Top 25 Most Valuable Comic Books
(Most valuable comic books. Image courtesy of Superman/FB.)
It’s easy to forget that the lion’s share of modern comic book fans are “casuals” or “normies” who know nothing about the source material comics. It was hard enough trying to get the casuals interested in the comic books when the films were popular; some comic book titles have canon reaching back decades. It’s even harder now that the hype for these films has waned. If you are a casual, you’re missing out on iconic comic book stories that demand your time as a hobbyist reader. So, I want to inform such people about the 25 most valuable comic books you should know about as a novice fan or as a potential investor.
Most Valuable Comic Books (An Entry Point for Casual Readers)
I don’t use the term “casual” as a derogatory term. Getting into comic books can be difficult for casual readers because distinct characters and teams have decades of history and canon that must be understood before appreciating their stories.
However, if you are a fan of multi-novel epics or have played a series of video game titles over the years, then it’s the same difference. I’ve been reading comic books all my life, and my first comic was not a #1 issue.
You will find over 25 comic books on this list featuring characters and pivotal storylines that have inspired the very films, TV shows, and video games that enjoy.
Do you want my advice? Start reading comic books! The billion-dollar films you love so much get their ideas from them anyway. Many of these comic books are appreciating in investment value because the characters are becoming household names simply because they are part of a successful film franchise.
Peruse this list to learn about iconic characters, storylines, and their potential value as collectibles investments.
Look at it this way — you can learn true comic book canon from comic books instead of from the movies while making a tidy investment. Take it one story and one comic book at a time.
In this list, I will suggest some of the most valuable comic books ever. Many of them feature stories that are dear to hardcore fans and used as the inspiration for films. If you’re not interested in investing, I will also suggest related storylines in affordable graphic novels that you can get from Amazon.
So here are the 25 most valuable comic books.
But first, a mini style guide that will aid in the comprehension of CGC ratings.
CGC Ratings and Comic Book Ages
In this rating list of the 25 most valuable comic books, I will be referring to “CGC ratings” and “ages” of comics.
There are four distinct “ages” of comic books published since 1938. The exact years for each age differ from person to person.
These are the four Comic Books ages:
- The Golden Age of comics ran from 1938 to 1956. This is the era when the superhero comic became popular.
- The Silver Age of comic books ran from 1956 to 1970. Comic books were highly censored by the Comics Code Authority and creatively regulated during this period.
- The Bronze Age of comic books ran from 1970 to 1984. Comic books become creatively unshackled from the Comics Code Authority. Stories begin to reflect real-world issues.
- The Modern Age of comic books started in 1984 and continues to this day.
This list of the 25 most valuable comic books will go backward from the Modern Age to the Golden Age.
25 – Batman #655 (September 2006) DC Comics
(Image courtesy of HOTB/FB)
In February 2023, James Gunn announced a slate of films that will be released within the coming decade. One of those films is tentatively called The Brave and the Bold, which is an old-school series featuring DC character team-up adventures. It debuted back in 1955.
The news caused a collector frenzy where comic book fans were buying up the earliest appearances of Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayn’s son and the latest Robin. A copy of Batman #655, featuring the second appearance of Damian Wayne, sold for $500 during the window of DCU film announcement hype back in February 2023.
The forthcoming Brave and Bold film will feature new actors portraying Batman and his son Damian Wayne as Robin. (Robert Pattinson portrays a different Batman.) In the comic books, Batman fathered a child with Talia Al Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, who are members of an ancient assassin society. In short, Damian Wayne is of mixed Arab/Chinese/American ethnicity and a deadly assassin at the age of 12 or 13 in the comic books. (There are too many former Robins to go over, so that is a story for another time.)
Damian Wayne is wildly popular in comic books because he is short-tempered, over-confident, and skilled beyond his years as a child crime fighter. People are really looking forward to how Damian will be portrayed in his film debut.
Even though a copy of Batman #655 sold for $500 in early 2023, investment hype can die down quickly. Currently, a copy of this comic with a CGC grade of 9.8 can sell for $177. That is a great price for a comic that was published less than 20 years ago and is not really rare.
Suggested Story Entry- Batman & Robin:Batman Reborn – If you want to get a taste of who Damian Wayne is and why he is so popular, try reading the graphic novel Batman & Robin from 2009. It collects several issues from the first year of stories and features stories about Damian’s first adventures as Robin. This series will also be the main inspiration for the forthcoming Brave and Bold film.
