It’s time once more for Undervalued and Overlooked Comics! This time we’ll be looking at the Bronze Age. Take a look and see what comics you just might be missing out on.

Conclusion of the Great Darkness Saga

Toward the end of the Bronze Age, DC had begun to run out of steam. They had one certifiable hit in The New Teen Titans but most other series were running on life support with boring and stagnant stories and art that had many collectors and readers wondering if they would survive much longer. The direct market was exploding at the time; independent publishers were putting out new and innovative comics that were beginning to eat into DC’s sales. That’s why it came as a bit of a surprise to everyone when The Legion of Super-Heroes, one of the most staid of DC titles, became a must-read comic.

Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen (along with underappreciated inker Larry Mahlstedt) were in the midst of a multi-part storyline that became an instant classic, and readers suddenly flocked to this title. “The Great Darkness Saga” would feature a who’s who of Legion characters along with many from Kirby’s run on The New Gods, and would turn Darkseid into the definitive DC villain he’s known as today. And it all came to an amazing conclusion in The Legion of Super-Heroes #294.

Alas, as much as DC may harken to this classic storyline in the present, it is all but ignored by collectors. There are a paltry 103 graded copies in the CGC census, nearly 50% of which are in the 9.8 grade. In that 9.8 grade, the highest sale ever was a slashed $350 on April 15 of this year. Value has since crashed with the latest sale coming in a September 9 eBay auction for $164.

If you like grand cosmic epics, loads of superheroes, and Darkseid at his most diabolical, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of the very undervalued and overlooked The Legion of Super-Heroes #294.

Team-Up in Space

Spider-Man in the Blue Area of the Moon? Teaming up with Warlock? It all happened in Marvel Team-Up #55. With artwork by John Byrne, this comic would also feature the first appearances of the Gardener and two of the six infinity gems – the power gem and the time gem. And yet, it’s pretty much forgotten by collectors.

The meager 237 graded copies don’t do justice to this remarkable comic. Nor does the most recent sale of $70 for a 9.6 graded copy in an eBay auction on September 21. This is a great comic with fantastic art and key first appearances. If you like Spider-Man and cosmic Marvel storylines, this is definitely a book you should check out.

Doomsday +1

Speaking of John Byrne, his first artwork in an original comic series – not one based on a cartoon or television series – came in Doomsday +1 #1 from Charlton. There are only 68 graded copies in the CGC census, with 9.8 graded copies making up only 10%.

There are so few sales of this book in any grade that it’s hard to even analyze any trends or movement. The most recent sale – a 9.4 going for $150 on eBay on June 20 – shows that there are many collectors who never knew the joy of seeking out hard-to-find early works by big-name artists. I’ve recently heard people ask what affected prices on comics before there was all of the movie and television hype.

Well, as an old fuddy-duddy I can tell you that it was the comics themselves, primarily storylines that people loved and fan-favorite artists. In those bygone days, the early works of key artists like John Byrne were much sought after. Nowadays, they make for nice pickups as undervalued and overlooked comics.

Well, that’s all we have time for this week.  Join us next week as we take a look at some undervalued and overlooked Silver Age comics.

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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.