Friday, April 29, 2016

The Walking Dead #1



Image Comics - Oct. 2003

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Rick Grimes
First appearance of Shane
First appearance of Morgan Jones


The Walking Dead has become a huge franchise spawning a hit t.v. show of the same name, a spin off show "Fear the Walking Dead", and multiple video games, and it all started with this comic right here.

The Walking Dead was created by Robert Kirkman and Charlie AdlardThe comic series had a small following at first, but it didn't really take off until after the show debuted on AMC in 2010, then prices for the early, high grade comics started to go through the roof. 

I'm not sure that Image Comics had a lot of faith in this series when it first came out in 2003. There were only an estimated 7,266 copies of The Walking Dead #1 produced. Needless to say, with so few first print copies and the huge success of the show, prices for a copy of this comic are now through the roof. I'll get into some sales prices in just a little bit. For now lets talk about the comic.

If you've seen the first episode of the T.V. show, then you pretty much know what happens in this issue, because they are very similar. Rick Grimes and Shane are cops, and Rick gets shot while on duty. He wakes up in an abandoned hospital not knowing anything of the zombie apocalypse. As he makes his way back to his house to check on his family, he runs into Morgan Jones and his son Duane. Actually, Duane whacks Rick on the back of the head with a shovel thinking that he's a zombie. When Rick comes to, he gets himself geared up to continue his search for his wife and son. If you've never read this comic, but have seen the show, it should sound very familiar. Like I said, this issue is very similar to the first episode.


There are a lot of variant covers out there for The Walking Dead #1. According to goCollect, there are at least 47 different covers for this comic. A couple of them look similar to the first printing cover, so if you're looking to buy, then pay attention. You don't want to overpay for a reprint. There are a lot of Wizard World variant covers out there too. They handed out 2 variants of this comic book at most, if not all, of the conventions that they held last year. A sketch and a color variant. I've included a picture if you're not sure what I mean by "sketch variant". If you're a fan of variant covers, there are plenty of them for you to choose from.

Values of Walking Dead #1 on GoCollect
As I've already stated, the print run on The Walking Dead #1 is small, but a lot of these copies have already been graded. Of the 7,266 printed, 2,436 have been graded by CGC, mostly in high grade 9.0 or higher. The highest graded copies on the census are 9.9 and there are a whopping 23 of them. That's not too surprising for a comic that came out after CGC was around. Some people probably bought a copy and immediately sent it off to get graded. 

Now when I said that prices for high grade copies went through the roof, I wasn't exaggerating. The latest sale on eBay, for a ultra high grade, 9.9 copy sold for a staggering $22,825 on March 18 of this year. I'm completely dumbfounded by that number. I mean, I knew that high grade copies were expensive, but over 20 grand? Give me a brake. There is a CGC 9.9 copy for sale right now on eBay for $28,525 and another one at MyComicShop for $25,000. Yikes. Those are way out of my price range. Even 9.8 copies are quite pricey, selling for well over $2,000 right now. If you were lucky to snag one of these off of the shelf in 2003, congratulations. I must say, I'm a little jealous.

There is one copy out there that is in the worst 0.5 condition that has actually gotten some attention. Back in 2014, this copy sold on eBay for $756. As you can see from the chart above, that is more than the average of a mid grade 5.5. Why would someone pay that much for a comic in that condition? Sure, there is only one copy at that grade, but it's not too hard to take a nice looking comic and make it look like garbage. Leave it out in the sun for a few days, crease the hell out of it, and just for good measure, throw a few tears into it. If I knew that a lowest of the low graded copy of Walking Dead #1 could fetch that much money, I'd find a cheap 4.0 copy at a shop or convention and abuse the hell out of it. But hey, I didn't buy it. If someone was willing to pay $756 for it, then good for them. I'm not sure I would have though.

If you're looking to get a rare, first print of The Walking Dead #1, it's probably going to be a little bit of work. Since there are so many variant covers out there, trying to weed out the one you're looking for may take a little bit of time, but I wish you luck on your hunt.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Batman Adventures #12

















DC Comics - Sept 1993

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Harley Quinn

Here we have the first appearance of Harley Quinn. She has become a hugely popular, fan favorite character and is often cosplayed at conventions around the country. Some are really good, and some, not so good. I challenge you, next time you go to a con, to try and count all the Harley Quinn outfits you see.

