Ok, the title is a bit exponential but I want to draw your attention to the fact that DC comics are about to blow up in prices within these 12 months. Currently, most keys and semi keys are already getting investor’s attention but you have see nothing yet.

Recapping the MCU phenomenon

Before telling you the upcoming DC explosion, let’s look back at Marvel to learn what happened and how history tends to repeat itself. I believe the 1989 Batman movie started this whole movie fueled speculation phenomenon but my personal opinion is that Iron Man is what broke the dams. After the near billion dollar success of Iron Man #1, TOS #39 became a top 10 silver age key and investors took notice. The repeated success of the Avengers 1 movie and the increase in Avengers #1, TOS #52 and TOS #57 cemented the belief that movie success = comics investing success.

What happened after these 2 movies? Nearly all movie and TV related news created new keys and semi keys. The success of GOTG movie further strengthened investors’ belief that even C class characters can see exceptional increases in their first appearances prices.

The time bomb that is Batman vs Superman

I believe what has happened to Marvel comics is about to happen with DC. Yes, prices on DC key books have already seen speculation being built in. However, the degree which this is happening is what I think will be the next big investing opportunity.

Although many people expect Batman vs Superman to do well, it is all in theory. Nothing beats seeing that happen in real time as it breaks the billion dollar mark and becomes the next global phenomenon. I can’t overstated how much psychology difference this is going to make in people’s minds, both in comic investors as well as the studios.

All of a sudden, DC comics will be seen as cool and be the ones to own. This spike in interest due to the billion dollar success of Batman and Superman cannot be predicted and hence cannot be accurately priced into today’s comic books prices. As investors tend to be conservative on average, there is a systematic downward bias still in current prices, until the box office success is real and the conservatism holding back investor suddenly weakens.

The spill over effects

Once the dam is broken and important DC keys spike in prices, investors everywhere suddenly will not want to miss the next big thing. This will lead directly into a mad grab of any DC keys that are still affordable, thus pushing the overall prices of DC keys further up than they are currently are. When this happens, it is safe to say that we will enter into a golden age of DC comic investing.

Undervalued DC comics with the most potential

If you believe the scenario that I have just painted, the next question to ask is which DC key issue will benefit the most from this explosion. My answer is to look for second tier DC characters. First tiers such as Flash, Wonder Woman etc al are already out of reach for most of us but second tier is where there is still a lot of room to growth. I am talking about finding the Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Thanos equivalent for DC before the success of Batman vs Superman lift the whole DC comics out of everyone’s reach.

If you need help, start with this pre 1965 list. There are some DC keys there that are still worth buying.