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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Comic books and collectibles have doubled in price since the pandemic
High prices in one market is driving demand in others. (This story originally aired on All Things Considered on July 29, 2021.
Related NPR Stories
Check Those Boxes In Your Attic2: Comic Books And Collectibles Have Doubled In PriceJuly 28, 2021
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We've reported a lot on the COVID-related supply glitches3 that have driven up the cost of things like cars, gas and building materials. Another product has also seen prices more than double in the last year - comic books. Abe Aboraya of member station WMFE has this encore report.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
ABE ABORAYA: It's the battle of the century - Batman versus4 Superman.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE")
TROY BAKER5: (As Batman) 'Sup, Supes?
TRAVIS WILLINGHAM: (As Superman) Wow. It's Batman. What are you doing here?
ABORAYA: But this time, the Dark Knight6 versus the Man of Steel doesn't happen on the big screen; it happens on an auction7 block in Dallas, Texas.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The greatest comic in the hobby - Action Comics No. 1.
ABORAYA: At Heritage Auctions8, bidding for the first appearance of Superman starts at $400,000.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The biggie of biggies as far as this session is concerned - the first appearance of Batman - Detective Comics 27.
ABORAYA: Here is where Batman beats Superman. Batman's first comic book appearance sold for $1.1 million, more than twice as much as Superman's first appearance. During three days at auction, a record $22.5 million was spent on rare comic books, shattering the previous record that was set in April. The pandemic that put millions of Americans out of work hasn't caused them to have to liquidate9 their comic book collections and drive prices down, says Douglas Gillock with online auction site ComicLink.
DOUGLAS GILLOCK: In hobbies, we talk about, you know, death, divorce and debt as the three D's of why people sell.
ABORAYA: That's still true, but the average price of a comic book sold in April more than doubled from a year ago. The younger generation is now collecting comic books fueled by the success of the Marvel10 Cinematic Universe. But also, more people are seeing comics as a financial asset with a pretty good return on investment.
GILLOCK: And in some cases, extreme, extreme returns. But they're also fun to own. There's pride of ownership.
ABORAYA: If you're proud of your comic investment, you'll probably send it to Certified11 Collectibles Group in sunny Sarasota, Fla., for authentication12.
Comics.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Comics? Let's take a look, then.
ABORAYA: High fences, security guards, video cameras everywhere - CCG is the Fort Knox of comics, complete with an actual vault13 overflowing14 with pallets of comic books. Here, comics and collectibles are authenticated15 and given a grade by specialists like Vince Oliva.
VINCE OLIVA: This is a Fantastic Four No. 1.
ABORAYA: It looks pristine16, but Oliva's super senses can tell that missing pieces of the cover have been repaired, the spine17 reinforced and the cover soaked and cleaned. It has been professionally restored.
OLIVA: And it's still a very valuable book, but instead of a half a million, now this might be - oh, gosh - probably something more in the $10-, $15,000 range.
ABORAYA: Once he's done, comic books are then slabbed in carbonite - kind of.
(SOUNDBITE OF PLASTIC CLATTERING18, HIGH-PITCHED RINGING)
ABORAYA: It's a hard plastic clamshell to prevent comics from being altered in ways that could affect their value. This whole operation - grading, authenticating19, slabbing - takes hundreds of people. CCG President Max Spiegel says his company can't hire fast enough and is offering $2,500 hiring bonuses.
MAX SPIEGEL: At the start of the pandemic, we had 300 employees around the world. We just passed 500 employees. And I think by the end of the year, we could have 600 or 700 employees.
ABORAYA: So now, what before the pandemic was a two-month turnaround for comic books, is more than five months. A Pokemon card takes a year to get graded.
For NPR News, I'm Abe Aboraya in Sarasota, Fla.
(SOUNDBITE OF DATAROCK SONG, "FA-FA-FA")
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n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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attic
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n.顶楼,屋顶室 | |
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glitches
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n.小过失,差错( glitch的名词复数 ) | |
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versus
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prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下 | |
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baker
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n.面包师 | |
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knight
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n.骑士,武士;爵士 | |
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auction
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n.拍卖;拍卖会;vt.拍卖 | |
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auctions
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n.拍卖,拍卖方式( auction的名词复数 ) | |
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liquidate
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v.偿付,清算,扫除;整理,破产 | |
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marvel
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vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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certified
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a.经证明合格的;具有证明文件的 | |
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authentication
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鉴定,认证 | |
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vault
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n.拱形圆顶,地窖,地下室 | |
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overflowing
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n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的,充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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authenticated
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v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 );鉴定,使生效 | |
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pristine
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adj.原来的,古时的,原始的,纯净的,无垢的 | |
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spine
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n.脊柱,脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊 | |
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clattering
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发出咔哒声(clatter的现在分词形式) | |
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authenticating
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v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的现在分词 );鉴定,使生效 | |
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