Batman Adventures #12 is Harley Quinn's first appearance in comics, but it isn't her actual first appearance. Her actual first appearance is in the cartoon "Batman The Animated Series", in the episode titled "Joker's Favor" that aired in 1992. The Batman Adventures comic series is based off of this cartoon and isn't considered to be a part of the Batman comic book universe, or "cannon". What that means is anything that happens in the Batman Adventures comics, isn't recognized in the Batman or Detective Comics series. For example, if Batman had an arm or leg cut off in Batman Adventures, he would still have them in all of the other Batman titles, because the stories are not in the same universe and are in no way related. CGC labels it as "1st appearance of Harley Quinn in comics (out of DC continuity)".

Harley Quinzel first met the Joker when she was an intern at Arkham Asylum. She soon fell in love with the Clown Prince of Crime, and a little bit of his crazy wore off onto her. Then, she dropped the "zel", added another "n" and became Harley Quinn. She often accompanies the Joker, and is an accomplice to many of his crimes. None of this happens in this comic though. In this issue, Harley, Poison Ivy and Catwoman crash a costume party that Batgirl happens to be at. In the end, Batgirl saves her friend from being kidnapped by Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, and also stops Catwoman from stealing the precious Surh Diamond that was on display at the museum. All's well that ends well.


CGC Census
Even though this is a Modern Age comic, it isn't cheap. I'm not sure what the print run of this comic is, but I've seen estimates from 40,000 to 60,000 copies. If these numbers are correct, then this is a fairly low run, considering that some comics printed during this time reached to over a million copies. I'm not saying that this comic is scarce, because it's not. I'm just saying that compared to other comics printed around this time, Batman Adventures #12 has a much lower print run. Whatever the actual print run is, CGC has 2,248 copies listed in there census so far. Most of them are high grade too. So far, the highest grade registered on the census is a 9.8, but there are 433 copies with that grade. When we go down to 9.6 graded copies, there are 615 listed. That's a total of 1,048 9.8 and 9.6 CGC copies total, almost half of the total copies graded by them to date. So, regardless of how many copies were actually printed, you won't have any problems finding high grade CGC or CBCS graded copies of Batman Adventures #12 out there. Finding a copy that's in your price range may be a different story though.


Values of Batman Adventures #12
on GoCollect
The average value for 9.8 copies of Batman Adventures #12 over the last two years is a hair under $1,500. Considering that this is one of the most popular books from that time, it doesn't surprise me one bit. The latest eBay sale of a CGC 9.8 copy recently sold for $1,800, and the latest CBCS copy sold for $1,625 on March 29th. Even low to mid grade copies are selling for several hundred dollars. In Jan. of this year, a 5.0 copy sold for $250, and a lower grade 4.5 went for a penny under $200 in Dec. of last year. With the popularity of the character, and the fact that Harley Quinn is going to be featured in the new Suicide Squad movie, I don't see values for this comic going down anytime soon. If they go anywhere, it's gonna be up, way way up!

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Monday, April 25, 2016

Allentown Collection












The Allentown Collection gets it's name from Allentown Pennsylvania, the town from where it was discovered , or should I say rediscovered, in 1987. Although it's a relatively small collection of 135 comics, it boasts some of the highest grade key issues from the Golden age there is. Some say that the nicest looking copy of Detective Comics #27 is from this collection. I guess I'll have to take their word for it because I'm pretty sure that I will never lay eyes on it. I'm not sure if this copy has been graded or not. If it has been there's either no information on it or it hasn't been available on the market for a while. Most likely, the owner has it stashed away in a nuke proof vault behind a wall of lasers and robots with machine guns.


The original owner bought all of these comics right off the rack in the late 30's to early 40's when he was a young lad, which is one of the criteria of a pedigree. Many years later, he rediscovered his collection in his mothers closet as he was cleaning it out. He was sure that she had thrown them out long ago, but there they were.

Eventually the collection was bought by James Payette and Stephen Fisher for the small price of $70,000. That may sound like a lot, but when you think about how much the collection is worth, 70 grand really isn't that bad. At least for how much it's worth today. I'm not sure what these comic were selling for in the late 80's. Much less than they are now I'm sure.
Detective Comics #38

With this collection being so small, it's very hard to find any copies from it on the market. Occasionally you will see one pop up on sites like ComicConnect or Heritage Auctions. If you do happen to find one, you should expect to call your bank and ask for a loan, because they are going to be expensive.

