Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe #1

What happened to this one? Only a year ago, this morbid special was a cult sensation, bringing at least $25 for a near mint copy. this was an elseworlds-style tale in which Frank Castle was a cop called to the scene of a super-hero battle in Central Park. When he arrived, he learned that the battling superbeings had not just caused the usual property destruction, but had also carelessly cause the deaths of several bystanders, including Frank's family. In a fit of rage, he began a slaughter of the world's superbeings, taking them out with a ruthless efficiency that would be an example to the most hardened super-villain.

This special was initially greeted with little fanfare, but word-of-mouth, and the growing fame of writer Garth Ennis helped propel it into the stratosphere years after its 1995 release. It seems to have suddenly cooled, however, perhaps as a result of the lowered profile of Ennis following the conclusion of his popular Preacher series. As a result, fans can rejoice since it's now possible to find copies for about $10-15 for the first printing--cover price for the 2nd.

If you're looking for speculative excitement, however, Marvel has recently released a special "museum edition" which is currently moving for about $60 -- and quite a bit more for the first 20 copies of the 599-copy print run. These are clearly modeled on Top Cow's various museum editions, which were printed in severely limited quantities, (25-50 copies), and featuring top-of-the-line production values. When examined closely, however, the Marvel museum edition bears more resemblance to a DFE special or any of the more commonly seen variants. With print runs at least a dozen times larger than the Top Cow editions, the Marvel version is not truly rare. Moreover, its production enhancements are little more than a paper change and a new cover. Although they're definitely nifty, it seems doubtful whether their values will retain their lofty heights over the long--or even the short--haul.

Star Wars: Union #1

Another surprise hit: Dark Horse gave little pre-release word that this mini-series would feature the biggest Star Wars event since Luke found out who his daddy was. Perhaps indicating a familial fondness for the Dark Side, Luke married Mara Jade, a former Imperial assassin. When word got out, the issues of this series flew off the stands, and issue #1 quickly attained the $14 level.Even though a trade paperback has since been released, it has held strong at that level until the current day.

Wow Comics (Fawcett) #1

$12,0000 might seem like a lot for a comic book, but considering the rarity and signicance of this key Golden Age book, it's actually quite low. Wow was a classic Fawcett series, strongly appealing to the younger end of the super-hero fanbase. Issue #5 would introduce The Phantom Eagle, but the signature character of the series would become Mary Marvel, who began appearing there with issue #9. Unfortunately, Mary's popularity also caused many of the old-time fans to see this as a "girl's series", and it never achieved the prominence of contemporaries like All-Star Comics. of late, the market for all Fawcett books seems to be softening as well, as high-end collectors concentrate on the titles which launched super-heroes which are still featured actively today. Mary Marvel, in contrast, is merely a beloved but nearly forgotten relic from an innocent past.

Amethyst #1

This series seems to have been much loved by girls, but by and large, the guys just didn't get it. It was a fun fantasy series in which a thirteen year-old girl (Amy) crosses over into the magical realm of Gemworld, where she becomes a super-cute princess with mystical powers. Whatever its merits (and they were apparently sufficient to help launch three separate series), this series was roundly scoffed at by the guys who overwhelmingly dominate the comics fanbase. As a result, it has never--and probably will never--commnded more than a nominal $1.00 selling price. Most copies, however, are apparently consigned to quarter-box purgatory. Barring a Night Nurse or Tomb of Dracula-style revival (doubtful), it's likely that they will continue to moulder there indefinitely.

America's Best TV Comics

This 1967 one-shot was one of the oldest television tie-ins for Marvel, and quite a good one at that. In addition to Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, it featured appearances by other soon-to-be classics that would debut on TV that year, including George of the Jungle, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Due to its white cover, NM issues are relatively hard to find and today sell for around $55

Transmetropolitan #1

A fan favorite, Transmetropolitan draws on the cyberpunk decadence of Warren Ellis' earlier Lazarus Churchyard but takes the whole concept to a whole new level. Transmetropolitan follows the adventures of psychotic writer Spider Jerusalem in a nightmarish near-future, cyber-nightmare world of drugs, aliens, androids, mutants, technology gone mad, and lots more drugs. High-octane writing by Warren Ellis is augmented by lush, compulsively detail-rich artwork by Darick Robertson. Since its introduction under the ill-fated Helix line from DC, its popularity has grown steadily by word of mouth. Today, a first issue will cost you about $6. Various trade paperback collections are also available, and are an excellent way to read this intriguing, offbeat series.

Top 10 #1

Consistently listed as one of the best-written titles in recent years, Top 10 is Alan Moore's look at a city populated almost entirely by superbeings--and the travails of the local police department. Imagine "Cops" when everyone pulled over has some sort of super-power, and even the little old lady next door has a cape and a code-name. Trade paperbacks have suppressed the value of the individual issues, but still expect to pay about $4.00 to read issue #1 in its original form.

