It’s time again for your deeper dive into the Hottest Comics, the index that ranks eBay’s top-100 best-selling comics. As always, it’s not about the fair market values, so don’t look for prices to be the determining factor here. Instead, it’s all about that sales volume. On that note, let’s take a look at five newcomers staking claims on the list.
17. SPIDER-MAN NOIR #1 (NEW TO THE LIST)
As we cross our collective fingers for Nicolas Cage to get the starring role in the show, buyers were looking closely at Spider-Man Noir. Based on the gumshoe detective characters from the 1930s and ‘40s, Cage provided the hardboiled voice for Into the Spider-Verse.
While most of us would have been satisfied with a spinoff cartoon, Sony has given the green light to a live-action Amazon series. That’s sent buyers on a scavenger hunt for his key issues, which mainly amounts to the first appearance.
19. WYTCHES #1 (NEW TO THE LIST)
Last week, Scott Snyder announced that his creator-owned Wytches had been picked up by Amazon. That alone is enough to warrant speculative investments, but there will likely be a lower ceiling than initially predicted. Wytches will be an animated series, and that could still be a major hit.
However, history has shown that cartoons, even the best of them, don’t rival the live-action adaptations in terms of effects on fair market values.
39. SPIDER-MAN NOIR #1 VARIANT (NEW TO THE LIST)
The Spider-Man Noir aftershocks were felt in more than one key issue. This week, the news also propelled the black-and-white variant up the charts. In many cases, those alternate covers tend to bring the bigger values due to smaller print runs, which makes them the hotter issues to find.
So far, it’s not keeping pace with the standard cover, but it’s still early. For now, it’s best to keep tabs and see what happens next.
89. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #40 (NEW TO THE LIST)
Here’s a comic that’s worth every penny simply for the joy of collecting ASM. Although there are no first appearances here, this issue marked a milestone for Spider-Man. This is the second issue with pencils by iconic Spidey artist John Romita, Sr. It wasn’t long before ASM #40 that the character’s co-creator, Steve Ditko, had left Marvel Comics after a dispute over ownership rights.
Lucky for the fans, Romita not only filled Ditko’s shoes, but JRSR’s artwork surpassed his predecessor’s in many ways. Owning this issue is a matter of having a small but important piece of Spider-Man history.
97. DEVIL DINOSAUR #1 (NEW TO THE LIST)
Now that the mainstream public has been introduced to Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur via the new cartoon, it’s no surprise that buyers were targeting the famous T-Rex’s first appearance. Of course, he wasn’t originally paired with Lunella Lafayette.
When Devil Dinosaur #1 first hit shelves in 1978, his rider was the prehistoric missing link, Moon Boy. As more fans are drawn into the Devil Dinosaur mythos, we can expect this issue to get a bit more heat, though I can’t imagine it will set fire to the secondary market.
