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