Monday, May 30, 2016

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134

DC Comics - Dec. 1970

Key Issue Notes
First cameo appearance of Darkseid

In the early 70's Jack Kirby became disgruntled with Marvel and moved over to DC Comics. It was here that Kirby began establishing what would be known Kirby's Fourth World beginning with Jimmy Olsen #133. His creation of Darkseid would be the main villain of this Fourth World concept.

Originally slated to debut in the Showcase title, Kirby objected to this and Showcase ended up being cancelled anyway. Kirby's Fourth World stories ended up being run in the titles Forever People, New Gods and Mister Miracle.

When it comes to 1st cameo appearances in the back issues market, they often do not do better than a 1st full appearance in general.

If you take a look at Incredible Hulk #181 compared to Incredible Hulk #180, Wolverine's 1st full appearance is a lot more sought out and valuable for sure.

It is a fact that Hulk #180 was discovered to have a last panel cameo of Wolverine not that long ago and Hulk #181 was always thought of as Wolvie's 1st appearance. This is somewhat the same for the 1st appearance of Darkseid in Jimmy Olsen #134, and because of all these new labels of 1st brief and 1st full to cover up past appearance mistakes, Darkseid was ultimately found to have a fuller appearance in Forever People #1 later.

If it was widely thought that Forever People #1 was the first appearance in the past and suddenly Jimmy Olsen #134 was found to have a panel of Darkseid in it later on, I wonder if this comic would be the lesser valued one today in some alternate universe. That's just thinking a bit of nonsense though. The fact is that Forever People #1 was recognized later.

Despite showing this would be popular DC villain on a monitor and only in one panel, Jimmy Olsen #134 is still more valuable than Darkseid's first full appearance in Forever People #1. The highest graded copies of this key issue are still 9.8s. There's only a total of 6 copies so far, and they're all Universals. 

Furthermore, there are only 18 9.6 CGC copies in the CGC Census currently as well as an over-all total of only 680 so far in the census. That's a pretty low census so far for a 1970 Bronze Age comic that's definitely been on the radar for a lot of comic fans in the back issues market, especially since speculation has it that Darkseid will be a big bad in the newly connected DC Cinematic Universe.


Values of Superman's Pal
Jimmy Olsen #134 on GoCollect
The last recorded sale I could find for this comic at CGC 9.8 was a copy that sold on eBay for $6,750 back in April of 2015! Not surprising since only 6 copies of this key are at 9.8, and I don't think too many copies actually hit the market that often. A year before that in 2014, a CGC 9.8 sold at ComicLink for $3,107 and was considered a record breaker. Looks like the new record is the one sold on eBay in 2015, but as one of the best comics to invest in still from the Bronze Age, this key still has potential for growth.

Speaking of hitting the market, CGC 9.6s don't make it to the market a lot either. A CGC 9.6 NM+ of this comic sold in 2014 for $1,553.50 at Heritage Auctions. There could be room for growth concerning 9.6s as well. Still a hot comic investment in the secondary market currently. High key graded copies of this issue are not plentiful and may prove to be a great comic to invest in for 2016.


Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Friday, May 27, 2016

Iron Fist #14

Marvel - Aug. 1977

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Sabretooth

Ok, just one more movie rumor concerning Wolverine 3 and I'll be done with them... for now. The movie that is set to hit theaters early in 2017.

If you saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine, then you know the God awful job they did of portraying Deadpool. But you also know that Liev Schreiber played the role of Victor Creed, also known as the Wolverine antagonist Sabretooth. Well, there have been whispers of him reprising his role in the latest installment of the movie franchise. We'll all have to see if this is going to happen or not, but it seems very plausible to me. Not much, or anything really, is known about the plot of the upcoming film so really, at this point, anything could happen.

Sabretooth has a long been connected to Wolverine, but he started out in comics going up against Iron Fist. When we first meet the character, he and his hired team of mercenaries have taken Jeryn Hogarth prisoner. When Iron Fist and Colleen Wing arrive, a huge battle ensues. As the battle rages on, Iron Fist becomes blinded by the sun reflecting off the snow, and has to rely on his training and remaining senses to defeat Sabretooth. In the end, the two are victorious and rescue Hogarth.

