Blue Chip Star Wars Key Comics To Invest In
Every comic universe will have its own set of blue chip or mega key comics to own. In this article, I listed what I think are Star Wars’ blue chip books and highlight which ones should be purchased, even though they have already seen spikes in prices.
The good thing about blue chip comics is that they are constantly growing. In stagnant years, the increase might be a modest 5-10%. However, in growth years, returns can be as high as 50% to 300%, like what the X-Men and Fantastic Four books have experienced in 2019.
While everyone has a different take on what is a Blue Chip comic, below are my criteria:
- First appearances of characters who are able to carry their own TV shows, novels, games and/or comics
- Proven popularity in the Star Wars universe
- Long history
Here is my take on what are the blue chip Star Wars comics
(Editor’s note: this was written before the release of Mandalorian season 2 episode 5. Prices for some books have since shot up. I didn’t change the below so that you can see what happens to a potential blue chip book when there is media hype)
| Issues | Character (First Appearance) | Sales | Price (Raw) | 9.8 Supply (Total) | Price (9.8) |
| Leaders | |||||
| Star Wars #1 | Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Many Others | >1 Million | $200 | 734 (9889) | $2,200 |
| The Clone Wars #1 | Ahsoka Tano | 26,591 | $800 | 160 (355) | $2,000 |
| Star Wars #42 | Boba Fett | 255,985 | $250 | 314 (2524) | $1,400 |
| Lagging | |||||
| Star Wars #2 | Han Solo, Chewbacca,Obi Wan Kenobi | >1 Million | $20 | 131 (1371) | $600 |
| Phantom Menace #3 | Darth Maul | 82,345 | $40 | 35 (53) | $400 |
| Heir to the Empire #1 | General Thrawn | 80,000 | $70 | 116 (338) | $450 |
| Star Wars #43 | Lando | 255,985 | $15 | 146 (350) | $280 |
| Potential Blue Chips | |||||
| Darth Vader #3 | Doctor Aphra, Triple 0, BT-1 | 85,156 | $50 | 1566 (2391) | $250 |
| Jedi Mace Windu One Shot | Asajj Ventres | 19,687 | $150 | 27 (42) | $500 |
| Kanan #6 | Sabine Wren | 45,405 | $60 | 157 (234) | $300 |
Investment potential of blue chip comics
A central characteristic of all these comics is that they are not cover price or cheap buys. This is to expected since they are not unknown books. However, that does not make them poor investments.
Many blue chip comics outside of Star Wars comics are not cover price books but have achieved solid returns for their holders. For example, the recent spike in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 has created fantastic returns for those who bought this book 2 years, even ago it is already a very pricey book.
Sometimes, you need to spend money to make money.
What is so attractive about blue chip Star Wars comics is how little there are, compared to the fully formed comic universes like the Big 2. In Marvel comics alone, there are at least 20-30 books that are considered to be Mega keys.
In Star Wars, there is only 3 books in the Leader category. If we believed that Star Wars comics will only get bigger, there is no way this number will stay stagnant. In other words, we will see more Star Wars comics achieving what the top 3 has achieved.
This represents a huge growth potential, even if we conservatively use the top 3 as the ceiling, without considering their own price increase.
Leaders, lagging and potential
I separated the blue chip Star Wars comics into 3 categories:
- Leaders: Blue chip comics which have spiked to high levels of prices and are the price ceilings for the rest of the books. How much these books continue to increase in prices will determine the price appreciation for the whole Star Wars market.
- Lagging: Blue chip comics that contain first appearances of fantastic Star Wars characters who have not realised their price potential. These group of books offer probably the best returns/risk ratio
- Potential: Comics that have the potential to become blue chip books. They might need a longer history such as Doctor Aphra or their own media, be it games, novels or comics.
Investment expectation for each category
When investing in the above Star Wars blue chip comics, it is important to have the right perspective for the different category.
Leaders
When buying the leaders at current prices, you are basically betting on the growth of the entire Star Wars comics. In particular, your investment thesis is that Star Wars comics will become as collectible as the current Big two.
For leaders, there are no benchmarks as they are already the most expensive books. The only way they can grow is when more and more collectors see them as comparable as the Big 2’s blue chip comics, such as Giant Sized X-Men #1 or Ultimate Fallout #4.
Out of the 3 books, Star Wars #42 looks the best from an ROI and media hype potential, especially for the 9.8 graded books. With Boba Fett playing a more prominent role in the Mandalorian series, as well as the potential for having his own show, we should see a continued rise of Star Wars #42.
However, if you are not confident of Star Wars comics becoming as collectible as the Big 2, it is best not to invest in any of the books in the leader category.
Lagging
As mentioned above, this group of comics should offer the best returns/risk ratio. The characters in this group have already proven their longevity and popularity. What they lack is some spark that will pull their first appearance upwards.
