After Barbie and Oppenheimer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was one of the biggest hits at the box office in 2023 grossing a worldwide total of $1.36 billion. With the huge success of this movie, it's inevitable that Universal will produce a sequel. And, perhaps more importantly, we received news a few months ago that Universal is considering developing other Nintendo franchises for TV or film, including The Legend of Zelda.
Considering that it's likely that Link (the heroic swordsman from Zelda) will likely debut on the big screen in the near future, is it worth investing in any of his key issues?
HasThe Legend of Zelda franchise become more popular than Mario Brothers?
The Legend of Zelda is arguably the most valuable IP that hasn't yet been tapped for a major film or TV series. You could make the case that The Legend of Zelda has surpassed even Mario in terms of franchise popularity at least among gamers. For example, consider the fact that The Breath of the Wild has sold nearly four million more copies than Super Mario Odyssey (and Tears of the Kingdom is rapidly catching up to Super Mario Odyssey). Many video game journalists rank Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom as two of the best video games of all time on any console. With its sweeping vistas, richly imagined worlds and characters, The Legend of Zelda could become a sword & sorcery epic akin to The Lord of the Rings.
Link's 1st appearance in a comic book is still affordable.
In spite of The Legend of Zelda's devoted fanbase, Link's first appearance in a comic book, Nintendo Comics System Sneak Preview, is still an affordable key issue. Let's take a closer look at the values for the most common grade on the CGC Census (9.4) for Nintendo Comics System Sneak Preview.
Interestingly, unlike many other key issues, this book didn't spike in value during the pandemic fueled "comic boom" of 2020-21 and didn't reach its all-time high of $1,600 until March of 2022. Because this book is so rare (there are only 106 graded copies on the CGC Census) and, as a result, there's little sales data, it's difficult to gauge what the value of a 9.4 is. We do know, however, that a 9.4 sold for less than $1,050 dollars about six months ago (it was a Best Offer Accepted sale on eBay). According to GoCollect, the FMV of a 9.4 is $800. If you can get a copy for less than $800, that might not be a bad entry point considering it's all-time high of $1,600.
Link appears for the first time on a cover in The Legend of Zelda #1.
Another major key issue to consider is The Legend of Zelda #1. This issue contains Link's second appearance, but it's also here where we first see Link and Zelda appear on a comic book cover for the first time. These first cover appearances make it potentially make this issue a lot more attractive to collectors in comparison to Nintendo Comics System Sneak Preview. For the most common grade on the CGC Census, a 9.8, the FMV according to GoCollect is $925.
This book reached an all-time high of $2,250 back at the tail end of the comic boom in February 2022. It has lost about 66% of its value since then. A 9.8 sold just last week on eBay for only $848. Although not quite as rare as Nintendo Comics System Sneak Preview, this issue is also pretty difficult to find; at the moment, there are only 505 graded copies on the CGC Census. This could be a good time to "buy the dip."
Would you consider investing in any key issues related to The Legend of Zelda? Please let us know what your opinions are in the comments section below!