Get Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn now at Amazon for $12.79.
24 – Preacher #1 (April 1995) Vertigo/DC Comics
Are you a fan of AMC’s Preacher? Well, it started out as a comic book in 1995. I highly recommend this comic, even if you never saw the series.
Preacher tells the story of an amoral preacher, Jesse Custer, who gets caught in a battle between Heaven and Hell. Custer begins a quest to find God and make God answer for a perceived wrong. Without spoiling the story, it’s really far out, trippy, and should be avoided if you’re easily triggered by gonzo comic books deconstructing religious themes in creatively obscene manners.
Even though anti-heroes are all the rage now, Preacher was a mind-blowing series in the 1990s for its violence and provocative themes about religion and sexuality. It’s mind-blowing stuff that must be read to be believed.
A copy of Preacher #1 with a 9.8 CGC rating currently has an investment value of $247.
Suggested Story Entry – Preacher: Book One You can get a graphic novel that collects the first 12 issues of Preacher for $12.19 at Amazon right now.
23 – The Walking Dead #100 Red Foil Variant Cover (June 2012) Image Comics
(Image courtesy TWD-Skybound/FB)
Negan made his first appearance in the landmark 100th issue of The Walking Dead. Negan was a cruel nihilist with his own system of order in a world where the dead roamed the Earth. He believed that to survive in a savage world you had to be more savage than the next warlord. Negan in the comic books is much more nuanced as a character than what you saw in the TV series and his exploit should be read to be believed.
The Walking Dead is not as popular as it used to be, but that does not mean that
The Red Foil variant cover edition of this comic, which is all black and features Negan’s blood-stained bat, Lucille, is very rare and highly prized. If anyone reading this has this specific issue with the variant foil cover it is currently worth over $1,359 if it has a CGC rating of 9.8.
Suggested Story Entry – The Walking Dead Compendium One The greatest thing about TWD series is that hardcore fans who read the comic tried not to spoil the series for the causal who never read the comic as they watched episodes. The character motivations and nuances in the comics greatly diverge from what you saw on the TV show.
The Walking Dead Compendium One collects the first 48 issues of the series and is a great way for you to get immersed into the iconic story that spawned a TV phenomenon that is still continuing today with several spinoffs.
Get it now at Amazon for $29.99.
22 – Amazing Spider-Man #700 – Rare Steve Ditko Variant Cover (January 2013) Marvel Comics
As previously mentioned, the existence of comics like this helps me to better understand why modern comic book fans, don’t read comics.
In Amazing Spider-Man #700, Peter Parker “died.” (Not really, and not for long). This issue paved the way for Dr. Octopus to assume the Spider-Man mantle as the Superior Spider-Man for a few years. (Yes, really.) Peter temporarily died and Dr. Octopus took his place as the Superior Spider-Man, a grittier, no-holds-barred and violent anti-hero who fought crime more efficiently and ruthlessly than Peter Parker ever did.
Dr. Octopus as Superior Spider-Man did not last for too long, and the status quo was returned. But fans really love this iteration of Spider-Man. Many fans complain that Peter Parker is boring and his status quo never changes; Peter Parker is always broke, enduring lovesick drama with Mary Jane, fighting supervillains, and making funny quips. The Superior Spider-Man upended that status quo and presented a modern take on Spider-Man that should have been projected on Peter Parker.
This comic, with a variant cover drawn by Spider-Man co-creator and art legend Steve Ditko, has an investment value of over $876 if it has a CGC grade of 9.8.
Suggested Story Entry – Superior Spider-Man Omnibus
This omnibus collects Amazing Spider-Man issues #698 through 700, Superior Spider-Man #1 through 31, and Superior Spider-Man Annual #1 and 2. While it is a little pricey at $92, it collects the entire saga of Superior Spider-Man, a decade-old story that still reverberates today about a Spider-Man who is not even Peter Parker.
Get it now at Amazon for $39.99.
21 – Malibu Sun #13 (May 1992) Malibu Comics
(Image courtesy AFC/FB)
Todd McFarlane became a superstar comic book creator in the 1990s when he and several other creators launched Image Comics. Image Comics was created so that comic creators could own their intellectual properties. If you write or draw comics at Marvel or DC, then you are a work-for-hire employee. Image ushered in a new business plan where creators kept control of their IPs.
Image was not the first publisher to let creators own their creations, but they were the first to leave their gigs en masse at Marvel and DC to start their own thing. It was groundbreaking and controversial back then, but the idea is commonplace now.