When Chris Claremont and John Byrne first created Sabretooth, the intention was that he would eventually become Wolverine's father. You can kind of tell, even in this issue, that was the way the wanted to go with the characters. The two even have a similar way of speaking, like their overuse of the word "Bub". As other writers took over the job, they got away from that and it was eventually proven that Sabretooth is not Logan's dad.

To date, there are 2,913 copies of this Bronze age key issue in the CGC census. Most of the copies are a nice high grade too. 1,592 of them are graded between 9.0 to 9.8, with 135 being the highest grade 9.8. Obviously the rest are in mid to lower grade, but even those might cost you a little bit of your hard earned dough. 


Click to enlarge
According to GoCollect, the latest sales for 9.8 copies are dropping at around the $1,500 mark. That's up there, but it is the first appearance of one of the more popular Wolverine villains. Values for 9.6 copies drop off significantly and are selling for less than $600. If you're budget is in the $200 range, you can still pick up a respectable 8.0 copy. Or, if you're lucky, maybe an 8.5.

If you're a fan of rare, short print comics, and you have deep enough pockets, then be on the lookout for the 35¢ variation of this comic. Marvel wanted to test the market to see how people would react to a price increase, so they printed a small number of issues do this. Iron Fist #14 was one of the comics.


When I say rare, I mean rare. There are only 43 copies of this variant in the CGC census and the last sale on eBay for a 9.0 copy sold for $4,000 way back in 2014. Right now, there is an auction for a CBCS certified 8.5 that has an asking price of $8,900 with a best offer option.

Whichever copy you decide on, this is a good investment comic. Sabretooth is a fan favorite character and there is always a fan base for him. Also, if you're deciding to sell a copy you already have, then keep an eye out on sales. You could see them jump up with the rumors of him showing up on the big screen soon.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect


Wednesday, May 25, 2016

X-Men #4

Marvel - Jan. 1992

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Omega Red


Keeping on the Wolverine 3 movie rumor train, here's another first appearance of a character that may, or may not be featured in the next film. There's a lot of speculation going on out there as to who is going to be the big baddie in Hugh Jackman's last go as everyone's favorite Canadian mini mutant. One of the names I'm seeing fairly frequently is that of Omega Red.

Omega Red made his first appearance in the pages of this X-Men comic. He was created by the team of acclaimed writer John Byrne, and legendary artist Jim Lee.

Arkady Rossovich is from the former Soviet Union, and is the man who would eventually become Omega Red. There are a couple of origin stories out there, but I'm not sure which one is the true story, since I haven't read all of the comics that feature him. He's not a very good guy in either version. In the first version of his origin story, he was a serial killer that was captured by Interpol agent Sean Cassidy, also known as Banshee. Then, he was turned over to the KGB to be put into their version of the Super Soldier program.

The second version has Rossovich as a Soviet soldier, but still a serial killer. When his comrades found out about it, they put a bullet through his brain. Miraculously, he doesn't die, so they send him off to the same program as I mentioned before. 

Like I said, I'm not sure which version is the real version, but in this issue, when Omega Red finally meets up with the X-Men, Wolverine is very surprised to find out that he is alive.

While in the program, Rossovich is implanted with two retractable carbonadium tentacles in his arms, similar to the ones that Doctor Octopus has. He's also able to secrete a pheromone that can result in sickness, or worse, death.

I don't have any information about the print run for X-Men #4, but with it coming out around the peak of the comic boom in the 90's, you can expect there to be a lot of copies out there. As of right now, there are only 929 copies in the CGC census. That's not a lot, but don't let this number fool you. The current low number in the census doesn't mean that this book is rare, it only means that not many people think that this comic is worthy enough to send in to be graded. I expect that this number will start to rise in the near future.