A couple highlights of the comics that have already been graded in this collection are, Detective Comics #38 CGC 9.4 (first appearance of Robin), and Batman #6 CGC 9.6. The last comic doesn't have much going for it in terms of first appearances or any other key issue status, but it is the highest graded copy of Batman #6. And the Allentown Collection copy of Detective comics #38 has more than the first appearance of Robin. It was also in the personal collection of actor and comic fan Nicolas Cage, and is stated so on the CGC label.


Click to Enlarge
There seems to be a little bit of conflicting information with a couple of books. Like a copy of Captain America Comics #1. In my research, I've found a few sites with the info of a 9.8 copy and a few sites with info on a 9.6 graded copy. I even posted a picture of the 9.6 copy at the top of this page. But, when I checked it out on the CGC census, there were zero copies graded at 9.6, as you can see in the picture to the left. There is one copy graded a 9.8 and two graded a 9.4, with one of those being restored, but no 9.6's. Has there been any news of a counterfeit copy out there? If anyone knows more about this, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated.

Copies from this collection don't come up for auction very often, but I've included links to sites that might have some available. There were no copies for sale or auction at the time of this writing, but you can check again occasionally to see if anything new is available.

Find Allentown Collection copies here
eBay - ComicLink - ComicConnect - Heritage

Friday, April 22, 2016

Showcase #22


















DC Comics - Oct.1959

Key Issue Notes
First appearance and origin of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
First appearance and death of Abin Sur
First appearance of Carol Ferris

Here we have another high value, high demand comic from the Silver Age. Showcase #22 is the first appearance of Hal Jordan and tells the tale of how he became the Green Lantern.

In the short six page story "S.O.S. Green Lantern!", test pilot extraordinaire Hal Jordan is summoned by the alien Abin Sur after his space craft crashes in the middle of nowhere.  As Abin Sur, also a Green Lantern, lay dying, he explains to Hal how and why he was summoned there. Abin Sur tells him that the energy from the Power Ring he's wearing sought out someone who is "fearless and honest" to take his place as a Green Lantern. He gives Hal the ring and the Battery of Power and presto chango, Hal Jordan is now the new Green Lantern. The Battery of Power is the lantern that charges a Lantern's Power Ring. On a side note, it's also explained why the Green Lanterns are powerless against the color yellow. If you don't already know, you can click here to read the story and find out for yourself.

In the next story "Secret of the Flaming Spear", we are introduced to Carol Ferris and her father Carl Ferris. We won't concern ourselves too much with Carl, but Carol is the on and off again love interest of Hal Jordan. Later, in Green Lantern #16, she becomes Star Sapphire, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. That's a story for another time.

There aren't very many high grade copies of Showcase #22 out in the world, so, if you're looking for one, you're really going to have to hunt for it. The CGC census only lists 22 out of 699 copies graded at an 8.0 or higher, with seven of the 22 being Restored copies. There is a nice Universal 9.2 copy listed on the census, but I couldn't find any sales data for it. However, a 9.0 sold at Heritage Auctions in 2006 for $15,535. This sale is a little outdated. Ten years is quite a long time ago. In the 45th edition of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 9.0 copies are listed at $21,000. I have a feeling that number is low too. With the comic boom that we are in now, and the popularity of this comic, I'm sure it would sell for much more than that. If we look at the more recent sales prices for lower grade copies, I'm sure you'll agree with me.


Values of Showcase #22 on GoCollect
According to GoCollect, the highest grade sale on eBay over the last two years has been a mid grade 6.5 Fine+. A copy at this grade sold for $5,250 a little more than a year ago. Even lower grade 2.0 - 3.0 copies are jumping past the $1,000 mark right now. As the high and mid grade copies continue to rise in price, you'll see a bigger demand for the more "affordable" low grade copies. I use the word affordable loosely.  As you can see from the chart, ultra low grade 0.5 - 1.5 copy sales have increased in price by an average of about 40% over the last two years. Whether this will continue or not, I don't know, but for now, the demand is there and sales are going strong. If it fits into your budget, now may be the time to invest in a copy of this super key issue for yourself.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

What is a Pedigree?