McFarlane’s signature series is Spawn — a murdered assassin who is reincarnated as an unwilling agent of the devil.
The first appearance of Spawn technically occurred in a promotional comic, Malibu Sun #13, right before the comic’s official launch at Image.
Spawn #1 launched in May 1992 and is still being published to this day. It was adapted into a film in 1997 and could soon be rebooted with Jamie Foxx in the lead role, which seems more like a Hollywood legend now.
This comic is where it all would start for the pioneers at Image – it is a priceless piece of history if you can find it. If you have a copy with a CGC rating of 9.8, it is worth over $3,398.
Suggested Story Entry – Spawn Compendium Volume 1
This graphic novel collects the first 50 issues of Spawn and will give you a look into the beginnings of the comic. Spawn stories are heavy in depicting violence, cynicism, and good-versus-evil storytelling. The stories are serviceable but are not the main draw.
The artwork is the main draw here since the series is very popular with a cult base of Todd McFarlane fans.
Get it now for $40.72 at Amazon.
20 – Invincible #1 (January 2003) Image Comics
Comic book creator Robert Kirkman, who created The Walking Dead, is prolific. Invincible is the story of teen Mark Grayson, who learns his father is an alien. Mark later develops superpowers.
Invincible ran for 144 issues and wrapped its run in 2018. The comic has a fervent fan base which just expanded with the release of the animated series which is also wildly popular. While the series is admittedly a Superman-analog story, Kirkman is very adept at crafting personalities and motivations that make you care about what is happening in the story.
A 9.8 CGC-graded copy of this comic is currently worth almost $3,200 on the collectibles investment market. If you have a rare, variant cover version of this issue then it is worth a lot more than that.
Suggested Story Entry – Invincible Volume 1
This paperback collects the first 4 issues of Invincible. Without giving too much away, a teen superhero finds out that the only way to save the Earth is to stop one of his relatives, someone very close to Mark who has been keeping a very deadly secret for many years.
Get it now for $7.99 at Amazon.
19 – Edge of Spider-Verse #2 – Greg Land Variant Cover (September 2014) Marvel Comics
If you loved Spider-Gwen’s appearance in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, then this is one of the most valuable comic books to know about.
Gwen Stacy was originally Peter Parker’s first love interest. Gwen died in Peter’s arms in The Amazing Spider-Man #31, published in December 1965. It was a big deal back then, and a prime example of a comic book character staying dead.
Gwen Stacy was revived as an alternate version of Spider-Man from another dimension in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 in 2014. It was a revitalization of an important Spider-man character who was dead for decades and needed to find a new motivation in a new era.
There is also a Deadpool-inspired variation named GwenPool (Don’t ask.)
A 9.8 CGC grade copy of this with a rare variant cover by artist Greg Land has an investment value of $4,100. While very popular in the animated Mile Morales Spider-Man films, Gwen was originally called Spider-Gwen but is now known as Ghost-Spider in the comic books. She could potentially become a bigger character in the future.
Suggested Story Entry – Radioactive Spider-Gwen Volume 1: Greater Power
In this alternate version of the Spider-man mythos, Gwen is bitten by the radioactive spider and gets superpowers. After her friend Peter Parker is murdered, Gwen is framed for the killing. Gwen must clear her name and find out who is out to get her. This graphic novel collects the first 6 issues of the series.
Get it for $6.44 at Amazon now.
18 – Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) Marvel Comics
Shang Chi, the Master of Kung Fu was a character created in the 1970s in the wake of Bruce Lee’s popularity. While the early issues do feature unfortunate and dated stereotypes of Asian culture, they are the first appearances of Marvel’s version of Bruce Lee.
Shang-Chi is a martial arts fighter who finds out that his father is an evil warlord. Shnag-Chi then becomes a secret agent for the British in the hopes of taking down his father. The artwork of the 1970s comics is incredible, but the stories were deeply stereotypical and derivative of the kung fu and spy films of the era.
Shang-Chi stayed so popular for decades that he became the first Asian MCU hero to star in a film.
Even though the 2021 film stalled out at $431 million it is still a fan-favorite and considered a cult classic.
Shang Chi made his first appearance in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973.
A copy of this comic with a 9.8 CGC grade is worth $3,995 on the collector’s market.
Suggested Story Entry – Shang Chi Volume One: Brothers and Sisters (2020)
This graphic novel collects the first 5 issues of the series which was published a year before the film debuted. The story centers on Shang-Chi learning that he is the successor to an ancient assassin society and must meet and battle siblings he never knew he had.
