The Batman wedding fiasco left a bad taste in people’s mouths, but the letdown resulting from the nuptials story arc of Bats and Catwoman seems to have done little to derail interest in the Gotham City adventures of Catwoman and her girlfriends.
Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman are as well liked as ever and, at a time when female heroes are more popular and more sought out, we can expect fan interest in them to continue for some time.
As evidence we can note the hype surrounding a potential 'Gotham City Sirens' movie. This project is purportedly in the works. All we know right now is that the director will be David Ayer (Suicide Squad). If this is ever developed (and until a trailer drops, I personally would not be willing to declare its appearance a ‘sure thing’) which comic properties should speculators be keeping an eye on?
Gotham City Sirens #1 (August 2009)
Obviously, this comic is one that will probably see a rise in value if a movie by the same name is released. The numbers on this comic are already respectable (with + 140% on 8.0 graded copies over the last three years); it can’t hurt to pick it up now in case a movie appears. But if the movie does happen, the key issues related to each cast member will also heat up.
Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993) – First Appearance of Harley Quinn in Comics
We can start with the fan favorite who isn’t going away: Ms. Harley Quinzel. I can’t think of another modern addition to the Batman family that has caught on like Harley Quinn. As I write this, there are at least four Harley Quinn movies either already in development or (like the 'Gotham City Sirens' project) in talks for future development (see here). As the scores of Harley cos-players at comic conventions can attest, Harley Quinn fever is in no danger of abiding anytime soon. The comic to get related to all things HQ is, of course, Batman Adventures #12: the modern key against which other modern keys are measured. Why is this book so consistently hot? There are a couple of reasons I can think of. (1) Popularity of the character, as outlined above. Just compare the numbers on BA #12 with a very similar comic from around the same period, Superman Adventures #5 (March 1997) - First appearance of Livewire and you’ll see what I mean. The latter brings in far lower prices even for high grade copies, with 9.8's hovering at the hundred dollar mark. This can be attributed to the status of Harley Quinn, who is so much more popular than Livewire or any other number of modern characters introduced since the 1990s. (2) Low print run of the first edition. By some estimates (see here), only 40,000 to 60,000 copies were printed. That sounds like a lot, but really given that, even today, comics can have print runs in the hundreds of thousands – it’s not. Finally, the entrenchment of Harley in the Batman canon. She is forever linked to the Joker and Batman and, more importantly, at this point in her history, it seems like she’s always been. In other words Harley Quinn, created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, is already a classic. She is iconic and represents comic culture in the same way as Batman, Wolverine, or Spider-man do. All these are factors that make this comic well worth seeking out.
Batman #181 (June 1966) – First Poison Ivy
Silver Age Batman is hit and miss. The stories got fairly campy and, once the 1966 TV show came along, the campiness was often even further exaggerated. That hasn’t stopped keys from the period from heating up. Of those keys issue #181, the debut of Poison Ivy, is well worth owning. With the CGC census recording 1,260 graded copies and high grade sales recorded at many thousands of dollars, there is still hope that a mid or low grade copy can be found for a good deal. With positive returns on everything over 2.0, a 4.5 copy for $375.00 might be your best bet if you’re on a budget. This grade currently records a respectable +38.5% return on investment.
Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #70 (November 1966) – First Silver Age Catwoman
Ah the goofiness of Silver Age Superman. For whatever reason, as much as Silver Age Batman suffered the more silly it got, the opposite was true of Silver Age Superman. And there are fewer less campy or silly books than the Lois Lane comic. I’ve blogged about this comic before. But if there’s a sleeper key in the Lois Lane run, it’s this issue, which contains the first Silver Age appearance of Catwoman.
This book is still undervalued in my opinion. The first Silver Age Riddler in Batman #171 in 9.6 grade has a fair market price of $30,000. Batman #181 as noted, is selling for $9,250 in 9.6 grade. By contrast Lois Lane #71, at 9.6 grade is relatively very affordable at $2,800. And while returns on that grade are down for this comic, they are up and strong for all other grades. Conclusion: this undervalued key is worth owning.
In the Odyssey, the song of the sirens was impossible for Odysseus and his sailors to resist. In the same way the above books draw the attention of speculators and collectors. Can you resist them?
