Books that have increased in prices due to their beautiful covers is nothing here. Even in the silver age, there are books that are worth more simply because it has a killer cover such as Silver Surfer #4. Similarly there are modern comic books that command much more than cover price due to fans’ desire to own these covers. I love these type of books more than variants, because the latter can simply be a factor of limited supply. With regular covers, there has to be a strong demand before they can arise above a certain price level in the secondary market. This strong demands ensures the longevity of the books and makes for some great comic investment.

 

Criteria

Before looking into the list, it is better that I clarify on what qualifies to be in the list.

• Non Variant
• Non convention exclusive
• Do not contains key significance such as first appearance, new costume etc
• Are not graded
• Do not contain signature
• Regular raw in Near Mint condition is higher than $50

In other words, it is just a regular issue with nothing significant except a strong cover art.

 

Ranking the best comic cover by prices

Issues	Prices in NM raw	Prices in 9.8	Sales Number
What if Venom Possessed Deadpool	USD 150	USD 330	17,069
Detective Comics #880	USD 100	USD 380	38,585
Wonder Woman #184	USD 90	USD 220	26,518
Catwoman #51	USD 90	USD 200	22,673
Power Girl #27	USD 80	USD 300	16,491
Batman Adventures #16	USD 60	USD 250	12,329
Amazing Spider Man #607	USD 50	USD 200	62,517
Catwoman #70	USD 50	USD 160	20,517
Zatanna #16	USD 50	USD 300	17,076

 

What if Venom Possessed Deadpool #1

This has been a fan favorite cover for a long time. With the popularity of Deadpool and Venom, it is easy to see why it is currently the #1 book in my ranking, especially it has a print run of only 17k+. One thing that bothers me is that some might regard this book as the first appearance of Venomized Deadpool. Since it is not too clear whether this is the case, I shall give it the benefit of the doubt and leave it in the ranking. If you have a differing opinion, feel free to say it in the comments section.

 

Detective Comics #880

Probably one of the best Joker cover around, this book has seen some serious price appreciation in recent months. With a Joker movie in the pipeline, I expect this book to continue to climb the charts. Who knows, it might one day over take the What if Book and become the new #1 most desired comic cover without being a variant.

 

Wonder Woman #184

Adam Hughes has done a lot of covers during his Wonder Woman run. It seems that this particular one has emerged as the clear favorite among Hughes fans. The funny thing is that a 9.8 copy isn’t that far off from the raw NM price so you might want to invest in that instead of the raw. Will this book remain at the top in terms of Hughes’s Wonder Woman cover or will another cover takes its place? Hard to tell but from history, it is difficult to displace something that has already been established.

 

Catwoman #51

Another Hughes cover that is getting the love from fans. It doesn’t have a small print run but that didn’t stop it from achieving almost USD100 in raw copy sale. This cover hit it right out of the park since it first appeared. Some say this is one of the top 3 covers by AH and who am I to argue against?

 

Power Girl #27

It is interesting to note that this regular cover has become THE Power Girl cover to own, despite not being a variant. Being the last issue of the series, it has a lower print run than the rest of the series but still more copies than a variant. Despite the supply difference, it did not stop this cover from becoming a USD100 book.

 

Batman Adventures #16

There is something about Harley and Joker covers that sent fans on a buying frenzy. It does’t hurt that this issue only had 16k+ print run, which is pretty low relative to others. Also, being a kid’s comics, it wasn’t as well taken care of as regular comics, thus leading to a lower supply in near mint condition. This might account for why the pricing on this book is much higher than the rest of the series. Having said that, there is no denying the power of the cover.

 

Amazing Spider Man #607

Scott Campbell has done quite a number of regular covers for ASM but this is the winner of the lot. There is something about Campbell and Black Cat that seems to make fans excited. Currently hovering around USD50, there is still room for it to grow, especially with the Black Cat movie coming in the pipeline. This price is amazing considering a print run of over 60k, which goes to show how much demand there is for this book.  If you can’t afford the expensive Campbell variant of Black Cat, this is a more than sufficient replacement.

 

Catwoman #70

Another AH cover of Catwoman in the ranking. There was a period where folks were buying out anything AH related for the Catwoman series. Besides #51, this is the second cover to break away from the ‘pack’ and become something that many AH or Catwoman fans wanted.

 

Zatanna #16

My personal favourite cover in this ranking because I am a big fan of Zatanna. Featuring the same red cover as Catwoman #70, this one has lower supply due to it being the last issue of a series, with a print run of only 17k+. Prices started going up since the beginning of the year. With Zatanna coming into the DCU with Justice League Dark, expect this one to continue to climb in prices as well.