Get it now for $15.99 at Amazon.
17 – Iron Man #55 (February 1973) Marvel Comics
In the comic books, Thanos was kind of a simp – he wanted to kill half of the universe to placate a female personification of death. She was a shrouded female figure with a human body and a skull face. The infinity gauntlet and the infinity stones also come from the comics, but they made Thanos more of a nihilist philosopher in the film, instead of the lovesick zealot he really was in the 1980s and 1990s Infinity Saga comic book source materials.
Thanos first appeared in the Bronze Age of comic books in Iron Man #55 back in 1973. Drax the Destroyer, a supremely powerful cosmic being in the comics but was nerfed in the MCU films, also made his first appearance in this issue.
If you have a copy of this issue with a CGC grade of 9.8 then it has a collectibles market value of $8,938
Suggested Story Entry – Thanos: The Infinity Saga Omnibus
This 903-page hardcover omnibus collects comic book stories spanning from 2014 to 2019 detailing Thanos’ quest to control the universe. It’s a great jumping-on point to learn how the Thanos of the comic books differ from the MCU version.
Get it for $139.99 at Amazon.
16 – Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134 (December 1970) DC Comics
(Image courtesy Tommy Swahlan/FB)
The Justice League film was supposed to introduce Darkseid as the big bad of the DC Extended Universe back in the 2010s when WB was trying to launch the Snyderverse.
Those plans did not work out.
But who knows what will happen in the future? We only got to see a tease of Darkseid in the Zack Snyder Justice League film. Maybe a filmmaker will craft a compelling portrayal of the character in the future that connects with audiences. (It’s a shame that Darkseid is seen as a Thanos clone when Darkseid debuted in the comics three years before Thanos.)
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134 features the first appearance of Darkseid.
A copy of this comic with a 9.8 CGC grade has a collector’s market value of $12,600. If WBD could ever make a great film with Darkseid as the villain, then this comic would only increase in value.
Suggested Story Entry – Justice League Odyssey Volume One
This is a spinoff Justice League comic featuring Cyborg, Starfire, Green Lantern Jesica Cruz, Azrael, and a de-powered Darkseid traveling in space in a Brainiac skull ship. Darkseid is usually the big bad in DC Comics, so it is unnerving to see him as a de facto Justice League member with a long-term plan everyone is waiting for him to initiate.
This graphic novel collects the first 5 issues of the series. Get it now for $16.99 at Amazon.
15 – Werewolf By Night #32 (August 1975) Marvel Comics
This Bronze Age comic book is valuable not because of the marquee character but because of the guest appearing character.
Werewolf By Night #32 features the first appearance of Marc Spector, also known as Moon Knight.
Moon Knight can best be described as a Batman analog for Marvel. Oscar Isaac portrayed the character in a Disney+ show that pleased fans, but the comic stories are better.
A copy of this comic with a CGC rating of 9.8 has a current collectibles investment value of $18,303.
Suggested Story Entry – Moon Knight Volume 1: From the Dead
This series is from 2013 and features one-and-done issues. Each issue is a self-contained story of Moon Knight working as a street level consultant helping people in need. Moon Knight’s now iconic white vest and suit from the Oscar Isaac series made its first appearance in the 2013 comic series.
This graphic novel features six issues. Get it now for $34.44 at Amazon.
14 – Amazing Spider-Man #129 (January 1974) Marvel Comics
When you think about it, the Punisher is a one-note character. He kills with impunity and is trying to avenge the death of his family, who all died when caught in the midst of a mob shoot-out, one killing at a time.
Some of the best Punisher stories feature the character as a one-note supporting character. Supporting characters take center stage to depict how normal people live with and accept crime while the Punisher’s entire reason for being to be a force of nature to eradicate crime, almost like a horror movie villain.
The Punisher is a stone-cold killer who is viewed as a hero along with Spider-Man. But at the end of the day, he is a guy with a gun. The loss of his family and humanity and his vow to fight crime are what make the Punisher a compelling character.
Amazing Spider-Man #129 features the first appearance of Frank Castle, The Punisher.
A copy of this comic with a 9.8 CGC grade has a collector’s value of over $21,300.
Suggested Story Entry – Marvel Knights Punisher by Garth Ennis: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, who also created Preacher, are legendary for crafting some of the best Punisher stories ever. This graphic novel collects 12 issues of a 2000-era Punisher series where the Punisher takes down a crime family. This collection also features the 5-issue The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe.
