Also has first appearance of Yukio. Namor in the comics is the King of Atlantis who has a thing for Sue Storm, and is the companys first Mutant. Sold: Jul 28, 2012 . But before he was part of the Justice League, battling interdimensional beings, Manhunter went undercover as a human detective, solving very earthly crimes. The copy had an incredible 9.6 grading and is the highest-graded copy in existence. Cover by Gil Kane, John Romita and Artie Simek. Even with so many superhero movies and TV shows out there, there's still probably only three characters that even people who have never picked up a comic book know exactly how they got their powers, and one of thems Spiderman. (Image courtesy J.T.P. The first issue of "Justice League of America" features the team of world-saving do-gooders fighting against prehistoric dinosaurs, Despero, and planet-destroying missiles. 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The comic that arguably started the entire Marvel Comics Universe arc that dominated the box office for years, "The Avengers" No. . It has the first appearance and origin of Man-Thing. It continues her origin story and also includes the first appearance of Wildcat and Mister Terrific. Enterprises for copyright infringement (and perhaps a bit of saltiness, since Captain Marvel went on to outsell Superman), and Captain Marvel ceased to exist by 1953. In a rare departure from the vintage Marvel cards, this specific mint 9 grade Spiderman card from 2013 is one of the highest selling Marvel cards in the past few years. However, the comic restarts the new X-Men in the titled series, and has the 2nd appearances of Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird. It sold in 2016, its value rising due to the resuscitation of the DC Universe in film. Most recent known sale of a Giant-Size X-Men #1 CGC 9.8 was for $45,000 and sold at Comic Connect in September of 2021. The first issue, published in 1942, is the second appearance of Wonder Woman. Spider-Man has always been a popular superhero (arguably the most popular), and the prices as of late reflect his popularity. Anyhow, a move towards diversity was definitely in play during the Bronze Age of Comics. The interior art, done by Kane and Fred Guardineer, features a splash page with Batman holding a smoking pistol something that looks weird to us today, but was totally in line with the character back in the 1940s. Another one sold on Dec 4, 2020 for $8,000.00 on eBay, and December 17, 2020 saw a $5,050.00 over at Comic Connect. It was Wolverine prior, and I'm not gonna say why the Punisher slid into first place during this time. "Fantastic Comics" No. 2. If you collected comics in the early '90s, we're very sorry. Incredible Hulk #181. Be sure to check back as we update the list as new records are set! Free shipping for many products! In this comic, Barbara Gordon gets the crime-fighting itch after a trip to a costume party, where she then helps Batman and Robin fight the Killer Moth. But because this was the '90s, his heroic debut in Venom: Lethal Protector just had to come wrapped in a shiny red cover. Let's get to it! Please watch the following video where you can watch me break them all down and look at some comics history. Hopefully, it garnered more excitement for Asian superheroes in the comic medium. "Hulk" No. A very rare example of a '90s comic that went up in value due to a character appearance is New Mutants #87. Cover by Dave Cockrum, Al Milgrom and Danny Crespi. "Suspense Comics" No. There doesnt appear to be anything notable about "Action Comics" No. Mail-away incentives, super-limited editions, and graded copies have no place among your sweaty socks and fifth grade art projects anyhow. Pretty rare for Marvel Spotlight #5s at 9.8 grades! Most Valuable Comic Books of All Time By Craig Donofrio, updated on February 25, 2022 DC Comics / Heritage Auctions Ever since Superman's first appearance in 1938, comic books have captured the hearts and minds of children and adults with stories of heroes and the evildoers they vanquish. This doesn't include sets, magazines, manga, or trade paperbacks. Pretty crazy, but this is a 1982 comic and has the fan-favorite story-arc. A few months later in issue #12, the first epic clash between Marvels two top titans, the Thing, and the Hulk took place, which to this day is one of the House Of Ideas great rivalries. It definitely has a lot going for it, and Wolverine's gruff, violent but loyal nature has caught on with many comic fans. TTS #35 would be the first appearance of the Ant-Man, but this issue of the anthology series would be the first appearance of Hank Pym, who even tossed his serums down the toilet by the end of the story, knowing that only bad things would happen. Marvel U.K.'s Transformers #113 is the first mainstream comic appearance of Death's Head, an unusual cult favorite robot that has canonically crossed borders with Marvel, Transformers, and even Doctor Who. You've made it through the whole list and knew full well that Amazing Fantasy #15 was going to be the most valuable Marvel book of all time, but just didn't know why. 1st Blade is still hot! It's why when Sony agreed to loan him out to Disney, it became a big deal the wall-crawler was coming home! And instead of putting together a suit in the caves of Afghanistan as he does in the 2008 "Iron Man" movie, this Tony Stark built his crude metal armor in a Vietnam POW camp. This first encounter had Spidey use a vacuum cleaner, but writers have spent a lot of time making the Sandman a credible threat over the years, and cinematically with Thomas Haden Church in the role for Spider-Man 3. I debated pretty hard about even mentioning these, but here they are: Wolverine #1 CGC 10. Even though the surrounding issues aren't worth much, the first appearance of Death's Head will net you an average of $100. 