After Bronze Age - What books are future keys.

[hogations]

Other books that will do okay over time from this time period:

 

G.I. Joe 1,2, + other key issues in this run

Transformers 1, 80

ASM 238

 

A lot of people might think I'm crazy on this one, but I also think a lot of the 'Heroes Reborn' first issues on the major Marvel titles will also do okay. Print runs started to shrink around this time and I think dealers are starting to find it harder to replace these back issues (although demand is not particularly strong right now)

[chrisco37]

Good Call on ASM #238, Hog. Forgot about that one!

 

Chris

[sckao]

 

What about Youngblood #1? Punisher Limited Series? Camelot 3000 (First maxi-series), Contest of Champions, Avengers Annual 10, etc.

 

Sorry.. lost my mind there for a second on Youngblood #1...

 

New Teen Titans #44 is a good call though... First Grayson Nightwing.

 

That long list posted ... very comprehensive.

 

 

Marvel:

ASM 194 (First Black Cat)

ASM 238 (First Hobgobglin)

ASM 252 (2nd appearance black costume)

ASM 298 (First McFarlane)

ASM 300 (First full Venom)

Daredevil 158 (First Miller)

DD 168 (First Elektra)

DD 181 (Death of Elektra)

DD 226 (1st born again)

Fantastic Four 232 (First Byrne)

Incredible Hulk 340 (Hulk-Wolverine fight.. McF)

Hulk 377 (1st all new Hulk, Keown)

Marvel Graphic Novel 1 (death of Captain Marvel)

Secret Wars 1, 8 (First black costume)

Silver Surfer 34 (Thanos Returns.. disagree with this one.)

Spider-Man 1 (McFarlane, million+ sold)

Thor 337 (First Simonson)

UXM 137 (Death of Phoenix)

UXM 248 (First Jim Lee)

Wolverine 1-4 (miller) 1 (regular series)

X-Men 1 (Jim Lee, million+ seller)

 

DC

Action 583/Superman 423 (Moore. last Pre-crisis Supermans)

Batman 404 (MIller. Batman: Year One)

Batman 428 (Robin dies)

Batman DKR 1-4 (Miller - last Batman story)

Batman Killing Joke (Moore - Batgirl crippled)

Crisis 1, 7, 8, 12 (7- Death of Super-girl, 8- Death of the Flash)

DC Comics Presents 26 (First appearance New Teen Titans - Starfire, Cyborg)

Legends 6 (First appearance new Justice League - Byrne)

Man of Steel 1 (Byrne - Superman reboot)

New Teen Titans 1, 39, 44 (39 - Last Grayson as Robin, 44 - First as Nightwing)

Saga of the Swamp Thing (20?) 21, 37 (Moore. 37 - Constantine)

Sandman 1 (Gaiman)

Superman 75 (Death of Superman)

Watchmen 1 (Moore)

Wonder Woman 1 (Perez)

 

Other:

Albedo 2

American Flagg! 1 (Chaykin)

Comico Primer 1

Dreadstar 1 (Starlin - graphic novel or Epic?)

Mage 1

Miracleman 1, 15 (Moore. 15 - Kid Miracleman battle)

Nexus 1-3 (mag), 1 (Baron/Rude)

Spawn 1 (McFarlane - high print run)

TMNT 1 (low print run.. oversized format)

 

 

[Smokinghawk]

I'd say ASM 238 and 239, 252...maybe 194 as well.

 

Daredevil 131, 158, 168, 181.

 

Batman 608 RRP

 

Ultimate Spidey 1 White, maybe 5, maybe 33.

 

Thor 337 is a key, but not valuable.

 

I hope eventually Bendis will be a big enough name that his first DD stories will be key, too.

 

 

 

 

 

[pangea-migration]

You guys are great! My first post asking a question and received more than 25 responses on what books to buy or invest in from the 80s.

Dare I say:!?!?! Aliens 1

Predator 1

Terminator 1

Aliens Vrs Predator 1

DarkHorse Presents 24 - 1st Appear Aliens

DarkHorse Presents 36 - 1st Appear Aliens vrs Predator

Rust 12 -1st Appear Terminator - Crappy book with crappy cover, but it is what it is.

I mention these cause a whole generation grew up with these characters.

Do you think these books may qualify or are print runs just too high.

 

Hey, does anyone know the issue of Conan or other book for origin or 1st Appearance of Valeria ( Spelling not sure Velaria?) from 1st Conan movie?

Thanks, Pangea

[Mushroom]

I agree on the TMNT 1-4 (really solid books) but nobody has mentioned yet CEREBUS. These books are already heating up. Once CGC starts slabbing them then expect specualtor type prices.

 

I also think that Dawn and some early Manga books (such as sailor moon) have real potential.

 

 

[Mister_Comics]

BATMAN #515 because this is the issue that has BRUCE return to being BATMAN after his back injury. There is a embossed edition.

 

DETECTIVE COMICS #700 Hey! Its a 700th issue of a comic. How may comics out there have gone that high. Besides it came in a special outer envelope.

 

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORINARY GENTLEMEN 1st volume #1 to #6. One of the hottest series of comics right now. Selling for big bucks on ebay right now.