Even though there are that many copies graded yet, almost 2/3 of them are graded a high 9.8. Of the 929 copies, 641 are 9.8's. I'm surprised that there aren't any copies graded higher than that, but that could change if everyone starts submitting this comic to be graded.


Values of X-Men #4 on GoCollect
If you're looking for a high grade copy of this book, it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg, or your first born child. 9.8 copies are still selling for less than $100. Signature Series copies will end up costing a little more, but even they are still selling for under $200. Don't worry about any sales lower than a 9.8 for this comic right now. For the best return on your investment, you should only be looking at high grade copies anyway.

If you were to snag a copy of this comic, now would probably be the time to do it. It's still very affordable in high grades. If the rumors turn out to be true and Omega Red is confirmed to appear in the new Wolverine movie, you can expect to see values rise very quickly, and if you don't jump on it now, you'll be digging into your profit margin.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Monday, May 23, 2016

NYX #3

Marvel - Feb. 2004

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of X-23 (Laura Kinney)

Rumors have been running rampant on the blogosphere lately about who's going to star along side Hugh Jackman in his final go as Wolverine. One of the names that's been popping up a lot is that of X-23.

When I first heard about the character of X-23, she was described to me as Wolverine's daughter. That's not true, she's not his daughter at all, she's his clone. X-23's real name is Laura Kinney, and she was cloned by using Wolverine's genetic material that was salvaged from the Weapon X program.

Laura Kinney is a prostitute in New York and when we first meet her, she is in a hotel room with a John. He thanks her for a great time, throws a roll of twenties on the bed and walks out the door. As he's getting dressed, you can see scratches all over his back.

At the end of the comic, she is in a room with the same guy, presumably to do what prostitutes do. This time, the John has a different idea. This time he brought a knife with him. It doesn't work out very well for him though. In the last few panels, you see him lying on the floor, covered on blood and Laura sitting on the bed with her Wolverine like claws exposed.

NYX #3 has an estimated print run of 40,000. I wouldn't say that's a lot of copies, but I wouldn't say it's not a lot of copies either. If you're looking to buy a copy, you'll have no problem finding one.


Click to enlarge
There were no surprises when I was looking at the CGC census. At the time of this writing, there are quite a few copies graded by them already, 2,258 to be exact. And it also comes as no surprise, since this is a Modern Age comic, that almost half of them are graded 9.8 or higher. There are 4 copies graded an ultra high 9.9 as well. Don't expect to find any slabbed low grade copies. The lowest grade in the census so far is a 5.5, but it is a Signature Series copy.


Values of NYX #3 on GoCollect
Now let's get to the fun part. Let's see how much the sales have skyrocketed over the past few years. I was thinking about snagging a copy of this two years ago for about $200, but I passed it up because I didn't think there was any growth potential. Boy, was I wrong. I couldn't find any sales for the ultra high 9.9's but recent sales for 9.8 copies have recently gone for close to the $1,000 mark. It was less that two years ago that you go snag this comic for under $200. In June of 2014, a 9.8 copy sold for the bargain price of $171.50. I'm kicking myself in the ass for not jumping on that when I had the chance. Even 9.6 copies have started selling for over the $600 mark, and only two years ago, you could have gotten one for less that a hundred bucks.

If you're looking for snagging a copy for under $100 now, you're probably out of luck. Even mid grade 6.5 copies are up over that mark. You're best bet might be to find a nice raw copy, but like I've said in the past, be wary, you never know what you'll get when you're buying raw.

Is this a flash in the pan kind of comic? I have no idea. I never thought that prices for this comic would ever get as high as they are now. There is a lot of speculation out there and I'm sure that's one of the factors driving up values for this comic. Usually, after the hype dies out, then values die out too, especially in the current movie driven market we're in now.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Friday, May 20, 2016

Uncanny X-Men #297 Pressman Gold Edition - CBCS 9.6

Marvel - Feb. 1992

Key Issue Notes
Pressman Gold Edition - Very low print run

You know how everyone seems to have a story about that one valuable comic that they got for practically nothing? Well, this is my version of that story.

