With recent rumors on a Spider Girl movie starring Arana, it is time to look at her key issues to speculate. I highlighted her first appearance 3 months ago in this article: undervalued Spider comics. If you have not gotten it then, now might be a bit too late.

Fortunately, there are other issues that are still cheap to speculate on. These issues are either her first debut series or first appearances of Arana’s supporting character and main nemesis.

 

The next best thing after Amazing Fantasy Vol 2, #1 would be Arana’s first solo series. The sales of this series is only in the 30k range, making it less plentiful than other characters’ solo series.

What might take off is the variant cover which is pictured above. Given the low sales number, I expect this variant to be even lower in numbers.

For comparison on the kind of return you can expect from such a book, below is handful of similar books that have limited supply as well.

	Supply	Price of NM
Arana: Heart of the Spider #1 Variant	No data	USD 20
Spider-Gwen #1 3rd print	No data	USD 100
Ms America #1 2nd print	No data	USD 100
Silk #1 2nd Print	11,762	USD 20

The table shows a mix of results from investing in a character’s debut issue that is a later printing.

If you are lucky, you might get the amazing result such as Spider-Gwen #1 or America #1. In that case, your profit potential is at least 5x from current price.

In the event that the market did not take up this book, then Silk #1’s price might be end result. However, do note that Silk’s #1 2nd print is pretty common as it has about 11k sales number. Usually, you will need books in the low thousands to do well.

In this case, I would say the Arana #1 variant has more chances of hitting bigger numbers than Silk #1 2nd print.

 

Another key issue worth keeping your eye on is Young Allies Vol 2, #5. This is the issue whereby Arana is called Spider Girl.

Whether this issue will be sought after depends on whether the name Spider Girl is used in the movie. If it is, it might heat up really quickly like Avenging Spider-Man #9.

It also helps that this book is a low print run book, with sales in the 11k region.

Below is the panel where Arana took on the name Spider Girl. Interestingly, it is something that Spider Woman came up with but Arana just accepted it.

Another related issue is Amazing Spider-Man #637. This is the issue whereby Julia Carpentor gives the black and white costume to Arana. It is also the issue which the former becomes Madam Web. It is a good issue to pick up if you do not have it.

 

There are 2 main reasons for speculating on this book.

First is the title. Although Arana: Heart of the Spider is Arana’s first solo series, her 2nd series is the first time using the name Spider-Girl. Again, whether this is important will depend on whether the name Spider-Girl is used.

Another factor will be the costume which Arana will be using. If it is this black and white costume, then the #1 of the 2nd series might be hotter than the #1 of the first series.

The second reason to get this book is simply the rarity factor. Arana does not have that many variants but this variant is a nice one to have. It has a 1:15 incentive ratio, which can result in a pretty low supply if you consider the sales number of only 24k.

 

This issue contains the first appearances of 2 recurring supporting characters of Arana. One is Ted while the other is Nina. Out of the 2, Nina Smith is the more interesting character because of her powers.

Nina is regarded as one of the hunters under the Spider Society. As such, she is able to use a Spider Society Tattoo that provides the wearer with Spider like power.

Nina has made 16 comic appearances. Most of them are in the Arana debut series: Arana – Heart of the Spider. From this, we know Nina might be an important character for Arana if her movie comes into fruition.

In addition, Amazing Fantasy Vol 2, #3 has seen a big drop in sales number from issue 1 to 3. While number one was selling 60k copies, this issue only sold 33k, making it a book with lower supply.

Currently, this is probably a dollar bin book so the cost of speculating on this is very low.

 

One of the most recurring villain group in this series is the Sisterhood of the Wasp. Among the members, Amun is one that stood out.

Unlike others, he is not a one time villain. He constantly appeared in both Arana’s superhero and private life, causing her plenty of problems. In fact, Amun managed to uncover Arana’s secret identity which always spell trouble for the hero.

With 14 appearances under his belt, Amun looks to be a good nemesis to Arana for her movie. His first appearance book is considered a low print run book with just 22k in sales numbers.

Imagine if you can get the newsstand version of this book…..

Conclusion

It is always fun to speculate on new key comics whenever there is movie news. Arana is a solid character to speculate on, relative to what Sony has announced in the past such as NightWatch, Jackpot etc.

Let’s hope the movie materializes!