The Punisher – Web Wreckage

Until a couple of years ago I wasn't even aware that there were any out of print Punisher trades or hardcovers that were worth much of anything on the secondary market, except for maybe a couple of the Punisher MAX oversized hardcovers that came out several years ago and collected the Garth Ennis Punisher material. A few years ago, you could have sold copies of The Punisher MAX Volume 4 hardcover for between $75 and $100 all day long - but other than that (and a couple of other Ennis Punisher trades) there did not seem to be many profitable Punisher books for me to be on the lookout for. Now, with most if not all of the Ennis material readily available to Punisher fans I have had to look elsewhere at other creators collections for profitable Punisher books. The good news is that they do exist and a number of them should still be readily available to you in the Wild if you are willing to do a bit of digging. What follows is a list of ten OOP Punisher collected editions and a bonus entry that is not technically a Punisher book, per se but which does include him in its pages - and even features him on the cover! Marvel Essential The Punisher Volume 4 There was a time when the Marvel Essential Editions were the preferred way for comic fans to get their fix of Silver Age, Bronze Age and... Platinum Age(?) runs of Marvel story lines. Now with the rise of the Marvel Epic collection format, the Essentials seem to be quietly fading into the Sunset, however a few still have managed to retain some of their profitability and this Punisher volume would seem to be among their ranks. Punisher War Zone Volume 1 I remember when this series came out back in 1992. It seemed like a big deal, what with its die-cut cardstock cover and all the hype surrounding the release of anew Punisher series. Ahh, those were the days... Anyway, I have to say that I have not laid eyes on this collected edition in a really long time and I guess that scarcity is now being reflected on the prices for NEW copies of this book on the secondary market. The Punisher Volume 6: Confederacy of Dunces So after going on about how the recent collected editions have killed off most of the demand for the Ennis Punisher material, I feel somewhat obligated to include this Ennis trade in my list since it still seems to have some demand going for it. I guess there is something about the tandem of Ennis and McCrea that has fans coming back to this book. (also the price of a Used-Like New or sometimes even a NEW copy is comparable to the newer, bigger collected edition that collects this storyline plus other material which some fans might not be interested in buying) Punisher: Year One At this point I have to wonder, Is there a character that hasn't received the 'Year One' treatment yet? Regardless, Punisher fans seem to like this take on the character's history and prices reflect this prefernce. Punisher VS Bullseye This idea seems like a no-brainer to me and I guess a large number of Punisher (and, I guess, Bullseye fans?) seem to agree based on the fact that this OOP edition is regularly sitting at around two and a half to three times retail. Punisher Noir None of the Noir series of books seemed to have much heat behind them when they first started to go out of print, now however, more than one of these volumes have started to garner some demand and the prices for NEW and Used-Like New copies on the secondary market now reflect that. The Punisher By Greg Rucka Volume 1 Take a popular indy writer and put him on a mainstream book and then release the collected editoins with likely below average print runs and you get the Greg Rucka run on the Punisher. Pretty much the entire series of trades from Rucka's run seem to have seen a marked increase in value on the secondary market; even the first volume, which likely had the largest print run since it was released in both a hardcover and paperback editions, will cost you two to three times retail for a NEW copy on Amazon - well, okay, just to be clear here: a NEW copy of the volume 1 hardcover will cost you less than a NEW copy of the paperback for whatever reason, but the important point here is that the run goes for above cover. The Punisher by Greg Rucka Volume 2 (AKA Punisher: The Friendly Ghost) This book collects the storyline in which the Punisher becomes a ghost. Okay, I was kidding about the story line, however this book itself was a ghost in the wild for the longest time, with NEW copies on amazon commanding exorbitant prices to match its scarcity. At this point however, prices for a NEW copy have dropped to below $100 on Amazon. I myself only saw this book on the shelves of local comic book shops twice, and that was in just one city while I was off on vacation.(it was at two separate locations of the same chain of comic shops so I basically lucked out and found a shop that pretty much carried the same inventory at both locations, but other than that I've never seen a copy in the wild) Punisher: Enter the War Zone At the time I am writing this, there is only One stated NEW condition copy of this book available for sale on Amazon. The funny thing is it can be had for under $50. How long do you think that lone copy will last? More importantly, how much do you think someone will be charging for the next NEW copy that gets listed for sale on there once the current copy is gone? Guess what? If you have been following my advice here, YOU could be the person who gets to set the price on that next NEW copy! The Punisher Volume 1: Black and White This book here is what I consider a classic example of the out of print sweet spot: a book that has gone out of print and is commanding some decent prices for NEW copies on the secondary market but that seems to still be on quite a few comic shop shelves. A year ago it was on a lot more shelves. My theory on this book is that the rise in popularity of Mitch Gerads as an artist (Mister Miracle, Batman) has driven the demand for this book to a level that Marvel was not expecting at the time that it went to print. For the time being, however this book is a relatively easy score for a reseller. Back at the start of the post I promised a bonus entry on this list that was not a Punisher title but was relevant to fans of the Punisher and here it is... Deadpool Classic Volume 7 A look at the Amazon listings for the Deadpool Classic series will reveal that Marvel is keeping the series in print enough to satisfy demand for the books - except for volume 7. Your guess is as good as mine why this one volume is commanding prices of almost three times retail and up. True, no publisher can afford to keep every book of every series in print all of the time but you would think that when they slap a Steve Dillon cover on the thing they would expect to see some increase in sales from the crossover of Punisher fans on this collected edition? Oh wait, I just had a quick glance at some of the interior art for this book through Amazon's "LOOK INSIDE' feature and, yeah. Okay. Nevermind, they probably were not expecting too much from this book... Okay, well I hope that this list of OOP Punisher gems has given you some fresh targets to be on the look out for while out on the hunt. What's next? Maybe something away from the 'Big Two'. Yeah, that sounds like fun. Until next time, happy hunting!