While baby Yoda toys might be on everyone’s Christmas wish list, comic book collectors are turning their eyes to these Star Wars books. Here we look at the market for three Star Wars books that have jumped up in popularity over the last year.

 

 

KANAN: LAST PADAWAN #1

One of the hottest Star Wars books in the current market is Kanan: Last Padawan #1 released in 2015 as a prequel to the animated series Star Wars Rebels. Due to the timing, it’s important to note that the characters' first appearances in this book are their first comic book appearances; notably the characters of Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Chopper (C1-10P), Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, and Garazeb 'Zeb' Orrelios. Of particular interest, Sabine Wren has been the subject of much rumoring surrounding the latest reason of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. The post-Return of the Jedi setting of that show coincides with that of Kanan. It’s likely that the characters from this book will pop up again in future rumors.

As of the writing of this blog, Kanan: Last Padawan #1 has jumped up a whopping 366 spots to #46 on the weekly most popular comic books list. Looking at just 2020, everything looks great with its FMV up over 4-5x from the previous, with CGC 9.8 currently holding a value of $220. Unfortunately, when we look at the overall market activity of the book, it paints a more pessimistic picture.

In the 5 years since the book's release, most of its activity has been concentrated in 2020. It was flat until early 2020 when the book spiked up in price. It peaked in the fall and has been in steady decline ever since. When looking at just its current FMV versus last year’s, it’s easy to say that the book is on its up, but a more detailed look reveals that it is currently trending downwards. Pessimistically, there is still much more room for the book to fall. Optimistically, fingers crossed for a Kanan live-action series? Realistically, take some or a lot of money off the table.

 

STAR WARS #88

The key significance of Star Wars #88 is that it contains the 1st appearance of Lumiya the "Dark Lady of the Sith." Not only has this book been trending up for the year, but it has been doing so since late 2018. The FMV of CGC 9.8 slabs have nearly doubled in that time to a current FMV of $140. This lower value might not be as impressive as the book above (and sales volume. ) However, its longer upward trend certainly is.

If you’re looking for a more affordable Lumiya book, you might want to check out Star Wars #56 which contains the first appearance of Shira Brie, the Rebel pilot/Empire spy. At the moment, that book holds a lower FMV of $95 for CGC 9.8.  Lumiya’s Star Wars #88 becomes more and more popular. As a result, it’s only a matter of time until Shira Brie’s Star Wars #56 also does.

 

STAR WARS: HEIR TO THE EMPIRE #1

The Heir to the Empire comic book series was an adaptation of the similarly named novel trilogy. With that, this issue contains the first comic appearance of popular Star Wars villain Grand Admiral Thrawn. The overall market behavior of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire #1 almost perfectly mirrors the market behavior of Kanan: Last Padawan #1. Sales prices were flat since the book’s release until 2020. Then, it experienced the same spike that peaked in fall 2020 (accompanied by the same increase in sales volume). It’s likely that the market for this book is also similarly tied to speculation surrounding the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. The current CGC 9.8 FMV is sitting at $450. It might be even more necessary to exercise precautions with this book.

 

 

"But it was so artistically done..." - Grand Admiral Thrawn