Comic Book Speculation #5 – Squadron Supreme key issues
This week’s Comic Sunday Speculation ,I am focusing on Squadron Supreme
Recently, the rumors for Squadron Supreme has been getting louder and louder. In response, the prices for Avengers #69, #70 and #85 has been seeing some increases, although not something that is explosive.
If you are interested to get on the Squadron Supreme train, here is a more cheaper but equally important issue to consider.
Defenders #112
Date of Publication: 1982
Sale number: 300,000
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Power Princess, Nuke and Arcanna
This issue introduces 3 new Squadron Supreme members so you get 3 bets for the price of one book.
Undervalued relative to importance
While 3 appearances is good, the main reason for recommending is due to Power Princess. She is essentially the Wonder Woman equivalent for Squadron Supreme and has appeared in all iterations of the team.
Below is a comparison between her and other important Squadron Supreme members’ comic appearances.
- Power Princess: 77 comic appearances
- Hyperion (Mark Milton): 86 comic appearances
- Doctor Spectrum (Joseph Ledger): 72 comic appearances
- Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond): 229 comic appearances
- Speed Demon (James Sanders): 111 comic appearances
As you can see from the above, Power Princess is not a minor member for this team. She has appeared almost as frequently as members like Hyperion Doctor Spectrum and Speed Demon.
Undervalued relative to peers
Defenders #112 is a late stage bronze age book so comparing to the Avengers book is a bit of a stretch. You need to make some discount to make the comparison even remotely sensible.
| Price of 6.0 | Price of 8.0 | Price of 9.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defenders #112 | NA | Na | NA |
| Avengers #85 | $100 | $150 | $280 |
| Avengers #70 | $60 | $120 | $280 |
| Avengers #69 | $80 | $120 | $280 |
There are no prices for Defenders #112 because it is a dollar bin box. However the point is the wide gap that you can see between Defenders and the Avengers book.
Even if the Defenders is worth just 30% of what the Avengers go for, there is still a lot of room for growth.
Side note: Prices for the Avengers books are still pretty undervalued themselves. If they really headline some kind of TV show or movie, these will probably double (or more for the high grades).
Since this is a late stage bronze age book, the sales numbers are pretty high. However, there are opportunities to pick up the Canadian price versions. With these issues being harder to come by, they might prop the prices up closer to what the Avengers books are selling for.
If you are picking this book up, you might as well pick up the next issue as these are usually found together.
With Defenders #113, you get a nice cover appearance of the Squadron Supreme. In fact, this is probably Power Princess’s first cover appearance. If she heats up, selling these as a set will probably give you better sales.
Before I end the article, just note that there are quite a number of other Squadron members beyond these core ones. In their copper age mini series, these other members were introduced. Most of these issues are dollar bin folder if you want to pick them up.
Have a great Sunday!