Get it now for $32.39 at Amazon.
13 – X-Men #94 (August 1975) Marvel Comics
X-Men #1 was first published by Marvel Comics in 1963. The comic was a loose allegory of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Professor X and Magneto were both very loosely based on Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X respectively.
The comic waned in popularity for a few years and was canceled. It was revived as reprints of earlier issues before being rebooted in 1975.
The 1975 X-Men team featured in X-Men #94 was diverse. Storm was from Africa, Thunderbird was a Native American, Nightcrawler was German, and Banshee was Irish. It was “woke” long before that term became misappropriated by people who don’t know how to define it but get easily triggered when they hear it.
A copy of this comic with a 9.8 CGC grade has a collector’s market value of $36,000.
This comic is one of the pivotal issues of the Bronze Age of comics.
Suggested Story Entry – Days of Future Past
In the future, mutants are being hunted by sentinels, mutant tracking killer robots, to the point of extinction. Kitty Pryde’s consciousness is sent back in time to her younger body to help set in motion events that will prevent the creation of the sentinels.
This 1981 comic story is just as popular now as it was then. It served as the inspiration for the 2014 film. The writer, Chris Claremont, is so prized by Marvel that the company pays Claremont a retainer to not write for other comic book publishers. Claremont wrote X-Men comics for 17 years straight from the 1980s to the 1990s and wrote some of the most vital storylines in the comic’s history.
Get this groundbreaking graphic novel for $16.79 at Amazon.
12 – Green Lantern #76 (April 1970) DC Comics
(Image courtesy AMP/FB)
At the dawn of the Bronze Age, Hal Jordan, AKA Green Lantern was waning in popularity. So, he was teamed up with Green Arrow for the first time in this pivotal issue.
In 1970, Bronze Age comic books began creatively mirroring society more realistically. Comic book stories were not just black and white anymore in terms of social issues, the greys of nuance were becoming more explored. Superheroes were allowed to be flawed and not portrayed as perfect and flawless paradigms of justice.
Green Lantern #76 launched the “Hard Traveling Heroes” storyline. Instead of patrolling space, Green Lantern walked America with Green Arrow and investigated issues of corruption, racism, environmental pollution, and other crises of the era. This type of storytelling in media is taken for granted now, but this was a genre-shifting practice back then,
A copy of this comic with a CGC grade of 9.8 has a collectibles market value of $10,283.
Suggested Story Entry – Green Lantern: Rebirth Deluxe Edition
In 1994, Green Lantern had lapsed in sales and popularity. To shake things up, DC Comics had a major villain named Mongul destroy Hal Jordan’s home city, Coast City. Hal Jordan went bonkers with grief, became a villain, and killed a bunch of his fellow lanterns before being replaced with a new Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner. The story is called Emerald Twilight.
DC Comics fans complained for over a decade for DC Comics to reinstate Hal Jordan. The company did this in 2004 with the six-issue series Rebirth. It was explained that Jordan was infected by a space parasite called Parallax and this possession made him go insane and do things he had no control over.
The whole Parallax thing was weird, but Rebirth reinvigorated the character for a new generation. Get it for $30 at Amazon now.
11 – Marvel Spotlight #5 (August 1972) Marvel Comics
Nicholas Cage starred in two underwhelming Ghost Rider films in 2007 and 2012.
While Cage did his best, the popularity of the character just didn’t translate from the comic to the silver screen. The character is still wildly popular with comic book fans and reappeared on the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show for several episodes.
Johnny Blaze was a stunt rider who made a deal with the Devil resulting in Johnny’s head turning into a flaming skull whenever he is in the presence of evil. The Ghost Rider controls hellfire, which can burn souls. He has a penance stare that makes wrongdoers experience the pain they’ve wrought on others. Ghost Rider’s main selling point is that he is an Evil Knevil analog with a flaming skull riding a flaming motorcycle.
Marvel Spotlight #5 is the first appearance of Johnny Blaze and Ghost Rider. And comic fans love him to this day.
A copy of this comic with a 9.8 CGC grade sold has a collectibles investment value of $65,871. Even an ungraded copy of this issue is worth $700.
It may not happen soon, but the MCU will figure out a way to make a good Ghost Rider film and the value of this comic will skyrocket.