Let me take you all the back to the year 2003. Or was it 2004? I can't remember. I had just started getting back into collecting comics after a small hiatus. I kinda lost interest in them in the mid to late 90's like a few other people I know did, and I found other hobbies, like skateboarding, that took up a lot of my time and money, so comic collecting had to take a back seat. Once I got older, and my body started to feel all of the falls, bruises, and broken bones, I thought I'd get back into collecting again. It's much easier on my body.

I was looking to build up my collection with a lot of new comics. I was naive and thought in order to have a good comic collection, you needed to have a huge collection, so I started buying comic lots on eBay. After buying a long box here, and a couple more long boxes there, my collection started to get quite large.

One of the long boxes I bought, I got for practically nothing. I think the total, including shipping, was only about $50, if not cheaper. The box consisted of mostly X-Men titles. There were a lot of Cable comics and a few Deadpool's stuffed in there as well. Somewhere in the middle of them all, was a copy of Uncanny X-Men #297.

I didn't think anything of it at the time. As a lot of you might remember from collecting comics in the 80's and 90's, many of them that had a variant cover with a gold logo or background usually meant it was a second print, like the second print of New Mutants #87, as seen to the right. So I shoved the copy of X-Men back into the box, and there it sat for years.

It wasn't until about a year ago that I found out that this comic had any kind of value at all. As I was looking at the price guide on ComicBookRealm, I noticed that this "second print" of Uncanny X-Men had seen a significant rise in value. I thought to myself, "why the hell is this comic all of a sudden worth so much?", so I did a little research.

There wasn't a lot of information on it at the time. The only place I found anything was on RecalledComics. It seems that this comic wasn't a second print at all. It was actually a variant that Pressman Games used to promote one of their X-Men related board games, and was produced in very limited numbers. It's estimated that there are only 500 copies of the Pressman edition of Uncanny X-Men #297.

Anyway, after I learned what this comic was all about, I decided to send it in to be graded. CBCS was just about to open their doors for business, so after a month or two, I sent it in, mostly to have my comic graded, but also to try out the new company. There were a couple of very small problems with them that I chalked up to growing pains, but in the end, everything was fixed and I got my comic. What else could I ask for?

So that's my story of how I found treasure buried in a box of trash. It took a while to find it, and realize what I actually had, but now it's become one of the more valuable comics in my collection.

Find a copy here



Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Preacher #1

DC / Vertigo - April 1995

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Jesse Custer
First appearance of Tulip O'Hare
First appearance of Proinsias Cassidy
First appearance of The Saint of Killers

Every Sunday night, after I get home from work, I sit on the couch, relax and watch a little T.V.. One of the shows I watch is Fear the Walking Dead on AMC. It's really not as good of a show as I think it could be. I tune in every week expecting it to get better, and every week I'm left disappointed. But, AMC advertising the hell out of their new show, Preacher, that premieres on May 22nd, and I have to say, I'm pretty psyched by what I'm seeing so far.

To be honest with you, I didn't really know much about the Preacher comics until I saw the commercials for the new show. I pretty much only knew that the comics existed. I new nothing of the characters or the story, but after seeing what AMC has in store, I had to check it out.

So far, I've only read this comic. I can understand why DC decided to put Preacher under their Vertigo label. Vertigo is a branch of DC Comics that deals with more graphic and adult orientated stories, and from what I've read so far, this series fits the Vertigo label perfectly.


Preacher was created by writer Garth Ennis. He has a long list of writing credits, including Hellblazer. He was also co-writer of the 2005 movie Constantine, staring Keanu Reeves, which was based off of the Hellblazer series.

When we first meet our trio of characters, they are sitting in a diner rehashing the story (for the readers sake) of how they all met. 

Jesse Custer is a small town priest. While he is giving a sermon in front of his congregation, he becomes possessed by a half angel- half demon entity called Genesis. Because of the possession, the church goes up in a huge ball of fire and ends up killing everyone inside, except Jesse.

