Think of Amazing Spider-Man #300. Certainly a classic comic, especially the cover. How about Giant-Size-X-Men #1, the first appearance of the All-New X-Men? Does this qualify as a classic? This last one is certainly a classic to anyone calling themself an X-Fan. How about a reprint of this key comic book? It was reprinted with additional pages of new material added in Classic X-Men #1. Can this reprint of Classic X-Men #1 be worthy of investment? What size returns can this Copper Age reprint conjure up?
Classic X-Men #1
This comic book was published in 1986 by Marvel. The brainchild of Chris Claremont with the able pencils of Arthur Adams, John Bolton, and Gil Kane. "Condenses Giant-Size X-Men to fit in 32 pages, with new material on pages 1-4 and 18-32. The rest of the series reprints the original comics in their entirety."
Hidden Value?
In my humble opinion, this book has a great deal of hidden value. If it has multiple pages of "new" material; then doesn't that actually make this a first print of the full story? I don't know the answer but it is something to ponder. Chris Claremont added well over dozen-plus pages of background material. Buying this reprint is actually like buying the whole story, not just the old story.
Classic X-men #1 Rises in Popularity 907 Spots!
In the bigger picture, this book has seen a recent uptick in popularity. It is currently ranked #92 among the Modern Age books. It has been flying up the rankings moving 907 spots to this new ranking in the top 100. I was intrigued by this rise in the ranking. After doing some research, I put my money where my mouth is. I purchased two of these myself and felt it would make a good article for GoCollect; you be the judge.
This book has a peak of about $200 in near mint to mint condition (9.8) grade. The grade of 9.6 is only about $70 to $90. Still, let's consider what this book really is. It is quite simply the first full story of the X-Men thanks to Chris Claremont. Now it is mostly a reprint, but a portion is new and additional background material. Is it really just a reprint if it has new aspects of the story? There are many interesting aspects of this speculation to review.
| Title | Grade | Last Sale | Return |
| Classic X-Men #1 | 9.8 | $196 | +40% |
| 8.5 | $64 | +30% | |
| 7.5 | $20 | N/A |
Conclusion
With the current price for Classic X-Men #1 still very reasonable the popularity is starting to increase. Now ranked #92 it won't be long before it could possibly hit the top 50, maybe. I don't own a copy of Giant-Size X-Men #1 so this seems like a no-brainer. It should also be noted that there are only 321 books in CGC Census inventory. This book is lining up in all the right ways with low census numbers, high popularity, nuanced "new" portions of this story, and positive +40% returns for 9.8 grade. This is a classic of another type, a classic speculation play.
