Like an ‘80s fashion trend, the Hottest Comics always come back around. I can hear the Welcome Back, Kotter theme song already. “Welcome back, welcome back, wel-come ba-ack.” The GoCollect Hottest Comics blog has returned, and it’s time for something a little different.
If you recall, this blog series is dedicated to the five biggest movers and shakers in the top-100 sellers according to eBay. Normally, we stick to the 10-day sales figures, but today we’re going to look at all the categories, from 10 days to 365.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the data.
10 DAYS
For the past week and a half, buyers have prioritized Miguel O’Hara’s first solo comic. He kicked off one of Marvel’s most popular alternate timelines way back in 1992, but this isn’t his first appearance. That distinction belongs to Amazing Spider-Man #365, which featured the first few pages of Spider-Man 2099 #1. Why, then, would collectors put ASM #365 on the backburner? The secondary market speculators love iconic covers, and this is a ‘90s staple in that department. Here you have Miguel’s first cover appearance in spectacular fashion, which is enough to keep it popular on eBay.
We have yet to see a trailer for Beyond the Spider-Verse, a movie that still doesn’t have an official release date. No doubt the third in the fantastic Into the Spider-Verse animated films will reach theaters, but when will that be? After Sony gave it a March release date, it’s been indefinitely delayed, and that is driving fans up the wall. The bonus is that it will add to the trailer’s excitement once it drops on YouTube, and we can expect Miguel to play a large role. That will inevitably send buyers to the auction sites for his keys, so don’t look for Spider-Man 2099 #1 to take cool off just yet.
30 DAYS
While Spider-Man 2099 #1 is blistering the field over the past 10 days, Logan and Hulk’s highly collectible cover art for Wolverine #8 took centerstage for the month of February.
There’s so much potential for their rivalry, whether that’s in live action or video games. Obviously the biggest moment will be seeing Wolverine and Hulk brawl in the MCU. Depending on what happens in Deadpool & Wolverine, there’s no ruling that out as something we could see in Phases Four or Five. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Reynolds teases us with that moment in the third Deadpool flick.
However, the best bet to see this massive fight is on the PlayStation. Now that Spider-Man 2 has come and gone, Insomniac Games is focusing its efforts on Wolverine. We don’t know what all characters will appear in the game, but comic fans are crossing their fingers they’ll get to play through a bloody battle between Hulk and Wolverine. That potential puts a target on all things featuring their longstanding feud, and Wolverine #8 happens to be one of the more affordable options.
60 DAYS
The Man Called Nova may not be making mainstream headlines at the moment, but eBay buyers were keeping tabs on his first appearance.
After heavy rumors that he would be arriving in the MCU, whether that was in a Disney Plus series or his own feature film, it’s been quiet on that front for quite some time. Still, we can be sure Kevin Feige has plans for the character, and that’s why it’s been a hot commodity for the past two months.
As far as a proper story, the pieces are already in place for the last member of the Nova Corps. Although it was only mentioned, Thanos wiped out the Corps on his quest for the Infinity Stones. That leaves an easy opening to explain Nova’s origin and bring him into the MCU.
90 DAYS
Sony managed to outdo itself. Two years after releasing Morbius, the movie that makes a strong claim to being the worst superhero film since Batman and Robin, the studio lowered the bar even further with Madame Web. It’s sitting on truly atrocious critic and audience reviews along its way to becoming the biggest flop of 2024 so far. When one of the movie’s stars makes a joke about wanting the audience to forget she was in Madame Web, it speaks volumes.
Despite the horrible reviews, it’s not slowed comic collectors on their hunt for ASM #210. While there’s been multiple Madame Webs, the original, elderly version is still the most famous. She just happened to make her first appearance in this 1980 issue. Odds are, we aren’t going to see her again on the big screen, at least not anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean Madame Web won’t appear in another project. There’s still a third Spider-Man game in the works, and Spider-Man has a new cartoon coming to Disney Plus.
180 DAYS
Rolling back the calendar six months, we see Taylor Swift’s massive influence touching the secondary market. Last year, Deadpool & Wolverine rumors set the pace in the comic community. Week after week, there were new reports of a popular actor or character being added to the movie. When Swift was spotted hanging out with Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, it was enough to launch X-Men #130 into the stratosphere.
For the newbies, there’s a specific connection between Swift and X-Men #130. This is Dazzler’s first appearance, and rumors of Swift playing the X-Men’s in-house pop star have been growing since the days of X-Men: Apocalypse. The Swifties have been ravenous to see their idol suit up as Dazzler, and it keeps the character in the mainstream headlines. That is enough to send collectors and speculators alike to the auction sites for X-Men #130. While the issue has cooled since last year’s gossip, it was a powerhouse for several months as made evident by its being the biggest mover for the past 180 days.
365 DAYS
What’s been the hottest comic for the last 12 months? That distinction belongs to X-Men #94.
There’s been so many theories and rumors about the X-Men under the Marvel Studios banner. Feige has announced that an X-Men feature film is in the works (as if anyone expected different), and 2023’s nonstop Deadpool & Wolverine cameo rumors helped propel all the X-keys.
Very soon, viewers will get their first look at the next volume of X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men ‘97. Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s take on Marvel’s mutants will be on full display with this series, and that is the most likely reason X-Men #94 has been so hot for the past year. It was here that Claremont began his historic run on the X-Men title, helping to transform it into the biggest comic in all of Marvel. Claremont and the X-Men are near synonymous, and all this X-talk is definitely putting buyers on the trail of such an important issue.