X-Men (1st Series) #96

X-Men #94 and Giant-Size #1 are quickly moving out of the average collector's budget, but there's still hope to pick up on the early appearances of the new X-Men. Better yet, the first two dozen or so appearances have been gaining value in a steady fashion for the past several years. This comic, which features the first appearance of X-Men colleague Moira MacTaggart, can be found in crisp NM for about $80--up from $55 in 1997. These early issues have an almost perfect "up-and-to-the-right" value curve--not too steep as to be unsupportable, but showing a strong and steady growth going back almost two decades. Grab your copy now--they're not getting any cheaper.

X-Men (1st Series) #67

December, 1970 saw the X-Men facing tough times as they switched to a reprints-only format beginning with issue #67. These were the "dead issues" of the series, which move up in value unsteadily, and largely out of the debatable thrill of being able to own *any* issue of the title prior to the introduction of the new X-Men in Giant-Size #1/X-Men #94. Considered on their own merits, however, the issues from #67 to #93 were a wasteland, and barely seem worth the $25 market price that issues of this run bring in NM condition. Lesser-condition copies frequently appear in dealer's $5 piles at large comic conventions.

Strange Tales #89

Begun in 1951, Strange tales started life as a typical--which was to say, quite formulaic and stale--monster title of the post-Comic Code era. The Comics Code had banned the use of werewolves, the walking dead, and other ghastlies, and the tone of the times prevented Marvel from indulging in much else that might have made the title the slightest bit creepy. All that seemed left was to fill each issue with hordes of rampaging giant monsters bent on destroying the world. Best of the lot was Fin Fang Foom, a dragon-like creature which, perhaps by virtue of a great name, became the sort of character that comic fans like to quiz each other on just to prove what weird stuff we've picked up from a life of rading funnybooks. His first appearance? You guessed it: Strange Tales #89, a comic that goes for about $375 in NM. And yes, that is our final answer.

Strange Tales #101

When the introduction of the Fantastic Four and other super-heroes began revitalizing Marvel's fortunes in the early sixties, Marvel began converting their old monster titles into super-hero titles. This was done partially to avoid the "stigma" of a #1 issue (which in those days was seen as the hallmark of an untested, and perhaps unworthy title), as well as to avoid additional problems at the distribution level by the introduction of a new title. Strange Tales underwent the super-hero conversion with issue #101, featuring the Human Torch in an early story apart from his teammates in the Fantastic Four. Today, that $0.10 issue will cost you about $825--an amount which has held relatively steady for the past few years.

Strange Tales #104

The introduction of one of the classic, goofy villains of the early Marvel Age. The bad guy in question was "Paste-Pot Pete", a villain who trapped his victims by firing glue at them and sticking them to the floor. If the name and powers weren't bad enough, his costume was the worst yet: Triple-P was clad in what looks like an east-bank French artist's get-up, including floppy shirt, Dali-style moustache and purple beret. Mercifully, Peter Petruski (a.k.a. Paste-Pot Pete) went into forced retirement after this issue, returning in a new costume and identity in Fantastic Four #38 as "The Trapster" $240

Strawberry Shortcake #1

Apparently, somebody loves this series enough that one prominent retailer make a pretty good business of buying copies in the quarter boxes and selling them for about $10 over the web. It's a good trick, but one which most other sellers would be hard-pressed to repeat. To our great surprise, however, we did discover an eBayer who has posted his "simply beautiful" copy at a minimum bid of $25 (Buy it now for $35), claiming to be greatly conflicted about putting such a prize up for sale at such a low price. In contrast, virtually every copy we've ever seen has been sold...well, in the quarter boxes. Barring a surprise market takeover of the Strawberry People, we're inclined to call the market price of this one a generous $1.00. Of course, if anyone gets outbid on the eBay copy mentioned above, please write us care of this column and we'll tearfully part with our own "simply beautiful" file copy at the minimum bid price.

Strange Tales (Marvel Deutchland) #135

Marvel Germany reissued many of the most important Marvel comics of the Silver Age. Although released in Germany, copies have found their way to the states causing American readers to do a double-take when they see such instantly recognizable comics as Avengers #1 and Strange Tales #135 bearing all the original art, but captions that read "Nick Fury, Agent von S.H.I.E.D. -- Der Grösste Action-Thriller Aller Zeiten!". While sets were available last year at at the Chicago Comic-Con at $2.50 a copy, this year's San Diego price tag seems to have gone up to $5.00. Well worth it on curiosity value alone.

Commies From Mars #2

Great (if mature) cover coupled with a good title gag ("...The RED Planet") should have made this a natural. Unfortunately, Tim Boxell's infrequently-published opus was too adult, too counterculture, and too late to hit its mark in the world of comics. Had this comic's 1979 debut been made a decade earlier it would have fit right in with the undergrounds. Alternately, had it turned to biting political satire instead of hippie sex jokes, it might have been perfect for the Reagan years. Instead, it's become just a $2.00 curiousity of the world of comics.