For the past few months, and for good reason, X-Men '97 sucked all of the oxygen out of the comic book market. Having received a near perfect score from critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes, X-Men '97 drove comic book sales for months. But lost in the shuffle was another highly acclaimed animated TV show based on a comic book: season two of Invincible. In fact, the second season of Invincible received a 100% score from critics based upon 41 reviews (X-Men '97 received a 99% score based on only eight reviews).

Let's revisit the first full appearance of Invincible and see how the market reacted to season two.

Since dropping to a two-year low in November 2022, a CGC 9.8 of Invincible #1 has nearly doubled in FMV.

Almost 15 months ago, I theorized that Invincible's first appearance was flying under the radar. In that blog, I wrote that Invincible #1 has "proven to be resilient even during a bear market. Although [a CGC 9.8] has lost roughly 39% of its value since it reached its peak of nearly $6,000 during the comic boom of 2021, it has actually lost less of its value than many of its Modern Age peers." I went on discuss a five-page preview of Invincible #1 in Savage Dragon #102.

Since I wrote that blog, The value of Invincible #1 over the past eighteen months may also suggest the broader comic book market may be turning around. After hitting a two-year low of $2,050 in November of 2022 (the market had probably been in a bear market for nearly a year at that point), the FMV of Invincible #1 today, according to GoCollect, is $3,900.

In other words, if you had purchased this book when it hit "bottom," you would have nearly doubled your investment just eighteen months later. Even though the S&P500 has been on a tear since the lows of the pandemic, even that index can't claim a near 100% return in such a short period of time. While the 30 day average is roughly the same as the 90 day average, both the 30 and 90 day averages are substantially higher than the one-year average of $3,490. While it is still far from it's all-time high of $6,000, this book is has been trending upwards for some time now.

Interestingly, this increase in the value of a CGC 9.8 of Invincible #1 has occurred in spite of a substantial increase in supply of 9.8s. According to CGCData.com, in December 2022, just after a 9.8 hit that two-year low of $2,050, there were 339 9.8s on the CGC Census. Less than 18 months later, there are now 405 9.8s on the Census. That's roughly a 20% increase in supply of 9.8s yet the value of a 9.8 has nearly doubled. Considering that the supply of 9.8s has increased significantly and yet the value has still risen dramatically, you could make the argument that this book is very hot. While it's difficult to prove that the increase in supply and demand is due to the TV show, there definitely appears to be a rough correlation.

What did you think about the second season of Invincible? Do you see a relationship between the show and the rising value of the first appearance of Invincible? Please let us know what your opinion is in the comments section below!