Before I start listing and throwing down some knowledge of known pedigrees, I thought I'd try and explain what they are first. A pedigree is a collection of comic books from the Golden and Silver Age. There are certain criteria that a collection must meet in order to be considered a pedigree. The criteria are as follows.

1) The collection must have been bought by one person off of the newsstand as they were released. Only comics bought in the 60's or earlier are eligible to become a pedigree collection some day. This means that you or I can't buy older, ungraded books from your local comic shop, at a convention or online and then 50 years from now the collection will become a pedigree. It doesn't work like that and that time has already come and gone, unless you hop into your Delorean and travel back to 1955 with Marty McFly. If you do, remember to bring extra plutonium.


2) The comics must be vintage. No Bronze or Copper Age and definitely no Modern Age books are allowed in pedigree collections. In fact, it was only fairly recently (the early to mid 90's) that the industry started to recognize Silver Age books in pedigree collections. If a collection consists solely of Silver Age books, they have to have an average grade of 9.4 or greater to be considered. That's a pretty tall order, but if it were lower than that, then every Tom, Dick, and Harry would have a pedigree collection and they wouldn't be nearly as sought out as they are now.

3) The collection must be more than a few comics. It has to consist of a considerable amount of books. There are some collections that have only one or two hundred books, but there are also collections with over 10,000. If the collection is a smaller one, then most of the comics in the collection have to have significant key issues in them, or be extremely rare.

4) The fourth and final requirement of a pedigree comic collection is that they must all be in high grade. This is pretty self explanatory. Like I mentioned before, a Silver Age collection must be of very high grade averaging a 9.4 or more. A Golden Age book is a little different. These books have to be high grade or the highest grade of those that are graded. For example, if your Golden Age key issue is only an 8.5, but all other known copies are only a 7.5 or 8.0, then that comic could be considered for the pedigree.

Well, If I did my job right and wrote clearly enough, then this should help you understand pedigree comics a little bit more. If I didn't, then you're probably just as confused as you were before, but I hope it helps you out.


Monday, April 18, 2016

Amazing Fantasy #15























Marvel - Aug, 1962

Key Issue Notes
First appearance and origin of Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
First appearance of Uncle Ben and Aunt May
First appearance of Flash Thompson
First appearance of Liz Allen
First appearance of The Burglar

When it comes to holy grail comic books, Amazing Fantasy #15 is definitely one to put on the list. The long list of first appearances in this issue sets up the world of Peter Parker. Spider-Man was created by the legendary Stan Lee and sports a cover by, the also legendary, Jack Kirby. This iconic cover is often copied, also known as a "cover swipe" in industry terms, by other artists including Todd McFarlane. I've included a few of the cover swipes at the bottom of the page if you're still a little confused about them.

By now, everyone knows the origin of how Peter Parker came to be the Amazing Spider-Man. Thanks to the movie franchises starring Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield, people that don't know much, or anything, about this comic, know about Spidey's origin. So I'm not going to get too in depth about the bite from a radioactive spider that gave Peter his super powers.


Let's talk a little about the other first appearances in this beast of a comic. We'll start with Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Benjamin and May Reilly Parker took in Peter and raised him after his parents were killed. Who his parents are or how they were killed is never mentioned in this issue.  Sadly, Peter Parker loses his uncle toward the end of this issue. He is shot and killed by the Burglar.

The Burglar is not a big part of the Marvel Universe, but he is a big part of Peter Parker's life. As I already mentioned, he is the one that shot and killed Uncle Ben. Earlier in the issue, Peter, dressed as Spider-Man, lets the Burglar get away as a security guard was chasing him. At this point in his life, Peter was only looking out for one person, himself. He blames himself for the death of his uncle and it's because of his death that he becomes the crime fighting, criminal fearing, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that we all know today.

Peter was the "bookworm" in high school, and like all bookworms, he had a bully. This bully's name is Flash Thompson. He would tease, taunt, and physically abuse Peter at school on a daily basis. And finally, Liz Allen was Flash Thompson's girlfriend, who Peter had a bit of a crush on for a while, but of course, she would make fun of him too.

Let's get to some graded copies of Amazing Fantasy #15. Looking at the CGC census, there are quite a few copies of it that have been graded, 2,480 to be exact. There are two Universal and three Restored highest graded 9.6 copies, however, most of the copies in the census are mid to low grade. Of the 2,840 copies, 2,102 are in 6.0 condition or lower and many are restored copies.


