1st appearance comics seem to be all the rage; but what about 2nd appearances? Even after the 1st appearance of individual characters, the next largest emphasis is often on the 1st appearance of team names. In an effort to explore the market for 2nd appearance books, here we will take a closer look at a few in greater detail to see if it warrants further examination. The characters and books chosen at random are those of Daredevil and Electro (same book), the Punisher, and the Kingpin.

 

 

DAREDEVIL #2 (1964)

Daredevil #2 is a two-for-one second appearance book, a hero and a villain; specifically, those of Daredevil and Electro. When Electro tries to steal Fantastic Four’s secret experiments, Daredevil swoops in to stop him. Sales for the book, on the higher grades of CGC 8.0/8.5 and lower 6.0/6.5, are shown below. These represent the top 21.3/14.4% and 53.2/45.4%, respectively.

Outside of the few high priced sales of Daredevil #2 graded 8.5 in late 2015, the overall sales prices for the book have been on a positive trend. Whether this is due to Daredevil’s second appearance, Electro’s second appearance, or the issue being a low numbered Silver Age book, there is no foreseeable reason why the trend might change. In the books below, we will try to isolate a few of these aspects.

 

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #135 (1974)

The Punisher’s second appearance is in Amazing Spider-Man #135, in which he fights against Spider-Man due to misbelieving that Spider-Man was trying to hijack a cruise ship. Due to the majority of the graded copies of this issue being on the higher end, below is sales for CGC 9.6 and 9.0, which are the top 10.7% and 52.0% of the census.

Although Amazing Spider-Man #135 has not yet achieved the high sales prices of the above Daredevil #2, it too has experienced positive growth over the last five years. Not much to say here other than the sales prices of the book displaying a good example of slow and steady.

 

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #51 (1967)

With a very striking cover, Amazing Spider-Man #51 marks the second appearance of Kingpin. When the Kingpin tries to strong-arm the Daily Bugle from writing about him, Spider-Man swings into action to save boss and worst fan, J. Jonah Jameson. Unfortunately, the Kingpin proves to be too strong for Spider-Man. Below are sales for the book, graded CGC 9.2/9.0/8.5, which is the top 13.9/23.6/35.8%.

For the greater majority of the four years from 2015 to 2018, sales prices for Amazing Spider-Man #51 had been flat; until suddenly, in late 2018 sales prices moved, and it moved big. A possible reason could be that the Kingpin was the main antagonist of the third season of Netflix’s Daredevil series, which was released in late 2018. The problem with this though is that the flat sales prices throughout 2015 to early 2018 remained sideways even with the 2015 Season 1 debut of the same show and 2016 release of Season 2. Wilson Fisk may not have had a large presence in the second season, but he was the main antagonist of the first, much like the third. With this, it is peculiar as to the exact reason why the flat trend changed to a rather pronounced upward movement of sales prices.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

It is rather surprising that the three 2nd appearance books examined here have not only outperformed a number of other characters’ 1st appearance books but will likely continue to do so. As to the reason why, one possible theory could be that the buyers of these books are more long-term holders compared to the shorter-term speculative attention first appearance books seem to attract; but without a survey, this remains just conjecture. Either way, it would be advantageous to examine a few more second appearance books.

  • Daredevil #2 (1964) - ADD
  • Amazing Spider-Man #135 (1974) - ADD
  • Amazing Spider-Man #51 (1967) - HOLD

 

 

“Professionals come at a premium.” – The Kingpin

 

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