One of the biggest movers of early February has been a book that is right on the edge of the Copper Era and our Modern Era - Batman 655 - which came out in 2006.
Damien Wayne in the Shadows
Batman 655 has one panel of Damien Wayne's eyes hidden in shadows, the child of Bruce and Talia al Ghul. Arguably the first appearance of the son of Batman, this book is burning up the charts, up 45 places to land at the #3 spot in sales, behind constant Modern Movers chart toppers, Venom Lethal Protector 1 and Ultimate Fallout 4.
Sales over the first week of February for 9.8 graded copies have crept up on an FMV of $350. This is driven by reports that the new Brave and the Bold movie will feature Batman and his son, Damien. Reports paint this as a huge DCU adventure with a variety of movies and related stories (think Star Wars, et al) but we do not have a cast, trailer, or dates yet, beyond some reports that this first chapter could be a 2026 release.
Batman 656, a "first" appearance of Damien Wayne in the last panel is also flying up the charts, landing at #5 in the Modern Market Overview.
Even the Kubert variant cover of Batman 655 (a 1:10 printing) is doing well, entering the sales charts at #17. Reported sales of Batman 656 are keeping pace with Batman 655, with FMV for 9.8 copies bouncing around $300-350.
Maybe it is a carry-over from all the COVID uncertainty in the universe but 2026 seems like a long time from now. This is a book purchase idea I will tuck away to maybe pick up when it cools off. Also on my watch list will be Batman 232, the first appearance of Ra's al Ghul.
The Last of Us
Also new to the sales list is The Last of Us: American Dreams 1. This gem from Dark Horse Comics was published in 2013. From shortly after publishing until 2018 this book, in a 9.8 grade, held a steady FMV of about $150. This book has been beyond hot for the past month, blowing away previous sales volumes for all grades 8.0 and better.
The original bounce in value was related to this book being a prequel to the video game. What could be more timely than a post-apocalyptic global pandemic story? It is now a widely popular tv series with fantastic ratings. Values have gone straight up over the past few years, landing 9.8 graded copies with a GoCollect FMV of $1550 and reported sales closer to $2000.
This seems like a tough book to buy right here, not because the show isn't amazing or people have not loved the game, but just because of what can happen to keep the value going up from here.
Gold Death of Superman
Every month there are some astounding variants that hit the sales charts. Also new to the charts in early February, entering at the #34 spot, is the gold foil variant of the Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special 1. This 80-page special has been out just a few months, published in November of 2022, and was limited to just 300 9.8 graded copies.
This is a different beast than a book driven by characters or storylines - the driver here is a fantastic cover and scarcity by the artist/owner. Well done, DC comics, for creating artwork for art collectors. This would look great on anyone's wall.
Modern Era books are wonderful examples of a whole new world of comic collecting. Stories, characters, and artwork has never been more diverse and interesting. Values of books out just a few months can explode and staying up on what Modern Era books are moving can make any trip to your LCS an adventure in treasure hunting. I'm curious if the GoCollect community likes the idea of things like Death of Superman variant hitting an FMV of $1,000; what would you pay for one?
