With 11 million+ views, Twentieth Century Studios' teaser trailer for Alien: Romulus has provided hope to fans of the Aliens franchise. Directed by Fede Alvarez, famous for directing the Evil Dead and Don't Breathe, Romulus is looking to take the franchise back to its science fiction and horror roots.

With more hits than misses since Aliens in 1986, can Romulus revitalize the franchise and the Aliens collectibles market?

Aliens #1 has provided a strong ROI over time.

The first appearance of the xenomorphs in an original story occurs in Aliens #1, the first issue in a six-issue limited series published by Dark Horse Comics in 1989. In part because it served as a direct sequel to James Cameron's box office smash hit, Aliens, the limited series became a fan favorite and paved the way for many more Aliens-related comics produced by Dark Horse.

Although this isn't the first appearance of xenomorphs in comics, it's generally the one the market has wanted the most. This book has produced a strong ROI over time for several reasons. First, because it was produced by a two-year old comic book publishing company, this issue had a low print run for a late Copper Age book. Today, there are only 1,349 graded copies on the CGC Census.

In addition, due to its all-black cover, this is a difficult book to find in high-grade. Specifically, there are only 88 9.8s on the CGC Census (or a mere 6.8% of the total population).

Let's take a closer look at the most common grade for Aliens #1 on the CGC Census: a 9.6.

A 9.6 has produced a solid ROI over time. Ten years ago, a 9.6 sold for around $70; a 9.6 most recently sold for $385 on March 28th. That's a 550% return on your investment if you had purchased back in 2014. Compare that to the 186% return of the S&P500 over the past ten years.

In addition, you can see the release of the Alien: Romulus teaser trailer has had a measurable impact on this book's value. The one-year average for a 9.6 is $340; yet, during the past month, the 30 day average value rose to $358 most likely due to the release of the trailer in mid-March.

Alien: The Illustrated Story #1 appears to be undervalued.

The first full appearance of the xenomorphs actually occurs in a magazine published in 1979 by HM Communications: Alien: The Illustrated Story #1 (there's a preview of this issue in Heavy Metal Magazine #26).

This 68-page adaptation of the 1979 film, drawn by famed artist Walt Simonson, appears to be undervalued in my opinion. While not an original story, this magazine still contains the first full appearance of the xenomorphs and yet sells for considerably less than comparable copies of Aliens #1 (the most recent sale of 9.0 occurred in early 2022 and sold for $175). Mid-grade raw copies typically sell on eBay in the $25 to $30 range. Graded copies of this magazine are much harder to find than Aliens #1 and are rarely available for public sale. According to the CGC Census, CGC has only graded 16 copies of this magazine. There could be a reasonable investment opportunity here to purchase a raw copy and having them graded before the film hits the theaters.

Do you think the first full appearance of the xenomorphs is undervalued? Please let us know what your opinion is in the comments section below!