There's no question nostalgia for the '90s is reaching a very radical and extreme high. Artists like Rob Liefeld, usually the butt (or rather foot) of Internet jokes, are receiving a much-needed re-evaluation and many comic book fans are wishing for the days when heroes were disproportionally ripped and comic book sales were booming. However, between the Beanie Babies and fanny-packs, it's easy to forget that the beloved 90's almost caused a speculator bubble that nearly killed the comic book industry.

The roots of the speculator boom reach as far back as the Golden Age, during the genesis of the comic book industry. During the height of World War II, rationing was in full effect, including very paper comic books were printed on. This only added to the rarity of the first appearances of future icons like Superman, Batman, Captain America and Wonder Woman. The fact that comics of the Golden Age were seen as little more than a marketing novelty further contributed to the notion of a disposable medium, with little future value. Flash-forward to the 90's when a select few copies of comics such as Action Comics #1 (the first appearance of Superman) or Detective Comics #27 (the first appearance of Batman), preserved in mint condition away from the element in attics or basements, netted upwards of one million dollars. Even copies of The Incredible Hulk #181, containing the first appearance of Wolverine went for thousands of dollars. Overnight, the niche market of comic book collecting became a network rags-to-riches story. Unfortunately, the nuance of the conditions which lead to this value was lost on the media.

Related: Are Marvel & DC Comics Really Close to Failing?

Incredible Hulk 181 Wolverine cover

The comic book industry began to feed this machine largely through the introduction of "variants," these being a variation of a popular comic book issue with a superficial difference - usually an alternate cover - printed in limited quality. While the practice of variants remains in the comic book industry to this day, they reached their peak in the mid-'90s and included various gimmicks, such as "holographic" covers, "embossed" covers, "foil-stamped" and so forth. This promoted a buying frenzy for new speculators eager to find value in these limited editions.

The arrival of price-guide publications, such as Wizard Magazine, further fed into the growing speculator market. Thus, speculators were able to find a certain value to comic book variants. The industry began to take on the appearance of a stock market, with speculators buying and unloading their comics directly to other speculators. The value of these variants rose dramatically during this speculator boom, with some individual issues reaching as much as fifteen or twenty dollars. This was impressive growth, considering the average price of comic books in 1990 was $1.75.

Comic Books

While the artificial nature of the speculator boom held the industry on a knife's edge, other factors contributed to the tipping point. Tensions were high with comic book distributors like Diamond, leading Marvel to self-distribute through its acquired Heroes World Distribution, a decision which would later give way to disastrous consequences. During this time, DC Comics was also launching seemingly ground-breaking storylines promoting seemingly major status quo shifts in stories such as The Death of Superman and Batman: Knightfall. Despite all the attention from the media these stories received, the plot points of both storylines proved temporary, resulting in many readers becoming jaded by the cyclical nature of comic books as a whole.

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When the bubble burst in 1993, the impact could be felt throughout the comic book industry. Nine out of every ten comic book stores closed down. Valiant Comics, once the third-largest comic book publisher in the industry, was acquired by Acclaim Entertainment in 1994. Numerous smaller comic book publishers, including Malibu Comics, Eclipse Comics, Comico Comics, and many others, went under. And in a move that seems unfathomable today, Marvel declared bankruptcy in 1996. New comic book sales were down as much as seventy percent.

While the comic book industry has more or less recovered from the speculator boom, sales have never reached the consistent pre-'93 heights. Though the comic book industry remains scarred by the bubble burst, certain changes have resulted in a healthier industry. The rise of graphic novels provides a more reliable revenue for publishers outside of variants. The collector's market still remains strong on eBay, but the value of comic books are largely determined by supply-and-demand rather than variants and speculation. There have been concerns the current crop of comic book movies represents a sort of bubble, but the lack of speculation along with the murky relation between moviegoers and comic book audiences largely prevents blowback. Still, concerns about the return of a speculator market remain an ever-present reality.

Overall, while the '90s reshaped the comic book industry - through the Image Revolution and the rise of creator-owned comics - not everything was as "rad" or "tubular". The comic book bubble created a blowback that nearly collapsed the industry as a whole. Ironically, a creative medium engineered during the Great Depression almost saw its demise in a market crash of its own making over fifty years later.

Next: Superman And Superboy Conner Kent, Back Together Again