Suggested Story Entry – Ghost Rider: The War For Heaven Book One (2006)
There have been many Ghost Rider series over the decades, but if you have never read Ghost Rider before I recommend that you start with writer Jason Aaron’s Ghost Rider comics. The story expands the Ghost Rider mythos and shows that the Ghost Rider is a mantle that has been assumed by many over millennia.
Get it for $16.49 at Amazon now.
10 – House of Secrets #92 (May 1971) DC Comics
You may remember Swamp Thing from the campy 1982 film directed by Wes Craven.
A streaming TV series based on the character was featured on the now-defunct DC Universe for one season. However, Swamp Thing has been a fan-favorite comic book character for decades.
House of Secrets #92 features the first appearance of Swamp Thing. Alec Holland became a swamp monster during an explosion and fire in the swamps and was not much more than that. In the early 1980s, writer Alan Moore revised the lore of Swamp Thing to reveal that Holland died in the swamp explosion long ago. Swamp Thing was never human – it was just a mass of sentient plant matter chemically imbued with the memories of a man.
A copy of this Bronze Age comic with a 9.8 CGC is worth almost $70,307 on the collectibles market.
Suggested Story Entry – Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book One
This graphic novel collects eight issues from 1982 from the Alan Moore run that changed the origin of Swamp Thing from a swamp monster to a sentient plant that fooled itself into thinking it was a man.
Get it now for $16.26 at Amazon.
9 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (May 1984) Mirage Studios/ Eastman and Laird
(Image courtesy Jesse Schultz/FB)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was created and self-published by creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984.
This comic was launched in the premier year of the Modern Age of comic books. TMNT #1 also created the first pop culture craze from an independent comic book that lasts to this day. Less than a decade later, the turtles would conquer cartoons, video games, and films.
Eastman and Laird perfected the Image Comics blueprint a decade before Image formed if you think about it.
A 9.2 CGC-graded copy of this comic could be worth over $50,285 on the open collectibles market.
Suggested Story Entry – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate B&W Collection Vol. 1
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still published in comic books to this day. IDW currently has the license to publish these comics and they have a fervent fanbase.
However, if you are a casual you may want to start with the first seven issues from 1984 to get an understanding of how the TMNT phenomenon started.
Get it now at Amazon for $17.29.
8 – The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974) Marvel Comics
Wolverine is one of the most popular comic book characters in history. Casuals knew who Wolverine was in the 1990s thanks to Hugh Jackman and the Fox-era X-Men films. Jackman portrayed Wolverine again in Deadpool 3, for better or for worse. A new Wolverine will be cast sometime by the end of this decade or the start of the 2030s.
Isn’t it amazing to think that Wolverine first appearing in a Hulk comic book in 1974 would lead to all of this?
Wolverine made his first full-body appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181. (Technically, Wolverine made his first partial appearance in a single panel in The Incredible Hulk #180.)
The first appearance of Wolverine is one of the most important developments of the Bronze Age. Imagine how different comic book culture would be, and how unemployed Hugh Jackman would be if it were not for this comic.
There is probably only one 9.9 CGC-grade copy of this comic book in existence. It is one of the most valuable comic books ever and sold for over $150,000 in March 2011. If you have a 9.8 CGC graded issue of this comic, it might be worth about $66,186.
Suggested Story Entry – Wolverine (1982)
This graphic novel collects Wolverine issues #1 through 4 and X-Men issues #172 and #173. Wolverine travels to Japan to save a former lover from her evil father, the head of a crime syndicate of ninjas. This story was the main inspiration for the 2013 Hugh Jackman film The Wolverine.
Get it now for $5.33 at Amazon.
7 – Avengers #1 (September 1963) Marvel Comics
My biggest pet peeve about comic book fans who talk about the Avengers are those who are talking up the 2012 film but have never read the comic.
These billion-dollar films get their source material from the comics. If you love these films, you are missing out if you haven’t read the classic comics. The slow burn to the Avengers Initiative in the MCU, the conflict that drove each member from each other, and the way they united when the world was in danger are all tropes that come from decades of comic book stories.
And this comic will stand the test of time as one of the most valuable comic books to own.
It has been estimated that only three issues of Avengers #1 with a 9.6 CGC grade exist. One of them sold for $275,000 in July 2012.
Suggested Story Entry – Avengers Disassembled (2004)
Is this the best Avengers story ever? Questionable. If you watched WandaVision, then you will be familiar with some of the plot points.
Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, goes insane after realizing her children never existed during her relationship with the android Vision. Her madness threatens the world and the lives of the Avengers. It is a very creepy and character-driven story that examines the depths of grief, themes of identity, and the question of what it means to be a hero when truly nothing matters to you anymore.