Tulip O'Hare is an old flame of Jessie's. For reasons I don't know, she pulls out a gun and takes aim a some old pervert in the back seat of  a car and shoots off a round. She manages to shoot one of the other passengers in the back seat, blowing off the lower half of his jaw. She run away as the others in the car start to chase her. She comes up to a truck that's being driven by none other than Proinsias Cassidy. She hops in the truck and they are on their way. Tulip doesn't realize it right away, but Cassidy just happens to be a vampire.

As the two are driving, they see a big plume of smoke off in the distance. When they arrive, they see the charred remains of a church and find Jesse unconscious. 

After Genesis escapes Heaven and possesses Jesse, The Saint of Killers is called upon to return the angel-demon back to where it belongs.  I don't want to give too much of the story away, so I'll leave it there.

Preacher #1 is said to have a small print run. How small? I have no idea. I found one source estimate a run of about 20,000 copies, but I don't know how accurate that is, or where they got their information from. What I do know, is how many have been graded by CGC.  To date, there have been 1,588 copies graded by them. Most are a high grade 9.4 or higher, but none are graded higher than 9.8. As of this writing, 439 are graded at that highest grade of 9.8. As we drop down one grade to a 9.6, there are 446 copies CGC graded.


Values of Preacher #1 on GoCollect
For a modern comic that came out in 1995, it really isn't a cheap buy. The hype from the T.V. show has made prices of high grade copies shoot up pretty high. In the course of three years, 9.8 copies have gone from around $150 to upwards of $900 and higher. 9.4 and 9.6 copies have started selling for around $400 and $500. Surprisingly, even mid grade 6.0's have gone over the $100 mark. How much higher these values will go is information I don't have. I have a feeling that we will start to see prices come down a little bit before they start to level off after all the hype from the T.V. show comes down. Unless the show takes off like The Walking Dead did, then all bets are off.

Even though I missed out on this great comic investment, I'm still looking forward to reading the series. If the rest of the comics are anything like this first issue, I'm gonna be in for a real treat.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Monday, May 16, 2016

Werewolf by Night #32

Marvel - August 1975

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Moon Knight (Marc Spector)
First appearance of Frenchie

Moon Knight hasn't always been the most popular of Marvel superheroes. However, this comic has seen quite a boost in value over the last couple of years. I'll get into my theory of why in a little while, but for now, let's talk about the character.

There are a lot of people that say Moon Knight is the Marvel version of DC's Batman. I, for one, disagree. Yeah, there are minor similarities. Batman has is "Batarang" and Moon Knight has his own version of them that are shaped like a crescent moon. They also both have a cape and fight crime. To me, this is where the similarities end.

Let's go back to the beginning of the characters. Before he was Batman, Bruce Wayne was a rich kid whose parents were shot and killed. He vowed that he would rid the city of the evil that took his parents' lives. He trains his body and mind to become the crime fighter that we all know today.

Before Moon Knight, there was Marc Spector (spelled Mark in this issue). He was many things before he became a superhero. He was a boxer, a marine and he was a mercenary. All of Marc Spector's combat experience came from his upbringing, not from a tragedy in his past.

The most obvious difference between the two characters, Moon Knight has super powers, Batman does not. While Batman is considered to possess one of the greatest detective minds of all time, he has no super human abilities. Moon Knight, on the other hand, has powers granted to him by the Egyptian lunar god Khonshu. His strength, endurance, and reflexes are enhanced depending on the phase of the moon. The more full the moon is, the more power he has.

Moon Knight does have a sidekick. This sidekick's name is Jean-Paul DuChamp, or Frenchie. His first appearance in Werewolf by Night #32 is brief. He is only shown clearly in one panel.

Enough with the comparisons. Let's talk about this comic. When we first see Moon Knight, he is kicking the bejesus out of Jack Russell's alter ego Werewolf by Night. Later, we find out that Marc Spector was hired by The Committee to capture Russell. In the last panel, we see an unconscious Werewolf being dragged away by the man in the white cloak.


From ComicConnect
CGC lists Werewolf by Night #32 as the first appearance and "origin" of Moon Knight. After I read this issue, there wasn't an origin story of how Marc Spector became Moon Knight. There was only a panel showing how he got his silver cloaked costume, so I removed "the origin" part from my Key Issue Notes at the top of the page.

