Here, we take it all the way back to the original super strengthed hero… Hercules. While the ancient Greek myths have all been written, Hercules continues to live on in the pages of Marvel comic books. Let’s look at three different Hercules comic books at three very different price points for someone looking to take on the labor of starting a Hercules collection.
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At the mortal, (and more financially accessible) end of the Hercules comic book market is the self-titled Hercules: Prince of Power #1 (1982). This book marks the first appearance of a futuristic 24th century Hercules, who must deal with the fallout of being exiled from Olympus by Zeus so that he may learn some humility. Yeah, this story isn’t too dissimilar to Thor’s, but they are rivals for a reason. Despite the series being set in outer space filled with spaceships, Hercules travels in style with a horse-drawn chariot. And spoiler alert, in issue #4 Galactus gets a bit drunk.
In the last few years, the market for CGC 9.8 slabs of Hercules: Prince of Power #1 appears to have stalled around the $80-85 level. The volume of the sales is also pretty low at a grand total of only 14 CGC 9.8 slabs having sold since 2013.
Hercules Fact: In Greek mythology, Hercules had a half maternal twin brother named Iphicles. Same mother, but different fathers. He was born just a day before Hercules.
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In the middle demigod level of the Hercules comic book market is Thor #126. With an iconic cover showcasing the rivalry between Thor and Hercules, this book also boasts the key significance of being the first issue when the Journey into Mystery series was re-titled to The Mighty Thor.
Looking at a random cross-section of the book’s market, particularly the CGC census 19.1/30.2/62.4% levels of CGC 9.0/8.5/7.0, we see that sales prices have trended pretty flat for most of the last decade. Although Thor #126 has a very striking cover featuring Hercules and bonus significance of series renaming to Thor, its market performance does not appear to make it a good long-term investment. Great for a collection, but not as a financial investment.
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At the high-end, Mount Olympus peak of the Hercules comic book market, the spot is actually occupied by two books: Young Allies #16 (1945) and Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 (1965). The Timely Comics title being Hercules’ first Golden Age appearance, and the Journey Into Mystery being his first Silver Age appearance. But wait, what about the Hercules appearance in Avengers #10 (1964)? That was actually an imposter. Avengers #10 is definitely worth adding to any Hercules collection as an interesting conversation starter much like Strange Tales #114 is to Captain America.
The two first appearance introductions of Hercules could not have been more different. In Young Allies #16, Tommy Tyme’s interest is piqued by a museum exhibit showcasing a battle between Hercules and Antaeus. Curiosity gets the better of him when he travels back in time to watch the battle live. In Journey Into Mystery Annual #1, whiles traveling to Olympus, Thor finds himself trying to cross a bridge that is being blocked by Hercules. “Blocked” is being used very loosely here. Hercules just wanted to finish crossing first before anyone else also crossed; which of course, Thor ignores as he believes he should be able to cross at the same time. So what happens when two heroes with broad shoulders can’t share a bridge? They fight. And thus began their rivalry.
In the market, sales prices for Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 have been higher than the overall sales prices of Young Allies #16, but when you look deeper they actually aren’t too different at comparable grades/CGC census levels. Most notably, the market for Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 had been flat for most of its history, until a very large upward move that started in late-2018. This was likely tied to the speculation surrounding the possible inclusion of Hercules into the Eternals live-action movie. With this, it would be advisable to apply caution with this run-up in sales prices of Journey Into Mystery Annual #1. Especially since much of the cast of characters has already been announced for the Eternals and it excludes Hercules. Furthermore, the highs of this speculation pump have in some cases reached as much as 5-6x in less than a year. Probably a good idea to take some money off the table on this one.
“Whatever Thor canst do - Hercules canst accomplish more mightily!” - Hercules
