4, DC revitalized the Flash with a whole new look and character. The highest grade of this particular comic are CGC 9.4s, and there have only been two recorded sales that I could find as of this writing: These prices were back in 2016 and 2017, so remember that. This comic is definitely loaded with a lot of key comic goodness. I remember loving to hate on the villain and constantly rooting against him whenever the two went toe-to-toe. While some of the House Of Ideas famous characters predate Spidey, the entire Marvel Universe might not exist had it not been for Spideys massive popularity. Copies with as low as a 0.5 grading can fetch over $2,000 on eBay, and one recent sale on the auction site was a 7.0, which sold for $19,000 in May 2019. Here are the 18 Rarest And Hardest To Find Comic Books. Yes, its arguably the first appearance of Ant-Man, a character that has become pretty dang popular ever since the "Ant-Man" movie grossed over $500 million at the box office in 2015. But it's also a very rare find being from 1941. Pinning down the true value of the comic is a bit tough. It sold in 2008, and it seems to be the only copy in existence in such good condition. With a really cool sci-fi pulp cover and title, The Man In The Ant Hill, Tales To Astonish #27 had a lot of things going for it before you even turned past the cover page. Of course, his father is an evil mastermind that seeks to threaten the world (low key the western world), and Shang discovers his father is evil and ends up joining Sir Denis Nayland Smith, a British character from Sax Rohmer's novels, as an ally to MI-6 (foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom) in fighting against his father and mostly Asian baddies. Most Valuable Comic Books of the 1970s (It Pays to Know) It's important to know why the comic books you collect are valuable. But before he was part of the Justice League, battling interdimensional beings, Manhunter went undercover as a human detective, solving very earthly crimes. 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. The Phoenix saga and even Dark Phoenix saga are classic fan-favorite stories. Back in 2009, this perfect copy of Wolverine #1 sold for a whopping $15,535.00. Prior recent and highest known sale of an X-Men #94 CGC 9.8 was for $63,000 in April of 2021. He was similar to Superman perhaps a little bit too similar. Ultra-Humanite was Supermans greatest antagonist until Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Lex Luthor in 1940. Anyway and seriously, look at Wolvie's mask on the cover of this issue compared to the cover of Incredible Hulk #181. 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. Once the robot was to break free, he adopted a human identity and cover of NY policeman, Jim Hammond. In 2011, a pristine 9.8 copy of the comic, printed in 1962 and originally sold for 12 cents, fetched an astounding $1.1 million at auction. Soon after, he became a prime antagonist for everyone's favorite mutie runt and the rest his history. These are Universal copies, and there are zero Signature Series for the grade. "Sensation Comics" was a 109-book series by DC Comics that mainly featured Wonder Woman stories. 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. As mentioned prior in the Star Wars #1 listing in this article, this issue is not the regular 30 Cent Price edition but the more limited and rare 35 Cent Price Variant. The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) $230,000 Fun useless fact time - when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Incredible Hulk they wanted the Green Goliath to be grey. Through Namor, they can link a whole heap of characters and locations. As an ironic representation of everything that went wrong with '90s comics, Cable's mysterious backstory, endless pouches, giant guns, and bad attitude made him a cult favorite. This comic from 1940 features the first appearance of the Spectre as well as the Presence, DCs representation of the Abrahamic god. The 9.6-graded copy of this 1956 comic sold for $179,250 at Heritage Auction in 2009. The most expensive copy ever sold went for $138,000 in April 2021. Currently, there are 35 Universal 9.8 copies and 1 Signature Series recorded over at CGC, making it a total of only 36 copies. 100 Most Valuable Comic Books From the Golden Age #1: Action Comics #1, World Record First Appearance of Superman Action Comics #1 (June 1938) Origin and First Appearance of Superman Record sale: $3.4m (Goldin.co sale) Minimum value: $250,000 Have Yours Appraised Read our Action Comics price guide #2: Batman #1, First Solo Batman Comic By the way, the Wolverine limited series was also written by Chris Claremont. 