We're now halfway through the first season of Ahsoka, the Disney+ series about Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker's former padawan. The show has generally received positive reviews thus far (87% critics and 73% audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes). How has the show affected the comic book market, if at all?
Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1 climbed in value for the first half of 2023, before trending downwards this summer.
Ahsoka appears for the first time in comic books in Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1 (2008). Back during the height of the comic bubble of 2021, a CGC 9.8 of this book (the most common grade on the CGC Census) regularly sold for more than $3,600, making it one of the most valuable books of the Modern Age.
As a point of comparison, consider that Ultimate Fallout #4, which many collectors would consider to be the most important book of the Modern Age, reached an all-time high of only $3,800 during the comic boom. Clearly, at least according to the market, Ahsoka is one of the most important comic book creations of the 21st century.
Like Ultimate Fallout #4, however, even the most popular characters couldn't stave off macro-level economics; once the comic book market bubble popped in 2022, the value of a 9.8 steadily declined until November 2022 when a copy sold for $1,650.
Interestingly, it did defy broader market trends for a period of time, climbing again in value for the next seven months, reaching a 12-month high of $2,143 in June of 2023.
The value of Star Wars: Kanan The Last Padawan #6 has roughly held steady for the past 12 months.
As we've seen through the first four episodes of Ahsoka, the show could've been called Sabine. By BBY 9, Ahsoka is a fully formed, mature character; not surprisingly then, the show is focused on her relationship with Sabine, her padawan.
Sabine is a major character in Rebels, an animated TV show that debuted in 2013. We see Sabine's first full appearance in a comic book Star Wars: Kanan The Last Padawan #6 (2015).
At the height of the comic boom, a CGC 9.8 of this book (the most common grade on the CGC Census) regularly sold for more than $847.79, also making it a valuable key issue of the Modern Age. Like most comic books after the bubble popped, this issue declined in value reaching a 12-month low of $308 in December 2022.
Importantly, however, it has actually climbed about 10% in value since then defying the broader market trends of 2023. In fact, it had reached $500 in the spring before falling back again. Since the show's debut on August 22nd, 36 copies of Star Wars: Kanan The Last Padawan #6 have sold on eBay. The data suggests that this is a book that has defied the odds.
The three most recent sales of a 9.8, all in September, averaged around $335. Compare its value to the first appearance of a world-famous character that debuted just a year before Sabine, Kamala Khan; the average of the three most recent sales of 9.8 copies of All-New Marvel Now: Point One #1 were just under $500.
This comparison is a data point that demonstrates Sabine's popularity in the comic book market.
What are your opinions about Ahsoka so far? Please let our community know in the comments section below!
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.