1 that belonged to actor Nicolas Cage fetched $2.161 million in 2011. When he used the shrinking serum, the brilliant mind carelessly left the growing serum on a counter, now light years away. 2, but it was believed to be too gruesome. Aug 17, 2021 saw a sale of a CGC 9.8 for $9,000.00 and an Aug 31, 2021 sale of $7,500.00 smack-a-roos. Thor made his first appearance in 1962 within the "Journey Into Mystery" series. The cover was done by Bill Everett and Alex Schomburg. What's even more startling to me is that this comic came out in 1971 but has quite a bit more copies in the CGC Census for 9.8s than Marvel Spotlight #5. Also, usually the stories inside are told in black and white. Two marquis issues not just in the history of the Fantastic Four, but in Marvel are both currently tied as 65K at their highest value. Then again, if I owned the 3 known copies in existence, I'd be very reluctant to let my go unless I really needed the money. 9 is prized by collectors and comic lovers alike because of the gorgeous front cover and the epic battle between the Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner on the inside pages. He storms all the way from Mexico to kidnap John Jameson in New York. This iconic comic marks the first appearance of the Joker and Catwoman. But with the massive fanbase the Hulk has, plenty people would be able to bring a copy home for themselves. As much fun as seeing an all-Hulk jamboree might be, it's the neon green and pink cover of this classic that's truly iconic. Sort of. Only three copies are known to exist with a higher grade. An issue of X-Men #94 with a CGC grade of 9.8 sold for $58,000 in April 2021. Once the robot was to break free, he adopted a human identity and cover of NY policeman, Jim Hammond. This comic book marks the first appearance of iconic X-Men, including Charles Xavier, Magneto Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast and Iceman. most valuable comics from the 2000s. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for FANTASTIC FOUR COMICS LOT 66 BRONZE AGE COMICS MOST VG-VF at the best online prices at eBay! This issue of "All-American Comics" from 1940 features the first appearance of Alan Scott as the Green Lantern. A little over a month later on September 10th, another copy sold for $11,000 at eBay. This cover is a great representation of that with a certain evil flag on the cover. Just saying. The only other sale I could find for this comic was back in 2013, and it sold at Heritage Auctions for $13,145! A solid copy will net you around $350. Ashcan comics were not intended for sale. Just be ready to spend at least 567K for it if you find a near mint copy. The copy that sold for $107,550 was a 9.4-graded version, the finest version known to exist. You can see that clearly on the cover by John Buscema. Someone had stolen it from his home, but it was found 11 years later in a Southern California storage locker. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. This comic is pretty much all origin story, with Abin Sur of the Green Lantern Corps crashing into the middle of a desert, and while on the throes of death, finds a worthy successor to the Green Lantern in Hal Jordan. Captain Marvel #17 isn't the first appearance of the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan; Marvel confirmed that she actually appears in a panel in issue 14. A 4.0-graded copy sold for $30,000 on eBay in March 2019. Thanks for reading and happy hunting! I am surprised and thought that the 1st appearance of Wolverine would've taken the number #1 spot. February 27, 2023 By restaurants on the water in st clair shores By restaurants on the water in st clair shores to own this issue, consider yourselves lucky hold onto the book and you probably will have doubled or tripled your investment soon. We compiled the all-time auction price records for comic books as of February 9th, 2023. Because of the selected area of distribution, these 35 Cent Price variant comics are more rare than the regular 30 Cent versions that were distributed. Also, Drax the Destroyer has been a prominent character in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Their debut in 1961 helped to usher in a new age of superheroes but combine it with shows like Lost In Space, where it's not just one person on an adventure, but an entire family. A 9.0-graded copy sold for $281,001 in 2012. But it was still 1942, and a female superhero might not have been as appealing to young boys as Captain America or Superman. How do you know what's valuable? This book is consistently sought after by collectors as it is considered the true first Marvel comic book of all time. Bruces father tries to intervene, and the criminal shoots them dead. 35 is sought after by collectors mainly because of the fantastic cover by Bob Kane. In almost perfect condition, this incredibly colorful comic book wowed collectors when it sold for $3.6 million in 2021. 