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. For anyone who either has the issue or the money (166K!) 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). Also, the CBCS census has zero entries for 9.8s of this comic. Hands down, the most expensive X-Men comic of the 1980s is the first one. Daredevil was designed by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Bill Everett. 1 sold for $507,500 in 2017, and it was only graded as a 5.5. I grew up with the character in the late 80s and 90s. Either one of these is worth your time and effort to find if you're hunting down issues to invest in. 1st Blade is still hot! Definitely not surprised to see the 1st appearance and origin of Luke Cage on here, and when the MCU brings the character into the fold, I'm sure this Bronze Age key comic may move up in the rankings. He's been a Marvel cash-cow since the 70s and the most popular Marvel character of the 80s and 90s. 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. Oh, fun fact here: The original X-Men wasn't a hit with fans and was almost cancelled if you can believe that. Needless to say, even at its current 375K highest sale price might be a steal, since a book like this will only go up with each subsequent MCU appearance. A few months prior on Mar 13, 2021, a 9.6 copy sold for $3,200.00 on eBay. If you don't know who or what the Skrulls are than you're going to be for a real treat when and if the evil alien race makes their debut in the movies. The X-Men might be hands down one of the greatest creations in sci-fi/ fantasy / comic books. 'New Mutants #98' (1991): $7,500 Photo: Marvel Comics Wade Wilson - better known as Deadpool, the Merc With the Mouth - is undoubtedly one of the most popular characters introduced in the '90s, and so it makes sense that his first appearance is valuable. Star Wars #1 35c Edition. The 2nd Wolverine sequel was even based off this limited series, and the first headlining Wolverine comic. 7. Three debuts are of extremely popular X-Men characters and the three being Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler. However, until another one of these Iron Fist #14 35 Cent Price Variant CGC 9.4s sell in the near future, it will stay here on this list. The following contains spoilers for Star Wars #32 from Marvel Comics. Case in point: the Amazing Spider-Man #300 edition of Marvel Collectible Classics. 1, and the cover art is by Craig Flessel. 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. I am surprised and thought that the 1st appearance of Wolverine would've taken the number #1 spot. This is the first iteration of Barry Allen as the Flash, arguably the most popular Flash character and the first to don the iconic red-and-yellow suit. Things are changing slightly as the MCU grows, so perhaps it's time to pick up some investment comics now. Can that be right? 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. I think he was also non-powered before creator Chris Claremont decided to make him a mutant baddie and stick him in the X-Men comics. A near-mint 9.6 copy of "Flash Comics" sold for $450,000 at auction in 2010. Bob Kane might be a controversial figure, but he sure could draw. 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. Bruces father tries to intervene, and the criminal shoots them dead. Despite readers suffering from mutant fatigue, Marvel powered on through multiple books tangential to the X-Men. Holding the record for the most expensive comic book ever sold is Marvel's Amazing Fantasy #15. How far up the rankings will this book go when Marvel/Disney finally casts Logan? Only three copies are known to exist with a higher grade. A 1981 comic that also holds what most deem a classic cover by John Byrne and Terry Austin to go a long with this classic story line by Chris Claremont. Illustrated by Dale Keown (who'd go on to create the Hulk-like Pitt for Image Comics), it's not even the first printing of this comic that's worth big bucks, since the standard green cover is worth about a dollar. It's also one of the most expensive Disney collectibles in the world. 