Star Wars #2
Date of Publication: 1977
Sale number: >1 million
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Han Solo, Chewbacca and Obi Wan Kenobi
Out of the 4 books in this category, Obi Wan Kenobi is the only confirmed show that is happening. As such, it makes this book a sure fire bet relative to others who are still in the rumor stage. I wrote about this book 5 years ago.
In terms of price potential, Star Wars #2 is currently lagging behind Star Wars #1 by quite a bit. Even if it reaches only 50% of what #1 commands, there is still a 100%-200% profit potential waiting to happen.
There are also different editions of this book to look out. I wrote about this extensively here.
Phantom Menace #3
Date of Publication: 1999
Sale number: 82,345
Key strengths of this book
1. First full appearance of Darth Maul
Darth Maul has always been popular. He is the only non OG character with multiple comic series.
Unfortunately, this book isn’t as popular until recently. As a result, it is not as easy to find 9.8 condition of this book as collectors don’t treat this as a valuable book. Hence, even with 80k+ supply, I expect the 9.8 graded copies to be below 500.
This will help 9.8 to achieve higher prices as we see more Darth Maul in either comics or the Obi Wan Kenobi TV show.
Heir to Empire #1
Date of Publication: 1995
Sale number: 80,000
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of General Thrawn
With a comic series and a couple of novels under his belt, we know there is enough Thrawn fans out there to support his line of products.
The good thing about this book is that its 9.8 is holding the $400 price tag despite seeing more submissions recently. This is a good indication that demand for this book is increasing as well.
Among the newer Star Wars characters, I see Thrawn giving Ahsoka Tano a run for the money.
Star Wars #43
Date of Publication: 1980
Sale number: 255,985
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Lando
The first appearance of Lando is just one issue behind the first appearance of Boba Fett but their differences in pricing is night and day. Although I didn’t expect the former to be as popular as the latter but I think the gap should be smaller.
As a proxy for popularity, the first issue of the second volume of Lando Marvel comics sold 42k units. That ranked the title as the #35 best selling title for the month of may 2018.
With a rumored TV show, the first appearance of Lando could easily heat up, considering its current low entry prices.
Potential
Comics in this category are not quite there yet but have shown tremendous potential. These characters either need a longer simmering time or some media hype to take them to the next level.
Darth Vader #3
Date of Publication: 2015
Sale number: 85,156
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Doctor Aphra, Triple 0 and Bt-1
Doctor Aphra probably needs no convincing that she is a popular character, with 2 comic volumes to her name. The only reason why she isn’t a blue chip yet is due to her short historical presence. Give it a few years and she will be a confirmed blue chip for sure.
This book has the most 9.8s in the census relative to all other books. As such, its ceiling is pretty much capped at the $1k or below level.
The true breakout book if Doctor Aphra becomes more popular is either the variant or latter printings.
Jedi Mace Windu One Shot
Date of Publication: 2003
Sale number: 19,687
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Asajj Ventres
This comic reminds me of Amazing Fantasy Vol 2, #15 and Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1 due to the small print run. As such, I think it has similar potential to become a much bigger book.
What is holding this book back is Asajj Ventres not having enough of her own line of products, be it games, novels or comics. It might happen in the future, which is why this is a potential blue chip and not an established one.
Kanan #6
Date of Publication: 2015
Sale number: 45,405
Key strengths of this book
1. First full appearance of Sabine Wren
Star Wars Rebels was very popular and Sabine Wren arguably is its most popular member. The fact that Sabine is a Mandalorina means she might show up in a TV show sooner or later.
The only thing holding her back is the lack of own comic series. While she has been featured heavily in the animated series, a comic presence will cement her as a solid blue chip book.
Conclusion
I hope this article has managed to paint the potential of blue chip Star Wars comics. In both prices and number of the such books, Star Wars comics is still lagging behind the more established comic universes. As such, the potential for growth should also be higher and profitable.
Kanan #6 is a great option, because the director of the Star Wars Rebels the animated series is directing the Mandalorian. We already saw Ashoka, it is only a matter of time until the bring up the other familiar characters.
What do you think of the long term potential of Star Wars 3 first cover of chewie?
If you are asking whether I think SW #3 is a blue chip book, then no. However, this does not you can’t make money with it if there is something happening with chewie.
1 book that could becom a blue chip is Dawn of the jedi 0. Origin of the force and a lowish print. There are 3 printings. Also lots of talk of Star wars 42 for obvius reasons including 1st full Yoda in US comic but Issue 41 has a last page camo of Yoda. Also for an iconic cover Star wars return of the jedi adam hughes slave Leia cover is one of the last times she appears officially in this costume on a comic.
I am not confident in non character based books in general.
As for covers, they usually play second fiddle to first appearances, if we compared to the Marvel comic universe. Is that any cover that can rival the likes of Marvel mega keys such as Hulk 181 or Fantastic four 1?