A year after Netflix bought Millarworld, the company is releasing its first title under the new management: The Magic Order. This comic is generating lots of attention in collectors' circles, and there is a plethora of variant covers, but how much are they worth investing in?
Mark Millar's Magic Order #1 is set for release this Wednesday, and you definitely want a copy for yourself.
Millar has established himself as one of the top writers in the business with his work on the original Civil War crossover and creating the alternate-timeline Wolverine, Old Man Logan. Since he started Millarworld, he has cranked out hit titles such as Kick Ass and Kingsman. Both of those titles have successfully transferred to the silver screen, which only helps the brand's marketability. Now that Magic Order is officially the first title published under the Netflix banner, one can assume MO may be on its way to the online streaming service. Considering Netflix has seen huge success with their Marvel shows, MO would garner plenty of viewers if turned into a show. When that happens, you can expect the comics to take off.
When it comes to Magic Order #1, you've got choices to make. I've counted ten variant covers (including all three versions of the Tyler Kirkham cover art) ranging from cover price to $24.99; my personal favorite is the Bernie Wrightson Swamp Thing #1 homage, but I digress. The easiest solution is to buy all the variants available, but most of us want to be more selective with our money.
Something to consider when preordering copies of Magic Order: over at BleedingCoolNews.com, there's a report that ReedPOP, the company that organizes such mega conventions as C2E2 and New York Comic Con, has purchased 100,000 copies at a discounted price. If that's true, then inflating the numbers will likely make these less collectible because there's so many available. That leaves us with the difficult task of deciding which variants are worth the investment.
Tyler Kirkham and Adam Hughes variants are quite popular, and they tend to hold their value. The Kirkham Amazing Spider-Man #798 sketch cover has been a great seller. There's also the connecting covers for the Red Goblin storyline, which also has been highly collectible. In the case of the sketch cover, Unknown Comics was selling these for $75/each at Megacon Orlando at the end of May, and CGC-graded 9.8s are averaging $160. Back in April, one brought an eye-opening $275. The demand for his variants has made Kirkham one of the top cover artists in 2018. That name recognition will help sell variants, which is good for you.
Speaking of name recognition, you'll want to pay attention to the Adam Hughes variant. His Catwoman and Wonder Woman covers are classics and have been immortalized on t-shirts everywhere. AH makes the convention rounds, so it's not difficult to get your comic signed, which only adds to the appeal.
In the end, this is another case of buy what you like. With the volume of variants and ReedPOP supposedly buying in bulk to boost numbers, it's hard to say how much potential value these will actually have. My best recommendation is to buy the ones you would want in your collection and focus less on flipping them.