27 broke the record for the most valuable comic book when an 8.0-graded copy sold in 2010 for $1,075,000.The seller purchased the comic in the late 1960s for $100. Namor in the comics is the King of Atlantis who has a thing for Sue Storm, and is the companys first Mutant. One villain is a mad scientist with eight arms and has terrified Spidey throughout the years, even marrying his beloved Aunt May and possessing Spideys body too! Yes, comic investing is still a thing despite all the backlash. Anyway, next super high-grade comic. An extremely well-kept copy of "X-Men" No. Loki is using his magic to pit some of Earths Mightiest Heroes against one another. Marvel's Nyx series was not standard superhero fare, mostly because it didn't really involve any known superheroes. To be honest, I am a bit surprised this comic is not up there a long side Marvel Spotlight #5 at this grade. However, the first Ghost Rider was part of the western genre and isn't considered a superhero. A 9.2-graded copy of this 1955 comic sold for $140,000 at Comic Connect. A 9.4-graded copy of this iconic comic sold for $275,000 at auction in 2014. 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. So, pretty important comic, considering the mega success of the franchise, no? The copy that sold is one of three known to exist and was the highest-graded copy, with a 9.2 grade. Start Over. 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. If you have The Incredible Hulk #1 without the chipping, you have a very rare comic from 1962. Hank Pym created a serum that can shrink anything and a serum that can grow anything. Most of these are compared from sales of CGC 9.8s. Thanks for reading and happy hunting! We'll have to see, but I bet it will definitely be quite a bit. The copy had an incredible 9.6 grading and is the highest-graded copy in existence. But it's also the first time Steve Rogers hurls his mighty shield. Instead, the series focused on teenagers who happened to have powers. 7 Amazing Spider-Man #298 - $146 This is Todd McFarlane 's first issue. This comic with an amazing cover by Jack Kirby features Captain America joining the Avengers, and a near-perfect 9.8-graded copy of one sold for $143,400 in 2017 at Heritage Auctions. Batman #1 - About $567,000. 9 The Amazing Spider-Man 1 - $110,000. 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. Going down a grade to CGC 9.6, the most recent sale of that was $5,760 on Aug 23, 2021. It has four debuts, and not just debuts of some minor or semi-popular characters. Highest and most recent sale of a CGC 9.8 of Marvel Spotlight #5 was at a whopping $264,000 that sold at Heritage Auctions in 2021. 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. While plenty of comic book fans have known this for years, perhaps some might not - the Human Torch existed long before Johnny Storm went on a spaceship. 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. Whether or not you're in the 1st cameo or 1st full appearance camp for this muttie runt, it's still clear that Wolverine remains one of the most popular and well-known superhero characters to come out of the Bronze Age. Comic collectors are never sure if a throwaway character might become the next big thing, especially in the speculative era of the '90s, when new characters sprouted up in every issue and "comic investors" collected any comic they could find. You know you're a '90s kid if the word 'chromium' still gives you tingles. A 9.2-graded copy of the 1944 comic sold for $292,900 in 2017, shattering the previous record of $173,275 for a 9.0-graded copy that sold in 2015. Maybe it will continue in 2022, and maybe it won't. 0 comments#1: Action Comics #1. Captain America Comics 128 Page Issue (1942) $200,000 This issue was sold as a 25-cent special in January 1942 but only in Canada. Thankfully, it did happen that way, otherwise, we would have just had a litany of Spidey and X-Men movies and instead of characters like Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy getting their own movies, Iron Man and Cap wouldve been the second-tier characters getting their own movies. The Avengers Comic Book Values. Batgirl made her debut in this January 1967 issue of "Detective Comics" (although it actually hit stores in late 1966). This comic book marks the first appearance of iconic X-Men, including Charles Xavier, Magneto Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast and Iceman. The 1st appearance of Phoenix in X-Men #101 is a classic Bronze Age X-Men debut. Pretty crazy, but this is a 1982 comic and has the fan-favorite story-arc. Currently, this issue has been known to sell for as much as 51 thousand in phenomenal condition. A 9.2-graded copy sold for $341,234 on Comic Connect in 2018 after 50 bids. Cool! 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. A 9.8-graded copy, the highest-graded copy extant, sold for $132,000 in January 2021, 55 years after it originally hit newsstands. So why was it so expensive? Cover by Herb Trimpe. 