Welcome to COVRPRICE’s Weekly Comic Report!
Just another fun week of comic sales and news! This week the fine folks at CovrPrice have again drawn inspiration from our daily SHAKER lists and found big sales for the Mask, Disney’s Scrooge McDuck, Donny Cates’ Titan HULK, Nick Fury, and a rare team up of iconic artists Matt Baker and L.B Cole. Enjoy!
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COMIC BOOK SHAKERS
Every day CovrPrice’s Daily Shaker List calls out comics with the highest sales value sold that day. Throughout the week we pull the more interesting ones and elaborate on them here. Check out our sweet Shaker List here.
SHAKER: THE GUN #2 – JEFF DEKAL (1:10) | CREATURE ENTERTAINMENT | 2016
By Matt DeVoe
We’ve recently started adding some notable sales from WhatNot. Once the sale is confirmed, and we feel confident it’s legit, the sale is added to our price guide. We were shocked by this week’s new high sale of $1,070 for a raw copy by Mel V of Its Drunken Chat Son on YouTube. We dug through three years of sales in our data and couldn’t find a single sale except for this. Being one of the first copies to market, prices can be unpredictable. Jeff Dekal has quickly grown into one of the comic industries’ most sought-after artists. His older covers, like this, are pretty rare and challenging to find. With this being the only sale, we’ll have to see if it brings more copies to the aftermarket. If it does, this price will fall as that high rarity bubble bursts. We saw this recently with RWBY #7, which fell from a high of $1,800 to its current FMV of $37. Granted, this is a different circumstance as RWBY was known to be printed, and no one knew where those copies went… until they popped up in Walmart comic packs. This, however, is a six-year-old 1:10 variant from a small publisher with tiny print runs. Stores were most likely not ordering ten copies of this. Case in point, there’s a Black & White C variant, with a confirmed print run of 200 copies. If that one was that low, this Dekal variant may also only be in the low hundreds. So far, only one hit eBay after that sale, which was listed for $1,499 and then pulled a few days later. We’ll be watching closely for that next confirmed sale to see if this book is worth the aftermarket heat it threw with this first sale.
SHAKER: PSYLOCKE #1 | MARVEL | 2009
By Matt DeVoe
We’ve frequently covered the Harvey Tolibao 2nd print and its high market value of $200 raw and 9.8 FMV of $700. However, this first print is joining in on the fun with this week’s new high raw sale of $100, on the heels of its all-time high sale of a 9.8 of $351 from two weeks ago. Its scarcity has increased over the past several years as eagle-eyed comic hunters plucked these from back-issue and dollar-bin limbo. Its gorgeous cover featuring fan-favorite X-Woman Psylocke, drawn by the amazing David Finch, is one of his best covers. As any fellow comic collector, you can’t leave a cover like this behind… which is precisely why it’s so pricey today.
SHAKER: SHOWCASE #43| DC | 1963
By Keith Shimabukuro
“Bond, James Bond” and “shaken not stirred” have to be two of the most iconic catchphrases in Hollywood lore. The future of the Bond franchise has been up in the air ever since Daniel Craig retired after No Time to Die, but it’s still a franchise with enormous clout. Amazon bought MGM studios and has recently added a plethora of Bond movies to its streaming service. We first covered this first comic appearance of James Bond back in December 2021 when it hit a new high sale of $3,800 for a CGC 9.4. We revisit Showcase #43 this week after a raw sale of $336 last month, followed by a record sale for an 8.0 of $660 last week. This book keeps hitting new highs across all grades.
SHAKER: FOUR COLOR ISSUE #386| DELL | 1952
By Nick Richardson
Disney fans are some of the most passionate on Earth, and the fans of the classics have an eye for quality. We go way back to 1952 to Four Color #382 to check in on a fan favorite, Scrooge McDuck, and his first cover appearance that recently sold for an all-time high of $14,971 in a CGC 9.4. With only nine at that grade on the CGC census and one at a 9.6, this type of quality book is scarce and rarely comes to market. Written and drawn by Scrooge’s creator Carl Barks, it checks several boxes for collectors. So, in the event it does come to market, fans of the character and comic tend to be anything but Scrooge-like when it comes to securing a copy.
