Undervalued comics #14 – Popular Marvel and DC characters that are undervalued – Part three

October 28, 2015May 30, 2020

I am way behind in this series so I am playing catch up with 2 articles in the same week. I hope you guys don’t suffer from information overload LOL.

As we progress into part three (you can read part one and part two via the links), I was prepared to see less and less buying possibility. However the result was different than what was expected. There are actually more undervalued picks here relatively to the previous articles so I was pleasantly surprised. Read on to see which issues are they.

DC popular list

As usual, we will start with the DC list first.

#30: Supergirl (Action Comics #252) – My holy grail. I love this book more than any other mega keys including AF #15 (blasphemy, I know). I still don’t have it and the reason is that I am generally not comfortable with buying anything above $500. When I first got interested in this book, I can get a 4.0 for around USD1,300. Currently, it is already around USD1.8 to USD2k. I am not sure how much room it has for growth so I am going to say this is not an undervalued book. (Ebay listings)

#29: Red Hood (Batman #635) – Noticed that the name used was Red Hood and not Jason Todd. I think this speaks volume about the popularity of Red Hood as a character. My personal belief is that this character will play a big part in the upcoming Batman movies, which is why I have been buying this book up like crazy. It definitely has lots of room to grow especially if my belief becomes reality. One to grab. (Ebay listings)

#28: Deathstroke (New Teen Titans #2) – This book has been heating up for a while now ever since Deathstroke appeared on the Arrow TV show. In fact, it has cooled somewhere so it is a good time to buy this if you want it in your collection. As for investment, this will be a slow burner as majority of the gain is done unless he appears on the big screen. (Ebay listings)

#27: Damian Wayne (Batman #655) – Damian definitely has become one of the recurring supporting characters for Batman. Given this prominence as well as his current popularity, I would say his first appearance is undervalued probably due to a lack of movie/tv news. However, I believe this character will continue to grow so picking up his first appearance now while they are cheap is not a bad investment. The regular cover has around 113k print run so it is pretty high, which might explain why this book is cheap. However, there is a variant cover for this issue that is more limited so pick that one up first if you can (Ebay listings)

#26: Rorschach (Watchmen #1) – Rorschach surprised me with this position. I never thought he would be more popular than the likes of Supergirl, Red Hood and many others in the #50 to #27 position. Although he is popular but I don’t know how much life Watchmen has in terms of fan interest. If the TV show materializes, then Watchmen #1 will be a good pick. However, I don’t think that is likely at this point so this is a book on the watch list at the moment (Ebay listings)

#25: Shazam (Shazam #1) – I will be focusing on the bronze age Shazam #1 since the golden age first appearance is not within our means any time soon. I recommended this book before in my 2013 articles on undervalued bronze age books. Back than, I was buying up NM copies for USD30 on average. Since the movie news came up, it has become a USD50-60. Nothing earth shattering as this is a high print run book with warehouse finds. If you buy them now, there is still some room for growth but the amount will be big. (Ebay listings)

#24: Booster Gold (Booster Gold #1) – I think Booster Gold having this high position in popularity will surprise many comic speculators. Most of them think this character is a joke but he has real fans and his poll proves it. With a movie in development and relatively low print run for a copper age book (read more details in my article on the potential value of Booster Gold #1), this is a good book to pick up. I believe many comic speculators will continue to ignore this book until it is too late. This is great news as it means you will have time to buy the best copy at reasonable prices. Recommended! (Ebay listings)

#23: Zatanna (Hawkman #4) – I was getting worried that my favourite female character will not be in this list but it is assuring to see Zatanna to be in the top #25. Her first appearance in Hawkman #4 is vastly undervalued even though the prices are not cheap. As a benchmark, compare this book to the likes of X Men #4 (Scarlet Witch) or even Strange Tales #110 (Doctor Strange) and see how much potential this book has. I believe once the Dark Universe movie is confirmed and a casting is announced, this book will go crazy. (Ebay listings)