1 Fantastic Four #1: $20,000-$25,000 Well it's about time we formally addressed the first issue. Just kidding. Because the sale of the next lower grade beat the most recent sale of a CGC 9.6 Marvel Premiere #15, I put it higher on the list than that comic. Issue has 1st appearance of Sabretooth. The total for 9.8s of Giant-Size X-Men #1 in the CGC Census is 218. Stan Lee wanted Hulk to be a big grey monster, but an issue with the printing ink turned the Hulk varying hues of green on the inside pages. Iron Man #55 also has the debut of Drax the Destroyer, who has a personal vendetta against Thanos, The Mad Titan. Batman #1 - About $567,000. Well, if you're gonna have a great hero representing mutant kind, you gotta have the hero's arch nemesis or most popular villain. The other is also a mad scientist, this one who travels around on a glider and looks like a goblin. Going down a grade to CGC 9.6, the most recent sale of that was $5,760 on Aug 23, 2021. Actually, this information might wow some comic investors and those into comic speculation more than actual comic collectors. Venom Lethal Protector #1 (1993), black cover error It's. In the U.S., Marvel's Transformersran for 80 issues, but Marvel U.K.'s version included all-new stories in addition to reprints, and ran for an amazing 332 issues. This comic was mostly distributed in cities when it was first printed in 1939, which may have resulted in a higher rate of destruction because of a lack of storage space. The first appearance of Moon Knight has been in demand and sought-out for a good while, but I do remember a time when this comic was under the radar. I'm actually a bit surprised this is on here, but, then, after thinking about the connection this character has to Blade, I'm not really that surprised. UPDATE: Heritage auctions just sold a CGC 9.8 for $38,400.00 on January 13, 2022 and for less than copies sold below: Heritage Auctions sold A CGC 9.8 of Amazing Spider-Man #129 for $43,200 back in September of 2021. Journey Into Mystery had a different tale to tell a year earlier, introducing not only Korg (who was the comic relief in Ragnarok), but also the God of Thunder Thor himself! Action Comics (1938-2011) #1 CGC VF+: 8.5 WHITE pages - $2,052,000 - June 12, 2018 But in the earliest days of the Merry Marvel Marching Society, the big guns were the big guns, and aside from first appearances, that was about it. Please note that this list is in alphabetical order. It has been ten years since Iron Man stepped out of the pages of Marvel and onto the big screen, launching one of the most popular and beloved movie franchises the world has ever known. 10. Again with the mutants. Relaxing of the Comic Code Authority and we get back some good ole classic horror characters like Dracula in the mighty world of Marvel. Only 3300 copies were printed, making it a relatively uncommon book, but if you grabbed one of these in 1998, you'd be $500 richer today. With his similar healing factor that slows down his aging, Sabretooth (Victor Creed) should be an interesting villain that can be linked to several periods of time with Logan. This time was to go around the Comics Code and publish more mature-themed stories. 1, and the cover art is by Craig Flessel. Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 - 1st appearance and origin of Luke Cage. While the Ultra-Humanite isnt exactly a popular or even well-known bad guy, hes the worlds first comic book supervillain. So why was it so expensive? Almost forgot Savage Tales #1 and it should probably be on here. Enter Sabretooth. This is a big moment for geeks all across the world, or at least it was in 1940. Not something creators used to drum up sales, but often times just carelessness on the part of creative teams. The 1st appearance of Phoenix in X-Men #101 is a classic Bronze Age X-Men debut. As Robin might have said in the original "Batman" television series, "Holy profit!". While many fudged printings were scrapped, leaving only a few odd copies released into the world, over 500 copies of a Lethal Protector #1 cover printed in all black found their way into the wild, making it a rare, but not-altogether-unlikely thing might've found at your comic shop in 1993. The creator of all that is Marvel got his grand start within the pages of Captain America #3, writing that story, Captain America Foils The Traitors Revenge, it was also the first time Lee and Jack Kirbys names were both in the same comic. With speculation about a Moon Knight anything live-action happening, this book really heated with the recent news of Disney Plus's Moon Knight streaming show coming out super soon. While both issues have always been high priced, find a pristine copy and you never know how much more it could nab you. I am definitely surprised that this is not higher on the list and more valuable. $40k already and more than a 15k increase in just a few mere months of each other. The next story features the Fantastic Four and the first appearance of the Chameleon. Daredevil was designed by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Bill Everett. But the ink was giving them a problem. Detective Comics #27 - About $2.1 Million. The Avengers #1 Pacific Coast pedigree (Marvel, 1963) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white pages.. Auction amount: $274,850 . The location might have changed from Vietnam to the Middle East, but the origins story of Tony Stark