[fazman]

Another thought comes to mind prompted by this thread--

 

Does anyone out there know which was the first Vertigo-imprint book to go on sale? Given the ongoing success and revitalization of that imprint with things like 100 Bullets and Y, the Vertigo "first issue" might achieve some retroactive key status. I remember Vertigo arriving well into Gaiman's Sandman run (and the issue number should be simple enough to verify), but does anyone know whether it was Sandman, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, or some other issue that can be considered Vertigo #1 ?

 

How about "Vertigo Preview" ?

I believe it covered most of the new vertigo books and also contained a Sandman story by Gaiman.

 

 

[Mushroom]

Another thought comes to mind prompted by this thread--

 

Does anyone out there know which was the first Vertigo-imprint book to go on sale? Given the ongoing success and revitalization of that imprint with things like 100 Bullets and Y, the Vertigo "first issue" might achieve some retroactive key status. I remember Vertigo arriving well into Gaiman's Sandman run (and the issue number should be simple enough to verify), but does anyone know whether it was Sandman, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, or some other issue that can be considered Vertigo #1 ?

 

How about "Vertigo Preview" ?

I believe it covered most of the new vertigo books and also contained a Sandman story by Gaiman.

 

 

Talking about Vertigo.....Death "the high cost of living" has long term potential.

[500Club]

Hello, Im new to this forum. Have been reading posts for a bit and decided to join in. So, here is a pondering question.

Whats are keys and investment value books AFTER Bronze Age. What late 80s books should we be looking toward as future keys 10 years from now.

 

For the most part, the books published from 1988 or so, to about 1995 or 96, are in abundant supply. That probably lessens the likelihood of these seeing much price action, unless the collector base expands dramatically.

 

I think the best candidates for 'key books' may come from the post-1997 period. I don't know about Heroes Reborn, but the mid-run ASM Vol 2 books in the number 15-29 range often sell for $4-$10 on eBay.

[Kevin Boyd]

Now Comics' Terminator: The Burning Earth 1-5 features Alex Ross' first published work. Definitely a key series for Ross collectors .

 

I know that Valeria appeared in "Red Nails" which appeared in Savage Tales (1&2?) and was later reprinted in color as a stand alone one-shot. There is reference to her appearance in an earlier Robert E. Howard story (which was probably adapted by Marvel after the fact.)

 

Kev

[Warlord]

T:TBE is the first work by Alex Ross? That is cool to know!

 

I wondered why that series had such a high value relative to the other Terminator titles.

[Kevin Boyd]

ASM 252 is the first appearance of the black costume. It came out approximately 6-7 months before Secret Wars 8 was published. Secret Wars is the first in-continuity appearance of the black costume, but is technically not the 1st appearance.

 

Silver Surfer 34 is an under-appreciated book and led to the revival of not only Thanos but Adam Warlock.

 

Albedo 2 (1st Usagi Yojimbo)

Comico Primer 1 (1st Grendel)

Pacific Presents 1 (1st Rocketeer)

 

I deliberately left Cerebus off the list as the title launched in 1977 and this is a thread about post-bronze keys.

 

I also deliberately left most Valiant and Image keys off the list

 

I also deliberately ignored post 1997 books. That's another list entirely...but here are some more recent keys that I didn't include:

 

John Byrne's Next Men 21 (1st Hellboy)

Dark Horse Presents ? (1st Sin City)

Green Lantern 50, 51

Daredevil 254 (1st Typhoid Mary)

Daredevil Vol. 2 1, 32

ASM Vol. 2 31

Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 34

Nightwing 1

Ultimate Spider-Man 1

Ultimate X-Men 1

Ultimates 1

JLA: Midsummer Nightmare 1 (1st modern JLA)

JSA 1

Starman 0

Final Night 4

Green Arrow 1

 

There are more...

 

Kev

[Mushroom]

I deliberately left Cerebus off the list as the title launched in 1977 and this is a thread about post-bronze keys.

 

I also deliberately left most Valiant and Image keys off the list

 

 

Why didn't you leave off Green Lantern because it started in 1941 or Incredible Hulk (60's) or Daredevil (60's)..

 

I still say that the 80's Cerebus books have long term potential.

[Kevin Boyd]

I think you misunderstood me.

 

Name me some Cerebus keys published post-1980 that have long-term potential?

 

1st High Society? 1st Cerebus as Prime Minister? 1st Wolver-Roach or Moon Roach? 1st Cerebus as Pope?

 

First two years, definitely. I'm with you 100%! But they are Bronze Age books... because they were published in 1977-79.

 

I love Cerebus. I have a complete run of the issues and the TPBs. But I don't see much interest in the originals beyond the first 25 issues (which are red hot right now).

 

Kev

 

 

 

[sckao]

 

For a while, the Cerebus books with Wolveroach in them shot up in price in the 80's.. but that was capitalizing on the Wolverine phenomenon.

 

Green Lantern 48 is more important than 50, 51 in my opinion as that's the first appearance of Kyle Rayner. You could argue he doesn't appear in costume I guess.

