The Comics Crash of 1993, Or Why Your House in Florida Won't Regain Its Value

The Weekly Standard's resident geek Jonathan V. Last on the parallels between the bursting of the comics bubble in 1993 and today's housing market:

By the time the bubble's soapy residue washed away, nine out of ten comic book shops in America had closed their doors. Publisher sales of new comics dropped by 70 percent. On December 27, 1996, Marvel, the General Motors of comics, filed for bankruptcy. The market for used comics was flooded with the cadaverous inventories of out-of-business stores. The prices of high-value comics dipped or plateaued. Many lower-value comics (books under $100) saw significant declines. Comics printed during the run-up to the bubble became virtually worthless, as the speculator-driven sales combined with the unsold issues to create a massive oversupply. 

Sound familiar? 

Lots of houses are the functional equivalent of blue-chip comic books. Like a copy of Action Comics#1, a co-op in Manhattan, a townhouse in Georgetown, or a bungalow in Santa Monica will eventually regain its previous value and will prove to be an excellent investment in the long run….But during the run-up to the housing crash, a crush of construction appeared in places like the Carolina coasts, the southwestern desert, and pockets of Florida.

While Last laments the lost value of his comics collection—his teenage dream was to sell the books and buy a car—Reason's own Tim Cavanaugh has been telling the same sad story about his house.