Two major Silver Age keys have been struggling on eBay while a couple of X-Men comics found themselves outside the collecting bullseye.
Welcome to the Hottest Comics. More accurately, welcome to the Coldest Comics.
Where the Hottest Comics ranks the 100 bestselling issues on eBay, today's blog is targeted at the underperformers. These are the comics that saw the largest drop in sales in the span of 10, 30, 60, 90, and 180 days. As we take a closer look, there's no ignoring the patterns that become very clear.
10 DAYS
There's still numerous X-Men keys sprinkled throughout the Hottest Comics, but it is impossible to ignore the sudden drop in X-Men '97 #1's popularity. Only 10 days ago, it was ranked solidly inside the top 40, though now it is in danger of vanishing from eBay's bestseller's list altogether. Such is the MCU cycle. Once a movie or show has come and gone, fans quickly shift their focus to a new favorite and practically forget what came before it. Those short attention spans result in sales dips for the key issues, and that's precisely the case here.
While this is a first issue, it's not the first appearance of the animated X-Men. That distinction belongs to X-Men Adventures #1, which puts X-Men '97 #1 further down the collecting pecking order, so to speak. By the time season two rolls around, it should make a comeback.
30 DAYS
87. FANTASTIC FOUR #49 (-46)
It has not been a great few months for some classic Silver Age keys. For the past 30 days, the Silver Surfer's first cover appearance (not to mention Galactus' first full and first cover appearance) has been struggling to the finish line. While this may be an attention grabber, there's no reason to panic.
FF #49 has become much more popular in the collecting circles. Even before Marvel Studios announced its Silver Surfer casting for The Fantastic Four movie, buyers had long held FF #48 in high regard. It has been a holy grail for decades, and that means much higher prices. As the Surfer's popularity grew with rumors (and eventually confirmation) of an MCU debut, collectors opted for the next-best-thing: FF #49. Although the FMVs have risen, they are not on the level of its predecessor.
For the moment, FF #49 has lost all its momentum, but that is only a temporary setback. Once Marvel begins hyping FF, and we see the new Surfer, things will turn around.
60 DAYS
97. DAZZLER #1 (-64)
Marvel's disco queen has been all but abandoned by the collecting circles, and it's all thanks to a lack of Taylor Swift.
Actually, it's more about a lack of anyone playing Dazzler in the Deadpool & Wolverine. For years, the rumor mill has churned out story after story claiming that Swift has been in the running for Dazzler since X-Men: Apocalypse. When Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were spotted hanging with the pop star at a Kansas City Chief's game last season, fans assumed that meant a deal had been finalized to put her in the role.
In recent weeks, the major news outlets have confirmed that Swift will not be appearing in D&W. Without her name attached to the character, collectors turned away from those dazzling keys in short order. Over the last 60 days, Dazzler #1 has taken the biggest hit, dropping all the way to 97th in the Hottest Comics.
90 DAYS
92. FANTASTIC FOUR #52 (-40)
When will Black Panther's first appearance make a turnaround? It's been months since we saw FF #52 making any real progress on the Hottest Comics. Although it hasn't completely fallen out of the top 100, this holy grail seems to lose more spots than it gains in a one-step-forward, two-steps-back type of situation.
The main culprit is likely a lack of news. There is a BP spinoff show in the works, but not much has been said about the project in quite some time. If it ever sees the light of day, and is a hit, that could spark a renewed interest in FF #52. Of course, the bigger catalyst will be seeing Shuri in the full costume once again. She hasn't been spotted in the MCU in years, and there's no telling when we could see her grace the screen again. Definitely she is coming back, but who knows when that will be? Until then, FF #52 will be struggling in the Hottest Comics.
180 DAYS
58. SPIDER-MAN #7 TOP SECRET SPOILER VARIANT (-52)
The Top Secret Spoiler variant is circling the drain once again. The past six months have not been kind to Spider-Man #7, and there's no sign of the issue's fortune's getting a makeover. Hopefully, you didn't spend too much on that Spider-Boy first appearance.
For a time, this was by far the hottest comics on all of eBay. Collectors and investors were falling over themselves to get Spider-Boy's debut, and that went double for the Top Secret Spoiler variant. It rocketed to the top of the sales charts and was the number one seller for weeks. Eventually, all things must change, and Spider-Man #7 began to slide down the ladder. However, it's hard to have imagined it would fall this hard.
With the final Spider-Verse film, Beyond the Spider-Verse, forthcoming, there is a chance Spider-Boy could make his silver screen debut. After all, practically every Spider-Variant has been featured in the first two movies. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that Spider-Man's sidekick could get a cameo in the next film. That would catapult Spider-Man #7 back to the peak of the sales mountain.
