We’re back with more Undervalued and Overlooked Comics! This is where we identify comics that are either currently lower in value than they could be, aren’t as well known in the collector market, or both. So, let’s get started with some interesting picks.
Marvel’s First Giant-Size Comic
Other than Giant-Size X-Men #1, Marvel’s Giant-Size comics from the mid-1970s tend to be ignored or overlooked by collectors. The reasons are many and also speak to why the line failed. For one, Marvel couldn’t keep up the pace of publishing new quarterly stories and the line quickly devolved into reprints. In fact, some series only had one all-reprint issue.
Another problem with the books was that they were rarely necessary reading if you were invested in the stories in the regular series, notable exceptions being Giant-Size X-Men #1 and a few issues of Giant-Size Avengers. Finally, from a collecting standpoint, all of these issues are notoriously hard to find in high grade. That’s due to the printing process in which the interior pages were stapled together and then the cover was glued on, causing wavy ripples on the covers of the vast majority of the comics. And yet, there’s something special about the early issues of the line, when the focus was on original stories. Which brings us to the first issue, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1.
The first of Marvel’s Giant-Size line featured a titanic clash between the Thing and the Hulk. Previous fights had been legendary and were fan-favorite slugfests. It was a smart way to start the line at the time. There are 464 graded copies with only 21 in the 9.8 grade, or roughly 5% of the census. There is also one graded at 9.9, although how this is even possible with the printing process involved is beyond me.
A 9.8 sold in a May 27 fixed price eBay sale for $1,200, down 25% from the previous – and peak – sale of $1,500 in April 2021. The prices drop considerably below the 9.8 grade, however, with a one-year average of $225 for the 9.6 grade and prices dropping below $100 once you get down below the 9.0 grade. If you’re looking for a 9.8, you’re going to pay a premium. But you can also get lower grades at really affordable prices. And that’s for an original Thing/Hulk battle royale!
Superman vs. Popeye?
Speaking of all-time donnybrooks, you have to check out Action Comics #421 in which Superman goes up against a character by the name of Captain Strong who bears an uncanny resemblance to everyone’s favorite spinach-eating sailor. The issue, silly in its premise though it may be, sports a terrific cover by the late great Nick Cardy, one of DC’s top cover artists of the 1970s.
There are only 89 graded copies in the CGC census with 15 in the top 9.8 grade. A 9.8 sold in a July 10 eBay auction for $380, the top price paid by a long shot. If you’re willing to settle for a 9.6 – and who wouldn’t be for the only existing Superman vs. Popeye fisticuffs – you’re looking at a one-year average of just $46, marking this as a truly overlooked and undervalued Bronze Age comic.
A One-Shot from Red Circle
Better known for its fantasy and horror comics and then its superhero books, Archie Comics Red Circle Comics line published a bizarre one-shot in 1974 titled The Super Cops #1. The comic was based on a film of the same name that had come out earlier in the year. The movie itself was based on the true story of two New York City detectives who had earned the nicknames Batman and Robin due to their escapades in hunting down ne’er-do-wells.
The comic itself is virtually unknown to most collectors. There are only 26 graded copies with one in the 9.8 grade. This singular copy sold once in 2021 for $190. There are eight in the 9.6 grade, the highest number for any grade. There’s not a big drop-off in price at this grade, however, as noted by the one-year average of $178. They do become much more affordable in grades below 9.6, though. While its tough to find graded copies, it’s not a difficult book to find in the raw at much more affordable prices - just take a little digging. It is an oft-overlooked comic from a line of Archie Comics that had notable Sabrina stories and rebirthed many of the publisher’s Golden Age superheroes. Still, it is a bit of a weird one-shot in the company’s illustrious history.
