Amazing Spider-Man #129
The book that started it all for Frank, Amazing Spider-Man #129 features the first appearance of the Punisher (as well as the Jackal of Clone Saga infamy). Whenever I feature mega keys like this that are obvious buys, I look to do data deep dives so people can actually learn and get something new out of the article. Below you will find the average annual growth rate (AAGR) for this comic in each grade, adjusted for inflation, over the lifetime of GoCollect's data:
- 9.8 - AAGR of 4.09% over the course of ~18 years
- 9.6 - AAGR of 2.32% over the course of 20.5 years
- 9.4 - AAGR of 5.6% over the course of ~20 years
- 9.2 - AAGR of 10.37% over the course of 17.75 years
- 9.0 - AAGR of 11.25% over the course of ~21.5 years
- 8.5 - AAGR of 11.93% over the course of 20.25 years
- 8.0 - AAGR of 5.77% over the course of ~19.5 years
- 7.5 - AAGR of 11.85% over the course of ~21 years
- 7.0 - AAGR of 8.6% over the course of 18.25 years
- 6.5 - AAGR of 7.96% over the course of ~20 years
- 6.0 - AAGR of 13.48% over the course of ~18.5 years
- 5.5 - AAGR of 14.35% over the course of 10.67 years
- 5.0 - AAGR of 12.37% over the course of 11 years
- 4.5 - AAGR of 21.07% over the course of 11 years
- 4.0 - AAGR of 13.25% over the course of 11 years
- 3.5 - AAGR of 18.31% over the course of 10.75 years
- 3.0 - AAGR of 13.3% over the course of ~10 years
- 2.5 - AAGR of 10.62% over the course of ~9 years
- 2.0 - AAGR of 15.64% over the course of ~7.5 years
- 1.8 - AAGR of 13.55% over the course of ~10.5 years
- 1.5 - AAGR of 44.16% over the course of ~2 years
- 1.0 - AAGR of 8.94% over the course of 9 years
- 0.5 - AAGR of 14.73% over the course of ~6 years
For context, the S&P 500 over the last 10 years has an AAGR of 9.98%.
Marvel Preview #2
After his first appearance, Marvel Preview #2 is arguably the Punisher's most important comic. In its pages, readers were treated to the very first appearance of Frank's wife Maria and his origin as the Punisher. The Punisher, as a character, is fundamentally defined by the events shown in this comic, making it an excellent speculative pick in advance of Jon Bernthal's upcoming reprisal of the role.
As a very distant benefit, Marvel Preview #2 also features the first appearance of Dominic Fortune, a bounty hunter with a long history in Marvel comics.
Graded Analysis: In every grade with multiple sales, the FMV of this book is up all-time, in many cases by well over 100%. Intriguingly, the difference in value between several of the grades is fairly minimal. 9.0s through 9.4s are all within $25 of one another, while 6.0s through 8.5s are all within $30 of each other.
Punisher #1
Surprisingly, Marvel did not publish this book, Frank's first solo series, until 12 years after the character made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #129. They have more than made up for it, however, as there has been at least one ongoing Punisher series in publication every year since Punisher #1 first hit store shelves and newsstands.
The Mike Zeck cover art is pitch-perfect, as it expertly captures the grim, violent world the titular character walks in. When first appearances become too expensive, collectors and speculators will often settle for first solo titles as a consolation prize. Well, with most graded copies of Amazing Spider-Man #129 costing multiple thousands of dollars, I would say that Rubicon has officially been crossed.
Graded Analysis: Stick to 9.6s and above. The book is down in most other grades.