SHAKER: FANTASTIC FOUR #25 | MARVEL | 1964
By Prof. Xavier
The legendary combination of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought together two titans for the clash of the century. However, this was not the first time these characters came across each other in battle. Fantastic Four 12 was the first time that Hulk went toe-to-toe against Marvel’s first family. This battle was left unfinished, and fans were clamoring for a definitive answer to the question, “Who would win between Hulk and the Thing?” This issue answers the call, leaving no room for uncertainty in who reigns supreme. There are less than 1,500 graded copies of this book, with less than 30 graded at 9.2 (according to the CGC census). The most recent 9.2 sale, of $6,900, smashes past the value of its 2020 sale ($3,469). It also clobbers the 2021 9.4 sale of $5,100. With the Fantastic Four entering the MCU in the near future, will we see this iconic cover recreated on the big screen? We can only hope!
SHAKER: MOON KNIGHT #38 | MARVEL | 1984
By Keith Shimabukuro
Moon Knight is hotter than the sun right now, and the series from 1984 has been selling like hotcakes. The last issues of long-running series have always seen lower print runs due to waning demand, which sometimes causes them to carry more value (and also leads to a rebooting of the series). This issue, and many in the series, has an all-black cover making 9.8s very difficult. The book set an all-time high this week with a 9.8, selling for $365.
SHAKER: MIGHTY THOR #165 | MARVEL | 1969
By Yves Navant
THIS WEEK, a CGC graded 8.5 copy of this issue sold for $1,920. “Him,” who later assumes the name Adam Warlock makes his first full appearance here. Warlock was previously introduced in Fantastic Four #67, where he was created by a group of scientists calling themselves the Enclave. Referred to simply as Him, the gilded, artificial human is designed to be the perfect man and seen only briefly in FF #67 before rebelling against his creators, reappearing here in Thor #165, where he has a conflict with the book’s star, then escaping into space. “Him” eventually meets the High Evolutionary, who rechristens him Warlock.
SHAKER: MAYHEM #1 | DARK HORSE | 1989
By Prof. Xavier
Hold onto your lugnuts, it’s time for an overhaul! THE MASK was one of the few comic book films to grace the silver screen in the 90s. Jim Carrey took on the role of Stanley Ipkiss and turned The Mask into one of the most iconic movies of the generation. The combination of a prominent character and a hard-to-find comic makes Mayhem 1 a highly desirable book. Although the character first appears in Dark Horse Presents 10, it is in the less recognizable form of The Masque. This mini-series shines a light on the far more recognizable version of the character, known as “Big Head” throughout the story. There are currently only 45 copies of this book on the CGC census, 10 of which are graded at 9.8. Last week’s 9.8 sale increased the value of this book by $500, to a new all-time high of $1,399! This book is sssss-smokin’!
SHAKER: USAGI YOJIMBO #10 | FANTAGRAPHICS | 1988
By Keith Shimabukuro
Usagi Yojimbo and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around since the early 80s and share similarities, such as being animals that practice martial arts. The creators have a mutual admiration for each other, so, surprisingly, they have only crossed over five times in almost 30 years. This second meeting pitted Usagi against Leonardo and was the only crossover that wasn’t drawn by Stan Sakai but rather by Peter Laird. This week, the book set all-time highs when a 9.8 sold for $1,155 on 4/13/22 and a raw sold for $49.99 on 4/19/22.
SHAKER: SPAWN #237 – TRADESMART EXCLUSIVE | IMAGE | 2013
By Nick Richardson
Spawn has several issues in its ongoing series that collectors covet for their scarcity due to low print runs. This variant is no different, with only 500 copies available during a signing event for Todd McFarlane at Tradesmart in 2013 and surplus issues sold online after. Add to that, Cogliostro returns after a 130+ issue absence to go along with an incredible cover. We’ve covered this book in the past, but it’s been on an absolute tear since then. With a recent 9.8 sale of $1,470, it’s up roughly 580% from two years ago.
