There’s really no surprises here. All five comics are consistent sellers and will remain so for years to come. Other comics may crack the top five and some may take the number one spot away from Venom, but these five are solid investments that will always sell.
What doesn’t this issue have? There’s a superstar artist, Todd McFarlane, in the prime of his career drawing arguably Marvel’s most popular character in an iconic costume for the 25th anniversary issue of the series. Not only that, but the cover is, well, amazing. It would be interesting to see the number of homage covers there’s been to ASM 300 since this issue’s debut. Aside from the art, there’s also the first full appearance of Venom in these pages. What’s not to love?
Again, no surprise. While Rob Liefeld never achieved McFarlane’s level of stardom, he certainly held his own in the 1990s. Love it or hate it, his signature over-the-top-bodybuilder style is recognizable to even passing fans, and his name still carries weight. Here we have Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza’s crowning achievement - the first appearance of Deadpool. Add in the success of the Deadpool movie and the character’s crossover into pop culture, and it’s easy to see why this comic remains one of the most popular on the market.
The only comic in the top five that wasn’t drawn by McFarlane or Liefeld, ASM 361 shot up the rankings after Carnage was announced to be the villain in Sony’s standalone Venom movie. While sales have plateaued in the past month, the feeding frenzy that followed Sony’s big news pushed Carnage’s first full appearance into the upper stratosphere of the collector’s world.
Another Liefeld creation, this time without Nicieza, Cable has captivated fans since his cameo in “New Mutants” #86. However, it’s his first full appearance that fetches the higher price tag. It doesn’t hurt things that Josh Brolin (who definitely looks the part, sans oversized 1990’s comic book physique) was announced to be bringing the time-traveling son of Cyclops to the silver screen.
5. MARVEL SUPER-HEROES SECRET WARS #8
It’s not the first appearance of Venom, but Venom’s roots were planted in this issue. The Jim Shooter/Mike Zeck issue gave Spider-Man his first-ever costume change. The black suit was a big hit with fans and made its way into the normal continuity. Eventually, the symbiote made its way to Eddie Brock and an enduring legend was born. While “Amazing Spider-Man” #300 is still the more collectible of the two, Venom wouldn’t have been created had it not been for this key issue.
6. SPAWN #1
Just outside the top five is another classic Todd McFarlane creation: Spawn. This has always been a popular comic, but it made leaps up the ladder when McFarlane confirmed that Spawn would be getting a remake with a veteran horror studio set to produce it. Ever since then, fans have been clamoring for the character’s debut issue, and collectors have been eager to sell. The more news that comes out about the film, such as stars and release dates and trailers, the more popular this issue will be.
Despite Fox pushing forward with the Channing Tatum-starring movie, Gambit remains one of Marvel’s most popular characters. Over the past couple of months, sales of UXM 266 has fluctuated, but it still remains a consistent seller. I stand by my opinion that the Gambit movie will be a flop, and that may well hurt sales. However, Gambit will endure and this one will remain a safe investment.
I’m waiting on ASM 129 to move into the top-five hottest comics. Marvel released a teaser trailer for the Punisher Netflix show, and it looks very true to the character. I expect it will be very popular and push sales of all things Frank Castle. It makes sense that his first appearance will crack the top five when the first season hits Netflix and fans binge watch. If you don’t already have your copy of this “holy grail” comic, it’s only going to get harder to find at a decent price.
9. WOLVERINE #1
The X-Men are experiencing (see what I did there?) a resurgence lately, and it’s no wonder that the team’s most popular character would be moving up the ranks. This issue was the first solo title for the iconic character in the 1982 limited series. What’s more is that the four-issue series has two legendary creators tied to it: X-Men godfather Chris Claremont wrote the script while Frank Miller handled the artwork, making this one of the best-known Wolverine comics.
10. STAR WARS #1
It’s hard to call Star Wars hot considering its unwavering popularity since 1977. However, the recent wave of new movies and Marvel’s abundant Star Wars titles has brought a renewed vigor to the franchise. That has helped propel the first Star Wars comic into the top 10. Besides this being the first comic appearances of all the major Star Wars characters, it’s also got a stellar creative team behind it: Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin. As long as Disney keeps cranking out the movies and television shows, SW 1 will remain a hot comic.