I don't expect you'll find too many super high grade copies of this comic in the market. As of now, there are 1,270 copies in the CGC census, with only 12 of them being Universal 9.8's and 62 being 9.6's, one being a restored copy. However, there are an abundance of copies between grades of 7.5 and 9.4. These copies make up most of the census. There are 319 copies graded below a 7.5.


Values of Werewolf by Night #32
on GoCollect
The first appearance of Moon Knight in Werewolf by Night #32 has seen some nice action over the last couple of years, without the help of rumors that he is going to appear on the silver or small screen. I believe that this comic is getting so much love right now is because of speculation, but let's look at some sales. A 9.8 copy sold late in 2015 for an amazing $15,000 at ComicConnect. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anymore sales data for 9.8 copies to compare this sale to. 9.6's seem to be selling steady at around $4,000 range. If you're looking for a slightly more affordable copy, you may need to drop down to the 6.0 - 7.0 range. Right now, 6.0 copies are selling in the $300 range and 7.0's are in the low to mid $500, or you could try to snag a copy in a lower grade than that. It looks as though there is still some investment potential even in 4.0 - 5.0 copies.

Which ever grade you decide to get, I wish you luck. I missed out on this one a few years back when it was far more affordable. I hope you don't miss out on it the same way I did.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect - GKC Store

Friday, May 13, 2016

Superboy #68 - CGC 5.0

DC Comics - Oct 1958

Key Issue Notes
First appearance and origin of Bizzaro

I thought it would be nice to dig into my box of graded comics and share the story of how I decided to snag this key issue. If you're a fan of Total Comic Mayhem, you may have already read a version of this story, but I'm going to retell it here anyway.

It all started back in 2013 when my friend, and partner in comics, and I went to the inaugural year of Stockton Con at the Stockton Arena. As I entered the arena, I was a little overwhelmed and quite surprised at how many people were there. As I made my way through the celebrity tables and vendor booths, Stockton Con instantly became one of my favorite conventions in the area.

My friend and I started to get hungry. We grabbed some food and sat down to eat. The seats at the arena look out over the convention floor, so they're great for people watching. As I was stuffing my face with some nachos and looking out over the people, I saw someone cosplaying as Superman. I then noticed that his face was painted white and a split second later, I realized he wasn't Superman at all, he was dressed as Bizarro. This is the exact moment that this comic shot right to the top of my want list and my quest to find his first appearance started.


The Bizarro Cosplayer
Finding this comics wasn't easy. There weren't a lot of copies to be found, and the copies that I did find were usually dirt copies. The first copy I found was at a convention. I think it was at Easy Bay Comic Con, but I'm not 100% sure. The vendor had a copy on his wall, but the copy far from any grade I was looking for. The cover on this copy was completely detached but the vendor still wanted $200 for it. I politely passed on it and handed it back. I saw a couple more copies at other conventions, but they were in the same low grade condition as the first one.

There were far more options online than there were at the cons and they were in much better condition. Now I had to find one that was in my price range. It took a while but I eventually settled on a decent CGC 5.0 copy from eBay. I had this copy on my watch list while I tried to convince myself to pull the trigger on it. It was the closest to guide price than anything else that was listed. I finally talked myself into it and was ready to buy. I sent a message to the seller and was informed that he just sold the comic and it  was no longer available. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed.

However, not long after that disappointment, another CGC 5.0 copy was listed, but it was priced slightly higher, about 50 bucks, than the last one I was looking at. As I was checking out the pictures, I noticed that it was the same exact copy that I was going to buy the first time, but from a different seller. immediately threw it on my watch list. As I was checking out what other copies were on eBay, the seller dropped the price down to the same price as the last auction I was originally looking at. 

It must have been fate. It didn't take me long to decide to buy it. I wasn't going to let this one get away from me again. And, it didn't hurt that there was a 4x eBay Bucks  promotion going on. I got $40 to put towards my next comic purchase.


