Many know comic books only as a form of entertainment. However, some comic books can be great items for increasing in value. Let’s have a quick look at what some of those comic books are.
This should come as no surprise that some comic books can be worth quite a fortune. Quite a lot are so rare and so precious that they keep the hardcore collectors awake at night. Even though many of those valuable comic books are widely popular and very well-known among fans, getting those books can become a real problem. Some of those older comics have been lost, damaged, and some are simply just not for sale. Though, a true comic collector does not give up without trying. Let’s see what makes a comic book a collectible edition and what some of the most valuable issues are.
Four eras of comic books
First things first, let’s start with the basic comic book info. There are four main time frames to explain the value of comic books. Now perhaps this an over simplification of comic book history because, even if you just look at Marvel and DC, the history of the genres, timelines, ages, storylines and character is so intricate that you could write a PHD thesis about it. I’m sure someone has. Although, to be honest, if you wanted to do such a thing you might have to use an online service to pay to write papers for you because it would need to be so in depth. That’s how rich and complex comic book history is. But here are the basics.
Everything after the 1990s is generally considered the Modern Age. Some people also call it the Copper Age. These includes the likes of The Walking Dead or Deadpool and the majority of Image Comics. In their majority, they will have a lot less value than the rest of comics. Comic companies started realising that collectors were buying comics to keep in the hope their value would increase. Marvel brought out new comic runs such as Spider-Man #1 with its three cover variants by Todd McFarlane in 1990 and the new X-Men line by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee which had 5 different covers, and collectors and psuedo-collectors eagerly snapped these up and planned for their retirement. The only problem was that so many of them had been printed and so many people bought them that they really are not rare at all, even 30 years later and they haven’t increased much in value. There can still be value in some issues from this era, however, especially if they are in good condition.
Next, the Bronze Age, is the time from the 1970s and till the late 1980s. These include Star Wars, Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and many more. Starting with the Bronze age, you can find pretty good and expensive issues. It seems like a transitional period to more modern comic books with darker plots yet still traditional superhero themes.
The Silver Age, however, is where the first exceptionally valuable issues appear. This was the era that included Avengers, X-Men, and Iron Man. This is the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. Even people who don’t know much about comics will know the main comic characters of this era. The popularity of comic books rose to record highs during that period. This makes the books particularly valuable to collectors.
At last, there is the Golden Age of comic books. These are the issues dated from 1932 to the late 1950s. Comic books from this period are extremely rare and very precious. The majority of the most wanted comic books come from this time. Superheroes like Superman and Batman came from this early period of the first comic books. The most expensive issues are featuring first appearances of popular characters, random plot twists, or even experimental. Let’s see some of these examples of such comic books.
Detective Comics #27
If you have ever wondered when the world has first read about Batman, it’s this issue. Detective Comics #27 is the book that features a future famous superhero for the first time. The issue was released in 1939, and currently, there are reported to be less than 200 books left. It’s perhaps easier to find a needle in a haystack, or maybe a Marvel movie without a Stan Lee cameo, or definitely a fast essay writer online than to track down one of those books. Thus, this issue is very rare and very valuable. The last time one of those books was bought, it was worth $1.5 million.
Amazing Fantasy #15
This Silver Age comic book featured Spider-Man for the first time. This is all we need to say to explain why this particular book is priceless to collectors and fans worldwide. Long before Spider-Man became an international star on his own, he appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, the last issue of the series in 1962. However, the public’s reaction was so overwhelming that Spider-Man soon deserved a series of comic books on his own. This particular issue is perhaps not the rarest one, but the context of it is so important that people are ready to pay $1 million for the issue.
Action Comics #1
The most expensive comic book on our list, Action Comics #1, is the first-ever issue to feature Superman. It was the sunrise of the Golden Age of comic books. The first-ever issue of the Action Comic started with what will become the most popular superhero in history. Of course, this comic book is the most valuable of all. It started the whole obsession with comic books and superheroes. Superman was the first out of many superheroes to inspire children and artists to invest their time and energy into comics. These issues are very rare. Some say there are less than 100 issues left. This is why the last known book was sold for a record $3.2 million. Incredible what people pay for some comic books isn’t it?
The majority of comics obviously aren’t worth as much as these ones listed above, and some comics, even over 25 years old, are worth hardly anything, but it’s still always worth checking what your comic collection is worth. Who knows, you might have an issue that someone needs to complete their collection.