It’s time once more for Undervalued and Overlooked Comics! This time we have the first appearance of a villain, the death of a character, and the start of a major storyline. Take a look and see what comics you just might be missing out on.

Early Addition to Moon Knight’s Rogues’ Gallery

Every superhero has their villains, the ones who show up time and time again in an attempt to foil or outwit our hero. In the case of Moon Knight, one of the earliest members of his rogues’ gallery – and one who he’s still fighting to this day – is Morpheus.

He’s a character who, as his name implies, can invade dreams. Despite all this, his first appearance in Moon Knight #12 is an overlooked and undervalued comic.

There are 325 graded copies of Moon Knight #12, with more than 52% in the 9.8 and 9.6 grades, about what you would expect for a 1981 comic. The most recent sale of a 9.8 was for $89 in the July 18 Heritage auction, a far cry from the peak price paid of $320 in May 2021.

Perhaps no other character has seen their keys plummet like Moon Knight. The start of his Disney+ series coincided with the peak of the boom, while the finale of the series was the start of the downward trend we’ve seen since. Just as Moon Knight rode the wave to its peak, key issues have been zooming downhill to a trough ever since.

It’s likely that the true value is somewhere in the middle, making this a better time than most to consider picking up some of those keys.

An Important Character Death

In 1979, DC did the unthinkable and killed off the wife of Barry Allen, the Flash. Iris Allen met her untimely demise in the pages of The Flash #275. It was a death that would reverberate throughout the series until its end 75 issues later in 1985 and lead, in its own way, to Barry’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8, some six years later.

You would think that such an important event would be valued by collectors. Alas, no.

There are only 55 graded copies of The Flash #275 in the CGC census. The most recent sale was a 9.4 selling in a May 5 eBay auction for $179. It has been some time since a 9.8 last sold in a 2014 Heritage auction for $93.

There are only five 9.8 graded copies, so it could be worthwhile to seek one out – or find a high-grade raw copy that could be worth sending in for grading. While it’s hard to say what the value would be today, the Iris Allen character is much more well-known thanks to the CW show than she ever was before.

The Project Pegasus Saga

There is likely no more quintessential Marvel Bronze Age comic series than Marvel Two-In-One. Beginning near the start of the Bronze Age and featuring the Thing teaming up with another Marvel character each month, the series would last for one hundred issues, ending as the Bronze Age gave way to the Copper Age.

Perhaps the biggest and best storyline in the series was the Project Pegasus Saga, beginning in Marvel Two-In-One #53, published in 1979. Teaming Ben Grimm with Quasar, the issue would also feature Wendell Vaughn’s origin as the wielder of the Quantum Bands originally utilized back in the Atlas Golden Age by Marvel Boy.

Despite featuring artwork by John Byrne when he was churning out sometimes as many as five Marvel comics a month, there are only 78 graded copies of Marvel Two-In-One #53. While there were a few sales in January, since there have been only two, the most recent being a 9.6 going for a slashed $120 on August 12. That’s down 20% from its peak of $150 for a 9.8 graded copy set back in 2015.

This is a book with quite a bit of potential. Project Pegasus was utilized in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and could be brought into the wider MCU at some point. Combine that with the persistent rumors of Quasar in the MCU, and you have an overlooked comic at a relatively cheap price that could be worth dropping a few speculative dollars.

Well, that’s all we have time for this week.  Join us next week as we return to the Golden Age with more Golden Age Collecting on a Budget.

Are there any Bronze Age comics you think are undervalued and deserve more attention?  Let us know below.

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.