Marvel vs Star Wars - What to do??

Forgive the long post, but I have a lot on my mind and hope you guys can help. Here goes...

I've been going round and round on this decision, and I need to draw a line. As much as I might WANT to collect both lines, I just can't financially handle it right now. So a choice must be made. So far, my collection has been mainly Star Wars (been collecting for several years now), and I managed to miss out on some of the finer Marvel pieces so far from Sideshow (something I really regret now that Sentinel and Doom are so expensive and outside my buying range), but the more I look at the Marvel, the more it's drawing me. It could take some time to reorganize, sell off some Star Wars and much time probably to find the others for an affordable price to fill the collection. It would be a lot of work BUT I could do it if I chose. The other option is to get the things most likely to go through the roof in price now, and hold the others for a rainy day down the road. Whether that be Marvel or Star Wars.

Now I don't want you to think I'm motivated only by money, as I'm a fan of both Star Wars and Marvel, but it's always nice to know I didn't put my money into something I like only to find out I could have put it toward something else that I liked equally and had a greater chance of selling for more IF the time came I had to part with it. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. So that being said, do you think the Marvel or Star Wars will be harder to get for a decent price down the road maybe a year or two from now? The Marvel exclusives for example have a pretty low run, but is that likely to win out over the popularity of Star Wars? But then I guess Marvel characters are pretty popular too huh?

Here's an example of one of the choices I could make - I could buy 4 Sideshow Exclusive Star Wars 12" for roughly the same price (maybe a little less) than one Marvel statue. If the Star Wars stuff keeps going up in price, maybe less than that. The question is, do you think the 4 Star Wars exclusives are a better (for lack of a better word) "investment" than the one statue? The Doom and Sentinel pieces seem to have shot through the roof, but do you think the Star Wars will follow or are the Marvel pieces going to be the better bet for collectability and will thus be harder to find for decent prices a year or more from now? Right now, you can buy most of the exclusive Star Wars 12" for less than double the price of the regular, which tops around $100. But then I look at the Doom and Sentinel pieces that have easily gone almost 3 times their original price. Do you think this is a trend, or is it probably just the popularity of those two? Do you think the Marvel pieces will ever approach Balrog or Cave Troll status? It would be cool to get on the ground floor of that!

And then there's the whole impressiveness in person factor. The Marvel probably wins out on that end right? But then there is the Jabba coming out shortly which would actually make a GREAT display environment for the 12" SW. And of course the PF's, but as a whole I've not really been drawn to the PF's like I have the actual statues. Oh sure one or two have caught my eye, but not really enough to change direction drasticly. Plus there's just something about the cloth on polystone that bugs me. Bowen fans will probably understand. Anyway...

I know some of you might say "get what you like" but what if you like BOTH and can't decide? I can't afford both, nor do I have space for it at the moment really, and I'm asking more what you would buy FIRST if you had to make the choice, and to avoid spending any more than you had to in the long run. Space issues aside of course.

And lastly, a point blank question - From an unbiased point of view, based on all the questions I've posed in this thread, would you buy the Wolverine Exclusive Comiquette before 4 Exclusive 12" Star Wars to hold on to for a collection that may someday be sold? Or for that matter, Jabba?

What do you think? We're all fans, so please help a fan out!

Ok, I'm done now.

Thanks for your help!

If I had to choose I would pick Star Wars. But I grew up loving Star Wars and only have a side interest in some of the Marvel characters. If you are a big fan of comics then go for the Marvel pieces, as they are absolutely fantastic in terms of quality, and if you combine that with a great and long standing love for the characters then they are worth it. But if you love Star Wars then go for the 12" figures or even a PF or two. You will get more pieces for your money if you go for the 12" guys instead of the Marvel statues. Whichever property you like more, the pieces that Sideshow is producing are worth it.

Also, ask yourself how much display space you have, and how the things you get will be shown. You can build an army of at least three or four SW figures for every Marvel statue. Also, the Marvel pieces--like Hulk VS. Spider-Man--can have a fairly large footprint and not all shelves/cabinets are large enough to display them. (Although the Spidey VS. Venom is safe. No legs = no problem with a large footprint.)

It's a tough choice...

Indeed it is a tough decision. But if you think YOU have problems, check me out. I have Star Wars vs LoTR vs Marvel vs DC(guess who's my favorite DC character......). Try collecting lines with all THOSE. This predicament has led me to only collect what I really, really, really love from each. I am only collecting lines that are relatively cheap (SS 12" are like $45 each, I can handle that; and getting only a select few from other lines).