SHAKER: MISTER MIRACLE #2 | DC | 1971
By The Professor
Making her appearance in the Snyder Cut of Justice League (standing alongside Darkseid) is Granny Goodness. Trained to be one of Darkseid’s “Hounds” (elite soldiers), she eventually winds up running his training facility. She uses torture and brainwashing to turn people into fanatical warriors willing to kill or die for Darkseid’s glory. Created by Jack Kirby, Granny Goodness is one of the more bizarre super-villains in the DC universe. This may explain why she has always been popular with collectors. Her first appearance in Mister Miracle #2 has always been a sought-after book in the series (likely the next most popular after issue #1). We saw a nice $100 high-grade raw sale this past week and a CGC 8.5 sell for a record $160. Not bad for a character that may not find herself back on the screen for quite some time!
SHAKER: SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #1 | MARVEL | 1963
By Matthew Glover
WAH-HOO!!! This premier war comic was recently sold for $885.00 raw on April 19, 2022. This issue shows a steady increase in value, especially over the past few years, and it is trending at a 0.45% increase. There have been a total of 76 non-graded issues recorded with a fair market value of $1,123.00. This comic in a 9.0 goes for $10,755 to $15,600. Even a 1.0 can sell for $212.00 to $305.00. This issue is a grail comic for many fans as it is the first appearance of Nick Fury. It is also the first appearance of several key supporting characters such as Dum Dum Dugan, Happy Sam Sawyer, Dino Manelli, Junior Juniper, Rebel Ralston, and Gabe Jones. It stands to reason that the upcoming Secret Invasion Disney+ series may continue to drive the value of this book up.
SHAKER: HULK #6 – RYAN STEGMAN (1:500) | MARVEL | 2022
By Nick Richardson
Most fans are enjoying Donny Cates’ run on Hulk, taking this series in a more bombastic new direction than the previous run. Ryan Ottley’s art elevates it that much more, with this issue being no different, bringing forth a new Hulk in the form of TITAN. Billed as the most devastating version of the character to date, Titan is the Hulk inhabited by a sort of cosmic entity. The trifecta consisting of the 60th anniversary of the character, a new iteration, and a well-received run warranted an epic cover, a 1:500 variant to be exact! The market tends to be reserved with high ratio variants as they typically never reach ratio, let alone exceed it. However, this week’s entry is a nod to all those high ratio variants that may never hit the high numbers yet still sell for a very respectable amount. However, drawn by the talented Ryan Stegman, this variant is already hitting $365 for a raw copy and looks prepped to rise further if Titan is well received.
SHAKER: THUNDERCATS #1 | MARVEL | 1985
By Yves Navant
This week someone felt the magic and heard the roar of this book, purchasing a copy for $1,400 in a CGC graded 9.8! This is the first issue of Marvel Comics’ licensed Thundercats book under their short-lived, juvenile-focused Star Comics imprint. Marvel was the absolute master of licensed properties in the 1980s, publishing comic adaptations of successful toy lines including Transformers, Masters of the Universe, and the wildly popular G.I. Joe. Among the aforementioned later titles, Masters of the Universe and Thundercats were part of Star Comics, with decidedly less intense stories geared toward younger children. If you don’t know who the Thundercats are, these humanoid kitties were an advanced race of anthropomorphic felines that fled their dying homeworld, Thundera, crash landing on the savage, untamed Third Earth in an effort to ensure their species’ survival. Each team member represented a different genus of their species; a lion, a cheetah, tiger, panther, etc. How cool, right? And each member exhibited mastery of a weapon that balanced sorcery and technology. The concept was very cool, but the comic struggled under infantile storylines and was canceled after 24 issues. The issue we are specifically referring to is the newsstand version of the series #1. Newsstand versions were comics sent to convenience and grocery stores, traditional newsstands, and some book stores (they usually have a barcode on the lower corner of the cover). These versions were not often purchased by collectors, being more available to casual readers who didn’t necessarily take care of their condition. The impermanent, disposable nature of old-school newsstand editions makes them a commodity for contemporary collectors, and this issue is one of them. For a brief moment, the Thundercats ruled the childhoods of 80’s kids, and this issue’s new high sales price was worth it.
