Have the X-Men titles hit an eBay cold streak? If GSX #1's woes are any indication, that's precisely the case.
Where do you turn when you need to gauge the secondary market? EBay, the go-to site for basically anything collectible. Lucky for you, GoCollect ranks the 100 best-selling comics on the auction sites of auction sites, which you can sort by timespan. The Hottest Comics blog series is about analyzing the data and spotlighting the comics that moved the most positions over 10, 30, 60, 90, and 180 days.
Not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Where there is ascension there must be descension, and the Coldest Comics focuses on the issues that lost the most ground. Look closely, and you'll see patterns in what's getting the collecting cold shoulder.
10 DAYS
After weeks upon weeks of X-Men domination, it seems the tide is finally turning for those Merry Mutant keys. That's not to say there aren't plenty of X-keys still scattered throughout the Hottest Comics, but things are definitely cooling off, and seeing one of the holiest of holy grails in the X-Men pantheon drop by nearly 60 places tells the story.
We all knew the hot streak couldn't last forever. Even with Deadpool & Wolverine on the horizon, there's only so long that any particular title can rule eBay. The reason those X-keys were so popular in the first place was due to X-Men '97. With each episode, the related comics were in more and more demand. Now that season one has wrapped, buyers are beginning to lose interest and shifting their gazes toward more enticing ventures.
There's too much X-Men content on the way for those key issues to cool too much. While GSX #1 sits in 87th for the past 10 days, this grail will recuperate in due time. Depending on how D&W sets up the MCU's X-Men franchise, it could pick up steam in a matter of weeks.
30 DAYS
What's this? Could it be true that New Mutants #98 is so cold that it nearly fell off the 30-day best-sellers list? Yes and no.
True, that's NM #98 clinging to the 99th spot in the Hottest Comics rankings. The important thing to note is that it is the newsstand edition. Whereas this comic is struggling in the sales department, the NM #98 direct edition is comfortably in the second position for the same timeframe. That tells us there is nothing cold about Deadpool and his first appearance, especially with Deadpool & Wolverine's release date just around the corner.
Seeing a newsstand plummet while the direct edition soars is nothing new. In fact, it routinely happens to comics like ASM #300. It all comes down to availability and price. Finding higher grades of newsstands is a bigger task than finding comparable grades of direct edition, hence the inflated prices for those newsstands. It all comes down to supply and demand, and the direct editions are easier (and generally cheaper) to come by.
60 DAYS
Since the Venom: The Last Dance trailer dropped last week, it's been hit or miss for those Venom keys. On one hand, Amazing Spider-Man #300 is as popular as ever and ranks high in every Hottest Comics date range. On the other, keys like Web of Spider-Man #1 and ASM #316 are taking a dive. What gives?
There's no single, definitive answer, but it's reasonable to assume it's connected to Sony Pictures. Love or hate the Sony-Verse, there aren't many fans who will argue Sony has been making good movies. Other than the original Venom, it's been one box office dud after another. That in itself will push investors away from those related key issues, especially when the prices appear to have capped.
When it comes to WOSM #1, it's drop could be tied to confusion about the symbiote's presence in the MCU. When last we saw Eddie and Venom, they were pulled into the MCU, given the rundown of the cinematic universe, and jetted back to the Sony-Verse. While fans were disappointed at the utter waste of Venom in the MCU, they were intrigued by the piece of symbiote left behind at the bar. Then along comes The Last Dance trailer, which appears to ignore the Spider-Man: No Way Home post-credits scene and leaves the bit of black suit in the Sony-Verse.
Does that spell the end of a Black Suit Saga in the MCU? Outside the Marvel Studios brain trust, no one seems to know. Audiences have reacted negatively to that development, and it could be impacting the appeal of a symbiote key like WOSM #1.
90 DAYS
Those Spider-Verse keys are becoming frequent fliers on the Coldest Comics. It's not become anything unusual to see those once-hot issues falling flat over the long haul. Fear not, Spider-Verse investors, because you will be rewarded...at some point.
What initially sent Spider-Man 2099 #1 to the top of the Hottest Comics was Across the Spider-Verse. After being featured in the Into the Spider-Verse mid-credits scene, Miguel O'Hara's keys zoomed up the sales charts. Then came Across, and suddenly Spider-Man 2099 was a mainstream star. Audiences loved him in the hit movie, and that caused interest in his first appearances to skyrocket in popularity. Fans are ready for the third flick to end the trilogy, and Miguel should play a major part in that movie.
The problem is no one knows when Beyond the Spider-Verse will get its first trailer and release date. It was originally set to premiere earlier this year, but Sony nixed that plan. Since then, there's been nothing reported on the topic. While fans haven't forgotten about the movie, collectors have shifted their targets to bigger game. When we finally get that long-awaited trailer, it should inject life into those Spider-Verse comics.
180 DAYS
Buyers were having none of those Spider-Verse keys this week. Not only do we see Web of Spider-Man #1 and Spider-Man 2099 #1 taking nosedives, the death of Gwen Stacy took a tumble as well. In fact, it's barely clinging to the top 100 for the past six months.
As I've written before, this is a major moment in Spider-Man's character progression. Along with paving the way for Peter and Mary Jane to become an iconic couple, the heartbreaking story forced the Amazing Spider-Man title into new territory. It marked a change into more mature storytelling as Spidey stopped being the lovable role model and wanted revenge. Similar to his origin story, Peter couldn't bring himself to kill Norman Osborn, but the fact Spider-Man was willing to murder was a huge shift for the character.
For Spider-Man fans, this is a must-have comic along with ASM #122. When it comes to fair market values, however, death issues rarely become holy grails. In the world of comic books, death is far from permanent. Gwen stayed dead for several years, but various writers have resurrected her for different storylines. These days, her Spider-Verse variant, Spider-Gwen, is more popular than the original Earth-616 Gwen, which takes away from ASM #121's collecting appeal. Still, there's no denying this issue's historical significance, and that will always have fans wanting a piece of the action.
