This new free guide caters to collectors interested in Canadian Price Variant (CPV) newsstand comics of the 1980s. This collecting niche has gained new recognition this year with an upgrade to CGC labels, which follows a similar change CBCS made in 2018. Beginning in May 2019, the words “Price Variant” now appear on CGC’s labels for the CPVs.
“This new labeling change by both CBCS and CGC to officially recognize and denote CPVs as Price Variants is sure to accelerate collector demand even further,” Overstreet Advisor Doug Sulipa said. “In record numbers, collectors are learning about the scarcity and appeal of this type of cover price variant, leading to more record-breaking sales in 2019.”
In 2010, historian and Overstreet Advisor Jon McClure introduced the term “Type 1A Price Variant” in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #40 article “A History of Publisher Experimentation and Variant Comic Books” to describe this type of cover price variant. Collector interest in Type 1A Price Variant comics has continued to build, according to McClure, which led to this comprehensive price guide to Canadian Price Variant comics.
The first edition of this guide was released in 2017 by McClure, Sulipa, fellow Overstreet Advisors Bill Alexander and Paul Clairmont, and historian Angelo Virone, in collaboration with Benjamin Nobel of the Rare Comics Blog. The team grew in 2018 to include Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner Walter Durajlija. This year, the team has grown to include Overstreet Advisor and Director of the International Comics Exchange, Jay Halstead, and Overstreet Advisor and Vice President at MyComicShop.com, Conan Saunders.
Their 2020 CPV Price Guide for 1980s Canadian Price Variants (Type 1A) has been published online and is accessible for free at rarecomicsblog.com. The 2020 edition of this CPV guide features an expansion of its coverage with additional publishers, a Market Reports & Articles section, and a new image database.
“Back in 1997, I began sharing my research on Marvel cover price variants via Comic Book Marketplace issues #51 (September 1997), #55 (January 1998), and #66 (January 1999),” McClure said. “Three years later all of the 30¢ and 35¢ Marvel variants were listed in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Those are Type 1 variants. I predict Type 1A price variants will be next in line to eventually enjoy the same visibility to collectors. But until then, our team continues to fill the void with our niche price guide covering thousands of 1980s issues where this type of variant exists.”