hasn't changed much over the years. There are a few Marvel Mystery comics that are worth a bit more, but the very first Amazing Spider-Man still deserves a spot on this list. I grew up with the character in the late 80s and 90s. If you stuck around long enough to pick up this later release, ungraded copies sell for an average of $125 today. That is something to bank on in the future. Take a piece of old-timey comic book history, add the debut of Marvels first-ever mutant and you get a grand investment or a prize for only a handful of collectors out there. One issue from 1961 that was graded a 9.4 sold for $300,000 cash. The BvS or Infinity War of its time, Marvel Mystery #9 was the first crossover story between two superheroes when the worlds of Namor and the original Human Torch collided. However, the first Ghost Rider was part of the western genre and isn't considered a superhero. The comic does first see his famous mask redesigned from his previous look in Incredible Hulk #180, #181 and #182 (this comic some are arguing is the real 2nd appearance of Wolverine and not simply a cameo). The Amazing Spider-Man #1 is one of a handful of important comic books in American pulp history. Kicking off the list of the 20 most valuable comic books on the planet is the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, a Marvel comic dedicated to the web-slinger, following his smashing success in Amazing Fantasy #15. . The original . Someone bought a rare copy of Action Comics #1, printed in 1938, for $3.2 million in 2014. Either one of these is worth your time and effort to find if you're hunting down issues to invest in. Avengers #1 - $274,000 The 1963 comic book, Avengers #1, features Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp. Published in 1940, the Overstreet Guide called it "The definitive funny animal anthology comic after which all others were modeled.". Was a quick initial shock. I am actually a bit surprised it hasn't hit the $10k mark just yet. Highest known CGC 9.8 sale for this comic sold for $72,000 at Heritage Auctions in July of 2021. I also have other informative articles to check out so please do so. Fun useless fact time - when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Incredible Hulk they wanted the Green Goliath to be grey. There is even an attempt to water down the sinophobia that Fu Manchu personified, and even most fans of the comic (non-Asians) don't see the racism in the comic because Anti-Asian sentiment of the west is so normalized. It includes over 100 of the most valuable comic books from the 80s. After appearing in Amazing Fantastic #15, Spider-Man got his own title series written by Stan Lee, with art by Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. It features the third cover appearance of Superman, and a story involving an abusive prison warden that Superman has to bring to justice. Things are changing slightly as the MCU grows, so perhaps it's time to pick up some investment comics now. A 9.6-graded copy sold for a record $262,900 at Heritage Auctions in 2016. While it actually hit stands in late 1979, 1980 appears in the indicia. Cover by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom. One current listing on eBay is graded a 9.2, but it couldnt sell at $531,000 less than half the price of the 9.8 copy so the bidder cut the price to $414,180. Again, Spider-Man in the comic books is akin to Mickey Mouse and Disney. That certainly holds true for the Fantastic Four. With the MCU gearing up to introduce their mighty mutants in their cinematic realm, it will be interesting to see how much Incredible Hulk #180 heats up compared to Incredible Hulk #181. The cover image of Spidey and the Fantastic Four left an indelible mark on the fans and Stan Lee and Steve Ditkos run on the book was epic, setting the stage for how Peter Parker balances life as a superhero and as a teenager. Once again, good things come to those who wait. To do so, Odin temporarily wipes Thor's memory and turns him into a nerdy scientist while Earth is under attack by the stone men from Saturn. Notable Sales $3.4 million (CGC 6.0, private sale, 2022) $3.25 million (CGC 8.5, ComicConnect, 2021) $2.1 million (CGC 9.0, ComicConnect, 2011) $1.5 million (CGC 8.5, ComicConnect, 2010) CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 We all know Batmans origin story: A young Bruce Wayne and his parents are leaving the movies when a no-good crook emerges from the shadows, brandishing a gun and demanding Mrs. Waynes necklace. There are no first appearances or really anything of importance within the comics plot, but the books cover is so beloved and original prints are so hard to find that some people will pay a huge premium for one in great condition. Marvel Premiere #15 - 1st appearance of Iron Fist. Plus the sales dates for the Iron Fist #14 are much older. Not enough Free Comic Book Day issues appear on the most valuable comic books list. Since the book was only distributed in New York City, researchers have found only five known copies to exist, which puts it in the kind of rarity that might even be fewer copies than Action Comics # 1. To save some money to make up Canadas trade deficit, the issues were printed in black and white. Another great Steve Ditko cover, this time depicting four full panels of action between Spidey and the Sandman, a villain who was hiding out from the police at Peters school.