Updated 1/03/2018
Even though prices are slowly starting to rise, I still feel that this is a comic that is overlooked and under valued. Bizarro is an iconic Superman villain, and this is an early Silver Age book. It seems to me like this comic should go for a lot more than what I paid for it, but you're not gonna hear me complain. I'm just happy to have a copy stashed away in my vault.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Outcast #1

Image Comics - June 2014

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Kyle Barnes
First appearance of Allison Barnes
First appearance of Amber Barnes
First appearance of Megan Holt
First appearance of Reverend Anderson 

Outcast is a supernatural horror comic from Image Comics, and was created by none other than writer Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, and artist Paul Azaceta. Outcast is yet another Kirkman scripted comic that's headed to the small screen. Season one will premiere on Cinemax on June 3, and because of the upcoming show, Outcast #1 has seen a huge boost in demand.

Our tortured hero, Kyle Barnes, has been plagued with demonic possession his whole life. At a young age, his mother, Sarah, became possessed and started beating him. With the help of Reverend Anderson, the demon was exorcised but Sarah was left in a comatose state.

Because Kyle's mother was now in a coma, he went into the foster care. The family that took him in were the parents of Megan Holt. With a little persuasion from Megan, they decided to adopt him and raise him as their own son. Megan would eventually become possessed too, but not in this issue.

When Kyle got older, he married Allison Barnes. Eventually, like most married couples do, they had a baby, Amber. Can you guess what happens to them? Yup, you guessed it, possessed...both of 'em. This time, Kyle tries to exorcise them without any help from Reverend Anderson. The exorcism worked, but it left Allison with several wounds, making it look like Kyle was a wife beater. She now has a restraining order against him and lives in Charleston with Amber. For some reason, everyone Kyle is close to becomes possessed by demons, now he lives a lonely desolate life to protect his friends and family.

There was a lot of hype over this comic before it came out so Image printed a lot of copies. Outcast #1 had an estimated print run of 71,788. It's not like they printed 500,000 or a million copies, but this comic is in no way rare, scarce, or hard to find. In fact it's in the top 15 most printed comics for the month that it was released. However, even with the high print run, it seems that there weren't enough copies in their first printing, because there were 4 more printings after that. In total, Outcast went all the way to a fifth printing. Talk about a huge demand for this book. I don't have any numbers on any of the other printings, but that doesn't really concern me. For this post, I'm only concerned about first print copies. Be aware, many of the covers of printings two through five look exactly like or very similar to the cover of the first print. Be sure to pay attention to which one you're looking at.


CGC Census
Click to enlarge
There are a couple of things that surprised me when I was looking over the CGC census. One was that there weren zero copies graded over a 9.8. For a book this recent, it seems like there should be a few 9.9 copies, maybe even a 10. The other was at just how many 9.8 copies there were. To date, CGC has 3,146 copies in their census. Of those, 2,638 are graded a respectable 9.8. Wowza! Needless to say, there is no shortage of high grade copies of Outcast #1 out there for you to buy if you were looking for one. 9.6 copies are far more scarce than 9.8's. There are only a fraction of 9.6's compared to 9.8 copies. In fact, there are only 375 9.6 copies listed in their census at this time.


Values for Outcast #1 on GoCollect
This comic has seen a lot of action in terms of sales lately, but with so many high grade copies, there hasn't been a dramatic increase in value. According go goCollect, the latest sales for high grade 9.8 copies are just a hair under the $100 mark. If you're looking for a more affordable option, the latest sales for 9.6 copies are currently selling for under $40, but that's probably not a good option considering how many copies are graded higher than that. There are a few sales for copies graded lower that a 9.6, but honestly, the prices are so low, they're not really worth mentioning.

With the new T.V. series coming soon, you can probably expect to see values for this comic rise slightly, but don't buy it expecting it to be the next Walking Dead #1. With the amount of copies out there, that's probably not going to happen. But, if you're looking for a short term investment, this could be one to snag and flip it for some quick cash, but only if you act soon.

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