#22: Swamp Thing (House of Secrets #92) – This book has been a Top 10 bronze age book in the Over street guide for as long as I can remember. Is it at the correct value then? I believe it is not especially when you compared the recent rise in Marvel bronze age keys. In particular look at the prices the likes of WWBN #32 is commanding and benchmark it against HOS #92. You will see that the latter book hasn’t seen much growth at all. I predict this will change once the Dark Universe movie is confirmed. In fact, I see this book and the previously mentioned Hawkman #4 as the biggest gainers if the movie comes true. (Ebay listings)

#21: Sandman (Sandman #1) – I believe there is no bigger Vertigo book than Sandman. The downside of it is that the print run is high (around 110k) but the fan base is also huge. How this book will perform will seriously depend on Joeph Levitt’s movie adaption coming to reality. So far, it hasn’t been a full confirmation which is affecting the price performance of this book. However, I would seize this opportunity to pick up 9.8 copies of this book. If the movie happens, they will seem cheap at today’s prices. (Ebay listings)

Marvel popular list

The DC listing was surprising filled with undervalued books. Let’s see if this holds true for Marvel.

#30: Black Widow (Tales of Suspense #52) – Black Widow is so exposed now that I don’t think there is any market undervaluation for her first appearance. (Ebay listings)

#29: Rogue (Avengers Annual #10) – A classic X men character but like all X men books, this one is not doing too well as there are lots of supply and a diminishing demand. If you believe the X men will make a comeback then this book is definitely undervalued. Personally, I think the movie has ruined her and I don’t want to sunk my money into a book that will probably take years to see any appreciation. (Ebay listings)

#28: Emma Frost (X Men #129) – See above. The same logic applies. (Ebay listings)

#27: Kamala Khan (Captain Marvel #17, 2nd print) – My best speculative pick for 2014. Frankly, I am not surprised to see her ranking so high above others.I know many older collectors are wary of this book but numbers don’t lie and this poll shows how popular the character is. My view is that this book has the potential to be the next BA #12 based on limited supply and the potential media exposure of this character. The supply is so tight now that it doesn’t take much to move prices up. Just a movie/tv show confirmation can do it and you want to be in possession of this book when it happens. (Ebay listings)

#26: Thanos (Iron Man #55) – This might be an overvalued book IMHO but who knows what will happen after Avengers #3. I will not buy this now if I am looking for an investment (Ebay listings)

#25: Gambit (X Men #266) – Out of today’s list, this is the toughest book to call. On one hand, a movie in development + an evergreen character should make this a buy book without questions. However, the large print run and the questionable success of the movie makes me hesitant in recommending a straight buy. After due consideration, I am not recommending it as I feel uncomfortable with high print books in general unless the character is really popular like Deadpool, Wolverine or Harley. (Ebay listings)

#24: Moonknight (Werewolf by Night #32) – WWBN #32 has to be the breakout star for Bronze age this year. Its current prices is enough to place it in the top 10 bronze age book in Overstreet. However, I am very uncomfortable as I don’t see this character to be on par with the likes of Punisher or Ghost Rider. This is definitely not an undervalued book so be careful if you want to purchase this (Ebay listings)

#23: Punisher (Spider man #129) – The big bad Punisher. He was one of the top dogs in the 90s but the book was slipping in value until the Netflix news came. Out of a sudden, the book is hot again. This caught me the power of media hype on established keys and is a key observation that made me recommend the purchase of Marvel Spotlight #5. For this book, it is already on the rise but if the Punisher standalone TV show materializes, I expect further growth, although not in the same percentage as when the first Netflix news broke. (Ebay listings)

#22: Black Panther (Fantastic Four #52) – It was a great investment pick way back in 2013 when I first wrote about it. It is no longer the case now. FF has a large print run. With #52’s current pricing and supply availability, it will not take much for prices to come down easily. Avoid. (Ebay listings)

#21: Silver Surfer (Fantastic For #48) – My favourite hero during the 90s. See my comment in the first article of this series on this book. (Ebay listings)

Conclusion

The DC list is much more interesting for this particular article as most of the Marvel issues are already at the right valuation. If forced to choose, this will be my numbering in terms of potential