I always love to recommend some cheap comics to buy since you wouldn’t lose much even if the speculation didn’t turn out as expected. Fortunately, my cheap comics so far has been quite profitable. Here is a summary of my previous cheap comics to invest series:

• Cheap comics to invest for 2014 (Marvel team up #95, Hulk #449, Spider Man #265 and Moon Knight #1): 3 of the 4 risen as expected according to movie/tv news. I was especially pleased with Hulk #449 as I bought a number of copies at cover prices 🙂

• Cheap comics to invest for GOTG (Nova #8, Defenders #28, Avengers #112, Captain Marvel vol 5 #16, Captain America #434): The first 3 did well, especially Defenders #28. I expect this issue to continue to get hotter as rumors of Starhawk appearing in GOTG 2 get louder and louder.

• Cheap comics for Hope Van Dyne (A Next #7, #10 and #12): I bought a bunch of these for #1 but had to wait for a really long time before the market starts to value them as I predicted. With Antman #2 continuous use of Hope Van Dyne, expect to see new interests in Hope’s first appearance.

• Cheap comics to invest: Kamala Khan: Some of my friends said this was my claim to fame LOL. It is true that I was the first blog to publicly recommend this book when it was still at cover price. That was how I manage to stock up on 10 issues of book. Now, this book is one of the hottest modern book around, with raw copies commanding USD300. In terms of returns, this book has got to be one of my best investments. Not bad for a cheap comic book!

• Cheap comics to invest for Teen Titans: These are my under performing books right now. However, I am not worried as the Teen Titans Tv show is yet to launch. In fact, if you are looking for some undervalued Teen Titan key issues, you will want to reread the list. There might be something there that you have missed the first time around.

• Cheap comics for Ms Marvel movie: Hulk #228 features the first appearance of Moonstone, the nemesis for Ms Marvel. Given that the movie has not announced any story lines or villains, I don’t expect this book to move in prices yet. Maybe 2 more years down the road.

• Cheap comics to invest for Wonder Woman: I recommend Wonder Woman vol 2 #9 as it features the first appearance of the most popular version of Cheetah. When I first wrote that article, you can still buy this book from the dollar bins. Now, it is at least a USD15 to USD25 book. If Cheetah is indeed used, I expect this book to go up even more.

• Cheap comics to invest – Next CM #17: I wanted to find the next potential Captain Marvel #17, 2nd print and thought the Wizard Con variant of Young Avengers #1 to be a great candidate as it features the first appearance of Kate Bishop. Fortunately, the market agrees with me and the once USD5 book is now selling between USD75 to USD100 for a raw. I expect this book to continue to gain in prices as it is really a tough book to find.

As you can see from the above, most my cheap comics picks did quite well. So who says you can’t make money spending only peanuts? LOL

For today’s picks, I am focusing on Avengers Academy.

Why Avengers Academy?

I feel that the current MCU lacks a young team. Currently, Marvel comics have a few candidates including Runaways, Young Avengers and Avengers Academy. I don’t know which team will be used but since AA is cheap right now, I see no harm picking up a few copies for less than USD10.

The concept itself is interesting as I see it as Harry Potter meeting Avengers. If Marvel gets this right, it could be the next big franchise aimed at younger audiences. Anyway, it is all pure speculation at this point but I feel that with its current low price, it is worth a punt. Two issues in this series are worth mentioning.

Avengers Academy #1 Variants

Issue one features the first appearance of a whooping 5 characters including

• Finesse (Jeanne Foucault)
• Hazmat (Jennifer Takeda)
• Mettle (Ken Mack)
• Striker (Brandon Sharpe)
• Veil (Maddy Berry)

The only non first appearance member is Reptil.

Among the 6 characters, Hazmat has broken out in terms of being used very frequently in the comics. Although not even a B lister by any means, she is at least a regular now. Finesse has also gained a small fan base due to her Task Master like abilities and intelligence.

The total print number for this book is not too large, around 41k. This is the same range as NYX #3 and we all know how much that book is worth now. I am not saying this will be the next NYX #3 but if things heat up, at least we know the print run will not drag the book down.

Interestingly, there are 2 variants for this book: the 1:25 Marko Djurdjevic cover and the 1:75 Mike Mckone. I personally prefer the 1:25 as it features the whole team but it has a higher print run of 1.6k relative to the 1:75 which has only 550 copies. If possible, get both as you never know which issue will get hot.

Check Ebay listings here

Avengers Academy #20: First appearance of White Tiger

Another issue worth your attention is #20 which is the first appearance of White Tiger. This female character has been getting some serious exposure in the past few years. She has appeared not only in comics but in Spider Man Animations as well. With so much exposure, there is very little doubt that White Tiger will become more prominent in the future.  In fact, this character is versatile enough to be able to be featured either as a street level or as a magical character. This means double the chances of her making a debut in the MCU.

In terms of print run, #20 did about 23k which is an ok figure. It is not low like CM #12 but not as high as to be worthless. With such a print run, USD20 to USD40 is possible with this book if it gets hot.

Check Ebay listings here