SHAKER: BOB’S BURGERS #1 | DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 2014
By Jeremy Imlach
This in-canon comic series dives into a whole new world of Belcher shenanigans and saw a few new high sales this past week. A 9.8 hit a new record at $300, beating out the previous sale of $210 from June of last year. A raw book also sold for $60, penny-ing its way to the top by a mere margin of 2 cents – right as another raw book sold on the same day for $59.98 and one for $54.98 the day before. In comparison, the last raw sale recorded the week prior sold for $34.97. This book is moving and certainly faster than Bob physically can. Covrprice tracked four sales this past week and indicated an upwards trend of 8.04%. Stay close to this one!
SHAKER: STAR WARS #2 | MARVEL | 1977
By Mr. Day
Star Wars #1 gets all the love, and perhaps rightfully so. It does contain the 1st appearances of iconic characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2. People often wrongly call it the 1st appearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi when in fact, he only appears on the cover and nowhere in the issue #1 story. You need to see Star Wars #2 for Obi-Wan’s 1st full appearance, including the 1st appearances of Star Wars superstars Han Solo and Chewbacca. With the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show set to release later this year, there’s renewed interest in the oft-overlooked Star Wars #2. While some savvy collector grabbed a severely undervalued CGC 9.8 copy off of Heritage last month for $1920, such deals aren’t available for us mere mortals. In fact, a copy just sold on eBay this week for an all-time high of $5000. This beats the previous high of $4500 set in October of 2021. As of writing this article, there is one single 9.8 copy available on eBay for $4500 – but it is of the lesser desired CBCS variety. Up until late 2020, this was a sub $500 book, but now you can’t even get a CGC 9.6 copy for that price. Keep your eyes peeled for the hard-to-find Whitman 30-cent edition (not to be confused with the reprint) and the 35-cent regional price edition for those variant hunters out there.
SHAKER: TERRORS OF THE JUNGLE #19 | STAR PUBLICATIONS | 1952
By Anthony Sopczak
A raw copy of “Terrors of the Jungle” #19 sold for $480 this week, a pre-code comic that Star Publications published in 1952. This book, on the surface, seems like a typical, pre-code jungle adventure comic, yet this is far from the truth. The cover artist is L. B. Cole, with interior stories and art by Jay Disbrow and Matt Baker. Despite this book being of historical significance, if you’re not a Golden Age comic collector, the names L. B. Cole and Matt Baker will likely not warrant a second look. Although, they both have intriguing and distinct life stories that I encourage you to explore. Matt Baker, the first-known successful black comic creator, set the standard for “Good Girl” covers. He famously revitalized “The Phantom Lady” series and was a part of the creative team that produced the first graphic novel and the creator of “Voodah,” the first black comic book hero. L. B Cole is one of the most collected pre-code cover artists of his generation, creating some of the most iconic horror covers of that era. Despite working creatively on comics simultaneously from the mid-1940s through the 1950s, until Matt Baker’s untimely passing in 1959, Cole and Baker hardly crossed paths creatively, making the “Terrors of the Jungle” #19 unique among the iconic books of that period. But wait, kids, that’s not all; this is also one of the comics named in the novel “Seduction of the Innocent,” also known as SOTI. SOTI, written by Fredric Wertham, posited that comics were ruining our nation’s youth. After the parental uproar, the Comic Magazine Association of America created the Comics Code Authority. Golden Age comics were often cited for various reasons through that period, from Wonder Woman and Superman to graphic crime comics. Matt Baker or L. B. Cole famously wrote or drew many of those, including “Terrors of the Jungle” #19.
