Using sales data pulled directly from eBay, GoCollect's Hottest Comics summarizes and ranks those comics that have sold the most often during the last 10, 30, 60, 90, and 180 days. When we look the last 10 days, we see several old favorites in Top 20 hottest comics -- e.g., X-Men #1, Spawn #1, and Amazing Spider-Man #300. But we also see the impact that the MCU can have on sales volume. Specifically, we see three books related to the Thunderbolts* in the Top 20; all three are new to the Top 20 during the past 10 days. It probably helped that Thunderbolts* is one of the best reviewed MCU films in years (an 87% critics score and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes).
Let's take a closer look at these three books and ask a question for each of them: has sales volume translated into higher sales values?
Incredible Hulk #449: Ranked No. 5 (up 15 from No. 21)
As others have noted, I think it's interesting that collectors continue to buy this issue since the Thunderbolts team in Hulk #449 bear absolutely no resemblance to the team in the film. For those of you who may not remember, the Thunderbolts roster in Hulk #449 consists of former villains masquerading as a superhero team: (1) Citizen V (aka Baron Zemo); (2) Meteorite (aka Moonstone); (3) Mach-1 (aka The Beetle (Abner Jenkins); (4) Songbird (aka Screaming Mimi); (5) Techno (aka The Fixer; and (6) Atlas (aka Goliath).
Notably, there isn't a single character in Hulk #449 that overlaps with the Thunderbolts roster in the film! And even the origins of the team in the comic are entirely different than their MCU counterparts (i.e., the team in the movie have no relationship to Thunderbolt Ross). If anything, the MCU version of the Thunderbolts more closely resembles the team in New Avengers #1. At least that team has the right name (if you saw the movie, you know why I say this) and includes Sentry.
And there is some correlation between increased sales volume and pricing for this issue. For instance, the FMV of a 9.8 copy of this issue has been creeping upwards with the 30-day average of $293 exceeding the 90-day ($289) and one-year average ($278).
Sentry #1: Ranked No. 8 (up 34 from No. 42)
Not surprisingly, collectors have been purchasing the first appearance of the Sentry in Sentry #1 in large numbers; this issue broke into the Top 10 during the past 10 days up 34 spots. The film version of the Sentry was 100% comic book accurate down to his gold and blue costume and long blonde hair; it clearly provided great marketing for Sentry #1.
And we can observe some correlation between increased sales volume and increased sales values; specifically, the 30-day average of $315 for a CGC 9.8 is a bit higher than the one-year average of $298:
And this CGC 9.8 sold for $380 just a few days after the film's release -- it was the highest sale since May 2023:
Inhumans #5 is new to the list at No. 17.
Lastly, we're seeing a big jump in sales volume for Inhumans #5 which is generally cited as the first appearance of Yelena Belova, the lead character in Thunderbolts*. As most collectors know, there's some debate if Inhumans #5 is only the first cameo appearance of and whether Black Widow #1 is her first full appearance. The fact that Inhumans #5 is outselling Black Widow #1 is at least one indicator that the market still prefers Inhumans #5 even though Yelena's appearance is limited to a single panel where she is mentioned by name, but her face is not shown (sounds like a cameo appearance to me).
Unlike Hulk #449 and Sentry #1, however, values for Inhumans #5 aren't rising, but have instead remained steady with the 30-day, 90-day and one-year averages being nearly identical:
