Silver Age: Avengers Vol. 1 #4
There are few, if any, Silver Age Avengers books more important than this one, as it contains one of the most important publishing decisions Marvel ever made: to revive the Golden Age hero Captain America. Marvel had previously tried to revive him, but the effort failed and was later retconned away. This time, however, the revival was a huge success and allowed Marvel to continue to tell stories about one of its greatest creations. Few, if any, heroes have been on more Avengers teams for longer periods of time than Steve. Incredible epics like Madbomb, The Winter Soldier, and Man Without A Country may have never happened without this book.
With the odd exception of CGC 9.6 books, the FMV of this book in every grade has been on an upward trajectory over the last 10 years.
Bronze Age: Avengers #87
The Golden Age of Comics has long since passed, but the golden age of Wakanda is starting now! Thanks to the incredible success of the Black Panther film and concerted efforts to tell more diverse stories, Wakandan stories have never been more common. Just look at what Marvel did in 2022 alone:
- Made Wakandan characters a central part of the narrative of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- Produced (and is set to release) a sequel titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Started a new Black Panther ongoing series
- Announced an untitled Disney+ spinoff show focusing on Okoye
- Created and began releasing the anthology series Wakanda
- Announced the creation of another anthology - Marvel Voices: Wakanda
- Announced a video game set during WWII starring several Wakandans, including the Black Panther
- Centered the entire opening arc of Captain America: Symbol in and around Wakanda
- Announced the release of a new one-shot titled Black Panther: Unconquered
And that is just the stuff I am aware of! I am sure Wakanda has popped up in plenty of other places as well. With Black Panther and Wakanda becoming a larger and larger part of our collective culture and the fabric of Marvel Comics, books like Avengers #87, which tells the origin of the Black Panther, could become grails down the line. Now is a great time to invest in Black Panther books, especially as long-term investments.
The FMV of graded copies of this book has largely decreased in value of late, but overall has been going up over the last 10 years. There is very little risk of this book losing value and incredible potential for long-term gains.
Copper Age: Vision and The Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #12
I know this suggestion is a bit out of left-field for this category and will require a bit of explanation. This is the start of the Young Avengers saga, as it contains the (sort of) first appearances of Wiccan and Speed. An important point to remember - the first issue of Young Avengers, which introduced us to so many different characters, did not hit shelves until 2005. We have not even had these characters for a generation and yet they are already having seismic impacts on comics, films, tv shows, video games, and more. And most of them have not even come close to achieving their true potential!
As these characters continue to grow and thrive for a second generation, their reach and popularity will only continue to grow. When that happens, books like this, which are foundational to their story, but much older than their other books, will see huge gains in value. Graded copies of this book have been seeing declines in FMV over the last few years, but that simply means now is a really good time to buy. This is probably not a quick flip, so those looking to get in and out should look elsewhere.
Conclusion
That's all for this week folks! Let me know what you thought and if you have any suggestions. Next week, we tackle the Sentinel of Liberty, Captain America!
OTHER BOOKS I CONSIDERED WRITING ABOUT THAT ARE WORTH LOOKING AT:
Avengers Vol. 1 #1, Avengers Vol. 1 #6, West Coast Avengers Vol. 1 #1, West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #1, Avengers Vol. 1 #8, Avengers #57, Avengers #53, Avengers #83, Avengers #200, Avengers #223, and Avengers #270.
