Welcome back to Undervalued and Overlooked Comics, where we identify comics that are either currently lower in value than they could be, are ignored by collectors, or both! This time we’ll be looking at the Silver Age.
Fortress of Solitude
Superman’s go-to hideaway when he wants to escape the human world is his Fortress of Solitude, traditionally located in the Arctic. While Superman had his Secret Citadel – first appearing in Superman #17 – and the name was eventually changed to Fortress of Solitude, it was often depicted as a castle on the outskirts of Metropolis.
What we’ve come to know as the canon Fortress of Solitude made its debut in Action Comics #241, published in 1958.
There are a fairly low 75 graded copies of Action Comics #241 in the CGC census. The highest grade is 9.0. The highest sale this year was a 4.0 going for $379 in an April 5 eBay fixed price sale. That’s higher than the $332 paid for a 6.5 in a January 18 Hake’s auction. However, a subsequent 4.0 sale in a July 5 eBay auction brought the price in that grade back down to $324.
That’s a small price differential between a somewhat wide range of grades, something we’re beginning to see more of in the mid to lower grades for many books. Those are also low prices for a pivotal aspect of Superman’s history. Combine that with the low number of graded copies and this is a comic that may be worth seeking out.
First Animal Man
Buried in the comic book dust for many decades, Animal Man came roaring back into prominence with Grant Morrison’s 1988 revival of the character.
Considering that there’s a really good chance that the upcoming film, Swamp Thing, could serve as the character’s introduction to the DCU, his first appearance in Strange Adventures #180, published in 1965, is definitely worth checking out.
There are 386 graded copies of Strange Adventures #180 in the CGC census, low when compared to other first appearances of the time period. It’s a tough book to find in the top grades with only one copy graded at 9.8 and none at 9.6. The most common grade is 5.0 with 41 copies.
The most recent sale of a 5.0 was in a fixed-price eBay sale on July 12 for $275. That’s up a bit from the previous sale on April 23 for a slashed $250 but down significantly from the high of a slashed $400 set in October 2021. The present back issue market has made for some great buying opportunities.
Considering the character’s potential, you could do far worse than picking up a mid-grade first appearance of Animal Man for less than $300.
First Cosmic Cube
While it may seem that the Cosmic Cube has had its day in the sun in the MCU, appearing as the tesseract – housing one of the infinity stones – in multiple films, the device is still an ongoing concern in comics, where it has played a part in many storylines both large and small.
The Cube made its first appearance in Tales of Suspense #79, published in 1966. Originally a weapon of the Red Skull, the Cosmic Cube would become more closely associated with Thanos in the pages of Captain Marvel before eventually showing up in many subsequent reality-warping stories.
There are 390 graded copies of Tales of Suspense #79 in the CGC census. That’s a decent number for a mid-1960s copy of Tales of Suspense, meaning we can only call it a borderline overlooked comic. However, prices are low for this book. The most common grade is 8.0 with 46 copies.
The most recent sale was a fixed-price eBay sale for $200 on July 3. That’s only slightly higher than the previous sale of a slashed $179 paid on May 30 and down 20% from the peak price of $250 set in an October 2022 eBay sale.
While I don’t see this comic skyrocketing when prices eventually rebound, there’s definitely something to be said for investing in a Silver Age first appearance – even if it is only for a weapon – if you can find an 8.0 for $200 or less.
Do you think Action Comics #241, Strange Adventures #180, and Tales of Suspense #79 are undervalued, overlooked, or both? Let us know below!
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.