 

The Rocketeer and the art in general by Dave Stevens are great... but he didn't contribute enough to the comic book world (or outside of it) to become a "key artist" in my opinion. His output was pretty limited. Starslayer #2 is the first published work of Dave Stevens (April 1982)

 

 

Grabbed from Usenet: Partial listing

 

"The Rocketeer"

Starslayer #2, April 1982, Pacific Comics

Starslayer #3, June 1982, Pacific Comics

Pacific Presents The Rocketeer #1, October 1982, Pacific Comics

Pacific Presents The Rocketeer #2, April 1983, Pacific Comics

Special Edition Rocketeer #1, November 1984, Eclipse Comics

The Rocketeer Graphic Novel, 1985, Eclipse Comics (soft bound) and

Graphitti Designs (hard bound)

 

Art and story by Dave Stevens

Layout and text design by Jessie Horsting

Colors by Joe Chiodo and Dave Stevens (et. al.)

Letters by Carrie Spiegle

Art assistance by Jaime Hernandez

 

Short Features

"Aurora", Alien Worlds #2, May 1983, Pacific Comics

-script by Bruce Jones

Story and art by Dave Stevens

Cover art by Dave Stevens

Color by Steve Oliff

Letters by Carrie McCarthy

 

"Princess Pam", Alien Worlds #2, September 1983, Pacific Comics

-script and pencils by Bruce Jones

Inks by Dave Stevens

Cover art by Dave Stevens

Color by Joe Chiodo

Letters by Carrie McCarthy

 

"Fair Play", 3d Alien Worlds #1, July 1984, Pacific Comics

Story by Bruce Jones

Pencils by Jim Sullivan

Finished art by Dave Stevens

3d process by Ray Zone

 

Covers

Alien Worlds #2, see above

Alien Worlds #4, see above

Sheena Queen of the Jungle 3d #1, May 1985, Blackthorne Publishing

(also interior retouching; if I remember correctly, the same

cover was also used for a non-3d issue)

Crossfire #12, June 1985, Eclipse Comics

DNAgents #24, July 1985, Eclipse Comics

Mister Monster #2, August 1985, Eclipse Comics

3d Seduction of the Innocent #1, October 1985, Eclipse

True Love #1, January 1986, Eclipse Comics

 

 

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[pangea-migration]

Hello Kevthemev,

Thanks for the imput on Valaria. Will look into it and check out. Now I have a stating place to look. Thanks, Pangea

[BigMan]

Dude do my eyes decieve me know one put Uncanny X-Men #266. I still get $15 to 25 a pop for this book no matter what grade..... Even though there are like a million of them...

[Kevin Boyd]

It was quite late last night when I replied...Starslayer 2 is the first appearance of the Rocketeer.

 

I'm sorry if you don't see the influence Stevens' art and the Rocketeer strip had on pop culture... for example, his revival of Betty Page in the pages of the Rocketeer had an enormous ripple effect, making the 50's pin-up queen a household name. And very few 80's characters went on to have major motion pictures made about them.

 

I agree that Stevens' comic book output has been very limited... but look at the generation of artists he inspired with his pin-up style. Adam Hughes in particular comes to mind. The other short stories Stevens did were not much more than fluff, his covers were great, but yes, his output has been pretty limited.

 

IMO GL50 is the key book, not to say that 48 isn't, it's just 50 sees the end of the Corps, Oa, the Guardians, etc. and Hal Jordan evolves into Parallax at the end.

 

51 is the first in-costume Kyle Rayner. The prior out-of-costume appearance is not much more than a cameo.

 

Kev

[FlyingDonut]

ASM 252 is the first appearance of the black costume. It came out approximately 6-7 months before Secret Wars 8 was published. Secret Wars is the first in-continuity appearance of the black costume, but is technically not the 1st appearance.

 

Silver Surfer 34 is an under-appreciated book and led to the revival of not only Thanos but Adam Warlock.

 

Albedo 2 (1st Usagi Yojimbo)

Comico Primer 1 (1st Grendel)

Pacific Presents 1 (1st Rocketeer)

 

I deliberately left Cerebus off the list as the title launched in 1977 and this is a thread about post-bronze keys.

 

I also deliberately left most Valiant and Image keys off the list

 

I also deliberately ignored post 1997 books. That's another list entirely...but here are some more recent keys that I didn't include:

 

John Byrne's Next Men 21 (1st Hellboy)

Dark Horse Presents ? (1st Sin City)

Green Lantern 50, 51

Daredevil 254 (1st Typhoid Mary)

Daredevil Vol. 2 1, 32

ASM Vol. 2 31

Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 34

Nightwing 1

Ultimate Spider-Man 1

Ultimate X-Men 1

Ultimates 1

JLA: Midsummer Nightmare 1 (1st modern JLA)

JSA 1

Starman 0

Final Night 4

Green Arrow 1

 

There are more...

 

Kev

 

Calling John Byrne's Next Men 21 the 1st Hellboy is inaccurate . The first Hellboy is in San Diego Comic Con Comics 2. There's a post Bronze key - amazingly underprinted, and sells for $30-50 every single time I list one.