A few weeks ago, we received news about the season two of Peacemaker. Specifically, James Gunn posted on social media that Frank Grillo, who played Crossbones in the MCU, will portray Rick Flag Sr., the father of Rick Flag Jr., who was killed by Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. Gunn also confirmed that the season two would release after he finished work on Superman: Legacy and Waller.
With season two on the way, let's revisit market demand for Peacemaker #1 (1967).
While Peacemaker #1 isn't his first appearance (that distinction belongs to Fightin' Five #40), I personally prefer Peacemaker #1 since its his first solo title, and, more importantly (at least to me), it has an amazing cover that features Peacemaker front and centre.
Let's take a closer look at the values for the most common grade on the CGC Census for Peacemaker #1 - a 6.5. Notably, even though this is the most common grade, there are only 26 blue label 6.5s on the Census. Considering that season one of Peacemaker debuted at the tail end of the "comic boom" (January 2022), a time when CGC was overwhelmed with submissions, this suggests to me that there may not be too many raw copies still left in the wild. If this speculation is true, this would be an important fact for investing purposes because it's unlikely we'll see a glut of additional supply of new blue labels that could potentially outstrip demand.
In September 2023, CGC 6.5 copy of Peacemaker #1 had lost roughly 76% of its value.
A CGC 6.5 reached an all-time high in August 2021 of $749 about four months before season one of Peacemaker debuted on HBOMax. The timing of this sale also happened to coincide roughly with the pandemic-fuelled collectibles boom that occurred in 2020 and 2021. During the bear market that began in late 2022, a 6.5 reached a three-year low in September 2023 when it sold for $174. In other words, in just two years, a 6.5 had lost approximately 76% of its value.
The decrease in value of CGC graded copies of Peacemaker #1 may have occurred due to the measurable increase in supply of CGC graded copies of this issue. According to CGCData.com, in December 2020, just before the pandemic struck, there were only 28 blue labels of Peacemaker #1 on the CGC Census. Three and a half years later, there are now 289 blue labels on the census. In other words, there are nearly ten times as many blue labels in the market today than there were several years ago. You could make the argument that there wasn't enough demand to meet the newly available supply resulting in decreased value.
Recent sales show a 66% increase in value since this book fell to its three-year low.
I think there are good reasons to believe that the $174 sale in late 2023 may have been the floor for this book. First of all, the average of the three most recent sales for this book is $262 which represents a robust 66% increase in value since its three-year low. Furthermore, with season two on the way, I think it's reasonable to predict that the value of a 6.5 will increase especially when the first trailer drops at some point mostly likely late in 2025. While I don't think a 6.5 will reach its all-time high anytime soon, I think it's foreseeable that it climbs back into the $400 to $500 range in the not-too-distant future.
What do you think? Would you invest in Peacemaker #1 at today's price points? Please let our community know what your opinion is in the comments section below!
