damage?
  • How much is this particular comic worth to me?
  • How good of a friend is he?


If this title is still available at the comic store and there is nothing exceptional about this issue, then my price probably would cap at the cover price. If it is a variant cover that I had to get special ordered, the price would go up considerably.

Did my tears of anguish fall onto the precious pages? Damage. Did I read it so often that the staples are shifting? Damage. Are there dings and dents in the binding? Not on my comics, I promise you this. You get the picture.

If there was any damage, the price would go down.

I have to gauge all the factors and then I can come up with a price that is justifiable to me. It may not be feasible to my buddy, my it makes sense to me. The point is, I can sell it.

How Does Something Have value?

Now we come to the existential question, “How does something have value?” In the past, it is because an item is relatively scarce and acceptable to others as a form of payment. Gold, diamonds, oil, and silver have been universally accepted as a method to base currency on. (another side note: diamonds are not NEAR as rare as we think they are.)

On the internet, if you purchase a copy of from a typical digital retailer, you are buying a pdf that is duplicated onto your account. This means that as long as that is available online, there is an infinite copy of that comic. No variety, no real value.

Now, our system allows the creator to set a set amount available by using blockchain technology. Typically a comic is printed anywhere from 100,000 copies to 3.55 million according to my research.

If a creator wants a comic book to be extremely rare, they might only allow 100 - 1,000 to be published. This means HOLY CRAP that’s rare! Now, this is starting to hold some high value. Now that I’ve acquired this ultra-rare comic, let’s see if I can sell it.

All the other copies have been sold out. I am the only one willing to part with it. I bought it for $10 worth of Etherieum (to make the math easy). It sold out in a matter of minutes, so I know the market wants it. How do I price it?

Well, what is someone willing to pay? What am I willing to part with it for? Let’s say I decide to price it at $1,000 worth of Etherieum. That is a HUGE markup.

As you can see, from the example above, here at your CryptoComics Marketplace, it holds its value.

Also, since it is digital, good luck damaging it. When you read it on your iPad and start to cry, the tears destroy the tablet, not the comic. If you read it on your phone and it enrages you to the point that you throw the phone. Well, you gotta buy a new phone. Your comic is safe, and that’s what matters.

Is Ethereum Rare?


Eth or Ethereum is the currency of choice for us here at CryptoComics. It has some pretty cool features that Bitcoin doesn’t. That’s why we decided to use focus all our efforts there. Eth is pretty rare. When it went live in 2015 only 72 million coins were minted.

As of today's date, 1 Eth is worth $268.82 in US fiat currency. It can be broken down into a Wei. 1 Eth = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Wei (1018). This means 1 wei is worth 2.7e-16 USD.

So it takes .000037 Eth to make a penny. This means it takes 37,000,000,000,000 Wei to make a penny. Basically what I’m trying to say is that it can be broken down to some very small increments.

This is why when you go to buy a typical comic on the site it might price something at .011 Eth ($2.99).

Wow, that was a lot of math. Too much for me. Shutting...down...brain...need...whiskey…


Come back next time. Same Crypto Time, Same Crypto Channel as we find out exactly what happens when I take over the world or at least drop another knowledge bomb on ya. Until then, check out the Marketplace and pick yourself up some of our Newest comics! C-U then.