The story features almost every Avenger, Dr. Stange, and Agatha Harkness.
Get it now for $23.38 at Amazon now.
6 – Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962) Marvel Comics
I grew up on Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno portraying Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk, respectively, on TV.
Since then, Eric Bana, Ed Norton, and Mark Ruffalo have portrayed the Hulk in live-action films, with Ruffalo becoming the definitive fan favorite. I have to admit Professor Hulk was underwhelming but the MCU did more right by Hulk than wrong.
The Hulk is basically an analog of the Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde story, but the original comic was also about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the fear of destroying the world with irrationality.
In September 2016, a copy of Incredible Hulk #1 with a CGC grade of 9.2 sold for $375.000.
Suggested Story Entry – Hulk: Planet Hulk Omnibus
This graphic novel collects almost two dozen comics from 1998 through 2004 that tell the story of Planet Hulk. After almost destroying a city in battle with the Fantastic Four, a cabal of heroes called the Illuminati, which includes Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and Prof. X, decides that the Hulk is too dangerous and strands him in outer space. (It’s a decision that they will later regret)
Hulk becomes a slave and arena warrior on an alien planet and eventually plots his return and revenge on Earth. This story partially inspired the film Thor: Ragnarok.
Get it for $34.99 at Amazon now.
5 – Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961) Marvel Comics
There have been numerous attempts to successfully adapt the Fantastic Four to the big screen.
None have been very successful. Disney is currently working on an MCU-sanctioned FF film starring Vanessa Kirby and Pedro Pascual that is rumored to be set in the 1960s.
Non-comic book readers may know the Fantastic Four through cartoons and video games. However, their best adventures occurred in the comic books.
Although the Fantastic Four are known for exploring space and other dimensions and fighting threats, they are first and foremost a family. The Fantastic Four is a comic book about a family struggling to stay together when the world, their mutations, and their own personal problems threaten to pull them apart.
This comic is one of the most valuable comic books around. A copy with a 9.6 CGC grade sold for $450,000 in 2008.
Suggested Story Entry – Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 ( Omnibus)
Jonathan Hickman is a legendary comic book writer who is known for inserting grand ideas and challenging themes into his stories. In this story, Reed Richards builds a machine with the intent of trying to solve everything. His actions set things into motion that will wreak consequences for everyone in the Fantastic Four, not just himself.
Get it for $34.55 at Amazon.
4 – X-Men #1 (September 1963) Marvel Comics
In the 1980s and 1990s, Marvel Comics almost went out of business. So, the company licensed many of its characters for use in films to numerous film companies. It has been trying to reclaim all of them since.
Until recently, the X-Men could only be adapted for film and TV by Fox. Fox is now majority-owned by Disney, which owns Marvel, so this will change in the future.
(Confused yet? No wonder modern comic book fans prefer the live adaptation over the comics.)
Anyway, sometime in the future, we will hopefully get a new franchise of X-Men films produced by Disney.
This wildly successful pop-culture phenomenon was made possible by the publication of X-Men #1 in 1963. The Fox-era X-Men films were a kind of proto-cinematic universe with all of the solo Wolverine films before the MCU ever existed if you think about it.
This 1960s era of X-Men failed to gain popularity with readers long term. This inspired Marvel to relaunch the title with new characters in 1975, as per entry #13 on this list.
A copy of this comic with a 9.8 CGC grade sold for $493,000 in July 2012.
Suggested Story Entry – X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
In this 1982 graphic novel, an influential televangelist type named William Stryker kills his wife and infant after realizing his son is a mutant. Stryker goes on a crusade to get humans to distrust and hate humans while plotting schemes on how to rid the world of the X-Men and exterminate every mutant on the planet. This story heavily influenced the Fox X-Men film sequel X2.
Get it for $31.61 at Amazon.
3 – Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) Marvel Comics
During the Silver Age of comic books, Amazing Fantasy was an anthology comic waning in popularity. It was actually in danger of cancellation.
Since the end was near, the editors of Amazing Fantasy gave Stan Lee and Steve Ditko carte blanche to create whatever stories they wanted to do in issue #15. Spider-Man’s first appearance occurred in that issue.
Imagine – if Amazing Fantasy was wildly popular and never in danger of cancellation, then we may never have experienced Spider-Man!
A copy of this copy with a 9.6 CGC grade, or near-perfect condition, sold for $1.1 million in March 2011.