1 began with only Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp as its founding members. 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. However, there are only a measly 4 recorded 9.8s in the CGC census currently. But in 2008, a copy sold for around $450,000 in a cash/trade deal, according to Bleeding Cool. 1 that belonged to actor Nicolas Cage fetched $2.161 million in 2011. I'm excited. Published in 1940, the Overstreet Guide called it "The definitive funny animal anthology comic after which all others were modeled.". A 9.6-graded version of the 1964 comic sold for $150,000 in 2021. The Bronze Age of Comics was a great and creative time in comics and produced many iconic characters, stories, and works of art. Eventually, the green color was decided on, and eventually the 12-cent comic sold for $326,000 50 years later, in 2014. Today, it's worth about $1,000. 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. Just be ready to spend at least 567K for it if you find a near mint copy. It's also the first Conan Marvel magazine, and Savage Tales is the 1st magazine that marks Marvel's 2nd attempt to enter the magazine industry. The 1st appearance and 1st cover appearance of Morbius is definitely a classic Marvel Bronze Age comic. 3/31/2022 UPDATE: A CGC 9.8 copy of this comic sold on eBay for $72,111.00 bucks on December 18, 2021 at ComicConnect. So 80,000 copies were printed and when the issue of Marvel Comics #1 hit the shelves it flew off them just as fast and another 800,000 were printed. 10. In the first of a two-parter, the two heroes dueled to a stalemate in and around Manhattan. Can't wait! Not much is known about the sale, only that it occurred in 2001. While some people like to playfully mock Canada, we shouldn't be knocking the 198K (American) that you could nab for having this book. Much of the Hulks origins are told right here in this issue. Spider-Man has always been a popular superhero (arguably the most popular), and the prices as of late reflect his popularity. The most recent sale I could find was on eBay and for $8,979.99 on the date of Jul 28, 2021. Not that impressed with the Netflix version and was hoping they recast Frank Castle for the MCU. In 2014, a pristine issue of the 1938 comic, with its original price of 10 cents still on the cover, sold on eBay for $3.2 million, making it the most valuable comic book of all time. We may see Frank Drake appear in the Disney Plus Blade series, and if so, his first appearance in comics is in this issue of Tomb of Dracula #1. Bruce Banner first transformed into the Incredible Hulk in May 1962. See it? 5. Jeez, 2021 was a good year for these high-grade Bronze Age keys. The highest sale of a CGC 9.8 of Marvel Premiere #15 sold on Aug 9, 2021 for $11,400.00 at Heritage Auctions. As time went on, however, Deadpool evolved into a character who became acutely aware of how ridiculous comics are as a creative medium, and took full advantage of everything illustrated heroes could offer. In 1959, Marvel Comics released Tales of Suspense No. Over the years that origin story was retconned to make the Avians the original Inhumans and was a big part of the latest Infinity storyline from 2013. Most examples feature "Marvel chipping," which means the edges of the comic have lost color. It's actually the 35 Cent Price Variant, as the regularly distributed version was 30 cents. An incredible 9.8-graded copy sold for just a tad over $141,000 in 2015. "In a recent poll of child readers, 80 percent chose 'Wonder Woman' as their favorite over seven male characters," reads one letter. 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. In 2021, that record was broken, when the same comic was sold again for $3.25 million. Debuting several months before the release of the movie of the same name, the Star Wars comic was hardly a huge success until George Lucas' cinematic . 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. Cover by Herb Trimpe, John Romita and Gaspar Saladino. The comic book has skyrocketed in value, possibly because of Wonder Woman's resurgence in film and popular culture. Also, Drax the Destroyer has been a prominent character in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. "Fantastic Comics" No. via CC BY 2.0 )You should invest in the most valuable comic books of the 1990s now. With art by Jack Kirby, this is a gorgeous-looking comic and an absolute classic comic. 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. Another Heritage Auctions sale and in 2021 nonetheless. Actually, this information might wow some comic investors and those into comic speculation more than actual comic collectors.