As with any collectable item, determining the value of comic books can sometimes be difficult. When doing research, you may find multiple different values for a certain book. Certain books will retain their value in the future, or even become more valuable, in which case you might not to want to sell right away.
There are many factors that can affect the value of a comic book. Is the main character about to star in an upcoming blockbuster? Does the comic feature the first appearance of a popular character? Both the quality and age of a comic will come into play as well.
Another important thing to remember is that grading your comics can help increase their value. Simply put, the higher the grade, the better the quality of the comic. To have your comics graded, you’d simply have to ship them to CBCS (Comic Book Certification Service) or CGC (Certified Guaranty Company, LLC). For a fee, both companies will authenticate and place your book into a protective slab.
The most valuable comics
There are a few comics that go for several hundred thousand or even upwards of a million dollars, most of them dating from the 1940s to the 1960s. Amazing Fantasy 15, for example, features the first appearance of Spider-Man/Peter Parker and is valued at around $450,000. Another extremely valuable comic, Detective Comics 27, featured the first appearance of Batman/Bruce Wayne and is worth around $2 million. The most valuable comic of all time is Action Comics 1, which featured the first appearance of Superman/Clark Kent. The book is currently worth over $3 million.
Silver and Bronze Age comics
Comics from the Silver and Bronze Ages of comic books continuously increase in value. This is mainly because a lot of those comics didn’t survive due to poor preservation tactics. The Silver Age of comic books, which took place from 1956 to 1970, featured the first appearances of characters like Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, the Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men and more. Valuable comics from that era include X-Men 1, The Fantastic Four 1 and The Avengers 1.
The Bronze Age of comics spanned from 1970 to 1984 and featured the debut of characters like Wolverine, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. Valuable comics from the Bronze Age include Marvel Spotlight 5, Star Wars 1 and Cerberus 1.
Gauging the value of modern comics
It can be hard to tell which modern comics will retain value in the future. Comic book sales are dropping, making it hard to tell if any of these books will hold much value after a certain point of time. That said, the comic book industry has bounced back before. Comic book-based movies are also still very popular, which means that many people are on the lookout for first appearances.
The best thing to do is buy the comics you like and hold on to them. If they end up increasing in value, great! If not, at least you got to enjoy some adventures with your favorite heroes.
If you’re on the lookout for valuable comic books, check out our collection at The Book Broker. We also stock new comics every week!