Values of Amazing Fantasy #15
on GoCollect
Because so many of the copies in the market are a lower grade, that means the very few high grade copies are selling for lots and lots of money. At ComicConnect in 2011, a highest grade 9.6 copy sold for an astounding 1.1 million dollars, making it one of the most valuable comic books in the world. Even the lower grades of Amazing Fantasy #15 are pretty up there in price. Looking at the sales data from GoCollect, a 1.8 Good- copy sold for $7,800 in Feb. and a 1.5 Fair/Good CBCS graded copy sold for $5,500 on April 12, both of this year on eBay. That is mind boggling, but, it is the first appearance of one of Marvels most popular superheroes and this is a very sought out comic book that's on a lot of people's want list. I know it's on mine.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect


Amazing Fantasy #15 and Cover Swipes



Friday, April 15, 2016

eBay


eBay.com

eBay is the largest online auction website and, in my opinion, is one of the best places to find graded comics online. As of this writing, there are over 2.4 million auctions in the comic book category alone. Of those 2+ million auctions, 78,599 are CGC graded, 6,865 are CBCS graded and 4,687 are PGX graded. In total, there are at least 90,151 graded comics for sale on eBay right now. If you really search, you can probably find the best deals on graded comics here. It will be a hunt a it takes some patience, but the deals are there to be had.

Besides having a massive amount of comics to choose from, eBay also offers a rewards program. The program is aptly called "eBay Bucks". For every dollar you spend on eBay, they will give you 2% of the purchase price back for future purchases, and the best part about the eBay Bucks program is that it's free to join. Every once in a while, they have 3x to 5x eBay Bucks promotions. If you buy any qualifying items during these promotions, you could earn up to $100 back. That's a lot of moolah. They usually only last for a day or two, but are well worth it if you can find something on your want list. eBay will issue you your eBay Bucks certificate every three months, but there is one small catch. You have to earn at least $5 cash back in order to receive your certificate, but that's easy to do, especially if you buy during one of their 5x  eBay Bucks promotions. So in short, eBay will pay you to shop on their website. I often buy my graded comics from eBay because of this program. There aren't many places that will pay you when you buy stuff from them.

eBay is a safe way to buy most anything you want too. Most of the time there are no problems when using eBay. On the rare occasion there is a problem, i.e. you never received the item or it's not in the item or condition that was described, you are covered by eBay's money back guarantee. So, shop with the confidence that you won't get ripped off.



The only way to buy anything from eBay is through Paypal. If you don't have a Paypal account, I suggest you sign up for one. You can do that at this link here. It is one of the safest ways to pay for things online. You don't have to type in your personal information on multiple websites and having a greater chance of having your identity stolen. Nobody wants to go through that hassle. You simply sign into Paypal through your eBay account and the amount of the auction is taken out of your balance or from either your bank account or credit card account, whichever one you have linked to Paypal. It's extremely easy and convenient. If you want more info on it, you can check out their website.

I highly recommend buying graded comics from eBay. Besides the huge selection to choose from, it's safe and it's very easy. If you aren't already a member, click the link below to sign up.

Sign up for eBay here.

This post is outdated. There have been many changes to eBay's policies since this was written. 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

New Mutants #98



















Marvel - Feb. 1991

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Deadpool
First appearance of Copycat
First appearance of Gideon


I thought I'd get out of the Golden and Silver Age and head into the comic boom of the late Copper Age for a second. In the comic boom of the 90's, comics were way over printed. New Mutants #98 is one of those books. Despite being a comic with tons of copies available, it is still quite valuable. It contains a few first appearances, but none are more important than Deadpool

Deadpool was created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza. Liefeld created the look of the Merc with a Mouth while Nicieza is responsible for the wit and humor which is what has made him a hugely popular character. Nicieza got his inspiration for the character from two other big name heroes from the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man and Wolverine. Realizing that he is a character in a comic book, Deadpool often breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the reader. 

Deadpool's real name is Wade Wilson. Learning that he had cancer and was going to die, he joined the Weapon X program to try and save his life. This is the same program that Wolverine was a part of. In the program, he was given a mutant healing factor, similar to that of Wolverine. The process saved him from the cancer, but the process left him scarred and disfigured, and a little mentally unstable.