Congerking and I have the same issues. I collect DC, Marvel and Star Wars. Then you could do a factor tree out of those three catogories. For instance, I have been for the past month and half been battling which companies World's Finest should I have: Hot Toys or Medicom. I have the Medicom versions but now I want the HT ones as the Medi ones are not what I was wanting (this is not a bash on Medi mind you, as those are nice figures as well. So if you need either one, give me a shout out. Forgive the shamless plug in your thread). Then from that I have SS 12'' SW, DCD and ML. So I see where you are coming from.
My personal opinion man would be to go with the 12'' figures as they grant many options when it comes to display then a statue. While I love statues and plan to own some DC ones someday, I would go with SW line as I think those are really cool. Just my 2 cents, take it for what is worth.

Personally, I'd make up my own mind and not worry about the thoughts of others.

Read my post

Oh I'm not saying that DC holds no interest for me, far from it! Luckily though DC Direct just hasn't hit the right notes in my wallet, and I just can't afford the import stuff. There's no way I'm throwing down $200-300 for a 12" figure any time soon. I just can't justify it, but they sure look nice. I'd be sunk if Sideshow ever got those licenses too though.

I also like lines like LOTR, Buffy, Terminator, etc. but there are not that many compared to Marvel and Star Wars. They're just sort of a "side thing" for me :maul

Marvel all the way............ditch the Star Wars idea...........

The Marvel stuff is pretty cool for the most part. However, there is no way I'd give up the SW line for Marvel. I have two Marvel pieces and that will probably be it where as I have 10 SW pieces as of right now with #11 coming later today. Both are winners but I love SW and just like Marvel so it would be an easy choice for me. Which ever way you go you can't lose but I just wouldn't give up on SW.

Funny you are asking this. I was just talking to the wife about what I would sacrifice if the time came. I love the SW items and figured they would win out but the more I though about it the Marvel items won out in the end. I would rather keep all of the Marvel statues and Dioramas then the SW 1/4 figures.

It is your decision, but think about it and the result may surprise you.

Darkshadowcollectibles, what do you think about the longterm pricing of the Star Wars exclusives vs Marvel? Do you think they'll hold their own against the Marvel exclusives, or would the Marvel be more likely to skyrocket in price, and therefore be harder to find for a decent price later? And do you think this will be the case with both the 12" and PF figures? One option I'm considering is dropping buying the SW exclusives and buying from another retailer or possibly ebay. That way I could buy the occasional Marvel exclusive (I know I won't and can't buy all of them) statue or diorama.

Marvel... Nuff said...

I would go with Marvel as well. I like both equally but the Marvel pieces are just so much better!

Raven said:

Darkshadowcollectibles, what do you think about the longterm pricing of the Star Wars exclusives vs Marvel? Do you think they'll hold their own against the Marvel exclusives, or would the Marvel be more likely to skyrocket in price, and therefore be harder to find for a decent price later? And do you think this will be the case with both the 12" and PF figures? One option I'm considering is dropping buying the SW exclusives and buying from another retailer or possibly ebay. That way I could buy the occasional Marvel exclusive (I know I won't and can't buy all of them) statue or diorama.

Click to expand...

Good question.
I think the Marvel collectibles will actually have better value long term over the SW collectibles over all. Of course this will change with each piece as the Thing will never reach the value of Vader for Obi-Wan.

Thanks. I've been thinking about this a while and I'm slowly getting the same feeling. What do you think about the comiquettes or dioramas vs the PF's in terms of falling/rising prices? So far, the PF's seem to be bringing up the rear with the exception of Doom (still can't believe I missed him). Do you think the Wolverine comiquette or Ghost Rider comiquettes will follow in the footsteps of the Sentinel and not be around much longer for retail-ish prices? Wolverine's so popular, but there's like so much product of him already out there!

Of course this whole thing could change right around the minute I actually get a few of them on my shelves and see what kind of mess I've made for myself!

In terms of likeness and quality, I think for the most parts, the marvel comiquettes and PFs are a lot better than the SW. Just by looking at Iron Man, wolvorine, Green Goblin or Doom compared to Vader, Han or Luke, it's a no-brainer which ones are better. But there are some good SW pieces like GG or PF obi. Overall, both have hits and misses , but Marvel has a lot more hits, in terms of numbers. And I didn't even include the vs. pieces in the comparison.

carbo-fation, just as a personal preference, do you like the vs pieces, comiquettes, or PF's the best and why?

I'd definately agree with you on the PF Star Wars. I do like the Vader (and will one day own him), but Han and Luke were not as good and I could definately see passing on them for some time to come. Obi is a must if I own Vader, so I'll probably buy both around the same time. Not in a big hurry on that though as the exclusives didn't blow me away. I'll probably pose them in the iconic pose anyway, so why would I need the exclusives? GG, well he's just so darn BIG and the arm fragility issue has me worried about breaking if I moved. I'm this close to ordering the Luke and Yoda PF though. Ah, waffling nothing like it!