SHAKER: WWE #22 – 1:15 THE IRON SHEIK VARIANT – RAHZZAH | BOOM! STUDIOS | 2018
By Matt DeVoe
WWE has a massive and loyal fanbase. However, not all of them are comic book collectors. While the WWE comics series was successful, it had a niche and targeted fanbase. Due to this, it was mostly only ordered for pull customers who requested a copy. Not many stores were ordering multiple copies of this series, especially by issue #22 (a common theme that rings through our market reports). We noticed that variants featuring the iconic stars of the WWE, ranging from 1:15 to 1:100, have all been selling at high raw prices. This 1:15 IRON SHEIK variant, by the incredible Rahzzah, is just an example of one of these that are quickly turning into impossible-to-find variants that WWE collectors HAVE to have. The Iron Sheik has a new high sale of $97 raw this week and will continue to climb.
SHAKER: SPIDER-WOMAN #20 | MARVEL | 1979
By The Professor
While in Los Angeles, covering a story for the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker sees what he thinks to be Spider-Woman stealing money. He confronts her as Spider-Man and finds out that she DID steal money (in order to get by and deal with being evicted), but Jessica Drew’s guilty conscience won out, and she was now in the process of returning it as Spider-Woman. Spidey cuts her some slack and wishes her well. With the announcement that Olivia Wilde is directing and developing a secret Marvel film project at Sony, expected to be Spider-Woman, we have seen decent movement lately in Spider-Woman-themed comic books. Perhaps people are starting to think where there might be a Spider-Woman, there will likely be a Spider-Man? With Spider-Woman #20 marking the first time these two meet in comics, it is starting to pique the interest of Spidey comic collectors. We recently saw a big raw sale of a newsstand copy for $114, with another slightly lower grade copy selling for $65. There have not been any recent graded newsstand sales, but 9.8s were hovering around $500 back in October when Wilde was first connected to a possible Spider-Woman Sony project. Back in late February, a CGC 9.2 sold for $130. High-grade raw, direct editions sell in the $35-40 range. This book is still somewhat off the radar, so keep your eyes out at your LCS!
RUMORED/OPTIONED COMICS
RUMORED/OPTIONED: DREAMLESS
Variety reports that “Keenspot Graphic Novel’ Dreamless’ by ‘Marry Me’ Creator Gets Film Adaptation.” The producer of MARRY ME (also a Keenspot comic), Israeli producer Uri Singer, has secured the film and television rights. The comic is currently trending at cover price.
RUMORED/OPTIONED: MINECRAFT
It was recently announced by the Hollywood Reporter that “Jason Momoa to Star in ‘Minecraft’ Movie for Warner Bros.” While this project doesn’t have roots in comic books, it DOES have a comic book… which has been gaining in price with or without content.
RUMORED/OPTIONED: WONDER TWINS
Deadline recently reported,“‘The Wonder Twins’ HBO Max Movie Powers Activate With KJ Apa & Isabel May.” This casting news should help spur more confidence in picking up the key issues for the Wonder Twins.
RUMORED/OPTIONED: THOR LOVE & THUNDER
The official teaser trailer finally hit! But you knew that. Key Jane Foster issues are trending in a big way. We saw Zeus, Tanngrisnir, and Tanngnjóstr, and even a scene pulled directly (and VERY faithfully) from Thor: God of Thunder #3. Comicbook.com did a great article on it.
RUMORED/OPTIONED: MILES MORALES: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 – FIONA STAPLES (1:50) | MARVEL | 2014
By Keith Shimabukuro
Miles Morales has become a cult icon ever since he was introduced to the mainstream in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It was just announced that the sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has been delayed until June of 2023 (per the Hollywood Reporter), so it’ll be interesting to see if the demand will continue at this torrid pace or start to simmer down a bit. The Fiona Staples variant to Miles’ second series has always been a ghost, with only a handful of sales within the last year. Last month, a 9.8 sold for $3,550 on 3/16/22, a raw issue sold for $2K on 3/20/22, and a 9.4 sold for $3,050 on 3/21/22. All of these sales were just eclipsed by a 9.6, selling for an all-time high of $4,867.28 on 4/16/22!