Copycat has the ability to mimic anyone that she comes in contact with including the powers of other super heroes. The appearance of Copycat in New Mutants #98 is a little tricky. We don't see her as Copycat in the comic, but as Domino. So, it's weird that it's considered the first appearance of Copycat and not Domino. We see the physical appearance of Domino as she is seen in her actual first appearance in X-Force #11 and don't see Copycat as herself until X-Force #19. Either way, this is considered by the industry as the first appearance of Copycat.

Gideon is the baddie in this one. In the beginning, he sailed the ocean blue with Christopher Columbus in 1492, but died on the journey and was buried. But, he was later resurrected. Over the next few hundred years he built the Ophrah Corporation and became massively wealthy. He used his wealth to try and take over the world, just like all the bad guys try and do. His powers are similar that of Rogue's where he can absorb the powers of other mutants. He doesn't have to come into contact with them like Rogue does though. He simply has to be in a close vicinity to them.


Values of New Mutants #98
on GoCollect
Since this comic was printed during the comic boom of the 90's, there is no short supply of them. Looking at the CGC census, there are nearly 10,000 copies graded and most of them are 9.4 or above. Of the 9,970 copies, there is only one copy CGC graded a perfect 10. This one perfect copy sold for an astonishing $15,449 in 2013 at ComicLink. There was a sale for a 9.9 in 2015 that sold for $7,600 on eBay, and there is currently a sale pending on ComicLink for $9,201 at the same 9.9 grade. There are only 11 graded 9.9 on the CGC census, with one of those being a Signature Series. There are no shortage of high grade 9.4 - 9.8 copies available on the market either, but it's going to cost you between $300 to $800 for them, however, we may see prices start to drop a little since the movie hype is starting to die down a little. But then again, maybe we won't. There are also a bunch of copies graded by PGX and CBCS, but I don't have any numbers as to how many. A quick search on eBay might give you an idea though.

I don't think that this comic is going to be the next Hulk #181 or even an Amazing Spider-Man #129 because there are just way too many high grade copies out there. I'm not saying that these two books are rare, but they don't have nearly as many high grade copies out there as New Mutants #98. Unless you're looking at a rare, ultra high grade 9.9 or 10. Those grades will probably be your best bet for an investment copy of this comic.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect

Monday, April 11, 2016

Detective Comics #27



















DC Comics - May 1939

Key Issue Notes
First appearance of Batman
First appearance of Commissioner Gordon
First appearance of Gotham

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939, Batman made his first appearance in a short six page story in Detective Comics #27

In the story "The Chemical Syndicate", We find Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne at Gordon's house when he receives a call about the murder of one of partners at the Apex Chemical Company. Both Gordon and Bruce Wayne go to investigate. After Gordon gets a call from another partner that's scared for his life, Bruce excuses himself to go home and let the Commissioner do his job. Well, to make a short story even shorter, Batman stops a murderous partner in the chemical company and saves the day. Spoiler alert, Commissioner Gordon's pal Bruce Wayne is Batman. It's a fun piece of comic history and if you'd like, you can read the story here at reading-room.net.

Detective Comics #27 is one of the most expensive comics of all time. An 8.0 copy was sold in 2010 at Heritage Auctions for over a million dollars. There is also an Allentown Collection pedigree copy that is said to be the nicest copy ever. I'll be getting more into the Allentown Collection and other pedigrees soon, but let's get back to the topic at hand. The Allentown copy is estimated to be a VF/NM 9.0. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't believe that this copy has been graded yet. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.


CGC Census
Click to Enlarge
Ok, let's take a look at the CGC census. There are a total of 65 copies of Detective Comics #27 graded. However, almost half (32) of those are restored copies. Even the highest graded 9.4 copy is restored. It will still be a very expensive book, even in a Restored grade. But there is a Universal 9.2 copy on the census. Is this the Allentown Collection copy? I don't know for sure. I couldn't find any other information on it or any sales records through my research. This is a comic that would definitely sell for well into the millions of dollars if it ever makes it to the market. It may even sell more than the Action Comics #1. Most Universal grade copies are graded 6.5 by CGC. But these copies still sell over the $500,000 mark. To date, there have been zero sales of graded copies listed on goCollect.com, but their data only goes back to 2010. This is not going to be an easy book to find but, if you're in the market for this comic, and can afford it, it's going to be a great investment in any grade. I wish you luck on your hunt.

Find a copy here
eBay - ComicLink - MyComicShop - ComicConnect