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 two charity “jam” comics from the 1980s.
Comic Jams for Charity
Back in 1985, charity jams to help victims of famine in Africa were all the rage. The biggest was, of course, LiveAid – two massive concerts in the U.K. and the U.S. with a slew of popular acts of the time. The comic world decided to get into the act with the two biggest – Marvel and DC – producing comics filled with top artists and writers. Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson were the driving forces for both.
Heroes For Hope
Marvel beat DC to the punch with Heroes For Hope Starring the X-Men #1. A who’s who of popular writers and artists (some not associated with comics) included a cover by Art Adams, interiors by Stan Lee and John Buscema, John Byrne and Terry Austin reuniting on the X-Men, Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson, Charles Vess, Alan Moore and Richard Corben, Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz, Brian Bolland and P. Craig Russell, John Bolton, Steve Rude, George R.R. Martin, Howard Chaykin and Walt Simonson, a host of other writers and artists, and a back cover by Jim Starlin.
Heroes Against Hunger
Heroes Against Hunger #1 from DC also featured an all-star lineup of writers and artists including a cover by Neal Adams, interiors by Jim Starlin and George Perez, Mike W. Barr and Keith Giffen, Klaus Janson, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Jerry Ordway, Roy Thomas and Carmine Infantino, J.M. DeMatteis and Marshall Rogers, Bernie Wrightson and Michael Kaluta, Curt Swan and John Byrne, Terry Austin, Walt Simonson, Dave Gibbons, Jack Kirby, Dan Jurgens, Howard Chaykin, a bunch of other writers and artists, and a back cover by Bill Sienkiewicz.
Hunger vs. Hope
At the time, fans argued about which was better, with a slight majority favoring the Marvel comic. Since, collectors have tended to side with the 1980s fans and heavily favored Heroes For Hope Starring the X-Men #1. There are 428 graded copies, a paltry number for a Copper Age comic featuring so many popular writers and artists. Prices ranged from $40 to $138 for a 9.8 over the past year until someone coughed up $295 in a fixed price eBay sale on January 5. While it’s an overlooked and undervalued comic, that’s no excuse for paying triple the present market value.
On the DC side, there are a miniscule 96 graded copies of Heroes Against Hunger #1. The last sale of a 9.8 was a slashed $200 in a July 2023 eBay sale. It had been two years since the previous sale and there hasn’t been one since. When you consider the talent involved, this is a criminally overlooked comic, and one that you don’t see in shops or shows very often.
Both comics have a high percentage of signature series copies: 37.6% for Heroes For Hope Starring the X-Men #1 and 37.5% for Heroes Against Hunger #1. This isn’t surprising considering the sheer number of popular writers and artists in each. It’s worth seeking out a copy of each – signed or unsigned. While they’re very much products of their time, they also include work by some fantastic talent that defined comic book greatness in the mid-1980s.