WHAT THE WATCHER IS WATCHING
WATCHING: THE SAVAGE SHE-HULK #1 | MARVEL | 1980
By Jeremy Imlach
Heard any She-Hulk news recently? Neither have we. There hasn’t been much chatter around this fabulous heroin since the announcement. Surrounded by fan speculation, sales have since slowed. Thus, the FMV for raw books has settled at around $200. Someone forgot to tell this excited fan, though, as this week saw a substantial raw sale of $341. Along with the raw book market seeming to cool off, neglecting the excited fan from last week, the graded market appears to be following a similar trend. Previous 9.8 sales throughout last year and the beginning of 2022 were trending well over $1,000. However, within recent months the FMV has fallen to around $900 for graded 9.8’s. If you were to take these numbers and put them on a graph, it would demonstrate a dip. Will it keep trending down? If so, for how long? One thing is for sure; the Watcher will be watching…
WATCHING: ALPHA FLIGHT #1 | MARVEL | 1983
By Jeremy Imlach
Did you know that Wolverine was part of Alpha Flight before joining the X-Men? Alpha Flight first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #120 while attempting to retrieve Wolverine from the X-Men. However, in this first issue of the ongoing series, we get the first appearances of Puck, Marrina, Wildheart, Diamond Lil, and Wild Child as they take on the dimensional beast, Tundra. The three most recent 9.8 sales ranged between $310 and $350. However, the all-time high of a 9.8 is $575 from September 2021. Although, sales in that price range aren’t consistent. A 9.9 sold in June of last year for $400, so it’s clear the FMV has settled across the board. Raw sales are abundant and range in price by a considerable margin. However, the most recent raw sales only reached a high of $25 with a low sale of $2. The Watcher will be watching for high-grade raw opportunities.
KEY COMIC OF THE WEEK
KEY OF THE WEEK: CALIBER PRESENTS #1 | CALIBER PRESS | 1989
By Mr. Day
James O’Barr’s Crow series has long been a Copper Age darling. We’ve actually written about Crow related properties two weeks in a row, so why not make it 3 as cool comic news keeps happening? At the beginning of April, we saw renewed interest in the Crow with the news that Bill Skarsgard landed the star role. The Crow #1 hit an all-time high for a CGC 9.8 of $18K back in January and another CGC 9.8 copy recently sold for $14.4K – both major sales considering how rarely we see CGC 9.8 copies come up for sale. Last week we wrote about a lesser known but still cool Crow key – Deadworld #10 – which contains a back cover preview image of the Crow and the variant of which hit an all time high for a CGC 9.8 copy of $710. That brings us to this week, where we saw the 1st full appearance of the Crow in Caliber Presents #1 hit an all time high for a CGC 9.8 of $3,650. The large price gap between Caliber Presents #1 and The Crow #1 is pretty interesting as there are 79 and 42 CGC 9.8 copies on the census respectively. Caliber Presents contains an 8 page original story so its not like its just a quick cameo. Moreover, there’s only about 125 more total copies of Caliber Presents #1 then The Crow #1 on the CGC census. Is that a sign of people undervaluing the actual first full appearance of the Crow?
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The CovrPrice Contributors
It takes a lot of work and research to bring you our Weekly Comic Report. Special thanks to our fanatical writers for their weekly contributions and comic know-how. If you’d like to learn more about our writing team, follow the links below.
Lead Writer & Editor: Matt DeVoe | [email protected]
Writer : Diodelad | Diode Lad Soundtracks
Writer: The Professor | Lady T Comic Keys
Writer: Yves Navant | Yvesnavant.com
Writer: Jeremy Imlach | Venomized_truebeliever
Writer : Keith Shimabukuro | cardboard_fiend
Writer : Matthew Glover
Writer : Mr. Day | antihero_comics
Writer: Nick Richardson | Nick’s Fresh Press Comics
Writer : Prof. Xavier | CobraComix.com
Writer : Anthony Sopczak | Skeleton Key Comics
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Slabbed Sales Data