Suggested Story Entry – Spider-Man: The Complete Alien Costume Saga Book One
In a 1984 story called Secret Wars, Spider-Man gets a new black costume that automatically forms on him. Unfortunately, Peter is unaware that the costume is made of a sentient parasitic goo that will permanently bond to him the more he wears it. This graphic novel follows Peter’s adventures as he slowly realizes that his costume is a malevolent symbiote.
Get it for $19.99 on Amazon.
2 – Marvel Comics #1 (September 1939) Timely/Marvel Comics
This comic is a time capsule of history – WWII started the same month Marvel Comics #1 was published.
Marvel Comics #1 features the first appearance of the android Human Torch, who is not the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four. (It’s complicated – you have to be a comic book reader!) When this comic was published, Marvel was originally called Timely Comics. Pay attention – the title is called Marvel Comics. Sometime later, Timely Comics became Atlas. Atlas would not become officially called Marvel Comics until June 1961.
A Pennsylvania mailman bought a copy of Marvel Comics #1 in 1939. It has been kept in pristine condition ever since. That copy was sold in November 2019 for $1.26 million. It has a CGC grade of 9.4, so it is in near-perfect condition.
Suggested Story Entry – Wolverine: Weapon X (Marvel Comics Presents)
Marvel Comics Presents was an anthology series that was published from 1988 until the mid-1990s. It was not notable for its stories until legendary writer and artist Barry Windsor-Smith published a storyline depicting how Wolverine got the adamantium bonded to his skeleton in issues #72 through #84.
The story is murky enough that Wolverine’s entire past is not revealed. Wolverine is basically a lab rat and is experimented on to see if he can survive the process of having adamantium bonded to his skeleton. He then goes on a killing spree in a foggy haze of memory, escapes the facility, and wanders into the wilderness.
This story gives you just enough information about how Wolverine became a killing machine without ruining the mystique of Wolverine. (That would occur many years later in the comic Origin which gave the definitive origin of Wolverine and removed all mystery.)
This classic story inspired some plot elements in the films X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Get it now for $3.99 at Amazon.
1 – Action Comics #1 (June 1938) DC Comics
(Image courtesy Comic Book Gurus Podcast/FB)
In 1938 there was no such thing as a “superhero comic book,” relative to the modern context.
Then, in June 1938, Action Comics #1 introduced the modern comic book superhero archetype as we know it. It launched the Golden Age of comic books.
Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, this comic book was the big bang that created the comic book industry universe as we know it today.
A genuine copy of Action Comics #1 is rare to find. About 200,000 copies were printed in 1938. Less than 100 copies probably exist today.
There are probably only a handful of copies in existence in near-perfect condition with a CGC grade of 9.0.
Actor Nicholas Cage paid $2.1 million for one of the existing 9.0 CGC copies in 2011. The other 9.0 CGC copy sold for $3.2 million through eBay in 2014.
Suggested Story Entry – All Star Superman
This 2005 story is a 12-issue non-canon tale of the death of Superman. Instead of giving into despair, Superman strives to help as many people as he can and leave the world a better place than he found it. Some elements of this story will be used as the main source material for the upcoming Superman Legacy film.
Get it for $23.49 now at Amazon.
Start Realistically
There is a reason why I started this list with affordably priced comics.
If your knowledge of comic books starts and ends with films, dip your toes into comic book stories, or comic book investment slowly.
As recently reported in Forbes, many comic books are skyrocketing in value because of film and TV adaptations.
You could start investing with a few bucks or a few hundred bucks. However, you have to know what is rare, popular, and the tastes of collectors in the market. It pays to start out as a curious hobbyist first.
You may be able to find a copy of Action Comics #1 with a CGC rating of 1.0 or 2.0 very cheaply. But you have to buy it from someone who doesn’t know the value. And then you would have to sell it to a collector who wants it. And you won’t be able to do that if you don’t understand the market or the power of sentimentality to collectors.
You don’t need a lot of money to start collecting and investing in comic books. But you do need a basic knowledge base about comics and the mind of the comic book collector to start. Confer with serious comic book collectors or appraisers to learn more.
You could invest in comics via fractional investing but that is an investment strategy more suited for veteran investors.
Start reading comics and find out what you like and what you think may become valuable as an investment. If you just want to become a hardcore comic fan and become accustomed to decades of canon and lore, just start reading something – the rest will come in time
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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing. Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College. Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including saving and investing in your own small business.
